My friend Don Peters, an award-winning and amazingly talented amateur photographer, was in the right place at the right time for this year’s Fourth of July fireworks over Phoenix. He kindly shares these Independence Day photos to celebrate this issue of the Carnival of Personal Finance.
Click on the images for larger, higher-resolution views.
Editor’s Picks
At Save and Conquer, Bryce advises readers to beware of automatic payments, where a vendor debits my bank or credit card account for the amount due. While there are some advantages to this — especially for the vendor — there are also some serious disadvantages.
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Been noticing those new ads for hedge funds? You’ll be seeing lots more: the SEC recently removed an 80-year-old restriction on hedge-fund advertising. Jason Hull at Hull Financial Planning explains why you shouldn’t succumb to those temptations.
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Emily from Evolving Personal Finance wonders whether the proverbial “Live Like a College Student” chestnut is really good advice. She points out that college students don’t live the way they used to!
The Rest of the Best
Accessing the Carnival’s incoming, I discovered the COPF must not have gone live last week. A large number of contributors had two or more submissions sitting on the server. In some of those cases, I’ve picked what I estimated to be the contributor’s best of two. Occasionally I’ve let a couple slip through, either because both submissions were darned good or because I was drowning in a sea of data. Those of you who submitted posts on the 20th and 21st (today and yesterday): if you’re already in the line-up, I’m leaving those newer submissions online, marked “unread,” for next week’s host. You’ll know who you are by what you see posted here.
As for the person who is submitting upwards of a dozen posts a week under as many different fake names, please: give me a break! If you can’t play fair, you can’t play at all. 
Security/Computing
Michael from Financial Ramblings presents BoxCryptor vs. TrueCrypt: Securing Your Data in the Cloud, and says, “Interested in storing financial information in the cloud? Yeah, me too. Concerned about security? Me too (again). The good news is that there are handy (and free!) tools out there for securing your documents.”
Economy
Money Beagle from Money Beagle presents Why Higher Interest Rates Will Not Lead To Recession, and says, “Recent backpedaling by the Fed in regards to interest rates and tapering are not necessary. The economy will be just fine if and when interest rates do finally rise.”
Investing
Roger Wohlner from The Chicago Financial Planner presents 5 Things You Should Know About ETFs, and says, “ETFs continue to gain ground as an investment of choice among many individual and institutional investors. ETFs are similar to mutual funds in that they are pooled investment vehicles and to closed-end funds in that they are traded on a stock exchange like individual stocks. ETFs, though popular, are often misunderstood by investors.”
Investor Junkie from Investor Junkie presents The Media Is Biased – Know This When Investing, and says, “I know this might not be news for some, but based upon recent events, you cannot draw any other rational conclusion. Without question, the media is biased mostly left of center politically. You must realize this when investing, and vet media sources for your information.”
D4L from Dividend Growth Stocks presents Three Keys For Successful Dividend Growth Investing, and says, “To ensure a retirement that is free from financial concerns, there are certain things that must be done today. For many people this is not a desirable task. However, building a secure future by investing in quality dividend stocks is neither complicated nor overly burdensome.”
Pete from Intelligent Speculator presents Passive Income Update – July 2013, and says, “My primary objective remains to generate 100K in passive income on an annual basis as soon as possible, ideally from a few different sources.”
Div Guy from The Dividend Guy Blog presents Dividend Questions From The Mailbag, and says, “Specific questions coming in from the readers!”
Michael Kitces from Nerd’s Eye View presents Solving The Annuity Puzzle – Inflexibility For Handling Potential Health Care Shocks In Retirement, and says, “Economic theory suggests most retirees should utilize immediate annuities for lifetime retirement income, yet very few actually do. Two researchers think they have solved this “annuity puzzle” with a look at how health care “shocks” can impact a retirement plan.”
Jon from Novel Investor presents Market Cap Weighted Index: Benefits And Pitfalls, and says, “Index funds are the most popular investment product used today. Most of those funds are based on a market cap weighted index.”
