Totally Money Blog Carnival #47: Prelude to a New Year

Welcome to the 47th edition of the Totally Money Blog Carnival, and the last edition for the year! It will be Christmas in less than a week, and a new year in less than two. Have you met all of your goals for the year? What are your plans for the new year? I’d love to hear about them. 🙂

What do you think will happen in 2012? Some people believe that the world will end, due to us shifting into a new era on the Mayan calendar. Others believe that the economy may collapse, sending the world headlong into a depression.

I don’t know if an ancient calendar has predictive power, and I don’t know if we’ll enter a depression next year or not. There are risks to be sure, but there are a lot of cool things happening, too. I believe that we are passing an inflection point when it comes to technology and the increasing reach of the Internet, and I am looking forward to seeing what comes next!

Editor’s picks

• DIY Disaster; Or, Our New Deck (Beating Broke)
• What is the Net Worth of Members of Congress? (Don’t Quit Your Day Job)
• Work Hard and Shut Up! (Your Finances, Simplified)

The future

The theme of this wrap will be a look at possible doomsday scenarios as well as possible optimistic futures.

Nuclear war has been a constant “end of the world” theme since nuclear bombs were invented in the 1940s. I remember being horrified by the opening scene of Terminator 2: Judgment Day — a great, yet chilling movie. Here is a video of the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear bomb to ever have been detonated. One of these would completely wipe out a large city.

Career

50 Home Business Idea (Financial Highway)

Many of us want to earn extra money from home. And, indeed, starting a home business can be a good way to cultivate additional income, and help you reach other financial goals that you might have. From creative business ideas, to the more mundane, here are 50 home business ideas.

Fix Your Finances and Quit Your Day Job (PT Money Personal Finance)

Discusses whether or not you can afford to quit your day job and how to get your finances in order if you are looking to quit.

The power of the atom can also be used for good; in fact, one safe and clean way to harness thermonuclear energy is to capture it from the sun. Solar panels are becoming ever-more efficient. Check out this video on solar power.

Credit

MBNA Canada Credit Cards Business Sold To TD Bank (Rewards Cards Canada)

We can only speculate what these changes will bring to consumers. Let’s hope all of these credit card companies, including MBNA Canada, continue to give smart spenders a chance to earn big rewards for a long time.

New To Credit Guide (CardHub.com)

Hey, I hope all is well! I think you’ll enjoy my submission this week because I share some useful tips and answer some frequently asked questions concerning how someone who does not have any credit can start building it.

Economy

How Does Europe Solve its Debt Crisis? (Wallet Blog)

Whether you are well-versed in international economics or not, you’re probably aware that Europe is having substantial problems. Of course, there are a number of prominent theories for how to solve Europe’s debt crisis, but none is perfect — so we decided to take a quick look at four different courses of action that Eurozone governments can take, the pros and cons of each, and which will provide the most long-term benefit without causing short-term chaos.

The Bank of Canada Stays Put on Low Interest Rates (Financial God)

For the 10th time in a row, the Bank of Canada has decided to stay put on interest rates. This is a good move for those who decided to go variable a couple years back instead of a rip-off five-year fixed. It’s not such good news for savers and people on fixed incomes.

What will we power with all of this energy? As we gain mastery over manipulating matter, we’ll soon have the ability to manufacture things by building them up, atom by atom. This is nanotechnology, and it will open up a multitude of new frontiers.

Finance

12 Reasons You Should Avoid Financial Speculation (Off-Road Finance)

Are you considering taking plunge into trading/speculation as a career or for extra income? Before you do, you should consider this list.

Financial planning

Estate Planning Basics – What You Need to Know (The Frugal Toad)

Have you ever thought about what would happen if you became incapacitated or died? What would happen to your home and other assets? Do you have a will and does your spouse know what your final wishes are? An estate plan is a set of legal documents that will make sure that your final wishes are taken care of.

Frugality

Paying Off Student Loans (Brickworks)

Did you know that taking a job in a lower-income area could help you earn a discount on a federal student loan? Or serving in Volunteers in Service to America? National Guard duty can pay as much as $10,000 toward your student loans.

Strategic pizza (Surviving and Thriving)

Sometimes you really SHOULD spend the money.

Why You Should Live FAR Away From Your Job (Afford Anything)

Many people argue that you can save money — in commuting costs — by living close to your job. But sometimes, the savings you have from living on the outskirts of town outweigh the costs of living close by.

