Finances & Money

Carnival Roundup: Week of October 8th

This week, I’m going to combine my carnival roundups into a single post.

First up, the Carnival of Personal Finance #121 hosted by Ask Mr. Credit Card:

• Exjackly analyzes how someone can live on minimum wage. A number of assumptions were made up front, and this obviously won’t fit everyone’s situation, but it’s a good read at how a single person could handle the basics when earning minimum wage.
• More and more, I consider selling the house and going back to renting. 4EvaYoung says why renting is the way to go, and Home Finance Freedom debunks the “debt-free”/mortgage myth.
• Mrs. Micah, a new blogger, questions ethics and finances. I’m sure I even have some ads for unethical companies pop up in adsense or my text ads, but I can’t control it unless I took down all advertising. I’ll just assume you’re all too smart to fall for their ploys, ok?
• Baglady scared me with her article that early retirement may not be an option for twenty-somethings! Unfortunately, I can imagine many of her statements coming true.
• Since one of Stacie’s friends (who visited this weekend) doesn’t have health insurance right now, I’d like to highlight Gather Little by Little’s article on buying low-cost health insurance.

Next, Being Frugal hosted the Carnival of Debt Reduction #108:

• Debt Free Forever writes what their parents DIDN’T teach them about finances.
• Paid Twice (via The Digerati Life) tells us to stop worrying about how we got into debt and focus on getting out. I say “Learn from your mistakes, but don’t let them slow you down”. Believe me, I make alot of mistakes.
• Saving Advice makes money from her big mouth (get your mind out of the gutter!)
• A Penny Closer figures out a way to remain debt free. I wish we were debt free. I don’t care, we love the MINI Cooper! Now shut up and let me have my fun!
• Free Money Finance chats about college students and debt. Dang, right on the money. I figured I would pay off all that debt as soon as I got a job after college. It took 6 years to pay off that credit card debt (although I kept it at 0% rates).

And last, but not least, is My Retirement Blog with the 95th Festival of Frugality:

• The Digerati Life gives 8 lessons she learned from the nation’s cheapest family.
• Save money on something (like reducing your cable plan) and then lose track of where it’s gone? The Dough Roller gives some advice to stop frittering away your frugality.
• If you can’t afford clothes or a car, Plonkee advises on how to fake it till you make it. You can also read Queercents’ article on saving on laundry and dry cleaning. Yep, I wear my dress shirts and pants many times before laundering, and I keep them unwrinkled by hanging them all up as soon as I get home.
• My Wealth Builder gives some free workout options. I personally like yard work since it’s so peaceful, yet can be strenuous.
• Gather Little by Little talks about repairing your own car. I have a Haynes guide for the Grand Am, and it’s come in handy a few times already for fixes or diagnostics. On the cars theme, Money Blue Book debunks the 3,000 mile oil change myth. I worked for a major oil company and know that it really is a myth. However, if you drive like a nightmare, there’s a good change you MAY need to change at 3k miles. But most of us can do 5k, 10k or even 15k miles (with synthetic oil).