Welcome to the fifth edition of 30s and 40s personal finances carnival - wealth accumulation - March 7, 2007

Welcome to the March 7, 2007 edition of 30s and 40s personal finances -
wealth accumulation!

This week's carnival is not just our biggest yet, but also a special carnival dedicated to Wenchypoo for her generous posting contributions. Rather than string them out over time, here they all are! Thank you Wenchypoo.

Budgeting

Makingourway presents Do We Really Take Advantage of Our Loyalty Programs? posted at makingourway, saying, "What should a road warrior do with all those extra travel points from various hotel, airline and credit card mileage programs?"

Steve Leung presents When Not to Buy a House posted at 1SiliconValley.com, saying, "You've probably heard all the perks about buying a house and how it's the centerpiece of the American Dream. But the American Dream is less about possessing the house itself than the improvement you expect in your lifestyle when you own a home. Here are five times when you shouldn't buy a house."

Wenchypoo presents Making Pay Cuts Work for You posted at Mental Wastebasket.

FMF presents The Best Financial Advice Ever posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "Gereral personal finance tips."

Matthew Paulson presents Ten Ways to Start Spending Less Money This Week - Getting Green posted at Getting Green.

Career Growth

Wenchypoo presents “Show Me the Money!” posted at Mental Wastebasket.

Estate Planning

Wenchypoo presents The Ninth Wonder of the World: The S-T-R-E-T-C-H ... posted at Mental Wastebasket.

Family

Mr Credit Card presents Credit Cards for Teenagers? posted at Ask Mr Credit Card's Blog.

Wenchypoo presents The Perils of Stocking Up posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket, saying, "After years of being frugal and stocking up on sales, I finally found good reasons to switch to a "just-in-time" pantry."

Investing

Praveen presents My Simple Trading System: My Stock Trading System posted at My Simple Trading System.

Wenchypoo presents What Do They Really Know That You Don't? posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket, saying, "From the 2005 collection--back when Larry Kudlow was a regular on the daily CNBC lineup. Now he has his own show, and is still (more or less) spouting lame investment advice, or getting his guests to do it for him!"

Wenchypoo presents This Lazy Woman's Investment Method (L-O-N-G) posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

Wenchypoo presents Market Forecasting is Like Fly Fishing (L-O-N-G) posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

Wenchypoo presents Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket: Borrowing Wholesale to Buy Retail posted at Mental Wastebasket.

Ybother presents Top 10 Money Tips For Almost Everyone posted at TodaysTen.com: Daily Top Ten List to jumpstart your knowledge, saying, "10 easy to follow personal money tips that applies to almost everyone!"

Wilson Ng presents Cash Flow is King posted at Reflections of a BizDrivenLife, saying, "when you plan in starting a business, or even in planning your personal finance, one of the things to insure is not to run out of cash."

Steve Faber presents How The Wealthy Invest, And What You Can Learn From Them posted at DebtBlog.

H.S. Ayoub presents Best & Worst Healthcare and Biotech Mutual Funds posted at BioHealth Investor.

H.S. Ayoub presents biotech stocks, news, commentary - BioHealth Investor posted at BioHealth Investor.

Larry Russell presents Always completely diversify your portfolio posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog, saying, "Complete diversification is always a better idea. On average, the securities markets will not pay you to hold any skewed subset of the overall market. Doing so is just a gamble that may or may not pay off. You should not expect to be paid any more for the added risk and anxiety."

Retirement Planning

Madame X presents Are You Saving TOO MUCH for Retirement? posted at My Open Wallet.

Saving

Bryan C. Fleming presents Million Dollar Savings Club Update: Week 5 posted at Bryan C. Fleming.

Steve Leung presents How Far Would You Go To Lower Your Landscaping Costs? posted at 1SiliconValley.com, saying, "Six billion dollars. $6 billion. That's what Americans spend each and every year on caring for their lawns according to Warren Schultz, author of The Chemical-Free Lawn. But there is a growing trend among homeowners, particularly those with already precious little spare time and owners of investment properties. This trend involves words that get avid gardeners' blood boiling."

