295th Carnival of Personal Finance: 7 deadly personal finance sins edition
Updated: 2011-02-28 22:16:42
Welcome to the 295th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance, a weekly roundup of the best personal finance blog posts on the Web. This week's theme is the seven deadly sins of personal finance. From lusting after unnecessary expenses to slothfully letting debt grow, we're all a little guilty of financial transgressions from time to time.
This week's theme is the seven deadly sins of personal finance. From lusting after unnecessary expenses to slothfully letting debt grow, we're all a little guilty of financial transgressions from time to time.
: Living with credit 356 New , interesting products 88 Research , regulation , industry reports 212 Rewards 34 Protecting yourself 136 The fine print 59 Credit card miscellany 342 Add category 1 Celebrity Money Watch 1 Print Email Emily's list : Starbucks mobile app edition Emily Starbuck Gerson February 25, 2011 Living with credit It's no secret that mobile technology is the future of payments . In 2009, we wrote that mobile payments are the next frontier In 2010, we wrote about the trend of mobile payments gaining momentum and the options widening . Now , in 2011, Starbucks has taken a step forward that may ignite even more popularity with mobile payments . And no , I have no connection to the company . I just learned that in late January , Starbucks announced a new smart phone app for
Living with credit 352 New , interesting products 86 Research , regulation , industry reports 212 Rewards 33 Protecting yourself 135 The fine print 58 Credit card miscellany 338 Add category 1 Celebrity Money Watch 1 Print Email Attention personal finance bloggers the carnival is coming here Dan Ray February 2, 2011 Living with credit Just a quick note to let the personal finance bloggers in the audience know that Taking Charge has been selected to host next week's version of the Carnival of Personal Finance It will be the 295th edition of the weekly carnival , making it one of the oldest and certainly the most widely known in its genre . We've hosted four previous editions We'll be going live with it Monday morning , Feb . 7. As is traditional , we've chosen a theme for it , and while I
Sure, credit cards enable all kinds of fun activities -- such as buying more stuff you don't really need and paying bills online. Super awesome! But until now, payment cards have failed to help with some of the most basic tasks, such as shaving, picking locks and holding people at knifepoint. Thanks to the latest collection of card-sized gadgets, however, credit cards finally are becoming the everyday tools they were always meant to be.Take a gander at this latest assortment of credit card gadgets, and I'm sure you'll agree. 
: Living with credit 355 New , interesting products 88 Research , regulation , industry reports 212 Rewards 33 Protecting yourself 135 The fine print 58 Credit card miscellany 341 Add category 1 Celebrity Money Watch 1 Print Email Emily's list : Rising costs edition Emily Starbuck Gerson February 18, 2011 Living with credit The good news The Fed is now more optimistic about 2011, predicting that the economy will grow by 3.4 percent to 3.9 percent , according to Time The bad news Food and clothing prices are going to rise much higher . Time published another article that says we can all expect clothing prices to go up 10 percent in the spring even though clothing prices dropped in the past decade . Price tags will get even higher in the second half of the year . The cost of cotton has
The weather was a mess. Cabbies went on strike, making it tough to get around. And worst of all, her most hated team won the championship.
But none of that mattered to Susie Supalo. Her trip to the Super Bowl -- earned by redeeming more than 300,000 rewards points from her NFL credit card -- was still a thrill.
: Living with credit 352 New , interesting products 87 Research , regulation , industry reports 212 Rewards 33 Protecting yourself 135 The fine print 58 Credit card miscellany 339 Add category 1 Celebrity Money Watch 1 Print Email Emily's list : Frozen pipes edition Emily Starbuck Gerson February 4, 2011 Living with credit Brrrrrr . It's cold outside We've had our coldest week of the year this week here in Austin , Texas . I didn't remember to leave my faucets dripping on Tuesday night , and I woke up on Wednesday with no hot water . That evening , it was still not back on , so I had to heat a few large pots of water on the gas stove and use this to rinse off in the bath a la 1800s . It was very difficult to wash my long hair , and it made me extremely grateful for our convenient ,
: Living with credit 355 New , interesting products 88 Research , regulation , industry reports 212 Rewards 33 Protecting yourself 135 The fine print 58 Credit card miscellany 341 Add category 1 Celebrity Money Watch 1 Print Email Emily's list : It's my birthday edition Emily Starbuck Gerson February 11, 2011 Living with credit Today , I turn 26 years old . At age 25 and under , I feel like it's easy to still consider yourself a young adult , or even a kid . Now that I'm above 25, I feel like I'm truly in adult-land . That's probably a good thing , considering I'm now on a budget and getting married next . month Looking back , I've learned a lot this past year . The budget initiative was a huge step and has made me feel much more like a grown-up . Thanks to my responsible future husband ,
Today and tomorrow, and for the first time in history, Girl Scout cookie buyers in Point Loma, Calif., and in northeast Ohio will be able to use their credit cards to get those treasured Thin Mints or savory Samoas.
