Welcome to the Carnival of Personal Finance!  It’s officially Cyber Monday 2008, the online doppelgaenger to Black Friday.  This term was coined by the American Retail Federation three years ago after a majority of online retailers saw their sales go up the Monday after Thanksgiving.  Snopes found that the busiest online shopping day is not Cyber Monday but a couple of weeks after.  Regardless of whether online shoppers are only lukewarm about today, one thing’s for sure: there’s way less danger of getting injured by an online shopping cart.

So enjoy the Carnival, and head over to Amazon or eBay with full assurance that the Internet will completely protect you from e-bruising by other online shoppers!

Posts on Budgeting

• Mighty Bargain Hunter gives ways to save on food, clothing, and shelter.
• Canadian Dream: Free at 45 reveals his spending weakness.
• Studenomics asks if you’re cash-strapped this holiday season.
• M is for Money talks about zero-based budgeting.
• Green Panda Treehouse asks a hard question: “Do you pay your mortgage or your medical bills?”
• Penny Jobs asks a good question for tough times: “What can I cut back on?“

Posts on Career

• Economic Crunch runs through a checklist for taking advantage of benefits on a new job.  (These things can be a nice supplement to your salary.)
• Monagomoney offers parallel advice with five things to do if you get laid off.  (Hopefully you’re not needing both this advice and the previous advice in the same day.)
• Dog Ate My Finances (ha!) will take Common Sense for $200, Alex.  (Note:  Careful punctuation is crucial in this blog’s tagline.  Imagine, if you will, a misplaced colon: “Mid twenties.  Big salary.  Paying for some mistakes:  a wedding, and life.”  The name would then have to be changed to Alimony Ate My Finances.)
• Beating Broke asks: “What is freedom worth?“

Posts on Credit and Debt

• Free From Broke chats about medical treatment and how it can affect your credit.  (Especially if the costs are big.)
• Credit Toolbox discusses some aspects of refinancing consumer debt.
• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has a list of 0% balance transfer offers.  (Fifty different offers.  You should be able to do a 0% transfer of the national debt with this volume of plastic.)
• Ask Mr. Credit Card: “Should teenagers have credit cards?”
• Discover Debt Freedom has some advice for someone trying to get out of debt for the first time.
• Single Guy Money has a credit score checkup.
• My Family’s Money talks about two states’ propositions on payday loans.
• Destroy Debt discusses debt settlement and some factors to consider before doing it.
• Think Your Way To Wealth gives a closer look at the Baby Steps plan.
• Debt Goal tells how to say “no” to your children this holiday season correctly.

Posts on The Economy

• Wide Open Wallet has some ideas as to what the government should be doing during the recession.  (I have my own thoughts but I like to keep this blog clean.)
• Everyday Finance – the Blog of a Thousand Tabs — has some choice words to say about repricing employee stock options.  (Ahh, stock options.  What a cool dream.)
• Amateur Asset Allocator postulates on what a privatized social security system would look like.
• Funny about Money observes that the Dow is up, in spite of it all.  (Yeah, I don’t buy it either.  The market’s always right, but remember, it’s still down over 5,000 points from its high.)
• Frugal in the Fruitlands reviews The Two-Income Trap.
• The Sun’s Financial Diary reports on the extent of the malaise in the banking industry.
• Earn What You Spend discusses some of the relevant financial news as the incoming administration gears up.
• No Credit Needed questions whether spending patterns are in line with the direction the economy is heading.
• Brip Blap gives a superb answer to the question: “Do you need a bailout?“

Posts on Finance

• The Strump wonders why we don’t like to talk about money.  (It’s dangerous, especially if you were wise enough to sell your stocks a while back.)
• InsureBlog discusses discounts and medical plans.
• Accumulating Money talks about Social Security insurance.
• Harvesting Dollars suggests making this year’s bonus season different.  (Assuming you get a bonus, of course.)