Mr Credit Card presents Personal Finance Issues in Mid Life posted at Ask Mr Credit Card's Blog, saying, "Hi - apologize for the late submission, but I saw this very late."

Paula presents Are You Prepared to Lose Your Job? posted at Queercents, saying, "No matter how secure you may think your job is, it could end tomorrow unexpectedly. We find that even their 30s and 40s, people are not prepared for this emergency? Queercents asked if you would find yourself screwed financially if it happened to you?"

tc presents Simple Living - 25 ways to save money posted at InvestmentsLoans.net.

Wenchypoo presents Skipping Nickels and Dimes for Bigger Savings (L-O-N-G) posted at Mental Wastebasket, saying, "I wrote this two years ago this month--it's packed with ways to save BIG instead of the little bits here and there we all learn as a matter of life's course."

Wenchypoo presents The Importance of Research and the Art of Negotiation posted at Mental Wastebasket, saying, "Also from the 2005 collection--about going into a transaction pre-armed with knowledge and information about the item in question. You already know you want to buy it--the only question is for how much."

Wenchypoo presents Operating Undercover: "Wealthy" in Disguise posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

Wenchypoo presents Your Savings is Going to a Better Place posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

Matthew Paulson presents The Lesser of Two Evils: PMI or a Piggyback Mortgage posted at Getting Green.

Wenchypoo presents How I Create (and Re-Create) My Own Kitchen Convenience posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

Wenchypoo presents Skipping EVEN MORE Nickels and Dimes for Bigger Savings (Long and Updated) posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket, saying, "Sorry--don't have kids."

Alex presents PMI Explained posted at The RE Forum, saying, "As the term PMI gets bandied about with ever-increasing frequency, many potential home buyers might not feel comfortable asking about the particulars."

Side Businesses

Lazy Man and Money presents Alternative Income Streams Progress - February 2007 posted at Lazy Man and Money, saying, "Thank you for your consideration"

Wenchypoo presents Welcome to the Underground Economy posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

Taxes

Wenchypoo presents The Uncut Version: Timeless Moves You Can Make to Maximize Your Future Earnings and/or Lessen Taxes posted at Mental Wastebasket, saying, "Also from the Feb. 2005 collection."

Wenchypoo presents Taxes and the Working Hostage...um, Person posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket, saying, "From the 2005 collection."

Wenchypoo presents Work and Shop Tax Free posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

Beau of Fox Haven presents Gifts and Taxation? Think about it beforehand! posted at Sushi Money, saying, "Hi- Thought this might fit for the Carnival this week/season. Hope you can use it. Thanks! Steve"

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of 30s and 40s personal finances - wealth accumulation using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags:

30s and 40s personal finances - wealth a, blog carnival.

The fourth edition of the 30s and 40s personal finances - wealth accumulation - February 28, 2007

Welcome to the February 28, 2007 edition of 30s and 40s personal finances - wealth accumulation.

Budgeting

Sagar Satapathy presents Avoiding the Debt Trap: 17 Hidden Tricks Lenders Use, and How to Avoid Them posted at Debt Consolidation Lowdown.

ISPF presents An Interview with SVB (The Digerati Life) and Tricia (Blogging Away Debt) posted at Grad Money Matters, saying, "This interview is a part of the "Ethics, Values and Personal Finance" week at Grad Money Matters. In this interview, the divas of the personal finance blogosphere share their views and experience in regards to "Ethics, Personal Finance and Women"."

Steve Leung presents Negative Equity: Heartache for Home Owners posted at 1SiliconValley.com, saying, "From mid-2005 to mid-2006, almost 50% of all first-time home buyers financed 100% of the transaction. That's right, half of all new home buyers put zero percent down. Now that we've seen the sequel to the movie "Buying on Margin" which bankrupted more than a few daytraders at the turn of the century, we need to talk about the concept of "negative equity.""

TC presents Does your Credit score matter? posted at Investments & Loans.

Career Growth

Alan presents Risk Taking - Living life to the fullest posted at Made to Be Great.

