The stocks in the game reflect stocks in the real stock market today, with only about a 15 minute delay. (You can upgrade to real-time quotes for a fee.) So, when the real market is closed (on weekends for example,) the stocks don’t update until they re-open and trading in real life begins again.

You start the game with $100,000 (in virtual money, of course) that you can use to trade with. You research the stocks and buy and sell as you see fit. For a beginning or aspiring investor, this is a perfect and fun way to learn about the stock market. I’ve only been playing for about a week, but have already learned some things. And despite it all being virtual, you still can’t help but moan and groan when your stocks go down and cheer when your portfolio grows.

A few features of the site are:

• Research tools for comparing stocks
• Records of stocks’ histories from 1 day, 5 days, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, year to date, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years.
• Daily personal ranking amongst all players
• Loyalty points for logging in, trading and referring friends (points can be redeemed for prizes and gifts)

So join in the fun and learn how to invest in the stock market and get a shot at winning $50,000 (real money, I think) while you’re at it!

Related posts:

• Free Printable Templates: Mini Wall Street Journal Carrier Gift Bags
• How I Got a Free Subscription to the Wall Street Journal
• Friday Fun: Calvin and Hobbes Lemonade Stand Economics Lesson & WSJ Giveaway Reminder
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #14
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #15

Originally posted 2008-07-03 18:17:17.

Welcome to the 1st Edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights!

I am thrilled to have received such a response from the personal finance blogging community for this first edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights. Thank you to each of the 68 participants for your submissions; it has been a pleasure to read and include each of your articles.

A little about the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights

For those of you who are just hearing about this new carnival, the purpose of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights is to showcase content of lasting value from the personal finance and frugality blogosphere. There is no restriction as to the age of the posts submitted so bloggers are free to submit their best and favorites from any part of their archives.

As the priority is lasting value, you will not find items with an “expiration date.” This means, no temporary promotions for businesses, shopping deals or credit card offers. Even if you were to happen upon this carnival 6 months from now, the content would all still be relevant.

More information: About • Schedule • Hosting • Submissions

Giveaway Winners

For Article Submissions	For Hosting Applications
David from MoneyNing	Momma from Momma’s Blog

Pecuniary Art by Madoline Hatter

In our past year of financial blogging, my sister Madoline Hatter, our resident graphic designer and artist, has produced not a few financially-themed pieces for this blog and our CafePress shop. As we have just concluded 2 giveaways of piggy bank art magnets featuring Madoline’s work to kick-off the launch of this new carnival, I have decided to theme this first edition around more of her pecuniary art.

Shameless plug: All of the images you see below are available on numerous types of products at our shop. They make great gifts for those with an interest in finance or frugality, and most are available with and without captions. Click on an image to see more.

Now, without any further ado, allow me to present the first ever Carnival of Pecuniary Delights: The Madoline Hatter Pecuniary Art Edition.

Editor’s Picks

• FIRE Finance from FIRE Finance presents Early Retirement Case Study – Sandy Aldridge and Dale Lugenbehl.
• Kelly from Almost Frugal presents The ABCs of frugality.
• Frugal Dad from Frugal Dad presents Is Frugality The Anti-Stimulus Plan?.
• Linsey Knerl from Wise Bread presents Beware of pretty things: 4 reasons I’m keeping my old ugly stuff.

Feast On Your Savings

Frugality

• Miss Thrifty from Miss Thrifty presents Make Do And Mend: Vogue for the Credit Crunch Bunch.
• Abigail from I Pick Up Pennies presents Are Americans really learning?.
• Lulugal from How I Save Money presents Frugal Frauds Revealed.
• Mike from Four Pillars presents Changing your mind.

Frugal Home and Garden

• Momma from Momma’s Blog presents 9 No Spend Weekend Ideas.
• David from Personal Finance Blog by MoneyNing presents My Virgin DIY Haircut Experience.
• Kate Kashman from The Paycheck Chronicles presents Seven Reasons Why Clutter is Costing Me Money.
• Heather Levin from The Greenest Dollar presents How To Save Money On Laundry Day.
• Leslie from Spilling Buckets presents It’s that time of year again: Gardening Season.

Frugal Kitchen

• Green Panda from Green Panda Treehouse presents Brownbag Your Lunch and Save Money.
• Jenn from Frugal Upstate presents The Making of a Lunch for Princess-Lunchbox Philosophy and Execution.
• Jim L. from The Switch to Riches presents Saving Even MORE on Groceries.
• Smarty from Growing Money presents How I Cut Down On Food Expenses.

Incontinent spending?

Saving on Spending

• Kimberly Palmer from Alpha Consumer presents My Experiment: Asking for a Better Deal.
• RC from Think Your Way To Wealth presents Negotiating a Deal and Tips on Becoming a Better Negotiator.
• Christina from Northern Cheapskate presents Don’t Let Coupons Clip Into Your Free Time.
• J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy presents 3 Tips to Putting BLING on That Finger of Hers.
• Laura from No More Spending presents Cold Turkey on Magazines and Confessions.

Money Management

• Jim from Bargaineering presents Your Financial Network Map.
• PT Money from Prime Time Money presents Save More Money: Automate and Separate Your Savings.
• JT Locke from The Frugal Housewife presents How Much Is Too Much?.
• Cindy Morus, The Money Mender from Mend Your Money presents How to Have More Fun With Your Tax Refund in 2009.
• Karen from Living Well on Less presents Time for new tires — or why I’m glad we have an emergency fund.
• Kay Bell from Don’t Mess With Taxes presents When renting is the right choice.
• Money Progress from Money Progress presents How to Save Money and Feel Good About It.

A penny is the first part of a million.

Personal Finance

• Megan from Counting My Pennies presents Support Your Non-Profits.
• BSimple from Simplified Financial Lifestyle presents Financial Planning is EASY as Vacation Planning.
• Jason from My Money Minute presents What We Learn From Tragedy.
• Fred from Very Personal Finance presents Personal Finance Is Personal – Very Personal.
• Patrick from Cash Money Life presents Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.
• Dave from Do You Dave Ramsey? presents Do You Dave Ramsey?

Green Living

• Prune Danish from Frugal Luxury presents More Beauty Products You Could Probably Do Without.
• Alunachic from The Frugal Musician presents The Frugal Musician Makes a Cardboard Mailer.

Debt and Credit

• Silicon Valley Blogger from The Digerati Life presents Get Rid Of Your Debt With These Debt Defying Strategies.
• Jeremy M. Simon from Taking Charge presents Phone line makes me popular with debt collectors.
• Greg Keene from Managing Money God’s Way presents Can you cosign this loan for me?.
• Trevor Shipp from Financial Nut presents You’ll Always Have a Car Payment.
• CPF from Christian Debt Help presents Negotiate with credit card companies and Win!
• Baker from Man Vs. Debt presents Declaring War: Cancelling Your Credit Cards.
• Marlon from Penny Scraper presents A fast way to improve the credit score of a family member.

Shining Credit vs. Infernal Credit

Taxes and Economic Stimulus

• Madison from My Dollar Plan presents $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.
• FFB from Free From Broke presents Paying Back The Economic Stimulus Payment – Lots of Tax Confusion!
• Miranda from Yielding Wealth presents Tax Time: Identity Thieves on the Prowl.
• Bruce from Taxguy presents A Little Straight Talk.
• Mr. ToughMoneyLove from Tough Money Love presents Consider this Likely Future Tax Benefit of Early Mortgage Payoff.

Economy

• Rocketc from Rocket Finance presents Financial Fairytale.
• Lisa Spinelli from Greener Pastures presents Is the Time Ripe for the Next Generation of Outliers?
• HIB from Happiness Is Better presents The TED Spread and What It Means to You .
• LAL from Living Almost Large presents Do I get paid too much?

Investing

• Zach Scheidt from Zach Stocks presents Double Your Investment Returns (Too Good to be True?).
• Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents presents 7 Things To Know About a Roth IRA For 2009.
• Clare Kierans from Money Energy presents Why You Should First Invest in Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPs).
• Mike from Richer by the Day presents Forever Stamps, A Losing Investment.
• MFD from My Findependence Day presents How Important are the CESG Grants to an RESP?.
• Sun from The Sun’s Financial Diary presents Are Vanguard Mutual Funds Getting Expensive? .
• Mr. GoTo from Go To Retirement presents Why I like I-Bonds in My Retirement Portfolio.

Career and Income

• WC from Wisebread presents On Salaries: Knowing What Your Coworkers Make.
• Viviana from The Lean Times presents When the work dries up.
• Peter from Bible Money Matters presents To Succeed Diversify And Create Multiple Streams Of Income.
• The David from Pimp Your Finances presents 20 Questions with J.D. Roth, author of Get Rich Slowly.
• The Smarter Wallet from The Smarter Wallet presents Job Hunting Tips: How To Deal With Losing Your Job.

Practice Maintains Perfect

Miscellany

• Kyle from Suburban Dollar presents Quit Paying for What You Can Get for Free (Open Source software).
• Ishan from Save Few Bucks presents Does it really makes sense to buy a Hybrid Car?.
• Papa Boomer from Consumer Boomer presents Not All Credit Cards Companies are the Same.
  Note: While I usually prefer “positive” stories, I thought this psot could serve as a consumer review of a bank on which I myself have less than stellar opinions through personal experience.

Enchanted Pumpkin Fairy Ship

* * *

This concludes the First Edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights. Next week’s edition will be hosted by Wise Bread, so be sure to get your submissions in by Wednesday April 8th, 6:00 PM PST.

Related posts:

• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights Giveaways: Cute Piggy Bank Magnet Prizes for Hosting and Submissions
• Pecuniary Links ~ July 2009 #2
• Pecuniary Links ~ August 2009 #1

While browsing the WiseBread Forums today, I came across an interesting thread in which a member asks: Is “Simple Living” Just Another Term for “Giving Up”?

Several members responded with various opinions:

• There is a difference between simple living and forced poverty.
• Not everyone enjoys the rat race.
• It’s a choice.
• It’s a form of retirement.
• Some live the frugal life because they have no other choice.
• Frugal does not mean “easy,” but instead takes work and ambition.
• It’s the means to an end.

I thought I’d add my own opinion to this and go more into why we live the way we do – sort of a continuation/elaboration on Our Family Financial History which tells how we came to be where we are today. The answer to this question, as evidenced above, is different for everyone depending on your station in life – age, personal goals and lifestyle preferences.

For us, the last answer, “It’s the means to an end,” is closest to our view of “simple living” or “frugal living.” For me, simple living is not just another terms for “giving up.” I like to think of it as “saving up” and making it possible to “live it up” in future years.

