Carnival of Retirement #11 – Saving for Retirement

Welcome to the most recent Edition of the Carnival of Retirement. The theme for this week is Saving for Retirement.  If you want to submit a post for next week’s edition, please use the submission form.  Next week’s edition will be hosted by Finance Product Reviews

Editors Picks

Thomas Jensen @ Penge Snak writes Americans Not Saving for Retirement - According to a recent Harris poll, some 34 percent of Americans have no retirement savings whatsoever. Worse, 27 percent of Americans have no personal savings. This has profound consequences for our society as a whole. Think of it: America’s social safety net for retirement has always been very modest. The bulk of American’s retirement income security has always come mostly from employer pensions and personal savings, with only a relatively small part to come from Social Security.

Busy Exec @ The “Busy Executive” Money Blog writes Can you retire on non-traditional assets like personal collections? - One of the things rarely discussed in PF blogs are non-traditional assets in the form of “personal collections”. The fact of the matter is that any item can take on greater value. Usually that value increase comes from age, historical significance or limited availability of the item in the future.

Christopher @ This That and The MBA writes Part 1 of the Retirement Roundtable: What is a 401k, and why is it all over this material HR gave me? - An intro to the 401k.

Career

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes Some Jobs Pay More Than You Think - The other day I overheard a conversation in the park while waiting for my pug to sniff a dry bush on the curb. Two girls were power walking, passing by me, discussing something animatedly.

Debt

Steve @ Money Infant writes How to Quickly Pay Off Your Credit Cards - Do you want a simple formula for paying off your credit cards as quickly as possible? This is what I did to get rid of $60k worth of debt in just 33 months.

Scott @ Mortgage 1A writes FHA Loan Requirements and Underwriting Guidelines - The Federal Housing Administration, commonly known as “FHA,” is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD.) The program was created for low income individuals, or families that might need a little help in the homeownership process.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes American Debt Levels Back on The Rise - The New York Post recently posted a story about Americans deb levels. After the financial meltdown of 2008, Americans were on a tear paying down their debt levels and saving money. Sadly, the trend looks as though it is ending

Corey @ 20s Finances writes Pay off Your Student Loans - Whether you read through magazines or listen to personal finance experts, they all say the same thing: there is no rush to pay off your student loans. They will cite reasons such as tax-deductible interest and higher returns on your money by investing. I disagree with both. You should pay off your student loans as quickly as possible.

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes Procrastination has Actually Paid Off: Refinancing Our Mortgage - I cannot think of many examples where procrastination has paid off in either my life or in someone else’s life.

Frugality

KT @ Personal Finance Journey writes How to Save on Living Expenses When You Live Alone - In the United States, 11 percent of people under the age of 30 live alone (U.S. News). I lived alone for two years when I was in graduate school, and I loved the experience. However, living alone, especially in an urban area, can be expensive.

Shaun @ Smart Family Finance writes When Should You Rent and Not Buy? - Renting can save you money if you follow the rules and understand when you should rent instead of buy.

John @ Married (with Debt) writes Frugal Living: Easy Ways to Save Money - Frugal living is about strength in numbers. While you should focus on big money-savers when making a budget, there are little ways to save money that can add up.

Investing

Luke @ Learn Bonds writes Are High Yield Bonds Over or Under Valued?..It Depends - high yield spreads over treasuries are still very attractive, and no where near historical lows.

Ken Faulkenberry @ AAAMP Blog writes 32 Investment Rules and Strategies to Make You a Better Investor - These 32 investment rules and strategies will reduce your number of mistakes, help you take prudent risks that favor positive returns, and make you a better investor.

MMD @ MyMoneyDesign writes A Better Way to See If You’ll Run Out of Money During Retirement - Want the most realistic simulation possible for figuring out if you’ll run out of money in retirement? Try a Monte Carlo simulation using random numbers to simulate the future market performance. Download my Excel worksheet to test your withdrawal rate and see how your balance will do!

Grand Per Month @ Grand Per Month writes How to Make $1000 per Month with Covered Calls - There is another way to make money with a stock portfolio besides relying on dividends. I am talking about selling covered calls. A call option gives the owner the right to purchase a stock at a specified price called the strike price on or before a particular date. For this right, the call buyer will give the call seller a premium. It is these premiums that can provide the extra grand per month that we seek.

