Carnival Of Money Stories #6

Welcome to the 6th edition of the Carnival of Money Stories. This relatively new carnival is a product of Andy @ Money Walks‘ original idea with valuable inputs from SVB @ The Digerati Life. Since it is just starting out, there is a high probability that some of the content might overlap with the contents of other carnivals about money and finance. However, I am pretty sure that, in time to come, the carnival will shine with it’s own distinctive color, and will set itself apart from all other carnivals out there. With this positive hope in our hearts, let’s now begin with the submissions. There were 27 submissions in all of which 16 have been included in this edition. Only one submission from each blog was considered.

Money related posts with a personal touch

Adaptation: Lessons learned from being unemployed by Amy Lin @ Wisebread. Looks like unemployment is not that bad after all. There’s a popular saying, “Necessity is the mother of inventions” …after reading Amy’s article, I coined an analogous saying - Adversity is the mother of all adaptation. Or perhaps, stability makes us complacent. Think about it while reading this article.

Preparing Our Taxes Will Be A Cinch, Paying Them Won’t by Silicon Valley Blogger @ The Digerati Life. SVB shares her tax preparation experience using an “enrolled agent”. Apparently, she is having trouble with the cost basis information for her investments. I had similar trouble during last year’s tax time…and unfortunately, I have no idea what I did about it eventually. Most probably, it’s going to bite me this time too.

When Reality is Different Than Perception by Super Saver @ My Wealth Builder. Super Saver gives some examples of times when what you see is just an illusion. Here is one of his examples:

When I was about four years old, I remember becoming frantic when my uncle paid cash for a gasoline purchase. I kept telling him that my dad had a plastic card that enabled him to get gas without using any money. I recall thinking that my uncle was wasting money because he didn’ t have a plastic card.

Taxes and the Three Martini Lunch by Bill @ Ask Uncle Bill. Another one in the honor of tax season. Apparently, I just realized that I am having a hard time focusing on anything that has to do with taxes. Probably, some of you may extract more sense out of non-deductible martini expenses that Bill is talking about.

Timeshares: Should we buy one? by LA MoneyGuy @ It’s Just Money. LA MoneyGuy says he has a hobby of attending timeshare presentations and wonders whether he should buy one. There are some interesting comments on this post (most of them discouraging him from the idea of buying timeshares)…make sure you read them.

How I live on $600 a month by Matthew Paulson @ Getting Green. Hmm..interesting. You know, I have been with students who live comfortably within $400 a month in my town …and I am not talking about old times, this is just about 2 years ago. I guess cheap living is a virtue of not-so-large university towns.

“The Science of Getting Rich” Evaluated, Part Two by Debra Moorhead @ Debra Moorhead.com. I didn’t find much of *science* in here, but it may probably appeal to a section of readers.

Ten Money Questions for Jennifer Chrisler by Nina Smith @ Queercents. Jennifer Chrisler is the executive director of Family Pride, a national non-profit organization. Nina of Queercents asked Jennifer to share her views on money, relationships, equality and happiness.

Cash Flow is King by Wilson Ng @ Reflections of a BizDrivenLife. By the way of an example involving his student, Wilson talks about the importance of cash flow. Here is an excerpt that will give you an idea of what his student was up to:

He was risking virtually all his savings to build up a fast food restaurant. Not only that, he was going to borrow an amount that was twice his own money to fund the remaining amount. What’s more, in order to be able to build the restaurant, he was going to build the restaurant on a lot that he proposed to lease - as a way to lessen initial investment and a way to get a better location.

Tim of My Money Forest Contributes To Brass Magazine by Tim @ MyMoneyForest. Not much of a story here, but I thought it may be appropriate to congratulate Tim on the inclusion of his article in Brass Magazine - a publication aimed at informing young people about money. May be, you can try and get some good contacts from him.

Money related general knowledge posts

Don’t look for any personal stories in the following entries. These are some helpful “how to” type of posts dishing out some free advice. The titles are pretty much self-explanatory and hence I will abstain from adding my own jargon in trying to explain what the articles are about.

How to: Make Money with Balance Transfer Arbitrage by Jimmy Atkinson presents @ Ask the Advisor.

What Does it Take to Start a Startup? by John Wesley @ Pick the Brain.

10 Simple Ideas to Save Thousands of Dollars per Year by David @ Worldwide Success.

Money and philosophy posts

OK, I have to admit that I had a hard time understanding the central idea behind the entries below…and whatever is hard to understand can be safely classified as *philosophy* For most of you these may be just general rants, but who knows *shrug*…may be some of you can find the meaning of life and universe, etc., after reading between the lines.

Money Plant by Gazzali Maidin @ Beneficial Learning for Outstanding Generation.

Don’t Eliminate Your Debt, Attract Abundance! by Maria Palma @ The Good Life.

What is Money? by Nenad Ristic @ Money Conciousness

That’s all for this edition of the Carnival of Money Stories. Hope you enjoyed your stay. You can submit your money stories to the next edition of the carnival by clicking here.

‘Adapt or die’ image source: tiki.oneworld.net