Though, I think this has much to do with where we are agewise in our lives. Madoline and I are in our late twenties and we have many years ahead of us. But for someone at midlife, retirement or late-life, it would probably be different.

Our Reasons for Frugal Living are:

• To pay off our house as soon as possible
• To save up to attend graduate school
• To save up for a replacement car when the time comes
• To make sure we and our pets have enough (or more) to live on in later life
• To be able to live as comfortably and healthily as possible in later life
• To be able to help extended family who may need assistance
• To be able to travel and see the all the places we’ve been wanting to see
• To own a small farm on which to keep horses, sheep and dogs
• To be free of debt and worry
• To be able to have the things we want be they large or small
• To be able to pay our taxes – sad, but true

Frugal Living as a Choice

At this time in our lives, we cannot really afford to not live frugally. Our business is still in its development stages, and we are still considering other career paths. Because we prefer to avoid debt and our business is small, we have been using our cash to invest in sewing machines and materials for the business.

So for us, frugal or simple living is a choice because our present lifestyle is also a choice. At this time, we’d like to have a shot at making our business work because we prefer to work for ourselves and be able to work from home so we can be with our dogs who are our closest family. This is the reason we bought our house where the closest city is 40 miles away. We could move to a large city and get full-time jobs if we really wanted or needed to, but for now, we want to try to make our business work.

Frugal Living as a Means to an End

One of the ways in which we hope to make our fortunes is by investing. This also requires some capital other than regular savings and and emergency fund. So that is another reason we live frugally – to save as much money as possible to invest.

How about you? Do you live frugally? If yes, what are your reasons? And if no, why not?

Related posts:

• August 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Pecuniary Links ~ August 2009 #1
• Short Term vs. Long Term Savings with Bulk Buying
• Resisting the Urge to Splurge
• No-Air Conditioning Summer Part 2 – How We Stayed Cool Without A/C

Expansion Difficulty/Complexity: Medium-Easy

This Certificate of Deposit was the second expansion we created for the game (invented by Madoline) of Monopoly. After the Lottopoly (coming soon), I find this to be the most fun. The interest rates are rather high compared to real-life CD’s, but they help to illustrate the point that investing pays off, and it is so much fun watching the money add up.

Objective

To learn the system and benefits of saving and investing via Certificates of Deposit (CD’s).

How to Play

• Download and print the Bank of Monopoly Certificate of Deposit Form (includes rules).
• Banker
  Designate a player to be in charge of CD’s. This person will receive and deposit into the bank the money to be invested, fill out the CD form, keep track of players’ passing of “Go,” calculate interests and penalties, and pay out the earnings from the bank.
• Opening a CD
  Deposit the amount to be invested in the bank and fill in the player’s name, opening balance and term of deposit. The term is the number of “months” or circuits around the board. Deposits may only be made on the turn when a player passes or stops on “Go.” Once a deposit is made and the term is set, it may not be changed.
• Marking off the months
  When a player passes “Go,” the banker marks off a circuit under 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Months. This indicates the passage of time. If a player purchases a CD for 1 month, his account is considered mature after one full circuit of the board. 2 months require 2 full circuits, and 3 months require 3 full circuits.
  Note: Going to jail does not constitute a circuit as one does not pass “Go.”
• Payouts
  When a player passes “Go” for the last time, his/her earnings are calculated and the balance paid out.

Click on the image below to see a sample

Terms

• Interest Rates
  1 Month = 10%
  2 Months = 30%
  3 Months = 60%
• Penalty for early withdrawal
  $50 per month. If a player makes a deposit for 3 months but must withdraw it after only 1 month due to need for cash (to pay rent, taxes, etc.), he is charged a total of $100 dollars early withdrawal penalty and earns no interest.

Additional Notes

• There is no limitation as to the number of CD’s a player may have open at any time.
• CD’s may only be opened on the turn in which a player passes or lands on “Go.”
• A player may opt to immediately re-invest the closing balance of a CD by opening a new one.
• Early withdrawal requires complete withdrawal. If the player wishes to invest a smaller amount, he must wait until he passes “Go” and open a new CD.
• Tip: Use a different color pencil or pen for each player when players open multiple deposits.

Visit OurFourpenceWorth.com/Monopoly for more Money Management and Investment Monopoly Expansions!

The Monopoly game is copyrighted by Parker Brothers, a subsidiary of Hasbro. All expansions are original creations by Our Fourpence Worth and shared for personal use only.
Commercial use of these rules, forms and images is prohibited.

Related posts:

• July 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• August 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Monopoly Game Expansion #2: Personal Checking Account
• Monopoly Game Expansion #1: Personal Savings Account
• Monopoly Game Expansion #5: Income Tax Edition

Originally posted 2008-06-25 06:00:16.

If this is your first time here, please have a look around (popular posts to the right) and consider subscribing to our RSS feed.

About Debtor’s Prisons

In the time of Charles Dickens, men were arrested for debt and imprisoned until they could repay what they owed. This was sometimes achieved by the help of family members, but as not everyone had that advantage, the system was somewhat nonsensical especially because living within the prisons required the spending of money with virtually no opportunity to earn it.

“Pray remember ye poor debtors.”

Editor’s Picks

I Pick Up Pennies presents Are we too optimistic?.

Passive Family Income presents Recession in America – Gardening.

Five Cent Nickel presents Debt Reduction vs. Retirement Savings.

Personal Stories

Debt Kid presents Going from Broke to Blessed.

Bible Money Matters presents Don’t Let Unexpected Stress Be An Excuse For Spending.

Man Vs. Debt presents My Debt-Recon And Current Battle Plans.

My Money Minute presents Don’t Laugh, It’s Paid For!.

Daily Saving & Budgeting

PF Credit Cards presents Lower Your Monthly Subscriptions Cost by Calling.

American Consumer News presents What a Difference Control Makes.

The Smarter Wallet presents Money Saving Ideas To Create A Frugal Household Budget.

Greener Pastures presents It’s EPA Fix a Leak Week.

Money Management

My Dollar Plan presents Would You Take a Loan Modification?.

Automatic Finances presents 3 Bank Fees You Should Never Have to Pay.

Free Money Finance presents Review Your Credit Card Bill.

No Credit Needed presents Beware The Dangers Of The Abuse Of Credit.

The Sun’s Financial Diary presents PIN vs. Signature Based Debit Transactions.

Investing

Investing School presents Realized and Unrealized Gains and Losses.

Prime Time Money presents 5 Reasons Not to Borrow from Your 401k.

My Retirement Blog presents Earning $20,000 Equals Half Million Dollar Nest Egg.

Gurus & Books

The Paycheck Chronicles presents A Dollar Saved is Two Dollars Earned.

The Digerati Life presents Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps To Financial Success.

The Dough Roller presents Debt Cures by Kevin Trudeau–Do his “secrets” really work?.

Making Money

Counting My Pennies presents Sell your gold and get rich!.

Destroy Debt presents The Part Time Job Method of Increasing Your Income.

Miss Thrifty presents Making Money From Your House in 2012.

Studenomics presents Successful Business Venture Checklist.

Miscellany

Clever Dude presents Is Hip-Hop Teaching Americans Money Lessons?.

J. Money presents Our church is $125k in debt…and guess what?.

Christian Debt Help presents Video of Peter Schiff predicting the crisis and getting mocked!.

* * *

This concludes the Charles Dickens Debtor’s Prison Edition of the Carnival of Debt Reduction. Remember, if you’d like to be included in my next carnival, the 1st Edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights,  submit your best post by April 1st 6PM PST!

Related posts:

• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #18
• July 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• June 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Hosting the 3rd Edition of the Finance Fiesta Blog Carnival
• Giveaways Ending Soon! And Hosting 2 Blog Carnivals Next Week

Welcome to the 188th Carnival of Personal Finance! Our theme for this week’s edition is Jane Austen, as I am a admirer of both her novels and the films based on her novels, which are graced throughout with witty commentary on society — and in particular, money and marriage.

If this is your first time here, please take a look around and consider subscribing to our feed to have new money saving tips delivered to your feed reader of choice or your email inbox. We are also currently holding our first ever giveaway for a free 6-month print subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Please be sure to stop by the contest page and see how you can enter to win.

Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor – which is one very strong argument in favour of matrimony.

Jane Austen, Letter to Fanny Knight, 13 March 1817 Photo: Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen, Becoming Jane (2007), Miramax

~ Editor’s Picks ~

• Coffee For One presents Paying the Bills
• FruGal presents Joining the gym? Read this first
• Sound Money Matters presents That Makes Me Stabby: Do We Have an Obligation to Spend?
• Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck presents Lessons from Flight 1549
• Free From Broke presents Just Enough Is Not Good Enough
• Pimp Your Finances presents 10 Financial Commandments for Your 20s
• Money Ning presents 50 Ways to Budget Travel and Save Money on Vacations

If the loss of what is most valued is so easily to be made up by something else, your resolution, your self-command, are, perhaps, a little less to be wondered at.

Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility Photo: Kate Winslet & Emma Thompson, Sense & Sensibility, Sony Pictures

~ New Year’s Resolutions ~

• The Passive Dad presents My Latte Factor In 2008. Automatic Millionaire Goals for 2009
• Destroy Debt presents Did You Give Up On Your New Year’s Resolution Already?
• My Money and My Life presents New year, new goals
• Think Your Way To Wealth presents Tips for Making Your Personal Finance Resolutions Stick- Turn Your Resolutions into Habits

Imprudence or thoughtlessness in money matters would be unpardonable in me.

Jane Bennet, Pride and Prejudice Photo: Rosamund Pike as Jane, Pride & Prejudice (2005), Working Title

~ Frugality ~

• Passive Family Income presents Live Frugal – But in moderation
• Living The Frugal Life presents What Would You Do If You Lost Your Job Today?
• The Paycheck Chronicles presents Space Heaters or Turn Up the Thermostat?
• Getting Rich in Grad School presents 5 reasons why the best financial advice is always free
• The Smarter Wallet presents Buying A Computer? Check Our Computer Shopping Tips First

People always live for ever when there is an annuity to be paid them…. An annuity is a very serious business; it comes over and over every year, and there is no getting rid of it.

Fanny Dashwood (in regards to Mrs Dashwood), Sense and Sensibility Photo: Janet McTeer as Mrs. Dashwood, Sense & Sensibility (2008), BBC Warner

~ Budgeting ~

• Monogamoney presents What’s in my pantry
• Yielding Wealth presents Do You Need a Gatekeeper for Your Personal Finances?
• InsureBlog presents Wallet Biopsy
• About Financial Software Blog presents 8 Tips for Choosing Budgeting Software

And we mean to treat you all, but you must lend us the money, for we have just spent ours at the shop out there.

