Yakezie Carnival 2012 New Year’s Edition

Well, it’s Jan 1, 2012 and time for the first carnival of the new year for the Yakezie Carnival!

I’m very pleased to start the Carnival off and hopefully this will be the year of years, especially since many believe that the Mayan calendar signifies the end of the world in 2012.  Personally I don’t believe that to be true and quite honestly, I’ve very optimistic about this new year!

 

Well, I’m off to get ready for the new year!  So here is the carnival articles to start off the new year!

Everyday Tips and Thoughts: Comparing The Real Costs of Driving Vs. Flying – We recently took at trip to Florida from Detroit. Described a breakdown of real costs of flying to Florida vs. driving to Florida. The cost is actually much closer than you think.

Free From Broke : Investment Losses? Harvest them for a Tax Deduction – Investment losses aren’t all bad. You can use your investment losses for harvesting tax deductions to lower your taxable income. See how tax harvesting is done.

Money Reasons : Will Buying A Laptop For Christmas Make My Son A Digerati? – Supplying your kids with the latest technology may make then superior technology users. Will they become Digerati?

RamblingFever Money: Should You Smoke Cigarettes or Invest for Retirement? – Using assumptions based on averages in the U.S., this post compares the life and finances of one guy who chooses to spend most of his life smoking with another guy who chooses to invest his money instead.

20s Finances : ROTH IRA – Great Investment in your 20s – Finding the best first investment is a difficult thing. If you are already investing in your employer’s 401k or 403b plan or your employer doesn’t have offer one, a Roth IRA is the way to go!

The Family CEO : Last Minute Gift Idea: Charitable Donations – Stuck for a last minute gift idea? How about a charitable donation? Here are three things to consider when giving a charitable donation as a gift.

Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance: Drive an Old Car? Auto Insurance You Might Not Need – If you drive and old car (mine’s 13 years old), you may want to lower your auto insurance premiums and drop some coverage. Learn a bit more to make a good decision.

101 Centavos : Retiring Abroad – A Few Things to Ponder – Retirement is like a long vacation in Las Vegas. The goal is to enjoy it the fullest, but not so fully that you run out of money. ~Jonathan Clement… Stretch you dollar farther by considering retirement abroad!

Darwin’s Money: 2012 Social Security Tax Deal Explained – Here are the juicy details behind the latest Payroll Tax holiday on Social Security taxes for the beginning of 2012.

Broke Professionals : Woman’s Work – Is the concept of woman’s work or man’s work still around? If not, then why are there not more woman CEO’s? Why do all father’s not get paternity leave? Why do men not aspire to administrative assistant jobs? Why do more women still bear primary responsibility for child rearing and housekeeping? Interested? Read more!

Invest in the Markets: Make Money Buying Stocks – We buy stocks to make money… we don’t make money to lose it buying stocks. Yet so many investors seem to do the latter. Here’s some ideas and a real-time example of how to preserve capital, minimize risk, and maximize returns.

Your Finances Simplified : 8 Hidden Costs of Home Ownership – Owning a home has always been a part of the American dream. It’s something that we fantasize about when we’re young, something we scrimp and save for, and quite frankly, something we end up paying for, for the rest of our lives. Check out these eight hidden cost associated with the dream!

Sweating the Big Stuff : The Problem With Money Ratios – I really enjoyed the book. However, the book is geared more toward people in their 40s and beyond.

Financial Success for Young Adults: Working Part Time in College – If you are a college student living on a budget, you will want to look at areas where you can earn more money. Fortunately, there are many common university jobs for students working part time in college.

Newlyweds on a Budget : Where did our money go? – One newlywed couple reviews their annual budget to answer the question: Where did our money go?

The Dog Ate My Wallet: U.S. Healthcare is Broken – A discussion of how the costs of medical care are drastcially different based on who is paying- an insurance company or a private person, and the effect this can have on personal finances.

Money Q&A : Have You Been Scammed or Ripped Off? How to Get Help and Get The Problem Resolved. – Have You Been Scammed or Ripped Off? How to Get Help and Get The Problem Resolved.

PT Money Personal Finance: Teaching Money to Children and Teenagers Through the Ages – Discusses ways to teach your child to be money savvy at any age.

krantcents: No Excuses! – Make no excuses! Excuses mean no responsibility or accountability.

Finance Fox : 7 Things About Reality That Business Education Never Taught Me! – Despite my educational background and a passion for business, reality is different. And as much as I’ve learned in school, I have equally as much learned on my own.Here are 7 things that I never learned in school which I learned on my own.

Frugal Zeitgeist: Cheapest Places To Live In America – A look at the cost of living in various places around the United States with research and opinion.