Kanwal @ Simply Investing writes Are These 3 Investing Statements True or False? - What are the 3 common investing myths? Do you succumb to these myths or chart your own investing path? Don’t let these investing myths prevent you from investing successfully. 1. Investing on your own is very risky. False! Investing on your own is only risky if you don’t know what your are doing. Investing is only risky if you are speculating.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes Financial Advisor or Discount Broker? - Should you hire a financial adviser or financial planner? Or maybe you know enough about stocks to pick your own and you are considering just going it alone and buy stocks with a discount broker instead? Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of each decision.

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes What March Madness Has In Common With Choosing Investments - It’s march madness time! Who doesn’t love this time of the year? Avoid these pitfalls in picking your investments (and these bracket busters)!

FG @ Financial God writes Should You Worry About Gold Confiscation? - Are you worried about the government coming in and outlawing private gold possession again? After all, it wouldn’t be the first time they had done so — the same was done by the FDR government, back in the Great Depression.

Dividend Ninja @ The Dividend Ninja writes Building My Portfolio for Retirement, with Dividends and Bonds - In my mid to late 40′s, my focus of late has been more on planning for retirement and how I will generate a consistent monthly income to fund my retirement. I find myself in between the need to increase my portfolio through capital appreciation, but also for the need to generate monthly income in retirement.

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes What to Invest in? - Are you wondering what to invest in? Where to invest your money? Find out what you should not be doing.

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes The Rule of 100 - Who doesn’t love rules of thumb? They are typically an oversimplified solution to a complex question. The only problem with them is that everyone is different. It’s difficult to dish out such broad applications to such unique situations. There is one rule of thumb that I do like. It’s the rule of 100.

IRA

J.P. @ Novel Investor writes 2011 IRA Contribution Deadline Just Around The Corner - One of the complications with the tax code is not knowing when the tax year ends. This is certainly true with IRA contributions, where the tax year for some IRAs is just now coming to an end.

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes Roth vs. Traditional IRA: Pros and Cons – Find out the pros and cons of a roth ira and a traditional ira. Which ira is right for you?

Investor Junkie @ Investor Junkie writes Best 2012 IRA Promotions - Now is the time for investors to add money to an IRA account. If you currently don’t have one, now is the time to open an account. I’ve done the research, and gathered up the best IRA investment promotions for you. Whether you are doing a rollover IRA, or creating a new IRA account, now is the time to do it.

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance writes My Biggest Financial Mistake and Why I’m Glad I Made It - I thought I had the retirement stuff on set-and-forget, so why was my IRA balance increasing linearly while the stock market tanked?

Investor Junkie @ Investor Junkie writes Best 2012 IRA Promotions - Now is the time for investors to add money to an IRA account. If you currently don’t have one, now is the time to open an account. I’ve done the research, and gathered up the best IRA investment promotions for you. Whether you are doing a rollover IRA, or creating a new IRA account, now is the time to do it.

Miscellaneous

Steve @ The Loonie Bin writes Investing In Your Health – If it’s important for an investor to make quality investment decisions to efficiently expand their wealth, is it not just as important to make healthy decisions to expand the lifespan of the investor?

YFS @ Your Finances Simplified writes Want to go to Harvard for Free? - I was checking my email at my defined period of time ( shout out to 4 hour work week) and came across the following email. Man, was I surprised. Below you will find 7 opportunities to turn your life around.

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes How Much Time Do You Waste? - Find out the two biggest places that people waste their time and what you can do to avoid it.

Dr. Dean @ The Millionaire Nurse Blog writes Statins And Diabetes: The Real Story! - Dr Dean weighs in on the media hype about a new FDA label warning for the class of medicines known as statins. Twenty million Americans take these meds, what’s the story?

Erika @ Newlyweds on a Budget writes How to make money as a mystery shopper - Mystery Shopping has a lot of perks. It may not be a lot of pay, but you can get free groceries, oil changes, restaurant meals and more!

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes How to Get Paid to Be a Better Person - If you miss the days of getting rewarded for being a better person then Dailyfeats.com is definitely a site worth checking out.

Jeremy Waller @ Personal Finance Whiz writes Carpooling Etiquette: 10 Ground Rules To Keep Your Sanity - Get carpooling off to a good start by establishing ground rules. Here are 10 carpooling tips to help you iron out all the details, including necessary vehicle insurance, carpool etiquette and logistics.

Kevin @ Thousandaire writes Michigan Gives Food Stamps to Lottery Winner - The state of Michigan is giving food stamps to Amanda Clayton, the winner of a $1 million lottery prize. Blame Michigan for this blunder, not Amanda.

