How to Prosper

Hopefully, you sat down and created your spending plan that I outlined in my previous post. If you are having some trouble with spending too much, you can find some great posts on this site that will help including: Furnishing Your Apartment for Cheap, Lowering Your Electric Bill, and Saving Money on Food.

The goal of this post was to explain to you the importance of 3 personal finance aspects that will take you very far in the world financially. I call them the Financial Rules to Live By.

Rule #1: Earn As Much As You Can

The most important investment you will make is in yourself. Make it a point to learn as much as you can. Get your employer to pay for graduate school. The more you learn and educate yourself, the better.

In your career, don't just do what your job description says. You need to find a way to make yourself invaluable. Listen to what your boss complains about. Can it be something you can fix? Do whatever you can to make your boss's life at work easier.

On top of this, work on special projects. Keep records of everything. If you get your review in December, make a meeting with your boss in June. Review your progress. Tell them you would like a raise of 10% and ask what you have to do to earn that. Do not give an ultimatum that you get the 10% or you leave. Realize that some things are out of his/her control. If you wait until your review, the budget is already set. You're getting whatever you are told. There isn't much negotiating. In June, the budget isn't set. If you are invaluable, your boss can put in some good words for you. He may not get you the 10%, but it will be better than 2-3%.

Rule #2: Save As Much As You Can

This isn't saying to not spend any money. It's simply saying, live within your means. If you are fresh out of college, you don't need a new car, the biggest apartment you can find and designer clothes. At the end of the day, none of this matters. Continue to live the 'college lifestyle'. You don't need to eat Ramen noodles for every meal, but you don't need to eat out at five star restaurants every night.

The more you have saved, the quicker it grows because it compounds upon itself. I have friends that are quarter millionaires and in their twenties because they save as much as they can. You wouldn't know it looking at them. That's not to say they look poor, because they don't. They have an average house and cars that are a few years old. Conversely, I have friends that are struggling to get by. You wouldn't know it by looking at them though. They have an incredible house and brand new cars. But they are up to their eyes in debt.

Avoid credit card debt and as many loans as you can. Learn to pay for things in cash.

Rule #3: Invest Wisely

When you start your career, invest at least up to the company match in your 401(k). It's basically free money. From there, maximize a Roth IRA if you are eligible for one. Then start increasing your contributions to your 401(k) until that is maxed out. After these accounts are maxed out, you can start investing outside of retirement accounts.

When it comes to picking investments, pick low cost mutual funds that track an index. It may sound boring, but it's a winning strategy. Active funds rarely beat the market, mainly due to the high fees you are charged. Most investors ignore fees because a bill does not come in the mail. But trust me, they do make a difference.

If you are unsure of what determines a good mutual fund, check out this post on mutual funds as well as other details in selecting a mutual fund in this post. They will point you in the right direction.

Final Thoughts

I'm not saying that living within your means, investing in yourself and your career and maximizing investment accounts is easy. It's not. Especially with advertisers bombarding us from every angle all day long trying to convince us to buy their products. Do your best to tune out this noise. Stay focused on needs versus wants. Remember that just because it looks like others have more than you, looks can be deceiving.

Finally, don't put off your future until tomorrow. It is much easier to save for retirement when you first start out versus when you have ten working years left and haven't started.

This post was written by Don, a staff writer from MoneySmartGuides.

Best of Money ' 157 Edition

Welcome to the 157th edition of the Best of Money Carnival. I am honored to be hosting this carnival and found selecting the best articles very challenging. There were lots of other great posts, but here's the final cut.