Investing

Makingourway presents Thoughts on Portfolio Construction posted at Makingourway, saying "Rick Ferri's All About Asset Allocation is a great book discussing the fundamentals of portfolio construction - the aggregate performance of your investments is different than their individual returns. Ferri introduces key concepts, fundamentals and easy steps toward building your own porfolio strategy. I discuss the key asset classes he identifies and how integrating them into your portfolio can increase returns - in some cases with minimal additional volatility."

FMF presents $10k Challenge: Maximize Your Investments posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "A simple 1% gain on your investments can make a big difference."

Kay Bell presents ID theft season posted at Don't Mess With Taxes, saying, "The good news: You've finally accumulated substantial assets. The bad news: It's probably easier than you think for an ID thieves to get their hands on it."

Rich presents Before the Crash: Buying Stocks With Debt posted at Queercents, saying, "Rich at Queercents saw a very disturbing analysis piece by Reuters news agency today, explaining how investors are borrowing money (because interest rates are very low right now) to buy stocks."

Larry Russell presents For individual investors, risk-free investment money is fantasy money posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog, saying, "Investments with low risk and high returns are just fantasies. No "risk-free" investment money is consistently and reliably available to individuals. Luck dominates skill in the securities markets. Clever investment selection is vastly over-hyped, and only the promoters tend to benefit. On average over long periods, investors get paid risk premiums, because they put their money at risk. If they control their costs, they get to keep most of these risk premiums."

Alex presents Refuting "Facts" at RealtyTimes.com posted at The RE Forum, saying, "Real estate news and trends, myth-busting, real estate taxes, real estate laws"

Retirement Planning

Wenchypoo presents Social Security Alternatives posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

Saving

David presents 10 Simple Ideas to Save Thousands of Dollars per Year posted at Worldwide Success.

Steve Faber presents 3 More Money Saving Ideas to Help You Get Debt Free posted at DebtBlog.

Side Businesses

Praveen presents Review of "The Rich Jerk" - Get It Free, Plus $1 posted at My Simple Trading System.

Taxes

Ralph Morgan presents Long Term Tax Planning posted at Enough Wealth.

Bill presents Saving On Taxes posted at Ask Uncle Bill, saying, "For the tax challenged."

moom presents Credit for Federal Telephone Excise Tax Paid posted at Moomin Valley.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Preparing Our Taxes Will Be A Cinch, Paying Them Won’t posted at The Digerati Life.

Super Saver presents An AMT Tax Benefit - Really posted at My Wealth Builder.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
30s and 40s personal finances - wealth accumulation using our
carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags:

30s and 40s personal finances - wealth a, blog carnival.

Call for submissions for the fourth Carnival of 30s and 40s Personal Finances

Please submit articles for the fourth edition of the Carnival of 30s and 40s Personal Finances. The deadline is February 27, 2007.

Articles emphasizing taxes are especially helpful in light of tax season approaching.

You can submit a blog posting using this form.

Details regarding the Carnival are found here.

Also, please keep an eye out for the Carnival of Networth coming Sunday Feb. 25, 2007. You can see more or post here.

The Third Edition of the 30s and 40s personal finances carnival - wealth accumulation - February 21, 2007

Welcome to the February 21, 2007 edition of 30s and 40s personal finances - wealth accumulation.

I continue to owe an appology to those that e-mailed me carnvial contributions directly. I've had quite a challenge incorporating blog contributions not stored on-line.

I believe the solution is to store the contributions receive by e-mail as draft posting (which I don't need to carry on the road) and to add the new contributions from blog carnival.

That said, I hope to post the original contributors who were not posted on the next edition (4th edition).

-makingourway

Budgeting

Erek Ostrowski presents Getting Out Of Debt (Part 2) posted at Verve Coaching.

David presents Get Out of Debt Now! posted at Worldwide Success, saying, "In this article we will explore ways to deal with debt and offer suggestions on how to eliminate or at least reduce your debt load."

Steve Leung presents Real Estate Myths Home Buyers Fall in Love With posted at 1SiliconValley.com, saying, "By challenging the reasoning behind some widely-held notions and remembering that your personal requirements are the key real estate decision process, you can gain more confidence in any decision you choose to make."

Sagar Satapathy presents Moolah Logic For Kids posted at Debt Consolidation LowdownThoughts on helping children develop good money habbits.

