http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival.html Carnival of Debt Free Living www.destroydebt.com Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:44:59 GMT webmaster@destroydebt.com webmaster@destroydebt.com http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/341-the-carnival-of-debt-reduction.html http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/341-the-carnival-of-debt-reduction.html Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:44:59 GMT This week, the Carnival of Debt Reduction has 30 submissions ranging from how to handle holiday debt to paying off your mortgage to generating additional income to pay off debts. I was planning to do a really entertaining theme in honor of the holidays, but unfortunately have been hit with a ...
I was planning to do a really entertaining theme in honor of the holidays, but unfortunately have been hit with a not-so-entertaining migraine. So instead, I bring you the carnival of debt reduction submissions in their very raw... but highly functional clickable link format!

My own entry for the carnival is about how to Make Your Own Debt Reduction Plan posted here on Destroy Debt. Hope it helps.

MORTGAGE

nickel presents Deciding When to Refinance Your Mortgage posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Heather Levin presents The Benefits of Paying Off Your Mortgage Early posted at The Greenest Dollar.

HOLIDAY STUFF

Peter presents Christmas Budgeting Tips: Avoid Overspending At This Expensive Time Of Year posted at Bible Money Matters. Budgeting tips to help you avoid going further into debt this Christmas!

From Bob at Christian Financial Help, Secret Santas giving out cash! - a really heart warming holiday story about people giving anonymously to those in need during the Christmas season.

Pfincome from Passive Family Income wants to give us Money saving techniques for holiday gifts Tips and tricks on saving money for holiday gifts.

Debt Free Destiny presents New Year's Resolution: Get Out of Debt For Good posted at Debt Free Destiny.

MAKING or FINDING MONEY TO PAY OFF DEBT

Kind of hard to pay off debt when you aren't making enough to cover your living expenses, right? Scott Crawford from DebtGoal gives 10 Big-Ticket Clutter Items to Sell for Instant Cash as a way to find cash for Christmas or paying down the post-Christmas debt hangover.

TAXES

Bill Spohnholtz presents Best Tax Savings Tip For A Down Market posted at Learn The Stock Market And How to Trade.

The Smarter Wallet presents Debt Collection Practices: Going From Debtor To Debt Collector posted at The Smarter Wallet.

DianeDean presents Gift Expenses and The IRS posted at Need IRS Help?.

BUDGETING & MONEY MANAGEMENT

David G. Mitchell presents The High Cost of Picture Day posted at Saving Advice. We hate picture day because it is yet another fund raiser that forces parents to either purchase incredibly overpriced pictures or to tell their children that even though all of the other kids are buying pictures, they cannot. It is a no-win situation. Pay the prices of price-gauging photographers or let down your child. Neither is palatable.

MoneyNing presents Bargaining to Advantage: Lowering your Bills in a Recession posted at Personal Finance Blog by Money Ning. Times are bad and companies want your business! Bargain to your advantage and save yourself some money!

The Money Beagle tells us how to Reduce Debt By Paying Double For Gas Guess you gotta read it to see what that means.

Polly Poorhouse at Economic Crunch has had some luck lowering interest rates to more managable levels and tells us about it, Bye Bye 27.99%.

RC entertains on Think Your Way To Wealth with an INteresting Video and Commentary-Money as Debt.

Sam presents More Ways to Save on Auto, Home and Health Insurance posted at Fix My Personal Finance - Personal Finance Advice - Money Management Advice.

J. Money presents How we're putting the Mrs. through grad school! (so far so sexy) posted at Budgets are Sexy.. Best way to reduce debt? don't get it in the first place! For Grad school, work on scholarships and TA's.

Debt Freedom Fighter presents How to Find the Debt Relief Company That is Right For You posted at Discover Debt Freedom.

CREDIT CARDS

apply4-credit presents Got Bad Credit? Get Secure posted at Apply4-Credit.

Eden at Finance and Fat offers Looking Back on a Year Without Credit Cards

FMF presents Free Money Finance: College Credit Cards: A Bad Idea posted at Free Money Finance. ¤ It's a bad idea to get a credit card while in college.