As technology opens up new frontiers, it’s only a matter of time before more people live permanently in the seas and in space. I’m fascinated by how large cruise ships have become, and how affordable cruises have become.

A few hundred years ago we had a lot of innovation in government with the phasing out of monarchies and the creation of new countries with constitutional systems such as the USA. Unfortunately, all the land is used up and there is less pressure for progress and innovation. Check out this video on how the seas could be the next frontier.

Investing

How to Ignore Market Volatility (My Personal Finance Journey)

This post discusses ways in which to ignore market volatility. With this market of wild ups and downs, this post points out ways to not let this volatility negatively affect ones’ investments.

The Best Investment Advice I’ve Received (The College Investor)

A personal story about how simple long term investing paid off over time.

Why Lululemon (LLL) is a poor stock and why you should sell (Canadian Personal Finance)

Have all the retailers like Nike, Under Armour, Joe Fresh, and even Walmart started ambushing the expensive clothing of Lululemon? The answer is YES. This stock has gone done well for shareholders but I feel its time is up.

Miscellaneous

5 Fun, Frugal Holiday Traditions to Begin with Kids (Passive Family Income)

As a family, the holiday season is also a good time to spend extra time together. There are plenty of frugal traditions you can begin this year with your kids.

6 Ways To Save Money On A New Computer (So You Think You can Save)

A new computer is a big purchase. Find out a few ways to save.

Can You Call 911 in a Foreign Country? (Bucksome Boomer)

Preparing for potential health issues before you leave home will make it a lot easier to deal with in the event you do become ill.

Complete Guide to Canadian Gift Card Bonuses | December 2011 (Grocery Alerts)

Canadian merchants promote shopping to offer bonuses to entice shoppers to purchase their gift cards. For example, when buying a $50 gift card you might earn a bonus $10 gift card (giving you a bonus of 20% return).

DIY Disaster; or, Our New Deck (Beating Broke)

Be sure you do as much analysis as you can on the project, and budget for unforeseen issues, before you tackle any major DIY project. Also, it’s better to have it done right, than have it done cheaply, so if you get in over your head, find a professional to help you. Many will gladly charge a consulting fee to come and tell you what you need to do next. Find one that will, or hire one to finish the job so that it’s done right.

Do Your Children Understand the Value of Money? (Money Mum)

The wonderful thing about investing time to teach your child about money, is that you may learn something too. One day your youngster may even pipe up with “But Mummy, why do you do XYZ with your money, when you can save cash doing it like this?” That different perspective may well show you that there is always room for improvement!

Don’t Follow the Herd When Seeking Additional Income (Free Money Wisdom)

Don’t be afraid to branch out and find a job that isn’t with a corporation. Pave your own path; I know I am glad I did. After all, this is the home of the free….

How Email Addresses, Credit Scores, and Your Personal Brand Intersect (Squirrelers)

Have an email address from a early generation service? You may want to consider what this could be doing to the perception of your personal brand.

How Much Do You Need to Retire (Living in Financial Excellence)

Most people wait until they’re ready to retire and then wonder if they can retire. If you wait that long, it’s waaaaay too late, and you probably won’t be able to retire. You need to have a plan early and start working the plan early.

How to Become Rich Courses (Help Me To Save)

The only certainty about attending a wealth creation course is that you will be parted with your attendance fee.

How to Eat Healthy on a Budget (Frugal Living)

Eating healthy doesn’t have to cost more. Here are some tips for staying healthy on a budget.

How to save money on prenatal vitamins (Baby Alerts)

As a mom to be it becomes essential that you seriously think more about your overall health. Are you looking for ways to save money on vitamins? Keep these tips in mind and you will be well on your way to getting those vitamins at prices you can afford.

Ipad 2 vs Samsung Galaxy (Thirty Six Months)

If you looking at getting a tablet, here is a review of the top two tablets on the market- Ipad 2 and Galaxy Tab. It helps to know your budget and find the product that is right for you.

Is Donating Sperm a Viable Way to Make Extra Money? (Money Talks Coaching)

What caught my attention on the sperm donating documentary last night was this guy said he had at least 70 biological children. 70 kids! He said that he donated sperm for 3 years. Why? Because he was making $900 a month!!

