My Favorite Picks from the Carnival of Personal Finance

How do you frugally budget for a few luxuries, and what types of insurance do you need? Those topics are covered in the 171 Edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. Hosted by Sound Money Matters, the carnival is an excellent mix of financial, career and frugal news.

Thanks to the host for compiling a great carnival and for including my piece -- Bankruptcy and Gift Cards– Seeking Protection for Consumers -- in the lineup. Here are a few of the items that caught my eye:

From My Money Blog: Saving Money on Entertainment,

• great date-night tips for married couples
• frugal family fun
• how to save on movies

From I’ve Paid Twice for This Already: I Want My Fun To Be Fun - So I Budget

• make financial room for extra perks
• how to plan for extra treats

From The Digerati Life reviews: in Get The Right Coverage! Insurance Policies You Need and Those To Avoid.

• insurance 101
• coverage for renters and homeowners

From Gather Little by Little: How to Sell a Used Car.

• prepping your car for sale
• researching price
• how to market your used car

______________

Here's how to buy my new book:

@ Amazon.com
@ Barnes & Noble
@ Borders
@ Target.com

Save the Wedding Glitter for Retirement & Other Tips from Festival of Frugality

Cut wedding costs, seek free entertainment and chew on frugal philosophy. Those are some of topics posted at the 121st edition of the Festival of Frugality -- (organized by Rather be Shopping.) Thanks to the host for assembling a great carnival. Excellent job! Thanks for including one of my posts in the lineup.

Here are a few of the articles that caught my eye:

From FMF: How to Have Half a Million Dollars at Retirement by Controlling Wedding Costs posted at Free Money Finance.

From Saving Advice: Free (Or Nearly Free) Entertainment For Every Week of the Year posted at SavingAdvice.com Blog

From Living Almost Large: Downgrading your lifestyle? posted at LivingAlmostLarge.

Once again: Thanks to Rather Be Shopping for organizing a thoughtful and thought-provoking carnival.

______________

Digg!

Budget Reality Checks & Other Links from 118th Festival of Frugality

The: Festival of Frugality #118: ABC Edition is up at My Dollar Plan. With organization and style, the host has put together a great lineup. Thanks to My Dollar Plan for including my post in the mix.

Here are a few of the posts that caught my eye.

From Yan: 14 Easy Ways to get the best Shopping Deals posted at buxr.com. A very helpful list of shopping tips.

From Shana: Smart Easy Money: Budgeting is Only for Lean Times?? posted at Smart Easy Money. This is a very thoughtful piece about the need for budgeting in a boom or bust economy. This post delivers a great reality check!

From Silicon Valley Blogger: Serious Savers Who Died Very Wealthy posted at The Digerati Life. I enjoyed this piece about secret millionaires who saved large fortunes and gave a portion to charity.

From Steward: Save to Buy … If You Buy At All posted at My Family’s Money. This is an instructive strategy for buying only what you need and can afford.

Once again, thanks to the host (My Dollar Plan) for taking the time to put together a great festival!

______________

Frugal Renters in High End Neighorhoods & Other Picks from Festival of Frugality

Like My Two Dollars, I rent an affordable home (an apartment) in a neighborhood of million-dollar homes. My Two Dollars blogs about the economics of renting and that post was one of my favorites from the 107th Festival of Frugality edition, which is up at Cash Money Life.

It's an excellent carnival and I am grateful to the host for including one of my pieces in the lineup. Here are a few of the posts that caught my eye.

From Tip Diva: Top Ten Tips for Reducing Your Electricity.

From My Two Dollars: the frugal option is to rent an apartment, rather than buy a home.

From Beauty and Grooming: beauty tips for winter skin and hair care.

From Free From Broke: breakfast is the most important meal.
~~~~
Previous Posts:

What is Luxury? Town & Country: Luxe is a Moving Target
Reformed Spenders Provide 10 Ways to Save in 2008
Barking Dogs, Stinking Turtles and Sick Hamsters Taught Me About Money
Cheap Travel Guide: Month-by-Month, City-by-City Hotel Savings Rates

~~~~
Sharon Harvey Rosenberg is the author of The Frugal Duchess of South Beach: How to Live Well and Save Money... Anywhere!, which will be published in the Spring of 2008 by DPL Press.