Jeffrey @ Money Spruce writes Can a Personal MBA be just as good as the real thing? - MBAs are expensive, but a cheaper and more effective alternative may be the Personal MBA that you can get nearly for free.

Dana @ Not Made of Money writes Understanding How to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft - Identity theft has become a huge problem today. Your personal and financial information can be stolen and used by another person, ruining your credit for years.

Personal Finance

Jason @ Work Save Live writes Money Won’t Make You Happy…But It Will Buy You Stuff! - “Money won’t make you happy …but everybody wants to find out for themselves.” – Zig Ziglar Some people say that ‘MONEY is the root of all evil.’ The problem is that we all need money to live. There are bills to pay and food to put on the table.

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes The Ghosts of my Financial Past & Where I am Today - I’ve never hidden the fact that I used to completely SUCK with money, but I thought it might be helpful for myself as well as others to revisit the ghosts…

PITR @ Passive Income To Retire writes What Location Independence Would Mean for Me - Have you ever wondered what location independence or the ability to work from anywhere would offer you? Find out what it means for me.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes Rich Are Never Rich Enough - Earning $196K per year is a nice chunk of change and definitely puts you in the so-called One Per Cent—the top one per cent of income earners in Canada according to the latest Statistics Canada numbers. To break down the $196,000 annual income further, it works out to roughly $10,400 a month, after taxes.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes The 3 H’s of Success - The 3 H’s of Success is the eighth in a series of articles to help you reach your goal What are your goals? I know you thought about it! You know, it is your dream, wish or resolution you made! Before you can get to where you want to be, you need to know where you have been.

Ryan @ Early Retirement Investments writes Is It Better to Bank With a Credit Union? - Related Posts:Merchant Cash Advance: Financing Small Businesses Without HassleHow to Save Money Every Month Using UnionBank Online Banking ServicesAvoid These…

Ashley @ Money Talks Coaching writes How Has Your Childhood Affected Your Money Habits? - Think back on your childhood and choose one word to describe the feelings you had about money as a child.

Kay Lynn @ Bucksome Boomer writes Shifting Financial Priorities Through the Decades - The reason I took a field labor job at 15 was to have money to buy more clothes, make-up and music. That’s all that was important to me at that age. Now it seems silly but teenagers have very different priorities. In fact, my priorities changed throughout my life.

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes Financial Protection: Pretending You’re Broke - Protecting yourself financially by pretending you have no money, even if you do

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes How To Activate Your Score Gains Thinking - This Post was Originally published at How To Activate Your Score Gains Thinking on Start Investing MoneyYou’ll never score a goal if you aren’t charging for the end zone.

Real Estate

LaTisha @ Financial Success for Young Adults writes How Much will My New House Cost? - What are the factors that affect the price of my home? How can I use a mortgage calculator to determine my payments and if I need private mortgage insurance?

101 Centavos @ 101 Centavos writes Investing in Farmland - So the world is running out of food, water and natural resources. We’re all gonna die. Eventually, sure. But not just yet. In the meantime, the land gets mor scarce.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes We May be House Hunting Soon - Yep, hell has frozen over and pigs are flying, Mr. BFS and I are thinking about house hunting soon for a larger home. The prices are just so low!

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes 10 Costly Mistakes First Time Home Buyers Make - Below are 10 of the most common and costly mistakes first time home buyers can make and how to avoid them.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes The Unintended Costs Of Becoming A Landlord - Now that we are becoming a landlord I have found a few expenses that have cropped up. These unintended expenses for the most part could have been trouble if we didn’t have an emergency fund set aside.

Saving

Boomer @ Boomer & Echo writes The Best Time To Start Saving Is Now - This story demonstrates an important lesson in building wealth – the sooner you start saving, the more you will accumulate:

Taxes

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes I Hate Tax Prep Time - I Hate Tax Prep Time is a post from: Broke Professionals if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed. Now that the first round of tax documents are out (notwithstanding the corrected tax forms), it is time to get ready for that lovely spring time task – income taxes.

MR @ Money Reasons writes A Small Startup Business Should Pay No Taxes For Two Years! - With the odds against small business startups, doesn’t it make sense to help them as much as possible by delaying the taxes collected on them for two years?

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes Sole Proprietorship Tax Deductions You Need to Know About - You won’t want to miss these sole proprietorship tax deductions if you file as a sole proprietorship for your business. Tax deductions are key.