Lydia Bennet, Pride and Prejudice Photo: Brenda Blethyn, Jena Malone & Carey Mulligan, Pride & Prejudice (2005), Working Title

~ Consumerism & Spending ~

• Not Made of Money presents How Has the Current Economy Changed Your Wants and Needs?
• Budgets are Sexy presents My tipping rule: Everyone gets 20%! Nice and easy…
• Second Child, Last Born presents What Type of Saver/Spender Am I?
• Making My Own Payday presents The Not So Perfect Gift (Card)

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

Pride and Prejudice Photo: Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice (1996), BBC/A&E

~ Money Management ~

• FIRE Finance presents Advantages of Online Banking
• Dawn’s Evolution presents 6 lessons in personal finance from my mother
• Prime Time Money presents How to Care {Not Worry} About Your Finances
• The Strump – Financial Blog presents How Detailed Should Your Financial Plan Be
• The Sun’s Financial Diary presents Where Did Our Money Go?
• Your Money Relationship presents Do You Still Balance Your Checkbook? I Sure Don’t!

A single woman, with a very narrow income, must be a ridiculous, disagreeable, old maid! the proper sport of boys and girls; but a single woman, of good fortune, is always respectable, and may be as sensbile and pleasant as anybody else….for a very narrow income has a tendency to contract the mind, and sour the temper.

Emma, Emma Photo: Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma, Emma (1996), Miramax

~ Debt ~

• Managing Money God’s Way presents Debt? What debt?
• Shrinkage is Good presents 5 Steps to Combat Holiday Debts and Ward Off Future Relapses
• Personal Finance Ology presents Understanding Good Debt Vs. Bad Debt
• American Consumer News presents Playing the Credit Card Balance Transfer Game
• Done To Zen presents Credit Cards Suck
• Secrets For Money presents How To Shop For A Legitimate Non Profit Credit Counseling Service

A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of. It certainly may secure all the myrtle and turkey part of it.

Mary Crawford, Mansfield Park Photo: Alessandro Nivola & Embeth Davidtz, Mansfield Park (1999), Miramax

~ Career ~

• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity presents Success Finds Hard Work, Talent & Passion
• Greener Pastures presents The Power of Positive Psychology
• Happiness Is Better presents 6 Reasons Why I Joined Toastmasters
• PennyJobs.com presents 6 Options for Students To Consider with Respect to the Economy

Business, you know, may bring money, but friendship hardly ever does.

John Knightley, Emma Photo: Jeremy Northem as George Knightley, Emma (1996), Miramax

~ Saving & Investing ~

• My Wealth Builder presents Get Higher Interest for Saving – Up to 6%
• Generation X Finance presents How to Roll Over Your 401(k) When You Leave or Lose Your Job
• Four Pillars presents Can You Invest Your House Down Payment In The Stock Market?
• Lazy Man and Money presents Greed or No Greed
• Cash Money Life presents Increased 401k Contribution Limits in 2009
• Dividends4Life presents Dividend Stocks Role In The Future Recovery
• Military Finance Network presents 2009 Thrift Savings Plan Contribution Limits
• The Personal Financier presents Is the Stock Market a Big Ponzi (Madoff) Scheme?
• Stock Trading To Go presents Beginner’s Guide to Currency ETFs

But there are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women to deserve them.

Mansfield Park Photo: Bennet family, Pride & Prejudice (2005), Working Title

~ Economy ~

• The Digerati Life presents Studying Business Cycles: Economic Graphs of The Current Economic Cycle
• Amateur Asset Allocator presents Unemployment At Highest Level In 15 years: Or Is It Even Worse?
• The Happy Rock presents [Video]The Government’s Money Hole – Recession, Taxes, and Bailout Commentary
• Personal Finance Analyst presents Can You Really Opt Out of a Recession?
• BankAround presents List of Banks that Took TARP Money

Pray, my dear aunt, what is the difference in matrimonial affairs, between the mercenary and the prudent motive? Where does discretion end, and avarice begin?

Eizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice Photo: Jennifer Ehle as Lizzy, Pride and Prejudice (1996), BBC/A&E

~ Taxes ~

• The Financial Blogger presents How To Withdraw Money From Your Holding Without Paying Taxes – The Split Dollar Strategy
• Personal Finance Reviews presents 2009 Income Tax Brackets
• My Journey to Millions presents Did you Forget your RMD this Year? All may not be lost

After all that romancers may say, there is no doing without money.

Isabella Thorpe, Northanger Abbey Photo: Carey Mulligan as Isabella, Northanger Abbey (2007), WGBH Boston

~ Real Estate & Mortgages ~

• Mighty Bargain Hunter presents Running through payback time on a mortgage refinance
• Stumble Forward presents Mortgage Refinance Tips That Could Save You Thousands
• The Credit Toolbox presents Why Would You Choose A Variable Mortgage Rate?
• Funny About Money presents Can’t Sell the House? Try Swapping
• Debt Free Destiny presents How to Get Ready for Your First Home
• Growing Money presents Rental Property Update December 2008

Money can only give happiness where there is nothing else to give it.

Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility Photo: Kate Winslet as Marianne, Sense & Sensibility (1995), Sony Pictures

~ Reviews ~

• My Dollar Plan presents Have You Checked out Lending Club?
• The Dough Roller presents How to Buy and Sell Loans on Lending Club’s New Trading Platform
• Christian Debt Help presents Sharebuilder promotion and review

And to marry for money I think the wickedest thing in existence.

Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey Photo: Felicty Jones as Catherine, Northanger Abbey (2007), WGBH Boston

~ Other ~

• Money Beagle presents Wasting Money on Poorly Timed Traffic Lights
• LivingAlmostLarge presents A difference between rich and poor
• Centsability to Wealth presents Insurance- The Fortress the Protects Your Financial Army
• Steadfast Finances presents When the Expense of Plastic Surgery is Justifiable
• Free Money Finance presents Four More Uses for Gold Dollar Coins

He is rich, to be sure, and you may have more fine clothes and fine carriages than Jane. But will they make you happy?

Mr. Bennet to Lizzy, Pride and Prejudice Photo: Keira Knightley as Lizzy, Pride & Prejudice (2005), Working Title

* * *

This wraps up the Jane Austen Edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and quotes as much as I did putting them together. Again, be sure to enter our giveaway for a free 6-month print subscription to the Wall Street Journal which ends this Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 11:59PM EST! Thanks for stopping by!

A Parting Shot

Photo: Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma, Emma (1996), Miramax

Related posts:

• Friday Fun: Calvin and Hobbes Lemonade Stand Economics Lesson & WSJ Giveaway Reminder
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #15
• Hosting the 3rd Edition of the Finance Fiesta Blog Carnival
• Recent Blog Carnivals (February 2009)
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late

Original artwork by Madoline Hatter available on a variety of merchandise at Mozartini

As we learn in grade school science, everything on this Earth is composed of many smaller things, which in turn are composed of even smaller things, etc., etc., etc. The same principle applies to finance and fortune. I have often read or heard of people who, though they wish to become wealthy, opine that doing certain things or forgoing certain pleasures simply isn’t worth the time, effort or sacrifice to save a few cents or dollars.

What many seem to forget is that a fortune doesn’t consist of just one thing. A million dollars isn’t acquired all at once or not at all. It is most often accrued over time and not without sacrifice or effort. Before we go any further, I would like to state that I am not perfect and that the following is mostly a lesson and reminder for myself, but hopefully also prove helpful to you. In the past few months, I have made many regrettable purchase decisions (recent examples: Pepsi and Cheetos), by giving in to impulse and forgetting the big picture.

Breakdown of a Million Dollars

It is important to remember that one million dollars is composed of many smaller dollars, which consist of yet smaller components – quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies, without which one couldn’t have even a single dollar.

A Few Examples of Big Things Made of Little Things

• A mountain is built of individual grains of dirt.
• An ocean is composed of individual molecules of water.
• You are composed of organs, which are composed of tiny cells, which in turn are composed of tiny organelles and so on, without the existence of which you would not be here reading this scintillating piece of writing (which is composed of 818 individual words, which are composed of 5,093 little characters.)

A Penny a Day

The chart below calculates the amount of dollars 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 99 cents can become if one unit of it is saved (or picked up) each day of the year.

Note that this chart does not count:

• Interest or Dividends if invested
• Leap Years

How A Few Cents Soon Become A Few Dollars

Now we will look at a couple of examples of how saving a few cents once or twice a week can add up. Replace the examples with things that apply to your own life.

These are just saving once a week. Multiply these numbers by the number to times or items a week you could save this much on and think of the potential.

How a Few Dollars Saved Could Become a Million Dollars

The following chart shows how a few dollars saved during the course of a month and what they can amount to.

Remember that interest and dividend rates grow with your balance, so the higher your balance, the more you earn. Now, make a list of the things you could be saving on every month and see how much principle you could be putting into investments to generate extra or passive income.

Picking up Pennies

I once read an article, Is It Worth My Time to Pick Up a Penny?, which stated that it would be a waste of time and money for someone like Bill Gates to stop and pick a $100 dollar bill up off the floor. A commenter on this article said that he never picked up or saved coins, but instead threw them away because it he didn’t think it worth the time or space to save them. It is true that there are times and circumstances where doing something is a waste of time/effort/happiness/etc., but if you aren’t in the middle of a more lucrative task in the 2 seconds it may take you to pick up the coin and maybe the 5 seconds to toss it in a coin jar, what’s the harm in saving the extra money?

So unless you are one of the fortunate few who could make more money in the 2 seconds it would take you to pick up a coin, next time you see a penny, even better a nickel, dime or quarter, laying on the floor, pick it up and put it in a jar to be combined with other pennies and quarters. In time they will become dollars combined with more dollars to eventually become a sum to be reckoned with.

Don’t Forget to Water Your Money Tree Journal

Golden Coin Sprout Baby’s Bib

Incontinent Spending Mousepad

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• Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt

This week’s edition was particularly challenging for me to put together, because to tell the truth, of all the submissions received only 60% made the final cut. Decisions to include and exclude were based on many factors: readability, presentation, relevance, value of information and more. So, a job well done to those who made this week’s edition.

Today’s theme is the poem “Devote Your Life to Money!” by David Kessel. I hope you find it amusing as I did.

Devote Your Life to Money!

Editor’s Picks

• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity presents How To Include A Baby In Your Financial Plans.
• Brunette on a Budget presents Don’t fall for rebate bait.
• Broke Grad Student presents 10 Stupid Ways College Students Waste Money.
• Master Your Card presents Mega Guide: How to Get Out (and stay out) of Credit Card Debt

Oh, money, the life-giving juice of society!
It brings us its blessings of every variety,
It softens the blows that lifetime delivers,
It favors the brave and it crowns achievers.

