Festival of Frugality: #80

We had a lot of great posts in this week’s Festival of Frugality. I was surprised at the number of submissions that were somehow related to food. So, grab a spoon and dig in!

Editor’s Picks

Golbguru presents Motivation For Frugality - It Is Not Always About The Money posted at Money, Matter, and More Musings. This is a great article about what motivates you to be frugal. I enjoyed this article as a friendly reminder of why I’m saving now.< p/>

FMF presents Save Money on a Wedding by Renting a Wedding Cake posted at Free Money Finance. I love this piece of advice just because it’s so creative! (I don’t think I would ever actually do it though…)

Trent Hamm presents The Bulk Buying Debate posted at The Simple Dollar. A good post detailing post the positives and negatives of buying in bulk.

Valerie S. Johnson presents 83 Things You Can Do With a Penny posted at SavingAdvice.com Blog. I really enjoyed this article. However, if you have enough pennies to do all 83 things, how ’bout you just wait until you get 17 more and then go to the bank and get a dollar?

K T Cat presents Why a Budget Matters posted at The Scratching Post. I like this post because in the end, KT Cat made the frugal decision and not the fun one.

Money for Military presents Extreme Saver - Socks Edition posted at Money for Military. Saving money on socks. Definitely not something I’ve thought about before– but I like the creativity.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Cheap Ways To Learn And Feed Your Brain posted at The Digerati Life. A list of 10 ways to educate yourself on the cheap.

Sagar Satapathy presents How To: Stop Receiving Credit Card Offers posted at Credit Card Lowdown. I really enjoyed the final piece of advice. I may actually try just mailing empty envelopes back… If nothing else it supports the postal service!

Food-Related Posts

Dean presents Simple Way to Save a Ton of Money on Food - Create a Weekly Menu posted at Mr. Cheap Stuff Online Coupons. Great discussion of making a weekly menu as a way to save money on food.

mapgirl presents Stupid Wal-Mart Cake: or How to Have a Happy Cake! posted at Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge. I think half the fun of food is making it. I wholeheartedly agree with mapgirl here.

There are a a few good tips in here about making meals at home a little more glamourous. PiggyBank Raider presents Almost Restaurant Meals At Home posted at PiggyBank Raid.

Brett McKay presents Freeganism: Shopping For Free From Your Local Dumpster posted at The Frugal Law Student. Dumpster diving for food? Not something I’ll start doing.

Kelly Bejelly presents A Girl Worth Saving: Hi Ho, It’s the savings life for me posted at A Girl Worth Saving. This post made me wish I lived near a “Grocery Outlet”.

Stephanie presents Pick Your Own Strawberries posted at Stop the Ride!. I enjoy pick-your-own just for the experience.

Joe Caterisano presents how to shop for groceries posted at Penny Pinching. This is about how to save money on groceries by making a list.

Everything Else

An excellent discussion of looking at those around us and how they shape of view of money. The Happy Rock presents Friends Matter : Social Networks Shape Our Perception posted at The Happy Rock.
Boomie presents Start Small. Finish Big. posted at The Wastrel Show.

Nina presents Using Cash in a Cashless World posted at Queercents. The Envelope Method. It’s truly a classic.

The Free Geek presents 22 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Get for Free posted at Free Geekery. There are a few ideas I hadn’t seen in this list: like the free CPR courses.

Jimmy Atkinson presents Are You Addicted to Borrowing Money? posted at Ask the Advisor. This is a good way to know if you are in trouble because you borrow too much money.

Linsey Knerl presents Living Without Air-Conditioning Can Save Big Bucks This Summer posted at WB Frugality. Living without the AC is a great way to save money, and if you can really save $150/month maybe it is worth it.

Melanie Rimmer presents How to Make a Lacewing Shelter. (Don’t know what one is? I didn’t until after I read the post.)

Frugal babe reminds us that it’s ok to Spend a Little Now and Then

R.Pettinger presents How to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early posted at Mortgage Blog. There are 7 tips here about how to pay off your mortgage early.

Steve faber presents - How to Save a Bundle on Your Home Owner’s Insurance posted at Debt Free. I think the #6 piece of advice is the best one there is!

Sunny presents Dandelions and Daydreams: Good Things Come to those who Procrastinate posted at Dandelions and Daydreams. I’ve gotten a number of pieces of furniture for free on the street curbs of DC. It’s really quite amazing all of the stuff that’s out there.

FFB presents Baby registry posted at Family Finance Blog. Back to the Basics. I like it. This is what frugality is all about.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Married To Money posted at Mad Kane’s Humor . A cute little limerick

A reminder about the high costs of driving is always practical this time of year. Super Saver presents Consider The Cost Of Driving posted at My Wealth Builder.

Warren Wong presents Why Not To Drive posted at Personal Development for INTJs. Another reminder about why not to drive– by a fellow INTJ.

deputyheadmistress presents Plant Propagation posted at The Common Room. Growing flowers is kind of like growing money. Start with some and with care you can make more.

Aaron Wakling presents Virtual Prepaid Credit Cards posted at The Credit & Credit Card Blog.

TV Frugal Momma presents Watch TV shows on your computer for free posted at A Momma and the Boys Living on a Budget. During the school year if I missed Grey’s because of class I would always catch it later online. So I enjoyed this piece.

Thomas Humes presents Millionaire Mind - Think Like A Millionaire posted at Wealth Building World. This reads a little bit like “The Secret,” (well, I haven’t actually read the Secret, but it’s similar). Thinking like a millionaire is an interesting concept.