Career Growth

Steve Faber presents 5 Important Ways to Protect Yourself Against Job Loss posted at DebtBlog.

Walt presents Loud Actions and Quiet Words posted at Walt Nation!.

Elderly Parents

Super Saver presents Assisted Living - Pros and Cons posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, "Recently, I, along with many of my colleagues, have been experiencing the challenges of aging parents. In our discussions, we have concluded that our parents may have been better off, and likely in better health now, if assisted living was an option they would have considered."

Employee Benefits

TBH presents Companies want to retain parents in the workforce posted at tiredbuthappy.

Estate Planning

Calder presents Tidy up your estate now, for your family's sake posted at The loneliness of the home trader, saying, "Hi my first submission of blog to your carnival. I know you specifically asked for tax-related items, so you're welcome to omit this if you feel it's inappropriate.

As we begin a family and our children grow, our thoughts turn to providing for them if anything ever happens to us. But a will isn't the only thing we should prepare. We need to ensure that someone knows where the various investments are. Thanks Calder"

Sam presents A Living Trust Preserves Wealth for Your Family. posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, "A Living Trust Preserves Wealth for Your Family, But Not Everyone Needs It. Planning Can Avoid Probate. Sometimes we avoid estate planning, because we hope to live forever. But you may want to hedge your bet against the actuarial tables with some financial strategies for estate planning. A Living Trust will help preserve your hard-earned money for your family."

Family

Rebecca Newburn presents Asking ?Why?? Can Change Your Life and Transform Your Class posted at Information Age Education, saying, "Learn how to ask afforemations to change your life and your finances. It's fun and easy."

Frugal Duchess presents Is it Wrong to Pay Kids for Chores? posted at Sharon, saying, "To get our kids to do more around the house, my husband & I often link chores to allowances. But are we just bribing our kids to help clean up? In fact, a chores-for-allowance system is a bad move & I could be pushing my kids towards "financial illiteracy," according to The Financially Intelligent Parent, a book written by Eileen & Jon Gallo."

Investing

FMF presents Four Ways to Double Your Money in Five Years posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "Depending on how you look at it, you may be able to double your money in five years."

Jimmy Atkinson presents A Banking Revolution: The Top People-to-People Microlenders Reviewed posted at Ask the AdvisorA review of various people to people lending options for both investment gain and charitable fulfillment.

makingourway presents collectibles as an asset class posted at makingourway, saying, "posting discusses alternative asset classes beyond traditional investments."

Larry Russell presents Your financial planning and investing strategies should have a scientific basis posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog, saying, "Individuals are much better off with a well-considered financial viewpoint. A stable set of financial beliefs can help you to keep focused and on track throughout your life. This article discusses the need for these beliefs to be based upon financial practices that have been established scientifically."

Retirement Planning

Jake Danger presents Talking Back to Mr. Money: The Value of a Passive Income posted at Lunatic Wisdom - Life Beyond the Matrix.

Saving

Bryan C. Fleming presents How to Open Your Online Savings Account posted at Bryan C. Fleming.

Sam Chan presents Value of Money posted at Acquire Wisdom and Live With PassionAphorismic thoughts on the value of money.

Taxes

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Tax Tips For The Working Stiff posted at The Digerati Life.

Allison presents Money Mondays: Should You Hire a Tax Pro? posted at Queercents, saying, "Allison at Queercents begins a series called Money Mondays–your 2006 tax season guide. In ten weekly articles, she will help readers navigate the intricate tax world with topics ranging from hiring a tax professional to planning for retirement. The articles aim to provide guidance with clear and concise information. The tips and hints should make life less stressful this tax season."

Nina Smith presents Tax Refunds and Other Lump Sums Part II posted at Queercents, saying, "What to do with your tax refund and other financial windfalls..."

Frugal Duchess presents The Frugal Duchess: 10 Tips for Hiring A Tax Expert posted at Sharon, saying, "I'm waving the yellow flag. Other people may be good at DIY tax preparation, but that's not my area of strength. I'm going to "outsource" that job. Flexo at www.consumerismcommentary.com wrote a great piece about 10
Examples of How You can be Penny Wise and Pound Foolish and in that piece, he mentioned the value of a hiring a CPA or tax specialist. And I'm moving in that direction.