Saving Methods

• No Debt Plan presents Sticking Our Toes into the CD Laddering Pool.
• The Smarter Wallet presents Ways To Save on Seasonal Purchases: Time To Shop For Halloween!
• Silicon Valley Blogger presents Upromise Survey: Saving For College, Getting Tougher?

It renders us free from oppression by jerks,
From mockings, and putdowns, and scoldings, and smirks.
It lets us buy tickets and travel away
From where we’re not welcome but are forced to just stay.

Debt and Credit

• Money Blue Book presents What Is My Credit Score and How Is My FICO Calculated?
• LAL presents After Debt?
• Ask Mr. Credit Card presents Will Creating A Repayment Plan With Your Credit Card Company Hurt Your Credit Score?

From creditors’ letters and big ugly urbs,
From all that don’t matter, from stuff that disturbs,
To wide sandy beaches and azure blue waters,
Away from the smoke of ten million motors.

Careers

• The Shark Investor presents The Alternatives Of 9 To 5.
• Your Finish Rich Plan presents What To Do If You Think You Can Lose Your Job.

With money it all starts to fall into place-
No longer respect is what you have to chase.
It follows you like an afternoon shadow
Thank money, it makes you a prince from a padow.

Consumerism

• Can I Get Rich on a Salary presents Man Bites Dog — Beats Airline in Dispute Over Canceled Flight!
• Personal Finance Analyst presents Expedia Coupons & Travel Deals.

With money, all people will treat you much better,
As you are no longer society’s debtor.
Sweet smiles on you they will now bestow,
Obsequious looks in their eyes then will glow.

Economics

• The Sun’s Financial Diary presents A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words.
• The Iconoclast Investor presents Fannie, Freddie and America’s Debt.
• Mr. Tough Money Love presents Spenders Get the Gold Mine, Savers Got the Shaft.

And women forgetting your age and your weight,
Your looks and your height and your bald, shining pate,
Will wink and remark how handsome you are
For, in their minds, you are now a star.

Investing

• Sam presents Choosing a Stockbroker.
• Small Business Blog presents Real Estate Investing Startpoints: Negotiation, Legality, and Referrals.
• Green Technology Investor presents Hot Rock – Steady Progress Towards a New Source of Renewable Energy.

Oh, how pathetic society is!
A “Miss” is now where there used to be “Ms.”
For quickly they learned that you’ve got all this dough,
And then they appear from above and below.

Other

• Budgets are Sexy presents Is it bad that i haven’t donated any money in like 5 months?
• The Part-Time Life presents Financial Fitness Group.
• Geezeo presents Money Matters Key to Wedded Bliss? 5 Tips for Happily Ever After.

As long as you’re here on our green Earth,
And want to be living in freedom and mirth,
Devote your existence to dollar and pound
For cash makes the world go smoothly around.

This concludes the 16th Edition of the Finance Fiesta. Next week’s edition will be hosted by Mighty Bargain Hunter. Visit the Finance Fiesta website for submission guidelines.

Technorati tags: finance fiesta, blog carnival

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f this is your first time here, please have a look around and consider subscribing to our RSS feed. Be sure to also check out

Madoline and I have a fondness for history and all things old, so the theme for today’s carnival is “Old Money.” While credit cards, online banking and checks are great modern commodities, they just don’t have the charm of good, old fashioned money – in other words, cash. We hope you enjoy this tour through United States Treasury history and the art to be found in currencies of the past.

1934 $100,000 USD Bill (Woodrow Wilson)

Editor’s Picks

• PT presents 9 Tips For Going To One Income.
• Twenties Money Magazine presents My College Sold Me Out.
• Toni presents Happy with What We Don’t Have.
• The Investor presents How a boring broker will make you richer.
• Karen presents Spending money can save your money.

1918 $10,000 USD Bill (Salmon P. Chase)

Frugality & Saving Money

• FIRE Getters presents Top 5 Freebie Websites!
• Amy Hobbs presents How to turn three slices of turkey into brunch.
• Ryan Suenaga presents Can a GPS Pay for Itself?
• Wilfrid presents Air Leak Detection – Leak Testing – Leak Stopping.
• Grey presents Making the CFL Switch.

1918 $5,000 USD Bill (James Madison)

Shopping

• Pamela Grundy presents Best Buy Coupons, Promotions and Savings.
• mbhunter presents If you love Amazon, you’ll really love Amazon Prime.
• Amy L. presents Getting a Good Deal on Your Car Insurance.
• Tom Tessin presents The Secrets to Cheap Airline Tickets.
• Aryn presents New Strategies for Using Double Coupons.
• APFB presents Four Items to Buy Used.
• Madison presents Free Money From the U.S. Mint.

1928 $1,000 USD Bill (Grover Cleveland)

Money Management

• Ariel Ozick presents 3 Dumb Ways to Waste Your Money.
• Todd presents Budgeting Games (Finance Games #6).
• Curt presents Avoiding the Most Common Financial Mistakes.
• GBlogger presents My Personal Finance One Step, Two Step.
• Nickel presents A Peek Inside Our FNBO Direct Online Savings Account.

1928 $500 USD Bill (William McKinley)

Debt & Credit

• Silicon Valley Blogger presents Best Cash Back Credit Cards: Your Rewards For Spending.
• Mr Credit Card presents What to Do When Your Credit Card Debt Has Been Charged Off?
• Andy presents Too expensive to file for bankruptcy.
• CreditAddict presents No Fee 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers.
• DMH presents 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers.

1880 $100 USD Bill (Abraham Lincoln)

Economy

• Tejvan presents Why Boom and Busts are common in Housing Markets.
• Livingalmostlarge presents Perfection Guaranteed.
• RC presents Do Government Bailouts and Payouts Mean Higher Taxes in the Future?

1891 $50 USD Bill (Edward Everett)

Career

• Heather Johnson presents Guest Post: When Should You Quit Your Job?
• VH presents A$king and re¢eiving.
• Dorian Wales presents No Salvation from Productivity Improvements: The Failed 35 Hour Work Week Experiment and Work-Life Balance Examined.
• Kevin Surbaugh presents Making 401(k)’s Part of Your Job Hunt.

1905 $20 USD Bill (George Washington)

Investing

• Dividends4Life presents The MMA Rate Mystery Solved.
• Writers Coin presents Adding to the Mock Portfolio.
• Kevin presents Rebalanced My Roth 401k.
• Dividend Growth Investor presents Year-to-Date changes in Dividend Aristocrats’ annual payments to shareholders.
• The Financial Blogger presents Shifting Your Investments According To Your Tax Rate.
• RothIRA presents Roth IRA for Teenagers.
• Sandy Naidu presents Behavioral Finance – Investor Psychology – Behavioral Finance Stock Market Investment.
• FMF presents Using Your Health Savings Account as a “Super Roth” Investment Vehicle.
• Zach Scheidt presents MasterCard Incorporated (MA) – Growth Slowing.

1901 $10 USD Bill (Meriwether Lewis & William Clark)

Book Reviews

• Clare Kierans presents Money is What You Trade Your Life Energy For.
• Jim presents 547 Ways to be Fuel Smart by Roger Albright.

1886 $5 USD Bill (Ulysses S. Grant)

Other

• Steward presents A Frugal Shopping Tip That Leaves Everyone Smiling.
• J. Money presents 3 Things you should always keep in your wallet/purse/clip.
• Raymond presents How To Generate Valid Credit Card Numbers.
• Jamie presents Custom Wallet Giveaway from TheTrendySpot.com.
• Mr. Banker presents ABA Routing Codes to Link Online Accounts Together.

1862 First official $1 Bill of the United States (Salmon P. Chase)

This concludes the 26th Edition of the Money Hacks Carnival. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Money Hacks Carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: money hacks carnival, blog carnival.

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This first writing project deals with the circumstances, people and events in our past which have led to our present financial habits. I proposed this topic as the first of our group writing project as I had been planning to write something about our background and why we live the way we do.

We are one of those people who have a somewhat complicated history. In our first 25 years, we had lived in 3 different countries and called approximately 20 different places “home.” After several hours of attempting to put it all in prose, we have finally given up and decided to put our family financial history and relevant events in timeline format (and with authentic pictures), for your sake and ours.

A note before we begin: The time periods used to head each section are names of actual time periods from history; however, they are not all in correct historical order, but rather arranged to fit eras of our lives.

Pre-History

• 1978 July – Oakland, CA
  Mother, an art student from Taiwan, marries a young engineer and flight instructor from Japan whom she feels sorry for because he is poor and alone.

Ancient History

• 1979 March – San Francisco, CA
  Penelope arrives.
• 1980 November – San Francisco, CA
  Madoline arrives.
• 1978-1980
  Father cannot find decent work and receives gifts of money and private airplane (in hopes of stimulating flight instruction business) from our maternal grandmother.
• 1981-1987 – Tokyo, Japan
  Father moves family to Japan for better work opportunities. Father becomes a workaholic and makes a lot of money, buys himself computers and other gadgets but won’t give Mother money for food or clothes. Mother relies on grandparents for help and begins giving English lessons to neighborhood children after learning Japanese.
• 1987-1988 – Taiwan
  Father tells mother to leave and take us with her. Mother files for divorce and we are sent to live with various relatives in Taiwan while Mother works to build up a successful multi-level marketing business in Japan and Taiwan.

The Middle Ages

• 1988 July – Kauai, Hawaii
  Mother marries a spendthrift, workaphobe, and tax evader among other things disguised as a romantic gentleman in a ninja suit.
• 1988-1994 – Several locations on Oahu, Hawaii
  Mother continues to work at multi-level marketing business, Forever Living Products, bringing in as much as $10,000 per month for several years. Stepfather also helps by dressing up in business suits; however, the level and efficacy of his participation is questionable. 

  For the first we few years, we enjoy an idyllic childhood living in nice houses, one with a swimming pool, with a menagerie of pet cats, dogs, guinea pigs, rabbits, mice, fish and birds. As we get older, our mother begins to share her worries about our stepfather’s shopaholicism. He goes through one expensive phase after another – chess (during which he buys several costly chess sets and strategy books), golf, motorcycles, guitar, etc. She is also constantly worrying about his tax debt and his refusal to do anything to remedy the situation.

