20 something finances carnival

It’s with great pleasure that Control Your Cash welcomes you to this week’s blog carnival. But instead of crooked midway games, sugary funnel cakes, and the unmistakable aroma of goat manure, we’ve got sound financial planning stratagems. Which beats puking on the Tilt-a-Whirl any day of the week.

Thinking about destroying your life for the next 7 years? There’s a better way – replete with an exclamation point. The Smarter Wallet presents Avoid Bankruptcy! Information To Help You Stay Afloat.

If you’ve got disposable income, you’ve got investable income. And the potential to build good habits for a lifetime. Even if you’re young, inexperienced, and eating cold spaghetti out of a can. The Investor presents Seven ways to invest in the stock market when you’ve got no money at Monevator.com.

It’s your first time, and you want it to be special. Something you’ll never forget. Few rookie homebuyers buy too little home, but plenty buy too much. David Weliver presents What Percentage of Income Can You Afford for Mortgage Payments? at Money Under 30.

April believes in doing things as early as possible. In fact, her name used to be May. She presents Lighting a Fire: How to Overcome Procrastination at Get Rich Slowly.

Use your electric company to your advantage. (After all, it is called a “utility.”) Hank posts Save Hundreds of Dollars With a Free Online Home Energy Audit at Own The Dollar.

What does $25 get you these days? In the Buckeye State, on the road to financial security. Madison presents $25 More for Ohio 529 Accounts at My Dollar Plan.

If you thought all the 4-letter URLs are gone, think again. Matthew Paulson presents Buxr-The website for shopping deals on and offline at Fine-Tuned Finances.

If you’re dumb enough to have a credit-card balance, at least minimize the self-inflicted punishment. Mike @ GLBL presents Balance Transfer APR 0 Credit Cards – How To Get Out Of Credit Card Debts at TheCreditToolBox.com.

You can try bribing the folks at Experian, but it’s probably illegal and won’t work anyway. PT presents 5 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score at Prime Time Money.

Some money-saving axioms are universal. They even work when your currency is beaver pelts and seal meat. Tom Drake presents Pay Yourself First at The Canadian Finance Blog.

They’re not car loans, they’re “auto loan financing options”. Read what’s sure to be an exciting post at Compare Auto Loan Financing Options Before Buying A Car at Banker Saver.

Some people think the stock market is completely unregulated and has you at its mercy. Not quite. Learn How The SIPC Protects Investors From Broker Bankruptcy at Investing Toolkit.

Diversify, diversify, diversify – the most important criterion in real estate exchange-traded funds. Manshu presents Real Estate ETF List at OneMint.

Some posts are self-explanatory and don’t require an introduction. To wit,

3 Different Stocks for 3 Different Strategies at stock investing tips.

Still using a regular old stockbroker? How very 19^th century of you. Read TradeKing vs OptionsXpress – Online Stock Broker Comparison at Investing School, and then sell your positions in Trans-Atlantic Zeppelin, Inc. and Amalgamated Spats.

You can’t get enough of those ETFs. Aussie Investor presents Exchange Traded Funds – ETF Investing In Australia at Australian Investing. Read about a simple and cheap way to diversify.

Now here’s something refreshingly frank and honest. Dave Damron presents Top 9 Ways I F***** Myself Over in College at LifeExcursion. Learning from someone else’s mistakes is way more fun than making your own.

From our “Does this dress make me look fat?” file, there’s Do I Need Debt Advice? at One Advice. Because it’s not the debt you carry, it’s your capacity for carrying it.

Index funds are simple, diverse, and therefore for everyone, right? Not necessarily. Read Index Funds – When NOT to Use Them at Retirement Savior and find our why other types of mutual funds might suit you better.

Childless women, your time will come. Until then, Jonathan Martin presents Negotiating for Moms at The Negotiation Board.

Sure, refraining from driving on the sidewalk is one way, but what’s the fun in that? Travis presents Four Ways to Lower Auto Insurance at Christian Money Mountain.

You don’t get paid what you’re worth. Sorry, but it’s true. You get paid what you can get out of an employer. nissim ziv presents How to Negotiate a Salary: Negotiation Tips, Questions & Expectations at Job Interview Guide.

What do you put where? Find out at Personal Finance Capital Allocation at 20s Money.

Savings accounts? Those are for children. Tom Tessin shows you how to earn more with The Benefits of a Money Market Account at FCC Student Blog.

They’re not exciting, but that’s kind of the point. Indulge your cautious side with Tax-Free Municipal Bonds at ABCs of Investing.

Retirement used to be a brief period between work and death. It doesn’t have to be that way. Super Saver presents Early Retirement Forum at My Wealth Builder.

Thank you, J. Savings, for saying what needed to be said. One of the biggest problems on Earth is a lack of candor – especially with regard to money. Check out Talking Finances With Friends & Family at Budgets are Sexy., and together let’s remove personal finance from the realm of the taboo.

Another wonderfully explicitly titled post is 3 Ways To Save Money Without Sacrificing Insurance Coverage at Billeater.

Finally, jim shows you how to say the words the Federal Housing Administration is dying to hear with FHA Mortgage Loan Requirements Guide at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

That concludes this edition, as the carnival pulls up its stakes and leaves town for another exciting destination next week. Submit your article to the next edition of twenty something finances using the carnival submission form. You’ll find old posts and future hosts at the blog carnival index page.