THOUGHTS ON INVESTING

Investing School presents 9 Terrific Investing Websites That is Sure to Suck Up Your Time posted at Investing School.

William Blake presents Pay Off Debt Or Invest Your Money? posted at Debt Smackdown. If you suddenly find yourself with some extra money, does it make more sense to invest it for the future or to pay off debt with it today?

Finance Tips 101 presents Timeshares, Affordable Part Time Ownership With A Twist posted at Finance Tips 101.

Sandy Naidu presents Bernard Madoff's Ponzi Scheme posted at FutureNestEgg.

CreditAddict presents Chase Increases Credit Card Rates and Adds New Fees posted at Credit Card Addict.

OTHER STUFF

Jesse Wojdylo presents What are YOU Willing to Go In Debt For? posted at Subprime Blogger.

Lindsay presents #1: Learn from financial mistakes posted at Budgeting for Beauty.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/326-happy-cyber-monday-carnival-dwellers.html http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/326-happy-cyber-monday-carnival-dwellers.html Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:42:35 GMT Mighty Bargain Hunter published the most recent edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance with a fitting theme: Cyber Monday.  Since they posted our article about Debt Settlement, we wanted to show you some of the great listings from this edition: Debt Goal tells how to say ... Mighty Bargain Hunter published the most recent edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance with a fitting theme: Cyber Monday.  Since they posted our article about Debt Settlement, we wanted to show you some of the great listings from this edition:

Debt Goal tells how to say “no” to your children this holiday season correctly

Tisha Tolar doesn’t buy the two months’ salary thing at American Consumer News.

Deposit Accounts talks about flexible spending accounts.

Prime Time Money gives six ways to argue less about money.

The New Carnival of Personal Development has been published (the very first one!) on InsightWriter.com.  They featured  76 Ways to Save Money While Saving the Environment as an editors pick.  Other articles worth mentioning from this carnival include:

Save Money By Reducing Household Expenses and Good Saving Habits Start Early  posted at Money Blog

Tisha Tolar at Credit Card Assist presents Who Here Hates the Junk Mail and Why it Can Be Dangerous posted at Credit Cards Blog | CreditCardAssist.com.

apply4-credit presents Credit Cards Can Work with a Budget posted at Credit Card Applications Expert | Apply4-Credit.com. Livingalmostlarge presents Evaluating Job Benefits posted at LivingAlmostLarge, saying, “Before you take a job, consider the benefits.”]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/305-carnival-of-personal-finance-175.html http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/305-carnival-of-personal-finance-175.html Tue, 28 Oct 2008 05:21:18 GMT Master Your Card has published this week's edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance and kindly included my Destroy Debt article about understanding the differences between Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Other posts from this week's edition included: Money Smart Life is convinc... Master Your Card has published this week's edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance and kindly included my Destroy Debt article about understanding the differences between Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Other posts from this week's edition included:

Money Smart Life is convinced that someday we will be able to perform every task imaginable on our cellphone

Searchlight Crusade tells us all why we should not walk away from upside down real estate.

Budgets are Sexy has a piece on why you should think of saving as just like paying an extra bill.

Don’t Mess with Taxes has an excellent write-up on 401(k)’s.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/192-issue-5-avoiding-debt.html http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/192-issue-5-avoiding-debt.html Wed, 07 May 2008 11:36:18 GMT This month’s carnival is all about how to avoid debt.  The basic principal is simple, don’t spend more than you make, but actually practicing that principal can be quite a challenge.  Here are some articles that may help.  Debtopedia offers a great article on Living Debt Free...
Debtopedia offers a great article on Living Debt Free and follows it up by explaining that An Ounce of Prevention is Worth Many Pounds of Interest.

Financial Zip clarifies further with their article on How to Create a Debt Free Mindset. 