• 1991 – 2000 – Family Business
  Staring around age 12 and 10, Madoline and I become partially responsible for helping to manage the family business, as Mother and Stepfather become the area General Managers and run the warehouse for product inventory. Our duties include helping customers (called distributors) with product purchases, explaining the various purposes of the products, taking orders, retrieving and carrying products to customers’ cars, monthly inventories, compiling and mailing monthly sales summaries to the main office. We continue to help out in this business till around part-way through college, at times running the business solely in Stepfather’s place in later years.
• 1994 December – Hawaii Kai, Hawaii
  Mother is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer with 6 months to live. She begins preparing a will, appoints Stepfather legal guardian, names a trustee to set up our trust funds for the life insurance policy left for our future and education – $100,000 each for our education, $500,000 for the purchase of a permanent residence. Knowing Stepfather’s spendthrift nature, she allots $100,000 for his personal use. One month prior to Mother’s passing, the trustee of Mother’s estate is changed to Stepfather.

Imperialism

The following take place in several more locations on Oahu, Hawaii each successively less expensive than the previous.

• 1995 October
  Mother passes away, Stepfather collects the life insurance and begins spending money immediately. He purchases a new car – on credit so as to retain the cash for investing – and ignores calls from lawyer to set up trust funds.
• 1995 November
  Stepfather meets a man called “Grandpa” who has the investment opportunity of a lifetime; give him $250,000 and he will receive $6 Million in 2 months. Stepfather gives “Grandpa” $250,000 – without our consent, of course.
• 1995 November – Early 1996
  In anticipation of millionairehood, Stepfather spends money as if already a millionaire – takes a party of 10 to the Superbowl (including airfare, hotel and $1,000 tickets), takes entire family of which he is the oldest of nine to Phantom of the Opera, hosts a presidential campaign in Hawaii, etc.

The Great Depression

• 1996 Spring
  “Grandpa” proves by all appearances to be a fraud, though Stepfather continues to hope and chant “Our ship will come in.” All $800,000 is gone, new car is repossessed despite Stepfather’s efforts to hide it a ten-minute walk from house. IRS comes calling for back taxes dating to the 1970’s. All that is left is a modest residual income which would be sufficient for us all to live on if he didn’t spend next month’s check before it arrived.
• 1996 Summer
  Stepfather pushes for me to go to college one year early. When I do not want to do so, he resorts to asking for charity from a classmate’s affluent father. (We are unaware of this until after graduation.)
• 1996 -1997
  Stepfather begins to use the word “frugal” in family discussions, a concept he manages to abide to in theory; in practice, he continues to purchase computers, surfboards, and miscellaneous useless things which are somehow supposed to make him rich.

The Age of Enlightenment

• 1997 May
  I graduate high school and win the Sterling Scholarship for Foreign Language and receive a check for $4,000. Because Stepfather needs money, I endorse the check to him.
• 1997-2002 – Higher Education
  Madoline drops out of high school 2 years early, and does one year of independent study by correspondence in order to save Stepfather $16,000 in tuition, and enrolls in college one year early. We graduate college (with honors ) with the aid of scholarships and the residual income left by our mother. Even though the income is enough to support our very modestly priced education, getting the money from Stepfather to pay our class fees and insurance is like pulling teeth.
• 2001-2002 – My First Job
  I enter the work force after graduating, my first job being a contract 9-month receptionist/secretary for our college’s admissions office. I earn $9.00 an hour and work 30 hours a week. It’s a great first job where I discover I have an affinity for administrative work and enjoy counting how much I make every minute as I work (15 cents per minutes ).

The Great Schism

• 2002 June
  At the time of Madoline’s graduation, we sever ties with Stepfather due to a number of irreconcilable differences. When Madoline graduates and my contract ends, we get full-time jobs together. By sharing a house and all our expenses, we are able to put away about $1,000 a month. After a year at this job, we decide to leave Hawaii and try our luck in California.
• 2002 July – 2003 January
  We hire an attorney to help us deal with Stepfather and manage to transfer Mother’s residual income to us. By this time, the business has dwindled and the income is reduced to about 10% of what it was when our mother was alive and developing the business.
• 2003 February – Tokyo, Japan
  Biological Father now decides he wants daughters again after almost 20 years because he finds himself $80,000 in credit card debt from eating out and buying expensive presents for his girlfriends, and suddenly realizes family is important. Unfortunately for him (and for us), we have long ago stopped considering him as our family. Also, he asks us to help pay his debts which does not sit well with us.

The Age of Discovery

• 2003 May – Our First Apartment
  We decide to try living in the Bay Area, where we had been born. Because we will use up almost all our savings on the move, we look for the most inexpensive place we could find. We find a tiny place on Craigslist – and by tiny I mean 240 sq. ft. – an apartment behind a couple’s garage that will let us arrange the rental over email and let us bring all our pets for $650 a month. (Right: Approx. 1/3 of our First Apartment)
  We pack up our things (3,000 lbs. worth of furniture including our piano which we have had since childhood and couldn’t part with, books and mementos of childhood and our mother) and pets – our 4-year old dog, 16-year old cat, and 22 mice. The apartment is so small that we barely had room left after moving all of our things in.
• 2003 May – Our First Car
  After a couple of scary and extremely uncomfortable experiences walking in our new neighborhood to run errands, we decide we need to buy a car asap. Knowing almost nothing about car shopping and credit, we get tricked into a 24% APR.
• 2003 June – Our First Real Frugal Experience
  Having used up all our savings on the move and down payment on the car, and our monthly check having been delayed, we have $100 in the bank. One night we dig through all of our things, pockets and purses for spare change to buy groceries. Even after our check arrives, we go about setting up our apartment as inexpensively as possible because the amount of the income is unpredictable and unreliable. We begin to find creative alternatives for thing we need.
• 2003 Summer & Fall – Our Second Apartment
  As we are still trying to figure out what we want to do, we temporarily apply for and get jobs as sandwich makers at Togo’s Eatery. After a month, the owners of Togo’s offer us managerial positions at a new upscale pizza shop they are opening in Fremont. The apartment turns out to be in violation of several California building codes, and gets extremely hot, with temperatures above 100 degrees on the hottest days. As we are about to start our new jobs in Fremont, we upgrade to a 400 sq. ft. studio apartment. 

  As limited space continues to be an issue, we go to Lowe’s and bring home a carload of lumber and build ourselves a freestanding 8′ x 6′ loft over our beds with for our computer, cushions and other diminutive furniture. This loft is disassembled for a future move, and later recycled into cabinets, this computer desk (with hand-carved feet shaped like horse hooves), a shipping supply cabinet and beds for our dog.

• 2003 September – Our First U-Haul
  To save money, we rent a 10′ U-Haul for our short distance move from Hayward to Fremont. It’s my first time driving a truck, which is quite scary, but when it’s all done, we can’t help but feel just a little bit proud that we’ve done it all ourselves (except for the piano).
• 2004 March – Our First Credit Cards
  Ever since the car loan fiasco, we have been trying to learn about credit. A regular customer of our pizza shop who works for Bank of America advises us to apply for a credit card. We apply for and get our first credit cards and begin building credit histories. Biological Father wants us to add him as an additional user. We say “no.”
• 2004 Tax Time – Our First Time Filing Self-Employment Tax
  Our first tax season is a disaster. I have no idea about where to start and what forms I need to fill out for the income from our mother’s business. I spend days reading the IRS website and countless forms and instructions. I finally figure it all out and mail out our return on April 15th.
• 2004 June – Our First Loan Paid Off
  We have been saving up to pay off our car loan early (23 months ahead of schedule).

The Dark Ages

• April 2004 – Los Angeles
  Our 16-year old cat is diagnosed with kidney disease in November 2003. He becomes seriously ill in February 2004 and needs constant and costly care. As our pizza shop job does not pay very well due to business problems, we decide to move to Los Angeles for more employment opportunities.
• April 2004 – Our Second U-Haul (Actually Budget Rent-a-Truck)
  Again, to save money, we rent a 15′ Budget Rent-a-Truck for the move from Fremont to Van Nuys. This time the experience has gotten old, and the time constraints to return the truck in 3 days is more than a little stressful. We load the truck and hire a Bay Area piano mover to put the piano in the truck on Day 1, make the 8-hour drive and check into the apartment on Day 2, unload the truck and hire a Los Angeles piano mover to unload the piano on Day 3, and return the truck before 9:00AM on Day 4. We swear then and there as we rub our sore backs that this is the last time we ever U-Haul it.
• 2004 Summer – 2005 Summer – The Lost Year
  Having lost our dog to an accident and our cat to kidney disease in early 2004, we suddenly find ourselves a little aimless. Where we used to be content to stay at home and read or watch DVDs, we now find ourselves restless. For a few months, we wander one shopping mall after another as soon as we get off work (a depressing sales job working for a bald man who shouts a lot), buy more clothes than we need, and are reluctant to go home to an empty apartment. 

  Then we decide to quit our jobs and enroll in some arts classes at the local community college, and re-settle into our frugal habits. We become so frugal that we literally don’t do anything or go anywhere except to the library and to the grocery store. We stop going out except to walk the malls for exercise and window shopping.

The Industrial Revolution

• 2005 July – Franga Designs
  One day, while shopping for a Star Trek Enterprise model for my cousin, I discover eBay. Thus begins Franga Designs, our dog and horse clothing and costuming business named after Mother, which later becomes an online store.
• 2005 October – House Hunting
  Madoline’s designs are an instant hit and we begin to receive many requests for custom designs. Our one-bedroom apartment (638 sq. ft.) is completely covered in fabric, patterns, sewing and photographic supplies that we barely have room to walk. We decide it is time to expand our work and living space, and after all the moving around, that it’s time to buy a house and settle somewhere permanently.
• 2005 November – Homeowners
  We find a charming 3-bedroom house with a nice yard in California City. We make an offer and escrow closes November 22, 2005. To celebrate being homeowners, we go to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (matinee), which to this day remains one of my favorites.

The Modern Era

We are still in the process of settling in our home; with our frugal and DIY mentality, it takes longer to get things done. So far we have replaced all the carpet in our house with our own homemade flooring made from plywood that we sawed into floorboards, built a wall-length and -height shelf for our books and fabrics, and fixed up second hand furniture.

We try to save money wherever we can and build up our savings. Having been privy to our stepfather and our biological father’s mistakes and our mother’s constant stress over finances, we are paranoid about spending and debt.

If you are interested in finding out more about us, please visit the More About Us page.

* * *

About the PF Bloggers Group Writing Project

The Personal Finance Bloggers Network currently consists of 8 active personal finance and frugal living blogs. The Group Writing Project is a monthly project wherein each blog will write a post on a pre-determined topic and publish it on the same day of each month. Be sure to visit the PF Bloggers Group Writing Project page for the others!

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Expansion difficulty/complexity level: Easy

This is a basic savings account add-on for the Monopoly game to teach the principles of personal savings. The rules are few, with easy to calculate interest rates and a simple form to keep track of each player’s individual savings. While the interest rates are higher (for easy calculation) than they would be in a real-life savings account, this game can teach children the basics and benefits of saving money and how banking and savings accounts work.