______________

Save $$$ With Digital Camera & Other Picks from Festival of Frugality

Plonkee Money hosted the 103rd festival of frugality. Wonderful hosting job. Thanks to the host for including my post in the mix. Here are a few of the other posts that caught my eye:

Lightening presents Reducing the Grocery Budget - Meat posted at Lightening. I liked this post about cutting out meat from meals. It also has links to other money-saving grocery tips.

Super Saver presents How A Digital Camera Helps Me Save Money And Time posted at My Wealth Builder. This is a super, super post featuring creative ways to use a digital camera to save time and money. Who knew that a digital camera can help with home repairs?

Raymond presents How To Find a Great Apartment Rental and Get Cash Back posted at Money Blue Book. This is a very detailed post about how to find an apartment and really save. (Even earn money in the process!)

Penny Nickel presents Holiday Gifting: 14 Ways to Give More Meaning and Less Stuff posted at Money and Values I liked this thoughtful post filled with creative and meaningful gift ideas.

______________
Digg!

The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store

Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen
Frugal Jazz & Blues
Frugal Comic Book Connection
__

Holiday Family Activities & More at Carnival of Family Life

Limiting the holiday advertising pull on our kids is one of several excellent posts at the Carnival of Family Life #3, which is hosted by The So Called Me. It's a fun lineup of stories, including several with a holiday themes and frugal holiday activities for families. Thanks to the host for including one of my posts.



Here are a few articles that caught my eye. Please visit the carnival, there are really some super holiday stories in the mix.

From Being Frugal.net: 5 Ways to Keep the Gimmes Away This Christmas. I like the tips about limiting kids' exposure to marketing pitches on the TV. Being Frugal even recommends tossing the toy catalogues that are stuffed everywhere like Thanksgiving turkey.


Isabelle Boulay presents The 5 Warning Signs of Staph Infection Should be Known by All Parents posted at Medopdedia. This one touches a nerve. My daughter had a few blisters on her thumb. Of course, with the recent bout of staph infection in our region of the country, she was sent right to the pediatrician's office. Not to worry; her thumb was just bruised. But we should all be familiar with the symptoms. This is a helpful post.



Tiffany Colter presents Don’t know what you’ve got, till you get it back. posted at Writing Career Coach.This is another keeper, I really enjoyed this refreshing post. It made me really think about all of the people, circumstances and gifts that I have taken for granted.

The Baglady presents The Cost of Living in Paradise Redux - A Financial Project All Young People Could Do posted at The Baglady. This post involves a school project in Hawaii, but the lessons in budgeting are applicable to all of us.




Previous Posts Today:
5 Reasons Why I Have a Crush on My Parents' Retirement Magazines
What to Do After Losing a Job or Before the Pink Slip Arrives


______________

Digg!

The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store

Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen
Frugal Jazz & Blues
Frugal Comic Book Connection
__

Zen Approach to Frugal Living: All Women Blogging Carnival is Up

Teaching children how to be economical about thought, speech and action --the Zen approach to life -- is one of several posts in The All Women Blogging Carnival at Barmus. Thanks to the host for putting together an excellent mix of posts.

Here are a few that caught my eye:

From Healthy Living Lounge: The only zen gift to give your children (A great piece on the value of teaching our kids to sit still and to just be.) Personally, I find that I make better decisions (fewer mistakes) about money, career and relationships when I'm in Zen mode.

From I've Paid For This Twice Already: Reaching Our Debt Crossover Point is Harder Than I Thought (This is a very helpful piece about debt reduction).

From Parenting Squad: Timeshare a Nanny (An interesting option for reducing childcare costs.) Share a nanny. Get high-quality care by splitting the costs.

Thanks again to the host for providing the space and time. Thanks for including my post in the mix.

______________


Digg!

