Yakezie Carnival for August 25

Y for yakezie carnival…Well we are out on the boat today enjoying the nice weather.  Here are a few great posts to tide you over until you can see me again on monday 🙂

Ahh before we start some business I want to avert your eyes to: Check out my Guide to Successfully Start a Blog
Michelle @ Diversified Finances writes What Not To Do When Leaving Your Job – I know that everyone has different reasons for leaving their job, and sometimes it is a really toxic environment that you are trying to leave.

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance writes Blog Statistics Update July-August 2013 – Our blog got a couple big links this month, which helped with traffic – see all our stats and rankings!

Tony @ We Only Do This Once writes Lessons Learned From 7 Weeks in the Woods – I just came back from living in Vermont for over 7 weeks, and I feel rejuvenated (as always is the case!). To leave the suburbs of New Jersey and the craziness of New York City for some time is always very healthy for me and my family; I always learn something, and I try to bring the knowledge back to real life for as long as possible.

LaTisha @ Young Finances writes Budgeting Basics for Recent Grads and Young Adults – Looking to budget for the first time? Try this sample budgeting template from Young Finances and decide how to save your money as a young adult.

Maria @ The Money Principle writes How to Get By with a Bad Credit History – Bad credit, unpleasant as it may be, is a fact of life, This articles offers four tips to survive and impove bad credit history.

Mr. Frenzy @ Frenzied Finances writes Stress-Free Selling: 5 Ways To Make Selling Your House a Breeze – Selling a home can be a difficult process. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Read here for great tips on selling your house so you can do so with ease.

Mike @ Personal Finance Journey writes Helping Your Children Make Responsible Decisions – Do you take the time to help your children make responsible decisions in finance, life and day to day living?

JP @ My Family Finances writes 3 Smart Family Business Ideas that Everyone Would Love – The following are three different family business ideas you may find interesting if you’ve been feeling the itch to start something with your close ones.

Jacob @ AllPersonalFinance writes How to make a profit on your home – Whether you can make a profit on your home is not always in your hands, because depending on the market and when you bought and at what price you may have to sell at a loss. Read how to do it right and make a profit at home!

Cat Alford @ Budget Blonde writes How To Travel In India: Tips From My Husband – If you want to know how to travel in India, here’s an in depth recap from my husband’s three week trip! From rural India to the Taj Mahal, he shares it all.

Tushar Mathur @ Everything Finance writes What Are You Going to Sacrifice When You Have Children? – My aunt used to tell the story of the cute little girls that lived next door to her in their subdivision.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes On The Road to Good Credit – Infographics are all the rage right now. I came across the great infographic below. Having good credit is key so that you can get the lowest interest rate possible when you borrow money.

Bargain Babe @ BargainBabe.com writes How Do You Run a Swap? – How do you run a swap? Here are general outlines of five different kinds of swaps and what it takes to run them.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes It’s Never Too Late to Be What You Might’ve Been – It’s Never Too Late to Be What You Might’ve Been, so never give and read my article why.

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes Tips for D.I.Y. investors – There is a huge amount of advice out there for would-be investors. This ranges from professional investment advice through to doing your own research online and by reading the financial press. Putting together your own portfolio of investments can be a daunting task but these tips will help you on your way.

Lauren @ L Bee and the Money Tree writes Paying Off Your Student Loans with SmarterBucks – Review of the SmarterBucks student loan paydown product offered by SmarterBank.

MMD @ IRA vs 401k Central writes Getting to Know the 401k Rules of Your Employer Retirement Plan – Getting to know your 401k rules isn’t difficult. By just understanding the basics, you can grow your money tax free and get free money from your employer.

DW @ Great Passive Income Ideas writes What Are Passive Income Streams? – Want to know what passive income streams are? They’re how the rich get richer while the rest of the world simply slaves away at work. If you want to work less and make more money, then read on to understand them better.

Eva Baker @ TeensGotCents writes Teen Entrepreneurs – Ben Lamb – Teen entrepreneurs are becoming more and more common. Meet Ben Lamb and his business ‘Mail Box Post Shield’. Another great business idea for teens!

Matt @ Living in Financial Excellence writes When Your Values and Beliefs About Money Are Tested – I was doing some preliminary research in getting pre-approved for a mortgage. One of the lenders I was looking at pulled my credit report and found out that my FICO score was . . . . 780. For those of you who don’t know, 780 is a pretty good score and it allows me to qualify for the best mortgage rates out there, despite not using credit cards or taking out car loans.