Dividend Growth Investor from Dividend Growth Investor presents Common Misconceptions about Dividend Investing, and says, “In this article I have outlined several misconceptions about dividend investing. I have tried itemizing several of them, outlining them, and providing a brief commentary.”
Mr PoP from Planting Our Pennies presents Why We’re Hoping For a Net-Worth Drop (And You Probably Should Be Too!), and says, “Mr. PoP goes against the grain and goes into the reasons he’d really like to see his net worth decrease a bit over the next few years to increase his buying power for investments.”
Pete from Intelligent Speculator presents Dividend Stocks vs Dividend ETF’s – The Debate About Fees, and says, “We look at the fees involved here.”
From Funny about Money: Gold-Buggered! Protecting Your Heirs from Con Artists. A scary cautionary tale and some advice on how to protect assets from foolish moves.
Indebtedness (or not…)
nicole from Grumpy Rumblings presents Why I paid off my student loans early, and says, “Nicole and Maggie discuss how sometimes hassle can be a reason to pay off your debts early, even if it makes more sense to invest the money.”
Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents presents 19 Ways to Talk to Your Kids About Debt, and says, “Have you had the “debt talk” with your kids? Here’s some examples you can use.”
Ross from Wallet Hub presents How calculate loan to value, and says, “So many people do not understand the importance of the loan-to-value ratio when it comes to lending. Find out more here.”
Liana from Card Hub presents Prepaid Cards Report – 2013, and says, “Increasingly consumers are turning away from traditional checking accounts towards alternative cash management tools including prepaid cards. The Mercator Advisory Group Inc.,reports that the amount of money loaded on general purpose reloadable prepaid debit cards almost tripled from 2008 to 2012 and will continue to rise. In light of their ever-growing role in the personal finance landscape this report evaluates the monthly cost and usefulness of 26 popular prepaid cards based on their fees and features.:
DPF from Digital Personal Finance presents How to Avoid Debt, and says, “Sometimes people fall into debt without fully intending to, or without understanding the consequences. This post shares 5 ways that people can avoid getting into debt.”
Jacob @ My Personal Finance Journey from My Personal Finance Journey presents How to Utilize Gazelle Intensity When You’re Facing Years of Debt Repayment, and says, “This post discusses Dave Ramsey’s Gazelle Intensity strategy and how to make it work for you in your debt repayment plans.”
Glen from Credit Card Smarts presents Review: Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Visa Card, and says, “The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards card offers up easy-to-use and earn cash rewards as well as many other enticing perks.”
Ryan Greeley from The Better Credit Blog presents How to Fix Your Credit for a Mortgage Loan, and says, “A step-by-step guide to fixing up your credit report before applying for a mortgage loan.”
Frugality
Caroline from On Better Terms presents Caprese salad for a frugal but fancy date night in, and says, “It’s summer and it’s hot. You don’t want to cook, but you still want to have a fancy date night. However, you’re watching your budget, so a restaurant bill is none too appealing. Don’t fret: it’s easy to have a chic night in without turning on the oven with this salad!”
SB from One Cent at a Time presents 5 Money Wasters you Can Cut Out From Life, and says, “This article talks about 5 money wasters that you can cut out from your life to save money. This includes stopping unnecessary cell phone plans, cutting out on frequent soft drinks, paying bank and credit card fees as well as using convenience stores instead of super markets.”
Vanessa from Vanessa’s Money presents Tips for furnishing your first apartment, and says, “Moving into your first apartment shouldn’t cost a lot — here are some tips to get you into your new place for almost nothing!”
Ray from Squirrelers presents Tipping: Everybody Wants a Part of the Action, and says, “When it comes to tipping, it seems like expectations are getting higher. This post shares my views on tipping in different situations.”
Ray from Squirrelers presents Tipping: Everybody Wants a Part of the Action, and says, “When it comes to tipping, it seems like expectations are getting higher. This post shares my views on tipping in different situations.”