The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store

Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen
Frugal Jazz & Blues
Frugal Comic Book Connection
__

Grey's Anatomy Star Knits & Other Hobbies From Festival of Frugality

Yarn and knitting needles are in the real-time script of Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl in this photo from Us magazine. Knitting is a frugal hobby that offers relaxation and practical finished products.

"KNITTING FACTORY
Grey's star Katherine Heigl takes a break from shooting to hit a local knitting store in Santa Monica, CA. --Us magazine

For more insights about frugal crafts and kids, check out this post from the latest Festival of Frugality. It's a very thoughtful piece about how a father spends time with kids in a craft shop. He offers a very frugal & meaningful family activity. Also from FOF, I enjoyed this piece about 10 Smart Ways To Save Money On Your Hobbies. This post has practical and thoughtful suggestions for financing pleasures. Thanks to both authors for contributing to the Festival of Frugality, which has about 30 great posts on different topics.

The benefits of relaxation and down time are immense. And hobbies are good for businesses and careers. For instance, I work smarter when I take time out.

"Too little downtime may have life or-death consequences: A nine-year study of 12,338 men ages 35 to 57, all free of heart disease showed that those who took the most vacations were 29 percent less likely to be diagnosed later with heart disease -- and 17 percent less likely to die of it -- than those who skipped vacations."
--Make Time for Yourself by Dianne Hales, Parade magazine.

How important are hobbies to our long-term physical and fiscal health? Very. A friend of mine recovered from a personal tragedy with the help of knitting. She stitched her life together during the meditative silence of knitting. After enrolling in a knitting class, she made a woman's suit (looked like Chanel), children's clothes, sweaters and other garments. My friend now teaches small community classes on knitting.

My personal list of frugal hobbies includes:

• writing
• reading
• baking
• gardening.

I dabble in my little porch garden, but my sister in Orlando is the real gardener. She produces organic collard greens, peppers, tomatoes and other yummy vegetables. She grows enough to present neighbors, friends and family with gifts of plants and produce. The roots in her garden have a great home.

______________

The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store
Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen
Frugal Jazz & Blues

__

How to Quit Your Job & Other Tips at Carnival of Personal Finance

From an informative comparison of college savings plans to a how-to-quit your job guide, The Carnival of Personal Finance No. 91 is a great read. The Sun’s Financial Diary runs an excellent show. The line-up is well organized with very thoughtful commentary from the host, who must have spent hours reading, digesting and sifting through the submissions.

Here are a few of the posts that caught my eye:

I enjoyed Coverdell IRA vs. 529 plan for College Savings from Financial Zero to Hero Husband and Dad. This post provided a very thoughtful summary and comparison of two popular savings plans.

Here's another must-read: A Job Quitter’s Primer: 25 Reasons To Leave Your Job from Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life. This is an excellent article for those considering a job move.
It's a keeper.

When Your Car is a Gold Digger: Budgeting for Auto Maintenance from Money Under 30 is also a very helpful piece. I especially liked the tip about creating a self-insurance plan for repairs.

I'm glad to be in the line-up. Thanks to the host for taking the time to read over 75 entries and to organize such a wonderful carnival.
______________




The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store
Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen
Frugal Jazz & Blues

__

Debt Hater's Carnival of Debt Reduction

Debt Hater hosts The 78th Carnival of Debt Reduction. Financial Priorities holds center stage at this carnival, which is well-organized and features smart commentary.

Here are a few of the posts that caught my eye, with links quoting the descriptions offered by Debt Hater.

• Blogging Away Debt: "isn’t getting fanatical about debt repayment." The Priority: living the good life and developing good fiscal habits.
• The Family CEO: "switched to debit from credit to avoid overspending." The Wisdom: What a difference a debit card makes!
• Queercents offers: "paying attention to your emotions" while spending. The Bottom Line: A very insightful and helpful piece about emotional shopping.

I'm happy to included in the line-up. Thanks to the host for reading, organizing and creating the carnival. It's an excellent read.

_____________



The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store
Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen
Frugal Jazz & Blues

__

Stingy Students: Cooking up a Festival of Frugality: My Samples From the Menu

With a tasty nod to TV cooking stars, the Festival of Frugality #63 is up at Stingy Students.

