Carnival of Personal Finance #257 – Canadian Banknotes Edition

Welcome to Canadian Finance Blog and the 257th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance! The last time I hosted this carnival, it happened to be the first day with the new site layout. This time, I thought we could look at the banknotes in circulation in Canada. Maybe it’s just national pride, but I think we have some of the most colourful, best looking money in the world! There were 72 posts that made it into the carnival this week, lots of great reading to keep you busy all week!

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Editor’s Picks

Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents presents Is Paying Off Your Mortgage Early Always the Best Option?, and says, “This is the conventional wisdom behind paying off the mortgage early. However, it may not actually always be your best bet.”

Panda Mike from Green Panda Treehouse presents 14 Essential First Time Home Buyer Tips, and says, “I’ve gathered a few first time home buyer tips to help you make the right decision based on all the “little mistakes” we had made when we first purchase our house and what we learned from them.”

J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy presents It’s True: I Only Shop on Sale, and says, “I don’t think I mean to do this, it’s just that not many things are truly WORTH the money to me .”

Mike Piper from The Oblivious Investor presents Is Simplicity Overrated in Investing?, and says, “Simplicity is a buzzword in investing, but when it comes with a cost, how much are you willing to pay?”

LeanLifeCoach from Eliminate the Muda! presents Are You Married To A Gambler?, and says, “Unless your spouse is actively engaged in your finances, you may be married to a gambler. “

Credit

Andy from Saving to Invest presents 2010 and 2011 Income Tax Brackets – New Provisions and Expiring Bush Tax Cuts Plus Higher Capital Gains, Dividend and Estate Tax Rates, and says, “With tax season complete, it is now time to look forward and implement some smart tax management strategies to reduce your mitigate your tax liability for the years ahead. This is particularly the case with a number of new provisions and expiring tax breaks in 2010 and 2011.”

Tim Chen from NerdWallet Credit Card Watch presents Chase Freedom: Don’t Expect Your Rewards Program to Last, and says, “The Chase Freedom card has been through at least 3-4 different rewards programs in the past few years, and just when you think you’ve got a good one, they’ll take it away from you. I’m the latest victim of this, and this post is my rant.”

Craig/FFB from Free From Broke presents Benefits of Credit Cards, and says, “Credit cards get a bum rap, but for those who are responsible with them, credit cards carry many great benefits!”

PT from PT Money presents How to Raise My Credit Score?, and says, “Steps you can take to improve your credit score. No gimmicks or quick fixes. Just the facts about the FICO score and how you can improve yours.”

Silicon Valley Blogger from The Digerati Life presents How To Get Approved For A Prime Credit Card.

The Smarter Wallet from The Smarter Wallet presents Best Student Credit Cards For Those In College, and says, “For those looking for credit cards to start building credit with. Use your cards wisely.”

Mr. Credit Card from Ask Mr. Credit Card presents More Information From Visa About Their Crackdown.

Cecil Dellison from Clear Choice Credit Card Carnival presents Credit Card Laws: Have You Noticed the Changes?.

Debt

Hank from Own The Dollar presents The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey – Baby Step Six Pay Off Your Mortgage Early, and says, “A review of Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and especially baby step number six where people pay off their mortgage early.”

Mr. Money from Smart On Money presents Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps To Getting Out Of Debt, and says, “Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps is a great way to get yourself motivated to get out of debt, grow wealth and give. “

Eric from Narrow Bridge presents How the New Student Loan Law Impacts You, and says, “In March, we were given an overhaul to the student loan system. This is how it will impact you.”

2 Cents from Balance Junkie presents Debt Clock: What Does Yours Look Like?, and says, “This is a look at how debt levels are mounting both at the national and individual level as well as some suggestions for turning back your own debt clock.”

MD from Studenomics presents Good Debt vs Bad Debt Argument.

Katie Dean from Personal Finance Analyst presents MyRichUncle: The Catalyst for the Investigation on Student Lending .

Finance

Bret from Hope to Prosper presents How Secure is your Future?, and says, “Between the mayhem in the markets, the economic uncertainty in the world and a number of incidents I have witnessed lately, I have been thinking a lot about my future.”

Junior Boomer from Consumer Boomer presents What is a Good Credit Score?, and says, “What does it mean to have a good credit score? How is it calculated? Is it important to you … and … how can you improve your score?”