Posts on Frugality

• Just Thrive explains three rules for giving the perfect gift without necessarily spending a lot of money.  (Money is tight, so make the most out of your gift-giving.)
• Debt Free Saver has a very simple suggestion for holiday gift-giving.  (It gets back to the basic of gift-giving!)
• Money Ning asks whether we always think that saving money is worth it.
• Monroe on a Budget rattles off some practical Christmas gift ideas.
• The Smarter Wallet has some tips for the early-bird traveler.
• Online Saving Blog tells how to avoid the Black Friday hype.
• Uncommon Cents discusses personal opportunity cost.

Posts on Investing

• Investing School explains the important aspects of bond funds.  (I love how he reminds us that even US Treasuries can default. I happen to agree, but rates will go way up before they do that.)
• Crash Market Stocks goes through the basics of buying and selling options contracts.
• The Financial Blogger wonders if the Dogs of the Dow have had their day.
• Intelligent Speculator questions whether corporate bonds are really safer investments.  (Than, say, Forever Stamps.)
• Dividends4Life discusses how to manage your dividend portfolio in a downturn.
• Four Pillars discusses whether we’ve reached the death of index investing.
• ABCs of Investing gives a quick tutorial on index funds.
• Dividend Growth Investor discusses why companies should pay dividends.
• Greener Pastures talks about the Standard & Poor’s Aristocrat Indexes.
• Monevator shows how to get rich by playing a video game.  (Nice spin on things.)
• Cash Money Life recommends making some year-end retirement account moves.
• The Dividend Guy sold some dividend cut stocks.
• The Dough Roller asks if you follow the 50-50 rule of mutual fund investing.  (Click to see what the fifties are.)
• No Debt Plan continues the “No Debt Plan” series with a post on investing for retirement.  (Very nice post.)

Posts on Money Management

• Crackerjack Greenback questions whether you can really trust your financial adviser.  (It makes good sense to follow the money.)
• Smart Money Daily takes a look at whether winning the lottery is all it’s cracked up to be.  (After reading the post, I’ll probably never buy a lottery ticket.)
• About.com Financial Software lists eight good iGoogle financial gadgets.
• Wisdom Journal lays out ten economic truths we cannot ignore.
• Christian Personal Finance advocates letting your finances see the light of day.
• Sound Money Matters asks: “To gift card, or not to gift card.“  (That is the question.)
• American Consumer News doesn’t buy the two months’ salary thing.  (I don’t either.  But if I were a high-powered CEO with a yearly salary of $1, well … “Here’s your Secret Decoder Ring.  Will you marry me?”)
• My Wealth Builder lists a few personal finance strategies that have helped during times of economic crisis.

Posts on Real Estate

• Living After Foreclosure has some suggestions if you’re facing foreclosure.
• Insurance Toolbox comes through with seven practical tips for reducing your homeowner’s insurance expense.  (Some of these tips have other good side-effects in addition to lowering your insurance bill.)
• Growing Money Blog posts a rental property update.

Posts on Saving and Taxes

• Stumble Forward gives five tips to creating a stellar emergency fund.  (Covers the basics well.)
• Blogging Banks posts the best CD rates around.
• Dollar Frugal is sounding the charge and telling people to continue hypermiling.  (Great advice.  Gas prices are low because of the recession.  They’re still going to go way up as supply crunches hit.)
• The Happy Rock pits Black Friday against Buy Nothing Day.
• Deposit Accounts talks about flexible spending accounts.
• Money Smart Life compares a couple of online bank accounts.
• Saving To Invest has some end-of-year tax tips, among other things.  (Gee, I can’t imagine anyone would have capital losses this year to deduct, as kind as the market’s been to people, but just in case you do …)
• Online Banking Blog shows how to choose the best bank account.

Other Posts

• Happiness is Better lists three keys to banana-free living.  (Sounds a-peeling.)
• Curious Cat discusses a financial Thanksgiving.
• Free Money Finance asks if you’re using your dollar coins.  (All the time, man!)
• Chief Family Officer has an emergency preparedness checklist for personal finance matters.
• Digerati Life wonders if there’s any good time to start a business.
• Budgets Are Sexy is uber-tempted by sales e-mails.
• Living Almost Large asks if one should feel guilty for success.  (Absolutely not!)
• Prime Time Money gives six ways to argue less about money.

Do you cram your holiday shopping on Christmas Eve? If you’re a holiday procrastinator, maybe these simple, convenient, last minute gift ideas and shopping tips will take some of the pressure away.