I Want to Be a Work at Home Parent Coach for Selling Online (1099 Mom)

For the first time in my life I am passionate about what I am doing and it has helped me to gain my creativity back to start doing my self-published works and homemade items that I will start selling on Etsy. It has really been a blessing in disguise, and I hope to help many parents and even other individuals that want to be successful at selling online.

Lazy Man Holiday Gift Guide 2011 (Lazy Man and Money)

Wondering what to buy those on your gift list? Here is my Lazy Man 2011 gift guide. Before you dig into this list, I encourage you to learn what not to give: the worst gifts we have ever gotten.

Manage Your Mortgage Payment Responsibly (Money Beagle)

Your mortgage is probably your biggest monthly expense. Manage it accordingly!

One Extra Money Blog Reader’s First PayCheck (The Extra Money Blog)

You can make some good money with get paid to companies such as Vindale, but the real money can be made by leveraging your web presence. I used to participate in Vindale’s offers, but over time referring others have become more lucrative for me as my web presence has grown over time.

Relocating to Another Country (Curious Cat Investing and Economics Blog)

Moving overseas for a job or retirement is becoming more common.

Renovating Your Home on a Budget (Wallet Watcher)

Turn your dreams into reality by converting your home into a blissful sanctuary without spending a fortune. By doing pre-renovation research on design, materials and colour scheme and adopting the above-mentioned strategies, it is possible to cut costs without compromising on quality.

Saving Money: How Important Is It? (Thriftability)

No matter what age you are, a savings account is important. You can never be too young or too old to start saving. And here’s why you should be.

Say Please (Live Real, Now)

I took a look at all of my accounts and utilities to decide which ones I was willing to change, drop, or reduce. The two I came up with were Dish Network and CenturyLink DSL. My plan was simple:

• Look for their introductory offers
• Compare to my current price
• Call
• Ask if existing customers are as important as NEW customers
• Finally, be nice!

Sustainable Eating (Sustainable Personal Finance)

Eating sustainably doesn’t mean you have to spend all of your money at Whole Foods or other overpriced retail grocery outlet. Just learn to avoid the processed foods featuring corn and other fillers as well as learning about alternative diets.

The Difference Between Income and Wealth (Saving Money Today)

Increasing your income is great. But in order to build true wealth you need to use that income to acquire assets than increase your net worth.

The Importance of Cash Management (Money Is the Root)

I’m willing to bet that many of you who read this article will probably disregard the need to forecast and manage your cashflow. I can’t urge you enough that it can and will help improve your life and your finances.

Things to Remember During Open Enrollment: Tools and Resources to Make It Easier (Bible Money Matters)

There are a lot of things to remember when looking at what to do during your company’s open enrollment period, so today I thought I would go over some of those things.

Using Freezer Cooking as a Way to Reduce Your Grocery Budget (HowToSaveMoney.ca)

Don’t be intimidated by freezer cooking. It can be as easy or as hard as you make it. If you just simply double your recipes when you are cooking your dinner, you will have a stocked freezer and more money in the bank, before you know it.

With all of the advancements of the future, we have to watch out for the downsides. What happens if those minature machines made possible by nanotechnology get out of control?

Money

Banks vs. Credit Unions–Where to Find the Best Interest Rates (Dough Roller)

Credit Unions always boast better rates and customer service but it’s actually the big banks which can provide consumers more bang for their buck.

Real Estate Buyer Tips: Why buying this winter is a smart strategy (Begging To Retire)

The housing market is not in a good place right now but if you look around for deals this holiday season, you might find something too good to pass up.

Net Worth

I have more money than 25% of Americans combined (Psycho Money)

This is kind of a fun look at net worth. Not many people realize how little it takes to have a bigger net worth than people around you and how much debt people are really in.

Other

Build Your Legacy, Preserve Your Family History – Tell a Story (Family Money Values)

What will you be remebered for? The hard truth is that most of us won’t be remembered – past the lifetimes of those we share the earth with now. What do you want your descendents to remember about you? If you want your legacy and your family’s legacy to live on when you die, here is a simple and hopefully effective strategy to use to better your odds of that happening.

Gift Card Alternatives: The Art of Buying Actual Gifts (My Dollar Plan)

It’s easy to give a gift card. I know. I do it all the time. But could this be the year you actually give gifts instead of gift cards?

Personal finance

Caffe Break: Walk-away Negotiating (101 Centavos)

Continuing with a series of short blog posts on anything that I can write about in between bouts of writer’s block and indecision, filling in the nooks…

Controlling Christmas Costs (Money Reasons)

This is how I control Christmas Costs in the past, present and future. These strategies that worked for me and perhaps will work for you!

