this week’s carnival weekly roundup

• EDITOR’s PICK!! carnival of money stories #80 — 2200 for little brother
• festival of frugality #146 — DIY clothesline from (past) hobbies
• carnival of financial resources #1 — 43things to further your financial goals
  
• money hacks carnival #34 — new accounts with everbank, schwab
• EDITOR’s PICK!! finance fiesta #20 — a freelance switch ?
• rich life carnival #15 — socializing is good for your wealth
  

wow, 2 editors’ picks in one week!  i must be doing something right!  this is heartwarming indeed.

dbn round-up

every week, the Debt Bloggers Network team and i each put together our own weekly ’roundups’ of one another’s posts that we found interesting and/or useful.  since there are so many posts of the others’ that i have yet to read, i enjoy selecting a random month in the archives or a tag, and seeing what interesting articles abound.

at how i save money, i came across lulugal’s earlier review on lending club, a community based lending-borrowing operation.  the interest rates can be significantly lower than the rates with one’s credit cards, depending.

she mentions that she successfully received a loan, and was able to use that to pay off her higher interest credit cards.  this sounds like a good move for lulugal, as she did receive lower rates through the lending program.

i had considered doing this through prosper, where i do have an account.  (prosper is similar to lending club.)  before i decided whether or not to go through with it though, i ended up taking advantage of a 0% balance transfer deal with a jo-anns fabrics credit card instead.

last spring, debt reduction formula wrote about selling his beloved bmw motorcycle in order to acquire some income to reduce his debt — by about $13,000.  if he’s like any other motorcyclist that i know, it must have been a difficult choice to make — motorcyclists love their bikes.  i know that it would not make me happy at all to sell my motorcycle.  but then again, it’s also because that is my only mode of transport.

but wow, if my bike was worth $13,000 i might sell it, to happily pay off my consumer and personal loans!  i could make that sacrifice.  perhaps sell it, buy a much cheaper bike, use the proceeds left over to pay for debt.  but alas, my bike is only worth $3k at the moment.

a few months ago, anna at on a quest to be debt free wrote about how credit cards are for emergencies.  i agree with her immensely, although i will qualify this by saying the following: there are some of us that can ‘be trusted’ to be careful and/or smart with credit cards and their use, while there are those who too easily abuse them.  i would count myself in the latter group.  it is those in the latter group that treating credit cards for emergencies would most benefit.

i canceled my credit cards several months ago.  then i got a card under my SO’s account, due to his concern over whether i would have a convenient and immediate financial resource in case of emergencies.  aside from one pseudo-’emergency’, i have not yet had to use it for either emergencies or day-to-day expenses.  but it’s there in my wallet just in case.  (note: i did end up acquiring a new credit card a month ago in order to move my consumer debt with 16% interest on a 0% balance transfer for half a year.)

i’m thinking about which of my own posts this week might be my favorite. a freelance switch? resonated strongly with me because thoughtfully considering whether i leave my job or not in order to pursue working for myself is important.  however, i suspect my post on watching your expenditures, would be most useful to readers.

pf blogosphere roundup

elsewhere in the pf blogging writing and reading community, i encountered many interesting ideas and stories.

through connie crater’s review post, i came across this story on a video game about credit cards. i was intrigued by the premise.  apparently, the program is part of a campaign to help 18-24 year olds take control of their finances and credit cards.  it seems to have been rated ok, but not fabulously.  i played the game online for a few minutes out of curiosity.  it was a bit amusing for a little while.

given that lately i have been preoccupied by the notion of freelancing, encountering until debt do us part’s article on alternative income, internet-job-versus-internet-business was quite timely for me.  it is interesting because it’s true there is a distinction between a job and a business — my attempt at selling my crochet online would be an attempt at a second income via an internet business.  on the other hand,
the desire to dive into freelancing in lieu of my current full-time day job would be more or less an internet job, where i am selling/employing my services as a web programmer online.

the quest to find a job and work on the internet can be challenging.  however, luckily for blogger mary at simplyforties, freelancing as a paralegal works very well for her.  she has been successful in acquiring internet jobs, although she concedes there are downsides to this lifestyle choice.  intrigued, i have interviewed her recently, and will be posting the exchange in the near future.

continuing along this subject matter of home-based businesses, i found the write to right article, finding one’s niche for home business opportunities relevant and potentially useful.  in particular, i was intrigued by the following suggestion:

“Action: Narrow down your topics to three areas based on which three people you enjoy the most.”

by ‘topics’, the author is referring to one’s passions.  when i saw the ‘three people’ part, it was easy — two close friends and my SO.  i enjoy them for many reasons, but one of them is that they are extremely supportive of my writing passions.  what an interesting way to determine one’s pursuits!

i came across marc and angel’s article, 11 practical ways to spend your money.  i found that the list contained sound and agreeable suggestions.  i found #3,4,and 11 very practical.  what really resonated with me was #7:

Upgrade Something You Use Regularly – There is nothing wrong with splurging on a practical item that you actually use on a regular basis.  If you are a hardcore movie buff that loves to watch movies on Saturday nights with your family and friends, having a 60 inch HDTV and a Blue-ray player makes sense.  If you love computer games, purchasing a powerhouse desktop gaming rig makes sense.  The idea is to never waste money on stuff you don’t use.  Spending money on upgrading your hobbies is one of the reasons you work so hard in the first place.