Therefore, the following 10 Tips for Selecting a Tax Specialist (from a member of an an accounting industry trade group) caught my attention:

I'm waving the yellow flag. Other people may be good at DIY tax preparation, but that's not my area of strength. I'm going to "outsource" that job. Flexo at www.consumerismcommentary.com wrote a great piece about 10
Examples of How You can be Penny Wise and Pound Foolish and in that piece, he mentioned the value of a hiring a CPA or tax specialist. And I'm moving in that direction.

Therefore, the following 10 Tips for Selecting a Tax Specialist (from a member of an an accounting industry trade group) caught my attention."

Mr Credit Card presents Leaving Taxes to My Accountant posted at Ask Mr Credit Card's Blog.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
30s and 40s personal finances - wealth a
using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags:

30s and 40s personal finances - wealth a, blog carnival.

The Second Edition of the 30s and 40s personal finances carnival - wealth accumulation - February 14, 2007

Dear Friends,

I'm on the road and do not have access to some of the postings sent to me before I left home. As a result, I will post the submissions skipped in our next edition (the third edition) scheduled for February 21, 2007.

Stereotyping the 30s and 40s Personal Finance Community
I'm going to start this edition with a post discussing people in their 30s and 40s. I'm putting it here to stimulate a discussion and help us focus articles for the reading audience. This article is makingourway's attempt to put a shape to the people that read and contribute to the blog - if I don't describe you - please post a comment or submit a new posting to the next carnival - I look forward to publishing it!

Budgeting

Steve Leung presents How to Lose Your House posted at 1SiliconValley.com, saying, "Between the speculation and pricing madness during real estate booms, people actually buy houses so they can live long, happy lives there. But home buyers should know that losing a house is a fairly easy thing to do. Here are five common ways people lose their houses."

Rich presents Being "Middle Class" is burying us! posted at Queercents, saying, "So much for the myth of the middle class: on a median two-earner household income of $73,500 (gross), you can’t save for retirement and take an annual vacation—or if you do, you have to cut from your expenses somewhere else."

Randy Yniguez presents The Benefits of Organizing: Financials posted at Randy Yniguez, saying, "These templates have come in handy for me!"

Career Growth

Bill presents Thinking Outside The Box posted at Ask Uncle Bill, saying, "Think inside the box."

Family

Dennis presents A Walk with my Old Man posted at A Pile of Coins, saying, "This is my very first submission to a carnival. Any suggestions on how to improve my articles and contribute to the community are very welcome, thanks!"

Investing

Big Cajun Man presents Einstein: Doubling is the trick! posted at Canadian Financial Stuff, saying, "Doubling your money in the shortest possible time should be your goal in investing, with suitable risk. Who do we have to thank for figuring out doubling periods, Einstein?"

Larry Russell presents John C. Bogle's Blog and his article about ETFs posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog, saying, "John C. Bogle, the founder of The Vanguard Group, is one of the truly honest men in the financial world. He posted an very insightful WSJ article about how the interests of individual investors and the average ETF have increasingly diverged. His blog deserves greater awareness."

Rod Thomas presents The psychology of property investing posted at Prosperity from Property.

Mr Credit Card presents I Fired My First Mutual Fund Managers posted at Ask Mr Credit Card's Blog.

My Bubble Life presents Unleash Your Potential: The Rule of 72 posted at Unleash Your Potential, saying, "Just a quick overview of the rule of 72."

Saving

Will Chen presents Behind the Times - I learn about Keep the Change posted at Wisebread.

Jenn @ Frugal Upstate presents Frugal Philosophy-Mending posted at Frugal Upstate.

Taxes

Allison presents Tax Forms Missing Lines for Important Deductions posted at Queercents, saying, "Alternative Queercents post about Taxes... Are you self-preparing your taxes? If so, beware! The IRS has mailed packets of tax forms with lines missing on which to claim important deductions."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
30s and 40s personal finances - wealth accumulation
using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags:

30s and 40s personal finances - wealth a, blog carnival.