Getting a Bank Loan (20s Finances)

Learn about what factors you need to consider when you are going to take out a bank loan and why you should use it as a last resort.

Give This Gift If You Want To Piss Off Your Husband (Sweating the Big Stuff)

I love getting surprises, but there’s one I wouldn’t be too thrilled with. If Lauren ever does this to me, we’d have a problem. What do you think?

How Often Should Your Service Your Vehicle? (Boomer & Echo)

We seem to have been conditioned to believe that we need to change our engine oil and filter every 5,000 kilometres, or every three months, whichever comes first.

I Only Listen to Techno – crats (Funancials)

Technocrats are becoming very popular in within our debt-stricken governments. Greece and Italy have already placed two technocrats in charge of their countries, now which countries will follow?

Is Hoarding The New Frugal? (My Broken Coin)

My friend is a very frugal person: she counts every penny, she evaluates every purchase, and she does her research before she decides to buy anything whether it is a car or a pair of shoes. Read her story here!

Keep My Day Job? (Passive Income To Retire)

In my plan to retire from passive income, I have often questioned at what point will I quit my day job. It is hard to pass up on some of the benefits that my day job offers. Find out what my plan is.

The Insufferable Simple Dollar (Control Your Cash)

A takedown of The Simple Dollar, a personal finance site that’s about as useless as a bicycle without wheels.

Thinking of Going Back to Former Employer – Would You? (Finance Fox)

Returning to a former employer is real trend and it’s happening in all industries. The trend is appropriately dubbed as boomeranging. No one said, all relationships are perfect the first time, maybe the second time around is the charm.

Thousandaire Countdown #2 HTPC Rap (Thousandaire)

The HTPC Rap is my best and only rap song. It’s also the second best song I’ve ever done.

The Top Three Things I’ve Sold Online (The Family CEO)

These are the top three things that I have sold online that were big wins for me!

Three Christmas Gifts To Give Your Children That Keep On Giving (Money Q&A)

There are a few examples of Christmas gifts to your children such as Roth IRA contributions that will keep on giving long after the holiday season has ended.

What is the Net Worth of Members of Congress? (Don’t Quit Your Day Job…)

Concerned about your personal finances? How about the personal finances of those who purportedly set spending policy in the United States? Surprisingly, even though there are a whole lot of rich Congressmen/women, there are 30 who have a negative net worth.Sorry to all of our foreign readers for this tool!

Will a College Degree Increase Your Odds of Becoming Wealthy? Gallup Poll Finds Half of the Wealthiest 1% of Americans Have a Graduate Degree (Smart Family Finance)

Do you want to better your odds at become part of the wealthiest 1% of Americans? Gallup polling results show that you should consider getting a graduate degree. Half of those in the top 1% of earners have one.

Work Hard and Shut Up! (Your Finances Simplified)

I promise you, that if you worked this hard at anything your life would be different! Mrs. YFS and I were at our local IHOP to take advantage of some of their seasonal pancakes and stumbled upon this very ambitious and dedicated employee who is the basis of my story.

Real Estate

Would You Ever Buy an Investment Home? (Face and Fitness)

Here are a few things to consider before you buy an investment house.

Retirement

Five Retirement Surprises (Free Money Finance)

Here are five retirement surprises from a recent retiree.

Spending

Earn More Credit Card Rewards By Spending Less (DollarVersity)

You don’t have to spend recklessly to increase your credit card rewards balance. Here are 2 ways to do that without necessarily spending anything extra.

Shopping

Tips for Holiday Tipping (Free From Broke )

The holidays creep up fast and all of a sudden you realize you need to tip people! But who to tip and how much? Check out some basic guidelines and tips for holiday tipping.

Teen Financial Literacy

Everyone Needs a Purpose! (Teen Financial Literacy)

This post discusses how important it is for teens (and everyone, really) to have a purpose, to know what it is, and to follow it. This relates to financial literacy, as well as all other aspects of life.

So, what do you think will change in the decades to come? Here are a few more interesting videos:

Submitting to the Totally Money Blog Carnival

Please use the submit form on Canadian Finance Blog in order to submit to the carnival.

Thanks for taking part in the carnival, and don’t forget to link back to this carnival post.

Happy holidays, and here’s to a great 2012!