Here are a few of my favorite entrees from the lineup:

PF Advice has a super post about getting free plants for the garden.

Savvy Steward: A DIY Resource Guide

QueerCents has a yummy post about shopping for furniture, including a scratch and dint sale.

Tight Fisted Miser has a thoughtful piece: If I'm frugal, why am I poor?

I am honored to be included in the mix. Thanks to the host for stirring up a tasty festival. It's an excellent stew!
______________

Making Our Way Hosts Carnival of 30s and 40s

The Third Edition of the 30s and 40s Personal Finance Carnival is up at Making Our Way.

Here are a few of the posts that caught my attention:

Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog : Real Estate Myths that home owners fall in love with.

Debt Free: How to protect yourself against job loss: 5 Tips

Brian C. Fleming: How to Open an Online Savings Account.

The Carnival also includes two posts from me. I'm honored to be included in the field. Thanks to the host for taking the time and effort to put together the carnival.

___________




The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store
Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen
Frugal Jazz & Blues

__

Carnival of Money Stories

The field of Carnivals included The Carnival Of Money Stories #5, hosted by The Digerati Life. The lineup includes very engaging stories about folks and their money. The host has done a great job of screening and categorizing the different posts. I like the story snippets that follow each link.
Here are a few of my favorites posts from the Carnival:

Money, Matter, and More Musings provided a thoughtful tale about his motorcycle, his lunch and his commute.

The Money Blog Site posted an insightful piece: What To Do With a Bonus

I'm happy to be included in the crowd. Thanks to the host for taking the time and energy to compile the Carnival!

_____________




The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store
Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen
Frugal Jazz & Blues

__

Lazy Man Scores With Festival of Frugality #62

Baseball is the theme of 62nd Edition of the Festival of Frugality, which is hosted by Lazy Man, who pitched extra innings to put together a fun festival. With organization and commentary, the FoF is a grand slam. But hey? Where was Hank Aaron in the lineup?

Here are a few of my favorite posts:

Money Under 30 had a great post about buy nothing year.

"Before dismissing a buy nothing year as insane and unachievable, consider the fact that the premise does not preclude buying the things you need for survival such as food, and actually allows to buy used or barter for anything you may desire. A secondary goal of buy nothing year is to encourage you to support local farmers and merchants in buying the foodstuffs you do need."

A Silver Lining has a cute piece on putting old calendars back into circulation.

And We're in Debt has a very helpful piece about saving money while vacationing.

I was quite happy to be featured in the lineup. Thanks to Lazy Man for creating a fun playing field. Congrats!


______________




The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store
Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen
Frugal Jazz & Blues

__

Money-Saving Tips at the Carnival of Family Life

Earlier today, I posted my Tuesday Tip about unusual uses for bubble wrap: good for a cheap burglar alarm & frig protection for fruits/veggies.

I also recommend The 42nd edition of the Carnival of Family Life, which is now up at An Island Life. From stories about hiring dumb real estate agents to hand-me down clothes, the Carnival of Family Life has an excellent line-up.


The Carnival features KSuccess, who wrote a great post about priceless gifts parents can give their kids.

"As parents, we all want our children to have the best things in life. But in our quest to give them the best “stuff,” we sometimes forget about some of the other more important gifts we can give them." --KSuccess

Little Mummy has a very helpful list of frugal tips for parents, featuring advice about hand-me downs, and DIY baby food.

Aridni has an informative how-to about buying a first home. I like her tips, including the one about hiring a real estate agent.

Hire the dumb guy. The top agents want to make money from the top houses. You’re more of a hassle with your small budget. But the dumb guy? He’s not making as many sales. He wants to work for you (especially if he knows you want to upgrade in a few years and will need someone to sell your house and take you out to find a new house). Yet the greatest reason for hiring the dumb guy? He’ll have the inside story on everything--Aridni

I am grateful that my post was included in the line-up. Thanks to Island Life for putting together an excellent carnival!
______________




The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store
Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen
Frugal Jazz & Blues

__

Hustler Money Blog Hosts Festival of Frugality #61

From saving money on your grocery bill to living frugally with style, there are many great posts at the Festival of Frugality #61 which is hosted by Hustler Money Blog.