I, Procrastinator

“Procrastinator” should have been my middle name. I’ve always thought that anything worth doing is worth doing well — tomorrow. Or maybe the day after. I blame my dad, to be honest. As soon as I was old enough to use the pointy scissors, it became an annual tradition for my dad to drag me out after dinner on Christmas Eve to do his Christmas shopping for my mother. This usually took a few hours and involved a fair amount of money, as there was no real plan. Then after she went to bed for the night, Dad would boost all of the packages through my bedroom window, and I’d spend a couple of hours wrapping everything and getting it all under the tree. He paid me $0.25 per package, which I then spent on New Kids on the Block trading cards .

Similarly, now that I’m all grown up, I find myself putting off holiday shopping and spending too much at the last minute because I’m desperate for a gift. I recognize that this is not a good habit and vow each year to mend my ways, but I’ve found that the rate of recidivism when it comes to procrastination is quite high. Oh sure, I do the easy stuff early in the season: the spousal unit always needs new socks and underwear, Mom looks forward to the annual box of See’s candy, etc., etc. The tougher things, thoughtful gifts, are the ones I put off buying.

I’ve come to realize that procrastinating is silly — good gifts don’t need to take a whole lot of effort (or money). For instance, my friend loves snowman ornaments. She also likes to be pampered but doesn’t like to spend money on herself. But instead of searching for and spending too much on the perfect snowman decor, I head over to the salon we both use and pick up a gift certificate for a mid-winter pedicure. She loves getting her scaly winter feet prettied up, even if they spend all of their time in winter boots or fuzzy slippers. See? Easy, no more expensive than the ornament, and interpreted by the recipient as thoughtful. Trifecta!

Last Minute Gift Ideas For Those Who’ve Run Out Of Ideas

Not sure what to get? Here are a few more shopping tips as well as holiday gift ideas that may be convenient, simple enough and good for last minute scrambles, but I believe they’ll make even the biggest procrastinators look pretty good (yes, this list is “gift card heavy”):

• Keep a few basics on hand. There happens to be a fairly large Amish population in my area, and they make and sell beautiful hand woven baskets of all shapes and sizes. I’ve always got a few of these baskets stashed in a closet, and can quickly pick up nuts, cheeses, jams (sometimes also Amish made), candies, wine, etc. Load the goodies into a basket, wrap the basket in cellophane, tie a pretty seasonal ribbon around the top and, ta-da! Insta-gift.
• AAA Membership: Got a friend that drives a clunker? How about a loved one that just has a long daily commute? An annual membership to AAA might save them some enormous headaches, not to mention a lot of money, in the event of a breakdown.
• Wine Club: Does your mom enjoy a glass of wine with dinner? Sign her up for a wine club. Wine.com offers clubs starting at 3-months and $89. Just select reds or whites and you’re on your way. Or perhaps this will do: a wine basket from what else but Winebasket.com, with 5% off your order above any additional discounts you get from items on sale!
• Gift Cards/Certificates: I’m a little tired of hearing people say that you’re “cheating” when you pick up gift cards for those on your list. I disagree with the notion that these aren’t thoughtful gifts — some of the best things I’ve received were made possible through such cards! Actually, I’m always thrilled when someone who knows I’m a reader gives me a Barnes & Noble gift card. And, like the friend I mentioned above, these cards are a good way to treat someone to something that they like but might not otherwise buy for themselves.

  On the plus side, they are easy and convenient gift choices; the downside, however, is that your gift recipient will know how much you’ve spent on them. Or worse, the cards or certificates may go unused, if forgotten. But if you do decide to go this route, then just make sure that what you purchase doesn’t have an expiration date or fees for non-use.

  Some great places that offer general gift cards or certificates?

  • Try GiftCertificates.com, which provide e-gift cards that are redeemable online.
  • You can also pick up cards from the big e-tailers such as Buy.com and Amazon.com.

  I’ve listed more sources for these items below.