Phil for Humanity doesn’t mix words when explaining the importance of planning in his post No Long Term Planning is Stupid and neither does KCLau with their advice of Don’t Spend Money You Don’t Have, to Buy the Thing You Don’t Need, to Please People You Don’t Like!

To help offset all the advice on what not to do, Dividend Money presents an article on How to Automatically Save More Money Every Month and Destroy Debt offers 90 Low Cost or No Cost Activities to Entertain Your Kids All Summer Long.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/185-the-carnival-of-personal-finance-150-is-hosted-by-lazy-man-and-money.html http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/185-the-carnival-of-personal-finance-150-is-hosted-by-lazy-man-and-money.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:52:39 GMT So the Lazy Man and Money wasn't so lazy this week and posted 115 personal finance blogs for our reading enjoyment.  He linked to Debbie's post about Stretching Dollars... here are a few of this week's other submissions: The Wisdom Journal tells us 7 Tips for Living Debt Free Th... Lazy Man and Money wasn't so lazy this week and posted 115 personal finance blogs for our reading enjoyment.  He linked to Debbie's post about Stretching Dollars... here are a few of this week's other submissions:

The Wisdom Journal tells us 7 Tips for Living Debt Free

The Debt Free Playbook Blog tells us 6 Steps to Get Any Fee Reduced

Financial Learn with Budgeting 101

American Consumer News with 7 Ways to Save for a Great Vacation]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/172-issue-4-frugal-living.html http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/172-issue-4-frugal-living.html Wed, 02 Apr 2008 05:08:41 GMT Welcome to the fourth issue of the carnival of debt free living. This issue is all about living on a budget. We hope to provide you with some great tips to help you save money this month. We'll start this carnival off with a post from It's the Recession, Stupid on 15 Ways to Excercise Your Bu...
We'll start this carnival off with a post from It's the Recession, Stupid on 15 Ways to Excercise Your Budget During Recession.

ImprovedLife.ca shares 10 Ways to Save Money on Everyday Things.

Tip Diva shows use how to Eat Healthy on a Budget.

Lean the 10 Things Women Wish Men Knew About Money from Financial Learn.

10 must be a popular number this week because The Great Money Challenge also presents Top 10 Things I Do to Save Money.

Summer vacations are coming up and if you plan on taking one, Credit Card Offers provides some less conventional ideas with their article 21 Ways Credit Cards Can Save You Money on YOur Summer Vacation.

Finally you may want to look into your Wants vs Needs. Me, My Kid and Life looks into what it is we actually need in life.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/160-issue-3-mortgages-and-credit-cards.html http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/160-issue-3-mortgages-and-credit-cards.html Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:36:40 GMT The two types of debt we seem to get the most questions about here are mortgages and credit cards.  In this issue of the Carnival of Debt Free Living we’re going to help address some of these questions by hosting a special of mortgages and credit cards: Mortgage If you’ve ...
Mortgage

If you’ve ever looked at an amortization chart for your mortgage it’s easy to see how making some extra payments up front makes a huge difference on getting it paid off quicker.  Dollar Frugal has provided some tips on How to Pay off a Mortgage Early.

Although we’d all like to have our mortgage paid off Truthful Lending asks Paying off Your Mortgage - Will it Save You Money?

When applying for a mortgage we’re all faced with the question 15 Year Mortgage or the 30 Year Mortgage?  While the 30 year may save you a few hundred dollars a month, Mortgage Loan Calculator shows you the true cost.

If you’re considering using a mortgage as a tool for investment, Personal Finance 101 has provided some great information on Understanding Mortgages.

Credit Cards

If you travel abroad, Less Than a Shoestring shows you how to Claim Your Refund for Foreign Credit Card Transactions.

The Money Blue Book shows you how you can Use Credit Card Rebates to Help Pay Off Your Home Mortgage Loan Principal by selecting the right card.

Banks aren’t always as friendly as they seem.  Credit Card Offers suggests you Skip the “Skip-payment” Act of Kindness from Your Credit Card Lenders because it ends up costing you in the long run.