RJ Weiss from Gen Y Wealth presents 5 Weird Habits Than Can Make You Rich, and says, “Only 5% of people achieve financial independence in their life. If only a small minority achieve financial success, why do the same things day in and day out everyone else? Doesn’t it make sense to try something a little different, even if it can be considered a little weird?”

Laura Adams from Dinks Finance presents Should Couples Combine Their Finances?, and says, “Here are 3 tips to follow when you’re considering combining finances with your sweetheart.”

jaime from Eventual Millionaire presents Does Money Grow on Trees.. Really?.

FIRE Finance from FIRE Finance presents What is the Rule of 72?, and says, “If you are planning to double your money, then The Rule of 72 is a quick way to determine how long it will take do so …”

Curt from PennyJobs.com presents The Collapse of Venezuela is a Current Example of What Results When Socialism Is Allowed to Overtake Capitalism.

Frugality

Peter from Bible Money Matters presents Energy Saving Home Improvement Rebates: The Homestar Program – Cash For Caulkers, and says, “The Homestar Program, which gives rebates for energy saving home improvements, was passed by the House of Representatives on May 6th. Now it goes to the Senate.”

Kristia from Family Balance Sheet presents Front Yard Landscaping: 15 Tips to Help You Design Your Landscape and Save Money.

Donna Freedman from Surviving And Thriving presents I glean ketchup packets. So what?, and says, “Want to be considered weird, embarrassing or just plain cheap? Be frugal among people who aren’t. I’m tempted to write off criticisms as simple rudeness. But I wonder if there isn’t some insecurity involved.”

Craig Ford from Money Help For Christians presents Disposable Diapers Vs. Cloth Diapers, and says, “This post introduces the advantages and disadvantages of both cloth and disposable diapers.”

Jim from Wanderlust Journey presents Visit a Local Winery.

FMF from Free Money Finance presents The Annual 50%, and says, “How to save money and declutter your life at the same time!”

Money Beagle from Money Beagle presents Shopping: The Four Worst Words In The World.

Mrs. Not Made of Money from Not Made of Money presents Frugal Ideas for a Home Based Vacation.”

Rob from Energy Saving Gadgets presents Solar Landscape Lighting is Responsible and Cost Effective, and says, “Solar Landscape Lighting is Responsible and Cost Effective”

Investing

Clint from Accumulating Money presents Property Investment.

D4L from Dividends Value presents The Secret To Finding The Best Dividend Stocks, and says, “Is a stock with a 3% yield and a 9% dividend growth rate better than one with a 7% yield and a 1.5% dividend growth rate? Last week we looked at yield-on-cost (YOC) and how it can be used to track the progress of a growing dividend of an individual stock. However, it is not a good metric for comparing multiple dividend stocks with each another.”

Darwin from Darwin’s Money presents 529 Plans Explained – Everything You Didn’t Know, and says, “529 Plans Explained – Everything You Didn’t Know – from the ability to deduct contributions to which plan is best.”

Dan from ETF Base presents How to Trade 79 ETFs for Free, and says, “A review of several methods to trade 79 different ETFs for free.”

Financial Uproar from Financial Uproar presents A Letter To The Gold Nuts, and says, “While I believe gold has a place in your portfolio, maybe now is time to take some profits.”

Adam from Magical Penny presents Five Reasons Not To Invest In Single Shares , and says, “If you have the time, energy and enough pennies to invest, buying individual stocks can be highly profitable but here are 5 reasons why it’s not worth the trouble
Adam “

Arjun Rudra from Investing Thesis presents Buy, Sell or Hold Bridgewater Systems (TSX:BWC) with Daniel Lee of M Partners.

Mr. GoTo from Go To Retirement presents The Gold Investing Dilemma, and says, “Gold is hot but does buying now make sense?”

Mr. ToughMoneyLove from Tough Money Love presents Investing 2010 – Whom Do You Trust?, and says, “When so-called experts can’t explain a precipitous market drop, trust goes out the window.”

Money Management

Wealth Pilgrim from Wealth Pilgrim presents How to Make Really Smart Decisions About Risk, and says, “How to make smart decisions about risk? Understand that our definition often shifts with circumstances. Here’s a quick solution that will make you smarter instantaneously.”

Kevin from Financially Poor presents 3 Tips For Couples To Make A Budget.

eemusings from Musings of an Abstract Aucklander presents The skill of paying bills, and says, “I’m officially a convert to online billing…and paying them when I get them!”

Revanche from A Gai Shan Life presents Late nights increase eating out.