• News and Magazine Subscriptions: Every year, my dad renews my husband’s “Sports Illustrated” subscription, and my husband renews my dad’s Wall Street Journal subscription. Everyone drinks some eggnog and goes home happy.
• Entertainment Subscriptions and Gift Cards: One of the easier gifts to give out are those relating to some form of entertainment or another. I’m sure you know more than a few couch potatoes, game enthusiasts and music aficionados who’ll appreciate a subscription, gift card or access to Blockbuster, Gamefly or eMusic respectively! And if you’ve got a frugal aunt (like, who doesn’t? ), maybe the 2009 Entertainment Book will thrill them with its countless discounts for almost everything under the sun.
• Fancy Food for Cheaper? Well, we all have to eat right? You don’t have to be a gourmand to enjoy the gift of a pleasant meal from your choice restaurant. And one of the most affordable gift ideas I’ve come across, which I’m thinking of picking up for several people on my list is a gift certificate to Restaurant.com. In the past, I’ve been presented with a Home Bistro gift certificate, but I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t too impressed by the meals I’ve received from them. But who knows? That was a few years ago, so maybe things have gotten better since then.
• Gift Cards for the Work at Home Type: Those who want to beef up their home offices or who enjoy gadgets and electronics may love a gift card from Sony’s e-store.
• Beauty and Wellness: A gift that pampers and beautifies will be very apropos for any lady who’d love to look and feel better. Maybe a nice scent or some bath, body and face products from FragranceX or SkinStore.com will tickle her fancy! And since fragrances and beauty products are personal, a gift card is a practical choice.

Once again this year, I vow not to procrastinate when it comes to holiday shopping. But even if I do, I hope not to rack my brain over what presents to give, given how much easier today’s retailers and e-tailers are making it for us to get our shopping done.

At any rate, I’ve started my list already using some of the ideas above, and plan to finish my shopping by December 1. If all goes well, I’ll be able to spend the days leading up to the holidays enjoying my friends and family (and all the holiday food and drinks!), and not panicking about what I’m going to get for whom.

 
SVB’s POV: Thanks to Emiley Thacker for sharing her thoughts with us in this article. As far as I know, there are no Amish communities around where I live .

This is a post from The Digerati Life.

Bookmark It

June was a difficult month for me. I was busy in Real Life, distracted by home remodeling and by physical fitness. Things are settling, which will allow me to spend more time on the site. On top of that, I now have actual help around here!

• My wife, Kris, is processing the backlog of e-mail.
• My friend, Winston, who is one of the inspirations behind GRS, is doing research and handling publicity.
• Another friend, Lisa, will help copy-edit guest posts. (You may remember Lisa from “Saving with Albert” and other guest posts.)
• Meanwhile, JerichoHill continues to keep an eye on the discussion forums.

Thanks to everyone who is lending a hand. I appreciate it. And thank you for your comments, links, and tips. The readers are the heart of Get Rich Slowly. You keep the site a vibrant place for exchanging money-saving (and money-making) ideas.

Here’s a brief overview of some of June’s top stories on the blog:

• June 3rd: How to take a mini-retirement: Tips and tricks from Timothy Ferriss
• June 9th: Guarding against the invasion of Stuff
• June 11th: The new reader’s guide to Get Rich Slowly
• June 15th: Financial advice from my father (when I was nineteen)
• June 16th: Personal finance made easy: Pay yourself first
• June 20th: Cheap vacation: Be a tourist in your own hometown
• June 23rd: Subscribe to Craigslist search results to grab great deals
• June 26th: The non-conformists’ guide to personal finance (a guest post from Chris Guillebeau)

Best of the Forums
The Get Rich Slowly discussion forums were active again this month, spawning several interesting conversations:

• Living debt free…is it really possible? this is a great thread
• Going (mostly) car-less
• Unusual ways to save money
• Debt snowball vs. emergency fund
• How do you work your clothing budget?

The forums are a great place to chat with your fellow readers. Have questions about emergency funds? Ask! Want to chat about cheap vacations? This is the place to do it. (Since opening a year ago, the forums have 1800 registered users and over 21,500 posts.)

Subscribe!
You may subscribe to Get Rich Slowly via any of the following methods:

This weblog is a success because of you and your support. As always, I welcome reader contributions, either as ideas for stories, or as guest entries. If you have any comments or requests to improve this site, please feel free to pass them on.