Objective: Learning Basic Money Saving Techniques and Principles

• Develop a regular habit setting money aside for a rainy day or future investment.
• Watch your money add up a few dollars at a time.
• Experience the satisfaction of greater earnings and faster growth as interest rates increase with your balance.

To play the Monopoly Personal Savings Account Expansion

• Download and print out the Monopoly Personal Savings Account Statement (with rules)*
• The Personal Savings Account Statement contains a form for tracking:
  • Opening balance
  • Interest Rate which increases as balances grow
  • Interest Earned
  • Credits and Debits (Deposits and Withdrawals)
  • Closing Balance

Click on the image below to view a sample form

* The form comes in .pdf format and can be opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader or Foxit Reader, both of which can be downloaded for free at their respective sites.

Rules for Bank of Monopoly Personal Savings Account

These rules are included in the Personal Savings Account Statement download.

An account may be opened at any point during the game when a player lands on or passes “Go.”

• Minimum opening balance is $50
• Minimum account balance is $10
• Earning Period is 1 circuit of the board – “Go” to “Go.” Going to jail does not complete a circuit as you do not pass “Go.”
• Interest is credited at the end of the turn when the player lands on or passes “Go.”
• Interest Rates are tiered and increase with account balance:
  

  $10-$500	5% per period
  $501-$1,000	10% per period
  $1,001-$5,000	15% per period
  $5,001 and up	20% per period

• Deposits may be made after interest for the previous earning period has been credited.
• Withdrawals may be made at any time; however, interest is not earned on the withdrawn amount. An account is considered closed when all funds are withdrawn. A $50 minimum opening balance is required to re-open the account.
• Limit 1 savings account per player.

Next Monopoly Expansion: Bank of Monopoly Personal Checking Account.

Get more Monopoly Expansions at Our Fourpence Worth
http://pecuniarities.com/Monopoly

NOTE: The Monopoly game is copyrighted by Parker Brothers, a subsidiary of Hasbro. All expansions are original creations by Our Fourpence Worth and shared here for personal use only. Commercial use of these rules, forms and images is prohibited.

Related posts:

• Monopoly Game Expansion #2: Personal Checking Account
• Monopoly Game Expansion #5: Income Tax Edition
• June 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• July 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Monopoly Game Expansion #3: Certificate of Deposit

As kids, Madoline and I loved playing Monopoly. We enjoyed accumulating property, building hotels and watching the money roll in. We used to play to the extent of having to use calculators to keep track of our individual wealth after exhausting the bank’s supply of cash. When our cousin Mabel arrived in April for her 3-month sampling of the American life, we pulled our Monopoly game back out as part of her introduction to American culture.

Mabel seemed to have born with more than usual bad luck. Since childhood, she has been prone to little (and sometimes not so little) mishaps and accidents of all sorts as well as general ill fortune in all aspects of life – family, personal, professional, etc. Her ill luck also obviously carries over to pretend life, Monopoly included.

During our first Monopoly game with Mabel, Madoline got so tired of Mabel landing on her hotels and unable to afford rent that she devised a lottery system for the game in the hopes that Mabel would win a few jackpots and be able to pay her way. (We don’t like to end the game when someone runs out of money because otherwise it would end too soon.)

Lottopoly, as we call it, was an instant success – for Madoline and me that is. Despite purchasing 3 tickets per lottery that first day, Mabel didn’t win a single lottery. Madoline and I, on the other hand, grew richer and richer, and the Lottopoly became the highlight of the game.

We have since invented more expansions to add some spice to our Monopoly games. All of our expansions have to do with making, saving and investing money, and are a fun way to teach children, and even grown-ups, basic money management and investment principles. Players have to learn how to budget their cash and not over-invest or face penalties for early withdrawal of invested funds.

We have decided to begin publishing a series of Monopoly Expansions here at Our Fourpence Worth. Each game expansion comes with forms that you can download and print for free in PDF or JPG format and detailed instructions for playing with your friends and family. We will begin posting Monopoly Expansions for different money management principles, Certificates of Deposit (CDs), Foreign Currency Investments, Lottopoly and more starting this week.

Monopoly is a fun and fairly inexpensive way to teach kids basic money management skills. I would definitely recommend it to parents who are looking for frugal and beneficial diversions for keeping kids entertained during hot summer days.

Check back tomorrow for the first Monopoly Game Expansion!

Related posts:

• Monopoly Game Expansion #1: Personal Savings Account
• Welcome MSN Money Central Smart Spending Readers!
• Monopoly Game Expansion #3: Certificate of Deposit
• Monopoly Game Expansion #5: Income Tax Edition
• Monopoly Game Expansion #2: Personal Checking Account

Five Ways to Make Some Extra Income on the Side

Who couldn’t use a little extra money? Plenty of people are feeling a little strained with their finances, and if you feel as though you are on the verge of just barely squeaking by, then it might be time to bring in a little extra income.

Of course, if you can manage to rein your spending in a little you might be able to avoid going after some extra income, but if that’s not an option then give some of these suggestions a try.

• Get a Part-Time Job
  Part-time jobs can be a lot of fun. Find something in a field that you enjoy. If you love reading, get a job at a bookstore. If you adore being outside, take a weekend job assisting a landscaper. If you have to get a part-time job you should at least make sure that you’re doing something you enjoy while also making decent money. You may be surprised to discover that your current employer has regulations against full-time employees taking part-time jobs, so make sure you aren’t breaking any rules when you get your part-time job. Either that or keep quiet about it!
• Become a Freelancer
  You don’t have to go work on-site at a part-time job if you have a skill that you can make money with from home. Plenty of freelance contractors make a decent extra income doing something they love – writing, designing websites, or whatever – all while wearing their pajamas and bunny slippers. A couple of sites worth investigating are Elance and FreelanceSwitch.
• Get Popular Online
  If you can create a website that people want to visit regularly then you can potentially make some extra income by placing ads on your site. This is definitely something you can do in your spare time, but you shouldn’t expect to make a fortune from ad revenues if you can’t commit a great deal of time in developing and maintaining the site. Building up a passive income online takes time and dedication, so don’t expect to get rich overnight.
• Do Some Overtime
  If your current employer offers you the opportunity to do some overtime at a higher hourly rate then this can be a great way to bring in some extra income. This can be an especially good idea if you really do enjoy your job, and you don’t mind putting in a few extra hours.
• Invest
  This suggestion is a little tricky because not everyone has a knack for investing, nor do they have the capital to really put up a sizeable enough investment in order to get an impressive return. There are some people, however, who do indeed make a nice amount of income on the side playing the markets part time. If your need for extra income isn’t immediate then this may be something you should consider giving a try. Just be sure that you don’t invest any money that you can’t afford to lose, and don’t go in cold – educate yourself first.

Unless you need extra money each month just to cover your basic necessities, you have the opportunity to make some money on the side while actually having fun and learning a new skill. Don’t go for something you’ll be miserable with if you can instead choose to just spend less each month by cutting back on a few ‘luxury’ items. Working a job you hate is miserable enough, but when you’re working it in addition to a full-time job you’re bound to get really grumpy, really fast!

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Related posts:

• Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt
• How to De-worm a Difficult Horse
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #12
• Two Natural and Economical Ways to Shed Dry Winter Skin
• Ways to Increase Physical Activity & Calorie Burn and Prevent Weight Gain in Your Daily Life

Expansion Difficulty/Complexity: Medium-Hard

This is a credit card add-on for the game of Monopoly wherein players have both cash and credit and may opt to “charge” certain expenses in lieu of paying cash in order to keep the cash flow for investing in property and buildings. For being such a careful money saver in real life, I was surprised at how quickly my “credit card debt” snowballed.

I started out by charging all my expenses because the 10% interest seemed so insignificant, and before I knew it, I was overlimit and paying 20% interest and my debt became more and more unmanageable. I came in second in the end with a credit card debt of $3,600. Madoline won with over $5,000 in cash, and Mabel lost with over $10,000 in credit card debt. :O

Objective

To teach children (and some adults) about buying and owing on the credit system.

Overview

This version of the game uses a credit system wherein players may opt to put purchases and expenses on their credit account instead of paying cash – either because they do not have enough cash available or because they wish to keep their cash to invest in property.

How to Play

• Print out and distribute a copy of the Bank of Monopoly Personal Credit Card Statement (includes rules) to each player. The statement contains 20 tables (representing 20 months/circuits of the game board). If you need more than 20 tables, simply print extra copies of this document.
  Tip: Print 2-Sided to save paper
• Any time during the game, a player may opt to charge expenses such as rent, taxes and miscellaneous fees on his/her “credit card.” in order to save cash for investing in properties and building.
• Property and building purchases may not be charged on a credit card.

How to Use the Personal Credit Card Statement

• A player is allowed 12 credit transactions per month (circuit of the board).
• Each person has a credit limit of $2,000.

1. On the first round of the game, enter $0 under Balance Forward.
2. When making a charge, enter a brief description of the transaction under “Description of Transaction”
3. Enter the amount under “Amount Charged”
4. Total the current balance in the right-hand column under “Balance.”
5. When you pass or land on “Go,” total your balance next to “Total Charges”
6. Pay off your desired debt in cash to bank and enter the figure next to “Amount Paid @ “Go.”
   • You are required to make a minimum payment of 10% of the total charges.
   • If you are not able to make the 10% payment, your interest rate increases to 20% until you are able to make your minimum payment again.
   • You may pay your balance in full and accrue no finance charges, or pay at least the minimum or as much as you are able to or wish to.
7. Subtract the amount paid from the Total Charges and enter the amount next to “Balance Subtotal.”
   If the balance is greater than $0, multiply Balance Subtotal by 10% (n x .1) if you’ve made at least the minimum payment, or 20% (n x .2) if you were not able to make the minimum payment, and enter the figure next to “x 10% Finance Charges.”
8. Multiply Balance Subtotal by 10% (n x .1) and enter the figure next to “x 10% Finance Charges.”
9. Add the 10% Finance Charge to your Balance Subtotal and enter the figure next to “Balance Forward.”
10. This is your remaining debt.
11. Move to the next empty table and enter the “Balance Forward” amount at the top right-hand column
12. next to “Balance Forward.”
13. When entering your first charge of new circuit around the board, add the charge to the forwarded amount and repeat.

Click on the image below to view a sample statement

Transactions Between Players

On a transaction wherein a player is to receive money and the payer decides to charge the expense, the receiver withdraws the payment directly out of the bank.