Edith Yeung presents 53 Ways to Make Money on the Internet posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act. A comprehensive way to make money on the internet.

Tushar presents Getting the best deal on Airfares posted at Life of a Resident Alien…. Here are some interesting tips about traveling; but none I’ve never heard before.

Allen Taylor presents Making Big Money By Looking At The Seasons Of Investment posted at Investing World Today. “Weather” or not you believe this piece of investment advice is up to you.

FitBuff presents FitBuff.com’s Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog » Blog Archive » How to Take Advantage of the Stock Market’s Summer Slump posted at FitBuff.com’s Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog. Another mention of “seasons” and the market. Strange, no?

KRG presents My State Failed High School Personal Finance Curriculum, How About Your State? posted at FILAM PERSONAL FINANCE. We were required to learn some personal finance in High School and Middle School. In fact, it was a millionaire who came in and spoke to our class about the power of investing at a young age who inspired me to buy mutual funds.

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Festival of Under 30 Finances: May 18, 2007 Edition, Graduation

The Festival of Under 30 Finances, (May Graduation Edition) has arrived! The question was: “What’s one piece of financial advice you wish someone had given you when you graduated from college? (Or if you haven’t yet graduated, what do you think you’ll struggle with most and need advice about when you graduate?)”

We had several thought provoking answers:

Congratulations, May Grads! posted at Grad Money Matters included the following advice: “For high school grads: Go to college and get a degree in a major that will result in a good high paying job and For college grads: Postpone major purchases for at least one or two more years.”
and

Best Credit Card and Money Advice for College Grads (Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog) posted at Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog advice included: “Pay Your Credit Card Bills Fully and Your Other Bills On Time and Run Your Finances Like a Business.”

The Digerati Life answered:

The one piece of financial advice I wish someone gave me was to learn more about how to properly diversify through asset allocation. Though I did learn how to invest in the markets right after I graduated from college, I believe that I didn’t receive a thorough understanding of the concepts of asset allocation and diversification. I simply practiced what the current financial magazines of that time taught me, but such information wasn’t grounded on strong theory. I should have been given some classic financial books early on such as “Random Walk Down Wall Street”. If I had, I would have done a better job with my investment portfolio and track record then.

and added this post: How Much Credit Have You Turned Down? Maybe Half A Million Dollars Worth

On to the rest of the carnival:

Housing

Michael Emilio presents College Life: Is it Better to Live On-Campus or Off-Campus? posted at South Florida Realtor.

Darius presents How much worse can housing get? posted at Related to Mortgage.

Steve Leung presents How Home Buyers and Sellers Get Trapped in Straw Scams posted at Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog at 1SiliconValley.com.

Stock advice/investing

FMF presents The Greatest Enemy of a Good Investment Plan posted at Free Money Finance.

Tyler presents How Not To Make Money In Stocks Guaranteed! posted at Dividend Money.

fletchlives presents Sometimes You Should Roll The Dice posted at fletchlivesforecasts.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Trading psychology and Trader Performance posted at Brain Fitness.

Saving on Household Costs

Marshall Middle presents Update: Step by Step guide to Saving Money on your Comcast High Speed Internet posted at How to Make a Million Dollars.

The Frugalist presents How to Save $500 a Year on Gas - 27 Tips and Tricks posted at Frugalist.

How to Save Money while Still in School

Ted Reimers presents How to save money in College posted at CampusGrotto College Blog.

For the self employed/bloggers out there

Jimmy Atkinson presents How to Avoid Being Audited When You’re Self Employed posted at Ask the Advisor.

Robinson Go of Good Blog Advice presents 8 Shrewd Ways to Optimize Google AdSense posted at Rob’s Blog: Advice for Bloggers.

Where to Work

Robinson Go of Good Blog Advice presents 8 Shrewd Ways to Optimize Google AdSense posted at Rob’s Blog: Advice for Bloggers.

Paying Off Student Loans

David presents Graduating? Different Ways To Start Paying Off Your Student Loans. posted at My Two Dollars.

Interest Rates and Credit Cards

Jeremy presents Lower Your High Interest Rate posted at ASAP Credit Card.

Planning for Health Issues

Big Cajun Man presents Cancer, now that I have your attention posted at Canadian Financial Stuff.

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Upcoming Carnival: Festival of Under 30 Finances

I’m hosting the next Festival of Under 30 Finances.  The question is:

What’s one piece of financial advice you wish someone had given you when you graduated from college? (Or if you haven’t yet graduated, what do you think you’ll struggle with most and need advice about when you graduate?)

Please submit your articles through this submission tool by May 16 at midnight.  The carnival will be posted on the 18th.

Overcast Monday Links

The weather is certainly not pleasant in D.C. today. It’s cold and rainy and windy; but at least we’re not flooded (yet) like the rest of the Northeast. Thanks goodness there is some good reading to start out the week. Take a look at the following posts:

The 96th Carnival of Personal Finance is up at All Financial Matters.  My post on the 5 Best Online Comparison Shopping Tools was featured.  Two posts from the Carnival I particularly enjoyed were: Five Steps to Get Your Home in Shape for Summer and 8 Secrets of the Naturally Slim (Wealthy).

No Limits Ladies has a great post about Single Women and Budgeting Software that may help you choose what software you want to use for your budget.

And for those of you who are pondering what to do with your life, Lifehack’s How to Use Natural Selection to Drive Your Career is thought provoking.

Carnivals This Week