---
Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly:

• The Best of GRS: June 2007 Edition
• The GRS Garden Project: June Update
• Daily Links: 100 Pushups Edition
• Press
• Daily Links: Technical Difficulties Edition

This is a guest post from my wife, and features a story I’ve come to look forward to updating every summer: the tale of two entrepreneurial girls.

Last weekend I explored Portland’s beautiful Eastmoreland neighborhood during its annual 140-family garage sale. In the past, I’ve come away with major bargains, but this year I had to be content with enjoying the first day of summer with a couple of friends. We admired the homes, gardens, and assorted cast-offs of the well-to-do.

Many of the adult garage-salers were raising funds for charities. Sidewalks and curbs were also strewn with young entrepreneurs selling their wares: homemade cookies (still warm from the oven), beaded jewelry, rice-krispie treats, iced bottled water, and grilled hotdogs.

Over the past two years, J.D. and I have had fun meeting one pair of entrepreneurial sisters who rise above the run-of-the-mill baked goods and soda. I was pleased to see them once again. In 2006 they were selling jokes:

Last year they were selling stock tips:

My friends and I each bought a cup of lemonade, which we downed while questioning these young businesswomen about this year's products. The elder girl was selling bottle-cap magnets — each individually created and carefully crafted — at two price points. She told to us some of her inspirations, and compared the relative strengths of the magnets. (The one dollar bottle caps had stronger magnets than the seventy-five cent magnets.) She was proud of her creations, but, like any good salesperson, she didn’t oversell. I selected one with a cancelled 26-pence Queen Elizabeth stamp and moved on to see what her younger sister was selling.

The younger girl had created two issues of a neighborhood newspaper: The Lofty Times. Typed on an actual typewriter (without correction tape!), the publications bear phonetic misspellings and creative punctuation, but are brimming with enthusiasm and real journalistic gusto. We purchased a copy of each issue, did some negotiating to arrange limited re-print rights for Get Rich Slowly, and exchanged email addresses. Here’s a sample story from The Lofty Times, reprinted by permission of 8-year-old author Grace:

the Eastmorland goroge sail

Thouthins of peaple look forwerd to this moment in Eastmorland it is the garage sale! A man named Jared Seger is selling different parts of a house, such as windows, doors, and other things.

In th past years my family has allways gone big on the garagesale. one year DAD beleave it or not bot a hool stack of inapropryite gossap maggaseens, it was hollywood gossap and lemenaid, every year it was a tradishon to have lemenaid.

Other years were forchentelling, jocks, stack priceed, and so many more things that even if I tried, I probly could not name them all! this year is going in a todaly different path. AT ages of 8 and 10, my sister and I have lerned so many things, I, as you can see am making my newspaper. Madeline is making bottlecap prodex.

I have many, many good thouts about the garagesale, I hope you do to.

The girls and their mother gave us a crash course in their annual entrepreneurial endeavors. Their parents loan them seed money for the projects, which the girls must pay back from their profits. Any profit is theirs to spend. With parental support and guidance, these sisters are well on their way to understanding the value of money and the joy of making and selling their own goods — as well as knowing how to stand out in a crowd!

I’m sure that it would be easier for these parents to just give their daughters spending money, but they know that the lessons learned here are priceless and the extra efforts worthwhile.

My friend Rhonda and I later discussed the merits of each girl’s choice:

• The magnets clearly had higher start-up costs, but broader customer appeal.
• Yet the newspapers were well-worth the cover price for entertainment value.
• Both projects showcase the imagination of the creators.

I wish I could eavesdrop on these girls as they consider, reject, and perfect ideas for each year’s merchandise. And I hope that by the end of the weekend, Grace and Madeline were both sold-out! May they return next year with their contagious entrepreneurial spirit, and Bravo, parents!

---
Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly:

• Accidental Entrepreneurs Turn Hobbies Into Livelihoods
• Resources for Would-Be Entrepreneurs
• Some Thoughts on Discouraging Materialism in Children
• Sponsor Get Rich Slowly for Blogathon 2006
• Marketing Affects How Children Perceive Food