Midweek Money Links

Some interesting money articles and thoughts from the past few days:

• Do You Know if Your Credit Card Uses The Dual-Cycle or Average Daily Balance Calculation? by Jeremy @ Generation X finance. Jeremy explains the difference between the two types of credit card balance calculations. I won’t be surprised to find many people not knowing about this.

• The Almost Debt Free Approach to Student Loan Debt Reduction vs. Investing vs. Savings by John @ Queercents. Accelerate your student debt payments or just keep making the minimum payments and invest the extra money? John explains how he prefers to approach this dilemma.

• Dollar Cost Averaging: Does It Work In The Real World? How Can I Use It Easily For My Own Investments? by Trent @ The Simple Dollar. Investing 101 lessons here. For those who don’t have a bulk amount to start investing, dollar cost averaging is a good way of going about it. Plus, if you transact with a zero-fee trading broker (like Zecco Trading), this can work out to be very good.
  

• Consumerism. Sinful? by Dawn @ Frugal for Life. Some deep thoughts by Dawn on our consumerist tendencies.

However, to over-consume is, in my opinion morally wrong. This is about being greedy with the resources, whether you can afford it or not.

• The 5 Worst Credit Card Practices by Patrick (as a guest author) @ Five Cent Nickel. Interesting read (although standard knowledge) - if you are into credit cards (like me), you should read this.

• Saving on Wedding Tips from a Wedding Consultant, Part 1 by FMF @ Free Money Finance. Some practical tips towards having an affordable wedding.

• What To Do Before You Get Pregnant by James @ Dual Income No Kids. A few quick thoughts on preparing yourself financially for pregnancy. I am mentioning this for a reason - we recently had an *experience* with a couple who didn’t bother to take care of these things in advance - will write more about it later.

Carnivals:

Festival of Frugality #80 by Elizabeth @ Money for the Rest of Us, featuring my post: Motivation for Frugality - It’s Not Always About the Money.

Carnival of Personal Finance #106 by SVB @ The Digerati Life, featuring my post: Is It Wise To Quit Your Day Job And Depend On Your Website For Income?