i often times feel a bit guilty in spending money where i may not ‘need’ to, but where i really, really want to, because i believe it would be supporting an enjoyable interest that i have.  for instance, purchasing additional yarn or tools to continue with my crocheting.  but it makes very much sense that if you’re intending to use those items regularly (like the tools), wouldn’t it make sense to purchase quality items that may last  long time, and will enhance your experience in using them?

i have been putting off purchasing a wooden/bamboo-made crochet hook because of the fact that a) i already have an aluminum one of that size, and b) it costs a few dollars more.  however, the wooden one is lighter in weight, which is supposedly easier on one’s hands and fingers.  additionally, there are ’stress gloves’ that i have been putting off purchasing due to their price.  but if i were to purchase them, it could potentially minimize the inflamation that a few of my fingers experience due to much crocheting.

i encountered fire finance’s article on a case study on early retirement.  it is about a woman named madison who retired at 29 due to sound money management since early in her youth.  i applaud her smarts and am envious of the support of her family in achieving financial security and independence.  i sent the story to 2 of my younger brothers in case they might find her story intriguing.

on the other hand, a comment i read from the post caught my interest:

Anonymous said…

Wait a minute!

Mom quits her job to stay home with the kids, while Dad keeps working…. and you call that “retirement”?

Heck, by that definition my wife “retired early” 10 years ago, but we sure don’t feel retired when I go to work every day.

I appreciate the effort in trying to find ordinary folks who have “retired early” from typical 9-5 white-collar jobs … but you are going to have to try again.

i have to admit i found anonymous’ protestations to be good points.  the arrangement does seem that way — that the woman is really just staying at home to take care of the kids, while the husband is still working.  they still have young children.  however, according to the story, the husband wants to be working, but he doesn’t have to be.  the children’s college funds are ready, and they can all live off of madison’s passive income.

the post, things to consider before getting married at dumb little man, was useful to me.  as i had commented at the post:

the majority of your points resonate with me greatly.

however, i think the most intriguing one at this point in my life is the ‘plan’ point. how timely! the SO recently had approached me with, ’sooo.. i think maybe we should come up with a plan for the whole no-longer-living-with-roommates thing’, to which i heartily agreed. (we currently live with roommates in the house, but hopefully not forever!) communicating about plans helps to gauge the strength/stability of the partnership, and helps to distill doubts/misunderstandings about what is to come (or not) in the time ahead together.

certainly having plans is important for many other facets of one’s life as well.

the SO and i have pretty much covered everything in the list, although we don’t plan to be getting married any time very soon.  however, the ‘plan’ point i am referring to went as follows:

The plan: In talking to people, it became pretty apparent that their initial goals were in line but after the kids are born and careers take off, there is a fork in the road. I agree that all plans change and there is no way to write a script for your marriage but a lot of the confusion can be removed by having a 1, 3, 6 and 9 year plan. You should have this conversation now and then revisit it all the time. This does not mean you only review goals at these intervals. These are simply due dates.

I am often questioned as to why 1,3,6,9.

• 1 Year Plan: This one is obvious. After the wedding, where will you live, where will you eventually live. Who handles what, what is the combined income, what can we afford etc.
  
• At 3 years: You are no longer newlyweds and you are perhaps considering kids. Heck, you may already have a kid at this point. You need a plan for that, a plan for who works, who stays home, what type of daycare, etc. This is also around the time that your first condo or “couple’s house” loses it appeal. What kind of house do we want? Where? Can we afford that? How are the schools? What is Plan B if someone gets fired? Do we know what utilities cost?
  
• 6 years: We have all heard of the 7 year itch. Therefore, it stands to reason that you have a plan set with a deadline of 6 years. Where do you want the marriage to be in 6 years? Communication habits, sex life, careers…everything. Talk about it now and periodically consider making adjustments based on the the success of your approach. Plans are meant to be changed.
  
• 9 years: Again, where do you want to the marriage to be in 9 years? Why? What will life be like? How many kids will we have by then? Are we sending them to public school? What if someone’s parent dies?

although i am stating the obvious, having a plan is important!

at the beginning of this year, cash money life wrote, your greatest asset is your ability to create income.  the title is great — it certainly caught my eye.  this article was inviting because as mentioned earlier, i have been struggling with the idea of income in the form of being employed versus freelancing.  also i have been thinking about various ways i could add to my income, for instance by way of my crocheting.

patrick talks about how your ability to make income is a more useful/important way to gauge one’s financial health, and that one’s house and other assets can not compare to the value of this ability.  he has a great point bringing this topic up, and it gives me hope for 2 reasons:

1. i recently discovered that my financial net worth is quite sad and may be embarrassing
2. encourages me to perceive my occupations and putting talents to profitable use in a more positive/promising light

i like what i found at mrs.micah’s article, you are not on sale: if a customer threatens to go to somewhere/one else for cheaper services (if you don’t give in to their demands to give them a discount), you can remind them that they are paying for quality service with you.  when i finally do jump into freelancing, i promise myself and my potential clients that i will indeed offer quality work each and every time, and my prices will be worthwhile.

thanks for reading!

please feel free to share in the comments of similar articles that you encountered i might also enjoy.