Saturday Weekly Link Round Up 2 February 26, 2011 by bhazelton on February 26, 2011 I’m a little late to the party this week with the Weekly Link Round up , making it a Saturday CreditCardAssist.com round-up . instead Nevertheless , some more great posts this week from some of my favorite bloggers out there on how to live without caffeine ugh avoiding crap sales , what newborns teach us about money and the origin of the phrase F You . Money” Here we go Living Without Caffeine Such a timely post from Amber at Blonde Balanced I just wrote last week about a post from Steve over at BripBlap.com on Living a Soda Free Existence” . Living without diet soda isn’t as big of a deal as living without the caffeine . I’m not there yet working my way toward a caffeine AND soda free . existence Real
Shell Gas Stations Accidentally Double-Billed Cardholders by Tisha Tolar on February 23, 2011 Shell Gas is urging consumers to recheck their monthly credit card statements after a network glitch double-charged card users at their retail gas stations . Very typical of the type of technology snafu that can happen with computer networks , this recent incident with Shell , however , was enormously . widespread During the last week of January 2011, there was a power outage on the specialized network that Shell uses to process credit cards for customers . Designed to provide security for transactions , the network functions by storing each payment made at the gas pump terminal and processing it once the access to the network comes online . During the late January power outage , customers’
Impact of APR’s On Your Personal Financial Success by Tisha Tolar on February 21, 2011 It seems like the only APR references consumers actually pay attention to are the ones involving 0 right While APR is the essence of all things finance-related , those three little letters stand for so much more than just annual percentage rate . Understanding the impact and the ramifications of your APR’s on your mortgages , car loans and credit cards is absolutely critical to personal financial . success What Impact Do APR’s Have The ongoing APR on your credit cards is the amount of interest rate you’ll pay on the total balance you carry over after the billing cycle ends . It seems , at first glance , a pretty easy calculation but in reality it’s . not For instance , for any one credit card there are
BripBlap.com Best Of The Best Blogger Series by bhazelton on February 20, 2011 The first in our inaugural Best of The Best” blogger profiling series is BripBlap.com I first stumbled across BripBlap.com about six months ago while researching some of the top blogs in the personal finance category . While BripBlap.com might be considered a personal finance blog , it’s much , much more than that . What distinguishes BripBlap is the quality of the content . BripBlap’s creator , Steve Schoenly , covers a range of subject matter that is diverse yet compelling and he tends to go very deep on his topic selection , covering his personal thoughts on losing weight how to broaden and diversify income sources outside of your job , and my personal favorite , how and why you should live a soda free
Your Credit Account Has Gone To Collections Now What by Tisha Tolar on February 19, 2011 Rarely do consumers rack up massive debt intending to default on their obligations . From time to time , however , financial hardships arise that make it all but impossible to make even the minimum payment . Missing just one payment often has a cascading effect , leading to missing even more and more . payments Eventually , after lots of phone calls , letters and threats , your creditors will eventually cease their collection efforts and write off” the balance by selling your obligations to a collection agency , but that can be a long arduous process for you and your family . If your credit account has already gone to collections or has been long since past due , what should you do , if anything The
Friday’s Weekly Link Round Up February 18, 2011 by bhazelton on February 18, 2011 As usual , Friday’s Round-Up for CreditCardAssist.com aka CCA is yet another nice mash-up of various topics more of my favorite stuff from some of my very favorite . bloggers We’ve got some link love to some killer posts on topics that cover beer as insecticide , getting hit in the face with a baseball bat and living to tell about it and how admitting you’re wrong , even when you’re right , can make for a much happier . marriage Here we . go Use Beer To Get Rid of Pests This recent post from Danusia on Wise Bread is my top pick of the week . I just couldn’t help myself with this one . Beer has such great utility , such great usefulness and now you’re telling me it can get rid of cockroaches and mice You had
As we reported here over the last year, the UK Government has been clamping down on the student visa process for those looking to come into the UK. The new processes that have been brought in were designed to close up holes that the government thought existed and were being exploited by individuals to get [...]
Eliminating Credit Card Debt For Just Pennies Really by Tisha Tolar on February 17, 2011 Who hasn’t heard the radio-voiced announcers promising to let you in on the secrets of settling your credit card debts for mere pennies on the dollar What about the ads proclaiming the President of the United States himself can help you resolve credit card debts It all sounds way too good to be true right But is there any truth to this notion that credit card debts can be settled for a fraction of the cost Is it really possible to get that debt paid off for pennies on the dollar Really Facing the Facts The first reality every consumer needs to understand and accept is that when it comes to debt , especially credit card debts , there is no fairy godmother coming to save the day . Eliminating debt
5 Easiest Targets For Identity Thieves by bhazelton on February 14, 2011 Want to know the inside secrets that make an identity thief tick They may seem like shadowy figures , but you’re probably are more interested in what they may have to say about keeping you and your financial information . protected In an intruguing interview , former identity thief Dan DeFelippi talks about the ins and outs of how the identity-stealing game . works Here are five of the easiest targets for identity thiefs and tips you can use to protect . yourself Watch Who You Give Your Card To DeFelippi would purchase other people’s credit card information through an exchange hosted on the web . Where did the data come from Some came from hackers who cracked open computer databases of information , while it also was
Getting the Most Out of Your Gas Rebates by Tisha Tolar on February 11, 2011 Gas prices have leveled out recently but it doesn’t mean that consumers can still easily afford the cost associated with travel by car and weekly . commutes In fact , recent polls indicate that many families are forgoing vacations altogether because of the gas prices . Gas rebate and gas rewards cards are still options to help save consumers money across the . board When looking to get the most out of any new credit card that offers gas purchase incentives , there are some things you need to consider : including Terms and Conditions You need to understand the terms and conditions of each credit card you review before selecting the right one for you . All cards have fine print information which outline the