1. Hank presents Why I Bought Shares Of Facebook On Its IPO Opening Day posted at Money Q&A. I bought shares of Facebook yesterday on its opening day on the market after its initial public offering IPO. Should you buy shares of Facebook IPO? Here are some reasons.
2. Aloysa presents The Financial Dangers of Being a Mail-Order Bride posted at My Broken Coin. In this article I talk about the dangers of being a mail-order bride!
3. A Blinkin presents Stop Saying You're Too Young'Or Too Old posted at Funancials. I used to spend all of my free time reading books about personal finance and investing boy, was that boring. About 2 months ago I started focusing more on topics such as finding your purpose and chasing your dreams. I stumbled upon a book titled The Dream Manager, which I recommend to everybody.
4. JP presents Starting to Exercise? Should Your Family Spend Money to Work Out? posted at My Family Finances. Starting to exercise? While I'd love to just say, go frugal, you don't need to spend money to be active, it's really not that simple. There are many good reasons to spend money working out.
5. Suba presents The Three Musketeers: My Dad's Medical Team posted at Broke Professionals. Money is still my dad's focus, even when facing quadruple bypass and vascular surgeries within three months.
6. Jason presents Broke, Desperate, and Being an Idiot posted at Work Save Live. I wanted to relive the past a bit more and talk about how my 'financial peace & debt free' journey originally got started.
7. SFB presents How to Be a Debt Collector's Worst Nightmare posted at Simple Finance Blog. What are you rights when debt collectors call? How to navigate the unethical collection practices of debt collection agencies?
8. Daniel presents Our Decision To Join Our Finances posted at Sweating the Big Stuff. When Lauren and I got engaged last year, we had an important decision to make: did we want to combine finances or keep them separate?
9. Invest It Wisely presents Living to 100 and Beyond: How Will It Affect Your Retirement Plans? posted at Invest It Wisely. This is the first in a series of articles on living to 100 and beyond.
10. Miss T. presents How Pinterest Can Save You Money posted at Prairie Eco Thrifter. If you're anything like me, you've most likely found yourself sucked into the wonderful world of Pinterest at least once. With a few clicks of your mouse, it's easy to build boards of inspiration for countless numbers of items, interests and passions. But did you know that Pinterest is also a fantastic resource for saving money?

Getting Married? Need to Change Your Name? Checklist of Documents

Where My Wife & I Got Married

A common event in many young individuals' lives is getting married. Getting married is not just a public display of romance ' it is also a legal proceeding. It not only has legal ramifications for tax purposes, but also in changing your name. Traditionally, it is the bride who changes her name, but the 21st century offers many complications. Making the arrangements for the ceremony and reception may seem like a lot in, so you can imagine how overwhelming it might seem to change your name.

Marriage is Easy Way to Change Your Name

Marriage is one of the easiest ways to change your name. So, if you are looking for a new surname and don't want to have to go to court to do it, why not look for someone special to say, 'I do' so you can accomplish your goal. While I don't recommend hunting down a suitable match for the sole sake of changing your name, it does provide an easy way to change your last name.

When my wife and I were getting the marriage license(s), we were told how we need to fill out the license. 'If you want to change your name, you need to sign your new name when you sign the marriage license,' the clerk informed my wife. It really is that simple ' well, kind of. Changing your legal name with your marriage certificate is only the beginning. Following the Honeymoon starts the beginning of getting all of your other legal documents in order.

List of Identification to Change

In order to help you overcome the anxiety that comes with changing your name after getting married, here's a list of possible forms of identification that you will need to change:

• Social Security Card
• Driver's License
• Passport
• Medical Records
• Bank Accounts
• Credit Cards
• Insurance
• Car Registration, Title
• Miscellaneous Bills (Cell Phone, Internet, Utilities, etc.)

First Things First ' Order for Changing Name

The funny thing about getting new identification is that certain forms of identification require other forms of identification. If you have ever lost two (or more) important forms (like social security card and driver's license), it can become a hassle when it comes to request new ID's. Changing your name after marriage is very similar. It's important to go in the proper order for the first few items, otherwise it can get complicated. You can check with your local DMV and the Social Security Office for details, but here's the general order. While I know that tradition for the bride changing her name are changing (my best friend and his wife both changed their names), this is only accounting for one partner changing his/her name.

1. Sign Marriage Certificate on your wedding
2. Mail license to the county clerk
3. Request official copies of Marriage certificate (if you don't already have it ' the county we got married in gave us two when we got them)
4. Apply for new Social Security Card at your Local Social Security Office.
5. Receive your new Social Security Card in the Mail
6. Visit your local DMV to get your name changed on your license, bringing marriage certificate and necessary identification (the requirements for identification vary by state). If you have a car in your name, this is also the time to change the title and registration.
7. Everything else'

Changing your name does not have to be overwhelming. Taking one thing at a time can go a long ways toward helping you maintain your sanity and stay in control. If necessary, once you get the essentials taken care of, you can wait for some items like a passport until needed.

Did you have a difficult time changing your name?

Financial Carnival for Young Adults ' 14th Edition

Welcome to the fourteenth edition of the Financial Carnival for Young Adults. My purpose with this carnival is to create an easy-to-find place for information about finances for young adults. The carnival is hosted here at 20's Finances each week and features the most recent articles from around the web.

Dr. Dean @ The Millionaire Nurse Blog writes Talking About Ourselves: A Turn On? ' Does talking about ourselves really give us pleasure? And how can that knowledge help us increase our income?