Budgeting
Adam from Adam Hagerman – Financial Coach presents Creating a Budget You’ll Stick With In 8 Easy Steps, and says, “Don’t be scared. Budgeting is really not that difficult if you know how to do it properly. Follow these 8 steps and create a budget that you’ll stick with for life. There are even some budget templates to get you started! ”
PK from Don’t Quit Your Day Job… presents Predicting S&P 500 Closing Prices – July 2013 Edition, and says, “This is a part of my recurring series visiting the trading price of various options to determine where the market thinks the S&P 500 is headed. If you disagree with it? Hey – there is money to be made on said options!”
Jon from Novel Investor presents Different Types Of Investment Risk, and says, “Anything you put your money into has risks. It pays to understand the different types of investment risk involved in anything before putting your money to work.”
Eric from Narrow Bridge Finance presents How Dividend Payments Work, and says, “I recently wrote a post explaining why dividend stocks may not be all they are cracked up to be. Unless you are in retirement, non-dividend stocks may be better than ones that pay out a dividend. Reader Michael asked an excellent question about trying to game the dividend system.”
Dan Mac from Dividend Growth Stock Investing presents Creating a Steady Monthly Income from Dividend Growth Stocks, and says, “Article is about purchasing dividend growth stocks with specific pay dates so that your income stream is fairly consistent month to month during retirement.”
Personal Finance Miscellany
Bryan from Gajizmo.com presents How To Fill Out A Check, and says, “Unless you own a business, chances are you hardly ever write or even use checks, other than to cash them or deposit your paycheck. I’ve written a check maybe a dozen times in the last 10 years, but I definitely had to ask my parents how to write one the first time I ever did. For the Millennial generation, here is a step by step guide on how to fill out a check and some helpful tips on how to avoid fraud.”
Pat S from compounding returns presents 10 Easy Ways to Stash More Cash, and says, “How to budget, spend less, and earn more. In ten easy steps.”
Miss T from Prairie Eco Thrifter presents Why I Use Cash, and says, “Time author Martha C. White, in “5 Times You Should Always Pay Cash,” seems to think that for the most part, you should pay cash to help out the little guy – so they don’t get hit up with all the credit card processing fees, or so the waiter can have his tip today.
Anthony Kirlew from Fiscally Sound presents 7 Critical Things To Do Once You’ve Paid Off Your Car, and says, “Thanks for your consideration. This post seemed to be a hit on Twitter, so I thought I would share it further.”
Mike from The Financial Blogger presents Is College Worth it?, and says, “School is a great idea if you know what you want to do and can guarantee work. It also makes sense when you won’t get into huge debt.”
Adrienne from My Dollar Plan presents How to Split the Bills When Spouses Have Unequal Pay, and says, “This is almost a universal question because chances are if you’re in a relationship you will at some point have unequal salaries.”
michelle from See Debt Run presents Money Prude, and says, “Why is talking about money such a taboo in our society? Being willing to talk about it is an important step to improving your relationship with money.”
Big Cajun Man from THE Canadian Personal Finance Blog presents Value of Money, and says, “What is the actual value of money? Do you talk to your kids about the real value of money? You should.”
Retirement
Pauline from Reach Financial Independence presents Early Retirement in the US vs Abroad, and says, “Early retirement can be easily achieved in a country with low costs of living. Is it worth it?”
Entrepreneurship
Martin from Start Freelancing Now presents What Made You Finally Launch? The Experts Weigh in on Finally Launching!, and says, “What experts did to finally launch.”
Images: Don Peters. It’s unfortunate that WordPress limits the size of uploads, concomitantly limiting the resolution of these spectacular photographs. Do go to his website and enjoy the beautiful and highly creative images he has posted there.
Thanks for visiting this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance. Please be sure to tweet, quack, pin, FB, and whatever else you can do to share the Carnival and the many fine bloggers whose work appears here. Don’t forget to send your submit your best post of the week by next Sunday afternoon.
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