The first edition of 30s and 40s Personal Finances: Wealth Accumulation Carnival

Welcome to the first edition of 30s and 40s Personal Finances: Wealth Accumulation Carnival!

I’m very grateful to noble 20 contributors who have submitted postings for our first edition.

I’d like to give special thanks to Moomin Valley and Barry Barnitz for the first two submissions to the Carnival

As this is our first run, I’ll keep things fairly simple:

INVESTING

From Moomin Valley this posting discusses the very small size of small cap funds and their investments relative to other funds and equities.

Barry Barnitz writes a very interesting post explaining the original financial research behind Modern Portfolio Theory; i.e. equities in combination with fixed debt instruments lessen reduce the effective risk of the equities (which are usually riskier).

Empty Spaces presents Investment Pimps posted at Adventures in Money Making. Money Shaker describes the unattractive deals high pressure investment promoters push – please be wary!

Rich presents Darn, The Market's Rising posted at Be Reasonable by Rich E. Obscure. Wherein poor Rich bemoans the lack of buying opportunities in a rising market – as well as reminds us that falling markets are indeed less to worry about than one would think (if you have time).

Paul Smith, a member of our Australian contingent (Moomin another member) presents Quick Analysis of 0 -10c stocks with PE under 10 posted at Investing using Fundamentals on the Aussie StockMarket. Paul performs a survey of inexpensive Australian stocks with low PE ratios. Helpful for those investing low down under.

David E. presents Everything You Need to Know About Financial Success in Less than 100 Words posted at Worldwide Success. David E. has a very nice review of Scott Adams (author of Dilbert) key thoughts on savings and wealth building. Like other unexpected voices of economic reason, it’s quite good.

Jonathan Lambert presents How To Avoid Cracking Your Nest Egg posted at Wise Bread Personal Finance. Jonathan discusses the vulnerability our brokerage accounts are to on-line fraud and theft. Very interesting.

Debt Blog presents Get In On Great Companies Without Paying A Fortune posted at Debt Free. Debt Blog discusses how to buy stock directly from a company rather than through a broker. Quite interesting.

Makingourway discusses Contribution Limits for Those With Multiple Retirement Plans. A straightforward discussion on maximum retirement savings when you combine multiple retirement accounts.

CAREERS

Super Saver presents Could Your Job Become Extinct? posted at My Wealth Builder. Super Saver lists 5 signs that might be indicators your job is next.

RETIREMENT PLANNING

Madame X presents Are You Saving TOO MUCH for Retirement? posted at My Open Wallet. An intriguing conversation that questions the common wisdom that most people over 51 years old do not have enough wealth to retire – X then applies the findings to her personal situation (while in her 30s) – should she plan to save less later?

BUDGETING

Steve Leung presents When Not to Buy a House posted at Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog. Steve reminds us that there are times when we are simply not ready to buy a house, despite the potential capital gains and lifestyle improvement. Very good points.

Ranjan presents Budgeting is for Sissies; Millioaires Don't Need Budgeting posted a tMusings on Money, Business, Finance and Investments. Ranjan discusses key tips on budgeting – even if he doesn’t believe in it!

Erek Ostrowski presents Getting Out of Debt (Part 1) posted at Verve Coaching. Erek has an interesting discussion of the psychology of indebtedness.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Hapless Home Buyer?s Guide posted at Mad Kane's Humor Blog. Mad has a funny discussion on how to negotiate and buy a house. Odd that it’s appeared in so many carnivals. Do we need a recycling policy here? Some things are good to recycle like plastics, but other things, like chewing gum, well, you get the point.

SIDE BUSINESSES

Lazy Man and Money presents Alternative Income Streams Progress - February 2007 posted at Lazy Man and Money. Lazy Man discusses his evolving personal income stream and how far he needs to go to achieve economic independence. I’m impressed how much his blogging income actually pays for – most of his utilities, cable and a burger!! Read on to learn more.

SAVING

Bryan C. Fleming presents Million Dollar Savings Club Update: Week 5 posted at Bryan C. Fleming. Brian gives us an update on his wonderful savings club – feels like group motivation for weight loss (hmmm I could use that) – actually it’s a great idea and nicely done!

Queer Cents presents Are You Prepared to Lose Your Job? posted at Queer cents. Do you have enough saved away in case you lose your job or primary income source – a very good question – I personally wonder if high earners are at the greatest lifestyle risk.

Mr Credit Card presents Personal Finance Issues in Mid Life posted at Ask Mr Credit Card's Blog. Mr. Credit Card analyzes his various competing savings requirements and determines that he needs more income. In order to do so he believes he needs to not diversify his investments to seek larger gains. It’s a very interesting discussion; one I fear will end in tragic results. The anecdotal evidence seldom provides a balanced perspective; i.e. survivorship bias makes concentrated investment efforts seem less risky. I recommend Malkiel’s Random Walk Down Wall Street.

TC presents Simple Living - 25 ways to save money posted at InvestmentsLoans.net. A quick sweet list of 25 money saving ideas. Quite good. BTW, I think a Super = Superannuity (think foreign 401k).