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes How Can We Simplify the Tax System ' A discussion of ways we can simplify the US tax code, and an emphasis on just why we should do such simplification.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes Don't Forget About Life Insurance! ' Forgetting to purchase life insurance can be one of the worst mistakes you could make in your life. Don;t forget about life insurance.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Money Rules When Spending Money ' I was recently in Chicago for a charity event. The events were held at the hotel I was staying at so I ended up eating a handful of meals in the hotel.

KT @ Personal Finance Journey writes Easy Energy Saving Tips' ' Energy costs seem to rise almost every day, and it can be hard to keep pace with them, especially if you find yourself on a tight budget. While it might be something that some people can just about cope with, for others, simply meeting the cost of their basic energy needs can be awfully difficult.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes The 3 P's of Success ' The 3 P's of Success is the sixteenth in a series of articles to help you reach your goal.

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes Is Your Frugality Invoked to Stretch Dollars or to Stockpile the Savings? ' There are two possible outcomes of frugality. One is to stretch your dollar so that you get a lot more in purchases.

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes The Financial Dangers of Being a Mail-Order Bride ' In this article I talk about the dangers of being a mail-order bride!

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes Summer Temptations ' Find out how I resist the many temptations that the summer months bring. Are vacations and ice-cream worth throwing out yoru budget?

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Hilarious Hypocrisy ' Do you even think the wine lady understands how hilarious her life decisions are? How many of us are completely overlooking our own giant blind spots?

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes Car Buying Guide ' Part 1 ' I Bought a New Used Car ' My goal with this car buying guide is to offer you something to take out from my car buying experience. Buying a used car is NOT the only way to go. There are other options.

JP @ My Family Finances writes Starting to Exercise? Should Your Family Spend Money to Work Out? ' Starting to exercise? While I'd love to just say, go frugal, you don't need to spend money to be active, it's really not that simple. There are many good reasons to spend money working out.

eemusings @ Musings of an Abstract Aucklander writes Five things you don't learn at university ' You learn a lot of things at uni ' but they won't all necessarily prepare you for the workplace.

Kevin @ Thousandaire writes Do's and Don'ts with your Credit Card ' The concept behind credit cards is a simple one: charge now, pay later.

Ashley @ Money Talks Coaching writes How Much Life Insurance Do You Need? ' Life insurance isn't sexy or fun but it is something you need to think about every few decades.

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes Woman Finds Meteorite Worth $20,000 While Walking the Dog ' This is one of those stories that makes me want to get off my butt and take the dog for a walk! So get this'

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes What Should You Do When an Investment Dives in Value? ' This Post was Originally published at What Should You Do When an Investment Dives in Value? on Start Investing Money

Corey @ 20s Finances writes When It's Difficult to Save Money ' Do you have a difficult time saving money? Saving money should be a priority for all young adults, but we all know that it's not that easy ' is it? While I already gave you easy ways to save money, it doesn't mean that life doesn't get in the way. In the past few weeks, I have been reminded of how difficult it is to save money in certain times of lives.

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes Our Decision To Join Our Finances ' When Lauren and I got engaged last year, we had an important decision to make: did we want to combine finances or keep them separate?

Shawanda Greene @ You Have More Than You Think writes Student Loan Debt Is Over $1 Trillion. So What? ' I thought student loan debt was good debt. Why is everyone complaining about it now?

TRL @ The Retired Landlord writes The Number One Reason People Don't Invest in Real Estate ' Find out why people don't invest in real estate. It's not just a simple matter of weighing the risks and benefits.

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes How to Be a Debt Collector's Worst Nightmare ' What are you rights when debt collectors call? How to navigate the unethical collection practices of debt collection agencies?

MR @ Money Reasons writes Beyond Frugal ' Fixing My Son's Broken Bike ' Satisfaction from fixing my son's broken brake levers and a video to demonstate how to do frugally it.

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes Stop Saying You're Too Young'Or Too Old ' I used to spend all of my free time reading books about personal finance and investing ' boy, was that boring. About 2 months ago I started focusing more on topics such as finding your purpose and chasing your dreams. I stumbled upon a book titled The Dream Manager, which I recommend to everybody.

Peter @ Bible Money Matters writes 50 Ways to Make Money: Maximizing, Creating and Increasing Your Income ' While I think it's important to find ways to save every month, I also think it's important to make sure you maximize what's coming in as well. You can only cut so many things out of your budget, but you can always find ways to increase your income.