Saving Money Today: Dividend Aristocrats List 2012 – The S&P Dividend Aristocrats list grew a bit larger in 2012 as ten new stocks joined the list and one was dropped for not increasing their dividend.

My University Money: The Smith Manoeuvre – Make Your Mortgage Tax Deductible – Many of the personal finance sites I visit like to share their own financial situation in with their readers. I believe I finally have something that might stir some thought one way or another – The Smith Manoeuvre.

Family Money Values: Types of Real Estate Investments – Do you want part of your portfolio in real estate, but how don’t know how to structure it to meet your lifestyle and keep your marriage intact? Family Money Values discusses the various ways to be in real estate without necessarily owning property.

Cents To Save: Update on Credit Card Debt – Our plans for this year are to eliminate the credit card debt. This gives us 12 months. In twelve months we will need to apply $910.00 extra dollars to the credit card to completely pay it off. We can do this!!

Smart Family Finance : A Guide to Common Seller Concessions: Because a Home Buyer Might Ask You to Throw In a Ferrari – Odd, but some homebuyers have asked for Ferrari’s as a seller concession. Knowing what the common seller concessions are will help you be a better home seller.

Thriftability: Save Money on Insurance: Simplify by Bundling – As the quest continues to save money on insurance premiums, individuals and families may be overlooking a common method to doing so. Going with one company could just be the ticket, not only for the health of your bank account, but also to make things just a bit simpler.

My Broken Coin : Under Beaker’s Microscope: Why I Let My Wife Shop – I am a believer that everything is shared in a marriage. We share the ups and downs, the good times and the bad. We are a team that strives to improve our lives for the better, and we do this together.

Free Money Wisdom: Are You Frugal or Cheap? Find Out with This Test – So, how would you know if you are frugal or cheap? Moolanomy came out with a frugal vs. cheap test a while back which inspired this post. Take out a sheet of paper and a pencil and answer these 12 short questions:

Passive Income To Retire : My Early Retirement Plan in Detail – I share my early retirement plan in detail, including target dates and monthly target income amounts. Find out how I am going to do it.

Prairie Eco Thrifter: Is a Penny Saved a Penny Earned? – Earning money is far more exciting than saving money – and as an added bonus there is a limit to how much you can save – but the amount you can earn – is limitless. This limitless potential to earn is one of the concepts I will be focusing on as a staff writer for Prairie EcoThrifter.

Funancials : Why I Love (and Hate) Gift Cards – Have you ever had that someone (or many someones) that is impossible to shop for? If so, then Gift Cards seem like the golden answer, except when they aren’t!!!

Thousandaire : The Durbin Amendment Stole Your Money – The Durbin Amendment stole your money and gave it to retail store owners. Thanks Dick Durbin!

The Penny Hoarder : Where Should I Sell My Gift Card? – Check out our comparison chart of the leading gift card buyback companies. Find out who will pay you the highest amount for your gift card….

Novel Investor: Goodbye 2011: Best And Worst Market Awards – Offering up the 2011 Market Awards for the best and worst stocks and ETF categories for the year.

My Retirement Blog : Retirement Planning Software – There are lots of free retirement calculators available on the web. These can be interesting but when you are planning for your retirement they are of limited use. They often give ballpark figures and point you to their company’s financial advisers. Retirement planning software gives you the ability to make a more comprehensive plan. Check out these!

Darwin’s Money : Here’s What Happens When You Rent to College Kids – Renting to college students is no walk in the park as evidenced by our recent experience as landlords.

Money Spruce: I’m Newly Debt Free! (And Ways You Can Be, Too) – As of this week, I’m debt free! Here’s some tips for how I got there that others can use to achieve freedom, too.

Don’t Quit Your Day Job…: A Visualization: Gross Domestic Product by Country, 2010 – I got wonky for an article, but it might be useful when it comes to your portfolio… ever wonder what percentage a country represents in terms of the world economy? Now you can know, in a flashy interactive format!

The Millionaire Nurse: Doctor Visit Soon? Read This – Medical software billing changed this year. Known as HIPPA 5010, this new software upgrade goes into effect January 2012. The problems that may occur in the bills you receive from your doctor are described here. Better read all about it!

Thirty Six Months: Ways to save money shopping online – Online shopping is on the rise, and this year was no exception. Shopping from home allows for bargain hunting, and makes you a smart consumer. Here are some ways to save money online shopping.

 

About This Carnival

For those of you unfamiliar with the Yakezie Personal Finance Blog Network, it is one of the web’s largest, most involved, and most organized group of personal finance and lifestyle bloggers. Participants in the network collaborate multiple times throughout each day on the Yakezie forums and through other mediums. You can view all of the details at the “About Yakezie” page by clicking here.

Thanks checking out the 1st Yakezie Carnival of 2012!

Wishing you the best,
Jester!