Stereo Typing Ourselves - Who is the 30s and 40s Personal Finance Audience

Today I wondered how we, those in their 30s and 40s, should describe ourselves? What makes us different from those in their 20s or 50s and 60s or in retirement?

If we were to create a composite image of ourselves, what would it be like? How would we characterize ourselves?

What makes us worthy of having a carnival discussing financial issues specific to our demographic?

I have a proposal? Can we work together to help define ourselves (before marketers do it for us)?

Here are some thoughts:

1. Stable in our career paths with managerial and (emerging) executive roles
2. Growing households - no longer in starter apartments
3. Married, partnered or intended to be, or intended to never do so
4. Increasing earnings, with rapid increases due to promotions
5. Finished with formal education, unless considering a career change
6. Established dependents; children or relatives children that we support
7. Saving for college for our children or the children of others
8. Our parents are nearing retirement, if not recently retired
9. Concerned about our parents retirement, but not necessarily sandwhiched, just yet
10. Technologically savvy
11. Open and well informed of the new investment paradigms (modern portfolio theory, passive index investing, mutual funds and ETFs, more complex trading for some)

What would you add or remove from the list above? It's far from complete.

Thanks, makingourway

Protocol for the 30s and 40s Personal Finances: Wealth Accumulation Carnival

First, I'd like to thank everyone that has been submitting posts for next week's issue of 30s and 40s Personal Finances: Wealth Accumulation Carnival.

Virtually everyone has submitted an interesting article or post.

However, a particular person submitted almost 10 different posts. While I can keep these on file for future editions, I'd like to request all participants submit only one (1) post for each carnival. That way no single person would dominate the carnival and I avoid insanity filing yet another piece of information.

For those who have not submitted anything yet, please submit a post before day's end on Monday Feb. 12. at Blog Carnival.

Regards, makingourway

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).

Career, commuting and family strategy

My wife and I discussed it would be better to have me commute to Chicago to work at Big Company and move not to the Midwest, but further North into urban Virginia.

This would put us close to one of the major South Virignia cities - most likely in the Hampton Roads area.

Depending upon how things go with Big Company, I imagine the following:

If I am working out of Chicago for most of my time (35%), then we would purchase a condominium in the Chicago region. I would live their Sunday night - Thursday night. Weekly or every other week.

If I am working at our other facilities, of which Big Company has many, I would travel all over as needed, but base myself out of Virginia.

This of course becomes difficult to estimate until I learn how and where my responsibilities send me. My recent review indicated that I am doing well in my new job, but I honestly feel the pedal hasn't hit the metal yet. May or June will be the true measure of where things are at.

Can an established entreprenuer really become become a Big Company executive? Or will the strings of freedom pull me out?

What prompted this consideration was a realization by my wife that her current job is very comfortable and pays well. If she can improve company performance - despite entrenched interests - her earnings would pay increase even more.

I do not look forward to being away from my family so regularly. I miss my wife and children. The commitment to move further to Southern Virginia would have the following impacts

Plus
Access to better education
Improved real estate
Better neighborhoods
Commercial entertainment
Increased social opportunities / better chance to make friends with educated, professional types
Better shopping (and related time savings)
Higher income for my wife (short term - long term unclear - possibly the same)
Increased job security - my wife is established in her job

Cons
Commitment to my travelling at least 40%
Possible expense of a second household
Possible carrying costs of commute and travel expenses (maybe Big Company won't pay)
Possibly less time with my children (my position requries frequent travel anyway)
If I do not say with Big Company, We would have to move anyway (I have little oppty in S VA)

I'll have to put an economic model together to explore the different scenarios. My boss has indicated he would support my decision to not relocate - but it would require me to have a certain amount of leverage within Big Company - leverage I aspire to attain, but do not have yet.

What do you recommend I include in the two home economic model?
Do any other scenarios make sense?

Regards, makingourway

Call for Carnival Submission - 30s and 40s personal finances - wealth accumulation

Please submit articles to the new blog carnival we are starting called:

30s and 40s personal finances - wealth accumulation

Submissions are due next Saturday February 3, 2007 by midnight.

The first edition will be posted Wednesday February 7, 2007.

The blog will be hosted here at makingourway.

Please submit any questions to makingourway or post comments here.

Thank you for participating, makingourway