Kyle C. from Suburban Dollar presents Sell Your Car Yourself, Screw the Dealership.

Stacking Pennies from Stacking Pennies presents $69,488 – Is this TMI?

ElizabethG (Modern Gal) from Modern Gal presents Stess and Financial Management.

Jason from One Money Design presents Money Margin: It is No Mirage!, and says, “We could all use a little more money margin in our lives, right? Society has become used to the face money margin is a mirage. Well, it’s not!”

Real Estate

Ron from The Wisdom Journal presents Is A Reverse Mortgage Just Another Way To Scam Homeowners?, and says, “Reverse mortgages can provide welcome relief for strapped homeowners who don’t want to move, but there are some pitfalls to avoid.”

Wealth Pilgrim from Wealth Pilgrim presents How to Reduce Closing Costs In Escrow, and says, “You can reduce closing cost in escrow if you are a home buyer. New rules went into effect January 1st that can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars.”

Squirrelers from Squirrelers presents The True Long-Term Costs of Homeownership, and says, “Owning a home involves many costs first-time buyers may not consider. Additionally, there is the question “do we ever truly own our home?” This article explores these topics.”

Sean from Grow Money presents 10 Lessons Learned As A LandLord.

Reviews

Adam from RabbitFunds presents 4 Things Fahrenheit 451 taught me about Personal Finance, and says, “I just finished reading Ray Bradbury’s best known work “Fahrenheit 451.” After reading the book and researching various statements that Bradbury himself made about it, I realized that there are several points that coincide with personal finance.”

Darren from MORE than Finances presents What’s More Important – Your Money Or Your Life?, and says, “In your job, are you making a living? Or are you actually “making a dying?”

Jill from My Dollar Plan presents SmartyPig Bank, and says, “This article reviews SmartyPig Bank’s savings account and its features.”

Saving

Olivia from Independent Beginnings presents Why the Little Things Really Do Matter, and says, “See why saving a few dollars here and there and really be worthwhile in the long run!”

Craig from Help Me Travel Cheap presents Should You Rent A Car or Drive Your Own on Vacation?, and says, “Find out how to calculate the cost between renting a car and driving your own on vacation.”

Daniel from Sweating The Big Stuff presents Why Squeezing Every Last Penny Out of Savings Accounts Isn’t Worth It, and says, “4 reasons why putting every dollar in a savings account just doesn’t make sense.”

Austin Morgan from Foreigner’s Finances presents ING Broke Up With Me, and says, “Last week ING “permanently ended their relationship” with me. Here’s my side of the story.”

Christian Treitler from Money Obedience presents Early retirement is a double whammy! , and says, “When you retire early, you lose years in which you can add money to your savings, and you add years in which you have to withdraw money from your savings.”

Other

hejustlaughs from Endless Gibberish presents The complete overview to dining for miles on Rewards Network., and says, “I detail the Reward Network’s dining for miles program along with tips and tricks on getting easy VIP status in the program along with advice on how to avoid screen out bad restaurants.”

The Financial Blogger from The Financial Blogger presents Why I Blog, and says, “When I first started, I was convinced that I was going to be able to make money. At that time, most people laughed at me saying that if I was able to make more than $200/month, I would be a king. Well let me tell you, the blogging world has changed a lot since then.”

Len from Len Penzo dot Com presents How I Survived Two Armed Robberies (And How You Can Too).

Paul Williams from Provident Planning presents Preaching Christ Crucified, and says, “This is a post for Christians to remind us that our success in God’s eyes is not about following the right financial steps or tithing – it’s all about our desire to serve Him in light of the gift Christ has given us.”

Kim Snider from Kimmunications from Kim Snider presents Insure Risks You Cannot Afford to Take in Retirement, and says, “Category should be Retirement Insurance”

Chris from Stumble Forward presents Timeshare Scam Companies: 10 Things You Should Know, and says, “Learn 10 truths about timeshare scam companies before you decide to buy.”

Michael Pruser from The Dough Roller presents Pay-Per-Mile Auto Insurance? Great Idea Ahead of its Time.

Michelle from Debt Reduction 101 presents The joys of mattress shopping.

Hope you enjoy all these great articles! Bloggers, submit your article for next week’s edition, hosted by Money Relationship.

Images from Wikipedia.

Related Posts:

• Canadian Finance Carnival #35
• Dispelling 3 Personal Finance Myths
• 3 Different Types of Canadian Personal Loans and How They Work