Maybe you’ve had enough of credit cards all together.  In that case, Debt Prison has provided an in depth article explaining why you should Stop Using Credit and Pay Cash.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/149-issue-2-recession-and-rebate.html http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/149-issue-2-recession-and-rebate.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:50:12 GMT There’s been a lot of talk lately about the financial system heading towards a breakdown, and just as much talk about whether we’re in a recession or not, and exactly what is recession.  At least to me, it doesn’t really make a difference to me one way or another if we use the 'r' word or n... heading towards a breakdown, and just as much talk about whether we’re in a recession or not, and exactly what is recession.  At least to me, it doesn’t really make a difference to me one way or another if we use the 'r' word or not.  I think we can all agree the economy isn’t doing so great at the moment and it’s likely to get a little bit worse before it gets better.

What I’m more interested in is what can I do to make it easier for me to get through it.  Like Ana, I have to say I’m also not too worried about it since my debt is paid off, but I still think I’d be foolish not to prepare.

American Consumer News has provided a great article on ways to prepare for a recession, which covers things like how to make sure you’re the last one to get laid off.  Meanwhile, the government seems to be counting on interest rate cuts and tax rebates to try to turn the economy around.  While the interest rate cuts may help you pay less on your credit cards, most of us are more interested in the tax rebates.

So, the obvious question is what will you do with your tax rebate?  The government hopes you’ll go spend it and hopefully boost the economy.  However what’s good for the country, may not be what’s best for you, many are suggesting you use your tax rebate to pay off debt.  Debt Prison even suggest that paying off your debt may help the economy more than spending it, since a large part of the problem is lenders who have overextended themselves on issuing credit.

In the end what you do with your tax rebate is up to you, but with so many experts issuing warnings I personally plan to use the money to better my financial situation.]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/141-issue-1--paying-off-debt.html http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/141-issue-1--paying-off-debt.html Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:39:06 GMT We all know that debt is a serious problem in America.  As CampusGrotto points out in their article Student Debt in America, the struggle most people have with debt starts from the time they begin college, and quickly becomes the accepted way of life.  However, it is not necessary to sp... CampusGrotto points out in their article Student Debt in America, the struggle most people have with debt starts from the time they begin college, and quickly becomes the accepted way of life.  However, it is not necessary to spend your whole life in debt.

Having debt is not only a financial burden but a burden when it comes to other areas of life.  American Consumer News points out just how liberating living debt free can be in their article Financial Freedom: 7 Benefits to Getting Out of Debt.

The first step to getting out of debt is to stop adding to that debt, and to cut out unnecessary spending. Makeitbetter’s Weblog shows you how you can Free Yourself from American Consumerism.  

Getting out of Debt Begins with Self Change .  As Payday Loan Cheapskate points out, the biggest hurdle to overcome is the way you think about debt.  After you get your thinking right the rest comes naturally.

Once you have you’re thinking right, there’s a handful of tips that can help you being your journey.  Destroy Debt has provided a list of the Top 6 Ways to Get Out of Debt which consists of very simple changes you can make in your everyday habits.

If a large percent of your debt comes from credit cards, Creditor Web has some advice that may help.  In their article When it Seems Hopeless: How to Pay off Credit Card Debt they share some excellent advice on how to deal with credit card debt, and more importantly how NOT to deal with credit card debt.

You knew we weren’t going to make it through a carnival on getting out of debt without mentioning the B word.  Fire Finance has set their 2008 Financial Goals – Budgeting and Conscious Savings.  To help you get your budget off to a great start Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money has shared how We Saved 33% on our Grocery Bill.

We hoped you enjoyed the first issue of the Carnival of Debt Free Living.  I’d like to thank all of the participants this week. ]]> http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/140-welcome-to-the-carnival-of-debt-free-living.html http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/carnival/140-welcome-to-the-carnival-of-debt-free-living.html Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:35:34 GMT This carnival is set up to provide advice on how to become and live debt free.  Each week we will highlight a number of articles and blog posts from all over the Internet that provide solid advice on how to live debt free.  If you have an article or post you would like to see featured in t...