Bank of Monopoly Credit Card Terms

Credit Limit: $2,000
Regular Interest Rate: 10%
Minimum Payment: 10% of balance
Minimum Finance Charge: $10
Insufficient Payment/Overlimit Interest Rate: 20%
Overlimit Fee: $50 per transaction

Note: In the interest of illustrating the snowball effect of debt, we have decided not to cap the game and charges at $2,000, but rather impose a per transaction overlimit fee of $50 and a higher interest rate.

Visit http://pecuniarities.com/Monopoly for more Money Management and Investment Monopoly Expansions!

The Monopoly game is copyrighted by Parker Brothers, a subsidiary of Hasbro. All expansions are original creations by Our Fourpence Worth and shared for personal use only. Commercial use of these rules, forms and images is prohibited.

Related posts:

• Monopoly Game Expansion #1: Personal Savings Account
• July 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Monopoly Game Expansion #2: Personal Checking Account
• Monopoly Game Expansion #5: Income Tax Edition
• June 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals

Originally posted 2008-06-30 06:00:22.

I received the following comment today from a reader about my earlier post Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt:

“All good advice – sadly, it is harder than it sounds. But then again, the more you make the more you can spend, so figuring out how to live within your means is a lesson we should all learn at an early age!”

Yes, it is harder than it sounds; almost everything is. But what it all boils down to is common sense, self-discipline and keeping your priorities in mind. It is true that it would be ideal to learn such lessons at an early age, but there is no reason why an adult can’t learn to control his spending and live within his means if he truly wants to.

Don’t get me wrong. I am human and I know how hard it can be to resist spending on things you want. For example, here is just a snippet of some of the things I have been coveting for a long time – some for years.

• A laptop computer
• My favorite TV shows on DVD (Friends, X-Files and many more)
• Subscription to cable (which we haven’t had since 2001)
• A cushy armchair for reading in my bedroom
• The complete British and French editions of the Harry Potter books (I collect foreign editions of Harry Potter books)

These are just a few of the things that cross my mind at the moment, but I know there are more. Over the years, I have been tempted more than once to buy some or all of these things, but I know the danger of giving in to the urge to splurge, because spending or getting what you want is addictive. Oftentimes, when you get one thing, you want or need to get more things to go with it.

I know it’s annoying to hear these words because they’re so “self-help-ish” (I myself can’t stand self-helpers and trite inspirational “don’t underestimate the power of the mind” stuff), but -

The tools for fighting the urge to spend are:

• Recognizing your priorities
• Rational thinking (not rationalizing)
• Self-discipline/self-control
• Will power
• Rewarding yourself

Recognizing Your Priorities

For most of us, our main goal is simply to “save money” or “save as much money as possible,” and that works well enough. But maybe for some of us, that goal simply isn’t enough. If you have a strong penchant for spending, you may need more clearcut reasons than “to save money” in order to curb your spending. So you will need to contemplate the following question.

Why do you want or need to save money?

Is it …

• To save for a down payment on a house of your own?
• To save for a replacement car?
• To save for marriage and a family?
• To save for a personal or family emergency?
• To stay out of debt?
• To get out of debt?
• To achieve financial freedom?
• To make sure your loved ones are provided for?
• To make sure you have enough to live on should you lose your job?
• To be able to retire when you want or need to?
• To make sure you have enough to last through your retirement?

Knowing and reminding yourself of your priorities at all times will help make achieving your goals easier.

Rational Thinking

Rational thought is necessary in order to succeed at anything including spending and saving money. When tempted to spend on something you don’t need or can’t really afford -

Try to look at the item in question with objectivity (without emotion) and ask yourself the following questions (The “it” in the following questions can apply to any kind of expenditure. Buying a tangible item, a service, eating out, etc.):

• Do you really need it?
• If yes, why do you need it?
• Are your reasons for needing it valid?
• Can you really afford it?
• What do you already have that can be used instead?
• What will its value be 6 months down the road? 1 year? 5 years?
• If it is a tangible item will you still be using it?
• If it is an intangible or transient item, is it really worth spending money on it that you would otherwise never see again?

Also consider:

• The potential value of the money saved from not spending it and saving or investing it. Use the savings calculator on Prune Your Spending and Watch the Savings Grow to see how much a little money saved over time can become.
• If you really think you have enough money saved for your future or financial goals.

Self-Discipline/Self-Control

No one likes hearing about discipline. It implies strictness, lack of freedom, and unpleasant tasks. But without self-discipline, one can never achieve success or financial freedom. So when confronted with a tempting expenditure:

• Plan A: Walk Away
  The best way to exercise your self-discipline when confronted with temptation is to simply walk away – or close the browser window (and clear your browsing history and cache to make it harder to accidentally happen on it again.)
• Plan B: If you can’t walk away, then wait.
  If you have a hard time walking away from the temptation, then at least wait. Convince yourself that you are not flat-out denying yourself what you want, but rather waiting for a sale or a price reduction. You will often find that by the time the price has decreased, so has your desire for the item.

  If it turns out you do still want the item, at least you will be spending less on it. Also, by delaying your expenditure, you can earn a little more interest on the money to be spent.

Will Power

You will find that as you practice self-discipline, your will power will grow. There will come a time when you can see something you really like and simply be able to admire it and move on without a struggle.

Rewarding Yourself

Living a life devoid of treats and denying yourself everything you want is not living. So it is alright to reward yourself on occasion. Only you can decide how often and how much you should treat yourself to, but here are a few suggestions for how to figure out what works for you.

Start by setting a goal for yourself. It is important to make it a reasonable goal. Goals can be measured in time, amount of money, achievement or any other way that suits your lifestyle. When you achieve your goal, reward yourself with a little treat within reason.

Setting a goal

• Time
  Set a timeframe in which you decide you will not make unnecessary expenditures. If you have a regular habit of spending money everyday or every few days, you might want to start with a shorter goal and work your way up to the ideal timeframe.
• Amount of money saved
  Instead of putting all your money in your checking account, open a savings account (if you don’t already have one.) Put all your non-regular-expense money (anything not for necessities such as rent, bills, groceries, gas, etc.) into this savings account. When you have saved up to a certain pre-determined amount – $500, $1,000, etc. – then you can allow yourself a little treat.
• Achievement
  This could be for achievement in any area of your life – career, personal, weight-loss, etc.

As time passes and you achieve your goals you might find the success of achieving your goals to be more rewarding than spending money. In an ideal world, that would probably be enough. But for most of us human beings, it probably isn’t.

So remember, it is important to treat yourself once in a while. It doesn’t have to be a big treat. It could be as little as an ice cream cone, a reasonable item of clothing, a new CD, etc. But if you find yourself treating yourself every other day, something is wrong. I can’t tell you exactly how long and how much your goals should be. It is different for everyone and something you need to figure out for yourself. That’s why it’s called personal finance.

In closing, I will share

How I rational thought my way out of the items on my wish list (mentioned above)

• A laptop computer
  Reason I don’t need it: I already have a desktop computer.
• My favorite TV shows on DVD
  Reason I don’t need it: For now, I can watch what DVDs I have and TV shows online. I know I’ll eventually get them, but what’s the hurry?
• Subscription to cable
  Reason I don’t need it: An occasional DVD purchase is cheaper than subscribing to cable and I’ll end up with an asset instead of just putting money down the drain.
• A cushy armchair for reading in my room
  Reason I don’t need it: I can read on my bed. Someday I will get an armchair when the time is right and when I can afford a nice one.
• The complete British and French editions of the Harry Potter books
  Reason I don’t need it: The fun of book collecting is acquiring each edition book by book over time. If I got all the books at one time, I’d need to find a new hobby.

Treating Myself

On the other hand, I did treat myself to a rather expensive gift last fall. I have been a musician since I was 5 years old, and have wanted to learn to play the violin since I was a teenager. Last fall, I purchased myself a Suzuki Student Violin for $170. Being more expensive than most of our regular purchases, I considered it a late birthday/early Christmas/early next birthday present for myself. My violin is and will be one of my most favored possessions for a long time to come.

Related posts:

• Pecuniary Links ~ July 2009 #2
• July 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Welcome MSN Money Central Smart Spending Readers!
• Pecuniarities (Our Fourpence Worth) 1 Year Anniversary
• Frugality to the Extreme: Would You Eat Out of the Dumpster?

Originally posted 2008-06-27 06:00:38.

Looking for Blog Carnival Hosts

We are looking for personal finance, frugal and green living bloggers to host editions such as this starting October 22, 2009. Hosting a carnival is a good way to gain traffic to your blog, so if you are a blogger and are interested in hosting, please visit the hosting guidelines page to learn more and apply.

Now on with the carnival!

I thought I’d celebrate Fall TV Premiere month with a stroll down memory lane of one of my favorite shows from my college days, Friends. Thanks to TheWb.com, I am now able catch up on the last few seasons which I have yet to see because we stopped getting cable in 2001.

Below are a few clips from this great show. Enjoy!

Editor’s Picks

• Fiscal Fizzle presents 7 Ways to Find Your Financial Heart.
• Budgets Are Sexy presents Finance is really not that complicated.
• Get Rich Slowly presents Sweating the Big Stuff.
• Man Vs. Debt presents Negotiation Tips For Beginners.

Frugality

• Suburban Dollar presents Be Frugal, Not Cheap.
• Pay Less For Food presents Nine Simple Ways to Avoid Supermarket Impulse Purchases.
• Modern Tightwad presents Updated: Top Fifteen Garage Sale Rules.
• The Financial blogger presents 4 Tricks to Save Money on Groceries: How to Cut Your Grocery Bills by 20% while being lazy.

Jobs, Income & Economy

• Bible Money Matters presents Dealing With A Job Loss: What To Do When You’re Laid Off.
• Gather Little By Little presents What I Don’t Like About Mary Kay and other Multi Level Marketing (MLM) Companies.
• Christian Finances presents 25 top careers without a degree .
• Darwin’s Finance presents Best Places to Work: Surprising Survey Results and Analysis.
• The Happy Rock presents Necessity vs Luxury: Research Shows That The Economy Shapes Our Perspective.
• Don’t Quit Your Day Job… presents The Minimum Wage Mistake.

Debt, Credit & Loans

• PT Money presents 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards: Using them Effectively.
• The Digerati Life presents Secured Credit Cards To Boost Your Credit.
• Banker, Saver presents Compare Auto Loan Financing Options Before Buying A Car.
• The Smarter Wallet presents Avoid Bankruptcy! Information To Help You Stay Afloat.
• Money Help For Christians presents Good Debt vs. Bad Debt.
• Financial Highway presents Basics of Credit Score and Credit Report and How often to Check.