Maria @ The Money Principle writes A need or a want: this is the problem! ' Our lives change most when there has been a seriously interruptive event in them ' although we can change our lives because we want to do, we do this most efficiently and quickly when we need to.

PPlan @ Provident Plan writes How to Handle Medical Bills like a Pro ' Ah, medical bills. We all hate them but they have been part of our life since birth. As the old, wise saying goes, there is no such thing as free lunch.

MMD @ MyMoneyDesign writes Six Easy Steps to Figuring Out Your Retirement ' When someone says you should save 10% for retirement, what does this actually mean? Will you hit your goals? How do you even know what your goals are? I'd like to offer you my advice for a simple and streamlined introductory approach to figuring out your retirement goals.

Invest It Wisely @ Invest It Wisely writes Living to 100 and Beyond: How Will It Affect Your Retirement Plans? ' This is the first in a series of articles on living to 100 and beyond. This post was originally published on May 17, 2010.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes College Debt Ceilings ' Who needs to go to college? Should everyone? My opinion is no, not everyone should go to college. There's been this huge push toward every child attending college, but the truth is this may not be the best choice for everyone.

Jason @ Live Real, Now writes Fixing Your Credit Report ' There are no quick fixes for bad credit, just good new habits and time.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes The Three Musketeers: My Dad's Medical Team ' Money is still my dad's focus, even when facing quadruple bypass and vascular surgeries within three months.

Matt @ Living in Financial Excellence writes Shop from Your Pantry by Stockpiling ' Stock up on items that are at rock bottom prices ' when combined with a coupon they become super cheap and even free' this way you will always have enough and you won't ever have to pay full price.

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes Travel for Pennies: How Rethinking International Travel Can Save You Money ' Find out easy and practical steps to travel to great places without breaking the bank.

Jeffrey @ Money Spruce writes Only 72: If You're Serious About Building an Online Business ' If you want to get right to the sale, click here to go to Only 72. I'm writing today about the Only 72 sale. It's 90 percent off over $1,000 in ebooks and guides for the entrepreneur ' but only for 72 hours. Why I'm writing a post about it Almost 2 years ago, I began searching for a different path in life.

101 Centavos @ 101 Centavos writes Travel Notes: Just Say Ahn-Nyeong Hah-Seh-Yo and Kon'nichi Wa ' Just a couple words is all you need to know when traveling abroad. Hello and thank you and a big smile will open a lot of doors in the East, especially in a business setting, and most especially coming from Americans, renowned foreign-language ignoramuses.

YFS @ Your Finances Simplified writes Roth vs. Traditional IRA (In Depth Review) ' Since the conception of the Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) in 1974 from the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), it has helped thousands of individuals to save money for a comfortable retirement. Over the years, the types of IRAs '

Hank @ Money Q&A writes Why I Bought Shares Of Facebook On Its IPO Opening Day ' I bought shares of Facebook yesterday on its opening day on the market after its initial public offering (IPO). Should you buy shares of Facebook IPO? Here are some reasons.

Jason @ Work Save Live writes Broke, Desperate, and Being an Idiot ' I wanted to relive the past a bit more and talk about how my 'financial peace & debt free' journey originally got started.

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes Shopping Frugally ' I don't know about you, but if I'm about to buy an item that I've had my eye on for awhile, I do a lot of research.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Why 'No More Lattes' Rarely Works ' Who would've known that all this time we have been pouring caffeine-laced devil's brew down our throats every morning?! If you're not aware that

Luke @ Learn Bonds writes Revenue Bonds ' Revenue Bonds definition and comparison of Revenue Bonds to General Obligation Municipal Bonds.

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes Does Over-Confidence Lead to Debt? ' Find out why over-confidence can easily lead to debt. To live debt free, you have to stay humble and diligent. Learn how you can do it.

Sean @ One Smart Dollar writes Money Saving Workout Routines for a Fit Recession-ista ' Spending money for a gym membership can be expensive. Here are some great tips to keep yourself in shape and not break the budget.

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Are Finance Bloggers Perfect Identity Theft Targets ' One of the threats of the online world that we often forget about is identity theft. It's easy to forget about those kinds of dangers as we are going about our business online. It's one of those kinds of things that you don't truly appreciate until it actually happens to you.

Beating Broke @ Beating Broke writes Have You Become Complacent with Your Gazelle Intensity? ' Sometimes when you are tired and are immersed in your debt repayment, getting out of debt can feel hopeless. You can feel like the debt will never go away, and you can start to doubt yourself and the sacrifices you are making. In times of doubt, read stories like Mihalic's to see that gazelle intensity does work. He made it through to the other side. You can, too.