Luke @ Learn Bonds writes Don’t Get Ripped Off by This Bond Market Shenanigan – An example of the dangers of retail investing in the corporate and municipal bond market. What you should know before investing.

Mike @ Annuity Rates HQ writes What is an Annuity? – An annuity is a contract offered by Life Insurance Companies. In exchange of a lump sum of money provided by the investor, the Life Insurance Company guarantees a steady income stream usually paid monthly. In other words; the investor gives the Life Insurance Company his money in return to get a secured pension payment.

Ryan @ Cash Money Life writes Types of Insurance Homeowners Need – Homeowners need several types of insurance to protect their largest investment, including homeowners, title, liability, umbrella, and flood insurance.

Daniel @ Sweating The Big Stuff writes I’m Canceling My LLC Because There Are Too Many Rules – Because of the high fees associated with my LLC, I am canceling my LLC and saving my money.

Monica Iannacone @ Monica On Money writes How To Be Frugal When You’re Not – Even if you are not normally frugal, you can act frugally. Here are some ideas on being frugal when you’re not.

Buck Inspire @ Buck Inspire writes Pay Off Your Debt With Good Financial Cents and The Soldier of Finance Jeff Rose – I have been a big fan of Jeff Rose for a long time. What’s not to like? He has zany video blogs, terrific FinCon video recaps, and leads nationwide movements (Roth IRA, Life Insurance, and Debt).

Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance writes 7 Ways To Make Money Fast – Increase wealth with creative ways to make money fast.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes Money Conversations Parents Must Have With Their College Freshmen – College students are graduating with an alarming amount of debt. Part of the trouble stems from our inability as parents to have money conversations with out college freshmen.

SBB @ Simple Budget Blog writes Forecasting: Budgeting for the Rest of the Year – Summer’s almost over! It’s time to look at your budget to see what expenses are coming up for the remainder of the year. Read here for tips!

Nathan @ Ask n Why writes Do You Meet All Your Customers Needs? – It is possible to see that you can meet your customers needs and then go beyond what they are expecting.

Kathleen O’Malley @ Frugal Portland writes The Value of Having Money – The real value of having money has nothing to do with how much you can earn.

FI Pilgrim @ FI Journey writes Be Flexible With Your Financial Goals – Goal setting is awesome, and has some great benefits. But what happens when your goals become restrictive instead of enabling?

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes Is it Possible to Retire Early if You have Children? – The articles I recently completed on early retirement extreme were very popular. I received several questions as to whether or not you could do this with children.

Harry Campbell @ Your PF Pro writes The Best Customer Service is Now on Twitter – Most kids dream about becoming a firefighter or an astronaut or maybe even a customer service representative when they’re young. Oh wait, that last one might be more of a nightmare. Let’s face it: a job as a CS rep isn’t exactly a high paying one and most of the reps I’ve talked to haven’t been the brightest or even the nicest. You would think that stupid people would at least try and get by by being really nice, but maybe stupid people don’t know they’re stupid.

Jeremy Berretta @ My Financial Road writes Accountability…Do You Have It? – WARNING: profanity is inevitable… My run in’s here lately with people that have no accountability is astounding! Being accountable is something that many people read in the personal finance blog world, but out of all the times it is mentioned, does anyone ever talk about just it? Maybe people don’t know what accountability is or means..? OR maybe I’m just being a little too harsh and judgmental…nah, never that! So lets go through some of the basics of being accountable.

Christopher @ This That and The MBA writes Sticky Blog Posts: 8 Tips for an Effective Post – Certain aspects of a blog such as bounce rate, page-view’s and avg time which are crucial for making money depend upon the stickiness of your blog. As I mentioned above, stickiness has no relationship with your blogs design, its your blog posts which have to be optimized.

Invest It Wisely @ Invest It Wisely writes Historical Litigation: Patent Wars Throughout History – One could be forgiven for presuming that patent wars have reached their peak in 21st century super-technology disputes, read what a mess this topic can be

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes Short Term Success: How To Raise Your Credit Score Fast – Looking to raise your credit score? It can be a pain, but it’s certainly doable. Read here for excellent tips on how to raise your credit score fast!

Paul @ The Frugal Toad @ The Frugal Toad writes 5 Things You Should Be Doing to Lower Credit Card Debt – Lets be realistic, most of us will probably never be debt free. In fact, the average American carries over $80,000 in mortgage debt at age 65 and leaves a balance of about $60,000 to their estate. We need debt in order to make major purchases like a home, a car, or an RV.