Saving & Investing

• Bargaineering presents Roth IRA Account Explained.
• Free From Broke presents 9 Reasons You Need An Online High Yield Savings Account.
• My Dollar Plan presents Writing Bylaws for Your Investment Club.
• Go To Retirement presents Asset Allocation Strategies and Online Calculators.
• Good Financial Cents presents Understanding Your Beneficiary Options for IRA’s and 401k’s.
• Investing Toolkit presents Facing Investment Risks: Watch Your Money!

Well, this wraps it up for today’s carnival. Be sure and submit to next week’s edition which will be hosted at Fiscal Fizzle.

Thanks for stopping by!

Related posts:

• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• Pecuniary Links ~ July 2009 #2
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights Giveaways: Cute Piggy Bank Magnet Prizes for Hosting and Submissions
• Pecuniary Links ~ August 2009 #1

From Pecuniary Associates

• Living Well On Less gives us:  Frugality is good for the Earth
• Financial Nut offers A Comprehensive Guide To Understanding The Pros & Cons Of Investing Into A Roth IRA, one of the many things I’ve been meaning to look into.
• Greener Pastures asks Should I Refinance? Obama Says Yes.
• Counting My Pennies talks about Keeping Money Matters Quiet, to which I completely agree.

Blog Carnivals

• At Money Ning: Carnival of Personal Finance #200 – Edition of Mini Accomplishments
  Post included: Slowing Down Makes Sense: Drive Safely, Save More Than Money

• At Mighty Bargain Hunter: Welcome to the Carnival of Personal Finance
  Post included: Falling Off Your Financial Horse: If  you’ve never fallen off a horse, you just haven’t ridden enough.

• At Wise Bread: Carnival of Pecuniary Delights No. 2: Saving Money Edition
  Post included: Honestly Frugal: the Ethics of Saving Money.

Related posts:

• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #12
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #2
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3
• Early to Bed and Early to Rise Makes a Man [or Woman] Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

If you haven’t done your taxes yet, enter now for a chance to win 1 of 2 FREE prepaid access codes for TurboTax Premier Online which includes:

• Free Federal
• State Preparation
• Free e-File

The Premier package is valued at $85 and includes investment income, 401-K  Maximizer, rental deductions and other features to help you maximize and expedite your refund. Click here for more information on TurboTax Premier.

Enter by 11:59 PM PST tonight March 28, 2009 for a chance to win!

Pecuniarities is Hosting 2 Carnivals Next Week!

Submit your posts for double carnival exposure:

• Carnival of Debt Reduction on Monday March 30th
  Submit your post by 5:00 PM PST Sunday March 29th to be considered for inclusion
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights on Thursday April 2nd
  Submit your best post – remember there is no restriction as to the age of the post – by 5:00 PM PST Wednesday April 1st to be considered for inclusion

Apply to host and submit an article for the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights by April 1st for chances to win these 2 cute piggy bank magnets by Madoline Hatter:

“Money begets Money” magnet for article submissions, “Feast on your savings” magnet for applying to host.

This Week’s Blog Carnivals

We participated in 2 blog carnivals this week:

• Festival of Frugality #170 – Frugal Living is Timeless was hosted by Money Ning and included my post:
  When “Free” Things Aren’t Free: Beware the Hidden and Indirect Costs
• Learn The Basics of Investing – Edition #197 of Carnival of Personal Finance was hosted by Four Pillars and included my post:
  It Saves to Be Nice Part 4: How to Save Money by Helping Businesses Keep Operating Costs Down

Related posts:

• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Hosting Festival of Frugality and Money Hacks Carnival Next Week
• Web Hosting
• Wall Street Journal Giveaway Winner and Carnivals of the Week
• New Personal Finance and Frugality Blog Carnival: The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights

I’ve been working away this past week at creating a new blog carnival for the personal finance and frugality blog community. It’s called the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights and its purpose is to showcase quality blog posts from around the personal finance blogosphere.

What the Carnival is For

For Readers

The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights is for anyone looking for a variety of quality blog articles on the subject of personal finance and frugal living. Because blog carnivals feature content from bloggers around the web, readers can quickly find information, viewpoints and tips from a varied pool of sources.

Carnival Topics

• Personal Finance (general)
• Money Management (tips on saving, spending, budgeting, etc.)
• Frugal Living (anything related to frugal living)
• Frugal Home (frugal home and garden)
• Frugal Kitchen (frugal dining, cooking, recipes)
• Frugal Family (frugal parenting, family activities, etc.)
• Green Living (tips that save money and the environment)
• Personal Financial Journey (anecdotes)
• Debt & Credit (advice and tips – not credit card reviews)
• Investing (strategies and advice but not “hot stock picks”)
• Economy (observations and commentary)
• Other (relevant topics)

For Bloggers

Unlike some of the blog carnivals out there, there is no post age restriction, and the focus is content of lasting value, so no credit card offers, deals, promotions and content that has an expiration date.

You can submit posts that you wrote 1 or 2 years ago that is still relevant to today. One of the reasons to do this is to help revive traffic and discussion to good posts that may have been buried among the hundreds of posts in your archives or those written in your early days when your blog had fewer readers so didn’t get the attention they deserved, because some of your best work might come from the early days when you were fresh with ideas.

However, because some of the submitted content may have been seen before, hosts are asked to be very selective in only including content they personally feel are of lasting value, rather than including everything that isn’t SPAM.

Please visit About the Carnival of Peucuniary Delights: For Bloggers for more information.

Hosting and Submissions

This carnival will occur every Thursday with the first edition on April 2, 2009 here at Pecuniarities, and we are open for submissions as well as looking for volunteers to host. Both participating in and hosting a carnival are great ways to increase traffic and exposure to your site.

Please visit the following pages for info on:

• Submissions (for submitting your posts)
  
• Hosting

And please help spread the word about this new carnival. We have created some Carnival Buttons and Banners that you can use on your site.

I look forward to your submissions!

Related posts:

• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights Giveaways: Cute Piggy Bank Magnet Prizes for Hosting and Submissions
• Pecuniary Links ~ July 2009 #2
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #19

Update 7:20PM January 30, 2009

The winner is Lisa Spinelli! Thank you all again for participating in my first giveaway!

Update 9:00PM, January 24, 2009

This contest is now closed. We will tally up the entries, select a winner and announce the result shortly. Thank you to everyone who participated.

I am excited to announce our first blog contest here at Pecuniarities (Our Fourpence Worth until October 2008). Next month marks our first blog anniversary and I am quite pleased with the success that we have experienced in the past year and the direction in which we are headed.

The Prize

I wrote a post a while back on how I received a free subscription to the Wall Street Journal by completing surveys. I have now earned enough points for another, so for this first contest (of many to come) we are giving away a 6-month print subscription to the Wall Street Journal, a $129 value, to one lucky winner. We just had our own 6-month subscription to the Wall Street Journal and have been very impressed with it.

To tell the truth, I wondered at first if it would be a little boring, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it offered more than just stodgy finance reports and stock graphs. I especially enjoy the Personal Journal section that covers a wide range of topics pertinent to everyone. I believe this paper could be a great benefit to our readers, especially in these times when keeping abreast of all news and information on the economy is so important.

The WSJ is delivered 6 days a week and is packed full of interesting news (both national and international) and useful information on business and personal finance, investing and more:

• Summaries of breaking stories, coupled with 24/7 online updates.
• Expert insight on the market and economy and how both can impact your everyday finances and personal investments.
• Expanded coverage of major global stories, political events, medical breakthroughs and emerging technologies.
• Arts, food & wine, real estate, travel bargains, and weekend getaways.

Ways To Enter

Do each of the following once for 1 chance to win. (For every 1 you do, you earn 1 entry. The Email Subscription earns 2 entries.)

Please leave a comment to let me know which entry method(s) you used.

Please make sure you read the Contest Terms below.

• Leave a comment on this post stating your 2009 financial resolutions or goals.
• Subscribe to our RSS feed and leave a comment below to let you know you did so, or
• for 2 entries instead of 1, Subscribe to our email feed and leave a comment here using the same email address with which you subscribed. (All current email subscribers gain an automatic entry.)
• Blog about this contest and link to it from your blog. Leave me a comment here to let me know.
• Follow me on twitter – @PenelopePince. Leave a comment here with your twitter username.
  
• Tweet about this contest and leave a comment to let me know you did so.
• Vote for this post in Tip’d, PF Buzz or another medium and leave a comment here.
• Bonus Entries: Leave comments on other posts on our blog. If you’re new to our blog, visit our archives for our earlier posts, which are some of the best we have produced. The comment(s) must show some thought and not just “I agree” or “Great idea.” Come back to this post and let me know which post(s) you commented on. Each approved comment will gain you an additional entry.
• If you like contests, be sure to check out  Single Guy Money’s $100 Target or Walmart Gift Card Giveaway.

Contest Terms

• We’re sorry, but this particular reward from my survey company is only available to new subscribers to the Wall Street Journal in the contiguous U.S., so we apologize to any readers from Hawaii or Alaska and those who have already subscribed to the WSJ in the past. If you have been a subscriber in the past, you are not eligible to receive this free subscription. We will hold other contests soon.
• The contest begins now and ends at 11:59PM EST on January 24, 2009. Comments to this post will be closed at this time.
• 1 winner will be randomly selected using a random integer generator at random.org.
• We will contact the winner via the email address used to comment here.
• The winner will have 4 days to respond with necessary contact information for the subscription. We will send a 2nd notification email after 2 days if we have not heard back.
• If the winner does not respond after 4 days, a new winner will be selected from amongst the entrants.
• If this prize happens to go out of stock from our reward provider at the end of the contest period (though it shouldn’t), we will offer a replacement prize.

Prize Terms

• Again, this particular offer from my rewards program is only available to new subscribers to the WSJ. If you are already a subscriber or have subscribed in the past, you are not eligible to receive this prize. We are sorry, but we will run other contests soon.
• It may take 6-8 weeks for the first issue to arrive.
• Your WSJ will be delivered 6 days a week by postal mail or early morning carrier depending on your location.
• While we will do our best to ensure proper initiation of your subscription, we are not liable for non-delivery due to:
  • Incorrect mailing and contact information provided by the winner
  • Ineligibility of the winner to qualify for the subscription
  • Loss or error on the part of the postal service or delivery personnel
  • Any other matter beyond our control
• Any issues with the delivery of the subscription will have to be addressed to the Wall Street Journal.

Don’t be scared off by these terms. We didn’t have any problems with our subscription. In fact, we began receiving our issues within a week or two of starting our subscription and have learned a lot from it.

Good luck to all and happy new year!

Related posts:

• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #14
• Friday Fun: Calvin and Hobbes Lemonade Stand Economics Lesson & WSJ Giveaway Reminder
• How I Got a Free Subscription to the Wall Street Journal
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #15
• Wall Street Journal Giveaway Winner and Carnivals of the Week