I'm honored to be included in the roundup, which features many excellent posts.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Single Ma: Living Frugally with style.

An English Major's Money: Frugal Pleasures

Thrifty Mommy: 50 ways to save on grocery bills.

DigeratiLife: Are mail-in rebates worth the effort?

There are other excellent posts. But I teach a journalism class in 15 minutes and I have to run.

Thanks to Hustler Money Blog for doing such a great job and taking the time to organize the festival. (There's so much material!).


______________




The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store
Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen
Frugal Jazz & Blues

__

Frugal For Life Hosts Illustrated Festival of Frugality & FFL is Up for Blog Award

With a graceful economy of words Dawn of Frugal for Life has hosted a fully illustrated Festival of Frugality. Click on the photo icons to read the different posts.

The FFL version of the FoF includes The Common Room's insightful piece on a $30 per month (per person) food budget.

Personal Finance for Students and Fresh Grads has a wonderful piece about tipping. I'm also very passionate about this subject: Please tip well. Don't stiff servers!

Money Smart Life has a savvy piece about cutting cell phone bills.

There's so much that's good and I wish I had a thousand words to describe the entire Festival. I'm honored to be included. Thanks to Dawn for being such a great host and for taking the time to assemble the posts.

By the way, she's up for a blog award. Check it out! Congrats Dawn!!!
______________




The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store
Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen
Frugal Jazz & Blues

__

The Festival of Frugality Rocks!

From squeezing out the last drop of toothpaste from the tube to frugal travel tips, the 59th Installment of the Festival of Frugality offers a lot of really good info! Host Golbguru of Money, Matter and More Musings has done a wonderful job of providing graphics and helpful descriptions of each post. The submissions are also neatly divided into helpful categories.

Here are a few posts that caught my attention:

Great Family Gadgets has a cute piece about squeezing every drop out of tubes.

Frugal Upstate wrote an insightful post about why aprons are frugal.

Stingy Students wrote a great piece about eating your way to free air travel.

and Eating Well on a Budget posted an article about a zero-based food budget.

This is just a short sample of the great posts in the carnival. I'm happy to be included in the group. Thanks to the host for investing the time, space and energy. Excellent job!


______________



The Frugal Duchess Booktique
The Frugal Duchess of Beauty Store
Book Shop of Fear
The Poetry & Drama Queen

_____________

Five Cent Nickel Hosts Carnival of Personal Finance

The 85th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance is up and running at Five Cent Nickel, one of my favorite blogs. (Browse through his archives, while you're there and check out his post on low-cost checks.)

Nickel has done an excellent job of sorting through a large field of submissions.

Here are a few carnival items that caught my eye: I love the post from My Financial Awareness about money and self-acceptance. That's a keeper.

Money for the Rest of Us posted a very thoughtful piece about spending and values: cast iron pans vs designer clothes. Excellent piece!

I also really enjoyed ProBargain Hunter's helpful piece on potential savings from Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) I'm bookmarking that one, which comes with a lot of helpful links.

I'm honored to be included in that group and I'm grateful to the host for providing carnival space. Thanks Nickel!
______________



The Frugal Duchess Boutique
_______________

The Festival of Frugality is Running

The Festival of Frugality is up at The Weight of Money. Congrats to the host for managing and sorting the field of submissions. (Our host sorted a large field down to about 12 posts.)

It's a rich range of posts. I especially enjoyed Mapgirl's piece about her liberation from a car note and her fantasy about a Mini Cooper S Convertible. Cute Car; great post!

A Girl Worth Saving has a fun post about the tightfisted tips she picked up in college. I enjoyed Kelly's comments about not shopping retail and tapping into ethnic grocery stores for supplies.

My Two Dollars has an insightful post about halting the bottled water craze. Excellent info with well-made points.

Actually, I enjoyed all of the posts. Really good stuff and I'm honored to be included in that lineup.

Congrats and Thanks to The Weight of Money for providing the space, time and energy!
______________



The Frugal Duchess Boutique
_____________