MR @ Money Reasons writes Financial Emergencies Happen! – Sometimes what we intend, and what happens are unavoidable. Financial emergencies happen, no matter how well prepared we are, but why not arm ourselves with weapons of knowledge. Check out these lessons from the following financial emergencies.

Grayson @ Debt Roundup writes One of My Biggest Money Mistakes – We all make mistakes, but I wanted to show you that some can be very costly. When I first got out of college, I had a good job and good money coming in. My spending side took control and I made a bad purchase. It is still one of my biggest money mistakes.

Matt Becker @ Mom and Dad Money writes The Hidden Costs of Having a Baby – You have many choices when it comes to baby expenses, some of which can significantly lower the cost. But there’s also a reality to face that raising a child can be expensive and that reality shouldn’t be taken lightly. Bringing a child into the world means you suddenly have someone who is 100% reliant upon you to take care of them. You don’t need to be Warren Buffet before tackling this challenge, but understanding the responsibilities and crafting a plan for financial security will certainly g

Rich @ Growing Money Smart writes 100K in Five Years Challenge Update 2013-08-01 – This is my ambitious 100k in five years goal of turning $24,000 dollars into 100k. Impossible you say? Maybe, but I’m going to give it my all!, we’ll see what happens. Follow me, I need the support!

Ted Jenkin @ Your Smart Money Moves writes 5 Ways To Save Money At Department Stores – There are ways to make money at department stores if you follow my suggestions! Read my top 5 ways to do so.

Daisy @ Suburban Finance writes Should You Buy a Smart Phone? – A post detailing whether you should buy an android and the factors to consider.

Dollar @ Easy Extra Dollar writes Finding the Problem: Quick Money – Your offering or product ought to satisfy a specific issue that your audience is both interested in solving and is willing to pay for the solution. Now, do not confuse the business of looking for information with the matter of looking for a solution.

Pauline @ Make Money Your Way writes Are you too busy to make money? – Too busy to make money? This post will show you that you need to stop adding more unpaid work to your schedule and look for paid freelance positions.

Pauline @ Reach Financial Independence writes What does Financial Independence really mean? – Anton explores the meaning of Financial Independence

Stuart Laing @ Daily Money Bucket writes How To Cope With A Windfall – Six simple steps to get the most from your windfall including, avoiding impulses, repaying debt and maximizing your enjoyment.

John @ Ourinsurancecanada.com writes Desjardins Insurance Company Review – On December 6th 1900, Alphonse Desjardins founded the Desjardins Insurance Company. Desjardins is the largest cooperative financial group in Canada. They focus on working for the economic and social well-being of their 5.6 million members.

Jon Rhodes @ Affiliate Help writes How To Attract More Affiliate Marketers? – If you sell a product online, then running an affiliate programme is a great way of increasing your sales. However it is often a problem attracting affiliate marketers to your programme. Here are some great tips from affiliate programme managers on how to attract affiliate marketers to sell your products.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes Make Life Better for Yourself and Just Breathe – Modern life seems to be lived at a hectic pace. There are so many things needing our attention, so much to see and do, that we can easily feel overwhelmed. If this state continues for an extended period of time, chronic stress can develop which affects the quality of life in a multitude of different ways. To help make your life better, you need to learn to relax; just breathe!

Grayson @ On Better Terms writes Making Money the Freelance Way – Have a marketable skill and need extra cash? Consider becoming a freelancer. You can make items, sell items, or provide a service to people. You would be amazed at what people pay for, especially online.

Jon Haver @ Pay My Student Loans writes Credit Score Monitoring For College Students from Equifax – With identity theft becoming one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation, college students who monitor their credit are less likely to be impacted as greatly by an identity thief. Any suspicious activity is noticed almost immediately, and the appropriate steps can be taken to repair the damage done.

John S @ Frugal Rules writes Investing in Stocks: Are You a Trader or Investor? – There are various strategies investors can implement in the stock market yet many do not stop to think which is best for them. This lack of preparation can significantly undermine their investing efforts and hinder their attempts to grow wealth.

KK @ Student Debt Survivor writes Fast Food Strike – Value Meals or Values? – You might recall that in late July, thousands of fast-food employees went on strike, demanding higher pay ($15 per hour) and the right to unionize. Would you pay $2 more for your value meal if it translated to better pay and a better standard of living for fast-food employees?

Steve @ FastSwings.com writes Carl Icahn Invests in Apple Inc. – It wasn’t too long ago that the drop in Apple stock seemed like it would not stop as the price dropped all the way down to $400 a share after the death of legendary CEO Steve Jobs.

If you have made it this far, tell me what you are doing on this great Sunday!