Kanwal @ Simply Investing writes Do You Think Investing is Too Difficult? ' There is a common misconception that people have regarding investing, especially investing in stocks and that is, 'investing is difficult'. Most people believe that investing by themselves is too complicated therefore most folks leave it to the so called professionals.

Jeremy Waller @ Personal Finance Whiz writes Oh Noes! The Facebook IPO! ' Today is the big day. The day that Facebook goes public and makes Mark Zukerberg the 29th richest person in the world. It's unreal how much hype is surrounding this IPO. I don't know if it's because it's one of the biggest IPOs in history or if its simply because it's Facebook.

John @ Married (with Debt) writes Debt to Income Ratio: Not Just for Banks ' What is a debt to income ratio? Is it only for banks? Find out how you can use it to determine how to get out of debt.

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes How to Start Saving Money (Even if you're always broke) ' Yep, that's right'broke people can save money too.

PITR @ Passive Income To Retire writes How to Generate Interest in a New Business ' Find out how you can use a promotional offer to generate interest in your new business.

Robert @ My Multiple Incomes writes Are Two Wage Earners Better Than One? ' You may naturally think that two wage earners in a household is always better than one, but in reality, it may not be depending on your household expenses. Here are some quick things to consider.

Earth and Money @ Earth and Money writes Are We an Impatient Society? ' Yesterday, I was delayed several minutes by a chatty customer in line at the grocery store. Should I have been more patient?

Robert @ The College Investor writes First Time Home Buying 101 ' It's official: Mortgage rates have again hit an all-time low. With rates falling and inventory levels building, there's never been a better time to buy your first home. There are a lot of good deals out there, but you need to make sure that you know what you're doing so that you don't overpay or regret your purchase later. Here are a few tips to help you navigate the first-time home buyer waters in a successful manner:

Lorillia @ Your Money Mentor writes Vanishing Paper: Why the value of stock certificates can be worth more than the stock ' The value of stock certificates as a collectible or an investment security.

Van Beek @ Stock Trend Investing writes Two Different Types of Stock Investing Software ' If you're considering getting started trading stocks, you may be looking for something to help you with it. Many people look to stock investing software to help them manage their trading. This software comes in two different forms: Investment or portfolio management and Trading platforms. Some companies even try to integrate both. Here is what you need to know.

Grand Per Month @ Grand Per Month writes Make a Grand Per Month to Stay Out of Debt ' Making a grand per month can do many wonderful things for you and your family'you can save for retirement, save for your child's college education, or use the money to become debt free. However, sometimes extra money is needed just to make your budget work. The adage is to spend less than you earn, but what if your earnings are too small to meet your expenses?

Mike @ Rewards Cards USA writes Summer Vacation: Boost Your Travel Rewards - School's almost out, and summer vacation season is right around the corner. If you are looking to boost the frugality of your summer vacation, and earn more rewards at the same time, look no further than your travel rewards card.

harry campbell @ Your Personal Finance Pro writes Should Young Professionals Invest in Dividend Stocks? ' With fixed income investments like bonds and CD's returning decade lows, some investors have turned to dividend stocks as a way to receive predictable income at regular intervals. Dividend stocks usually refer to companies that have a history of paying out dividends to shareholders. In fact, each year, the S&P 500 publishes a list of it's dividend aristocrats. A company must increase it's annual dividend payout every single year for 25 consecutive years to get onto that list. Many begi

Jeff Rose @ Life Insurance by Jeff writes Buying Life Insurance Online Has Never Been Easier ' It's never been easier for Gen X or Gen Y to buy insurance online. It's faster and much cheaper!

Glen Craig @ Free From Broke writes Reflections on a Frugal Japanese Life ' Our author recounts her husband's frugal upbringing in Japan and how it helped them to afford college education for their kids,retirement, and more.

CCS @ Credit Card Smarts writes How Credit Cards Help You Build a Credit History ' When you use a credit card you are affecting your credit history. Use it wisely and you can build up your credit history with your credit card. See how.

J.P. @ Novel Investor writes The Complete Shareholder Proxy Vote Guide ' As a shareholder, understanding your rights, the proxy voting process and knowing the SEC proxy rules is the best way to stay involved. How you vote could have a direct impact on the company and your money going forward.

Jeff Rose @ Good Financial Cents writes Your Personal Definition of Success - Having the freedom to pick and choose what you want to do is so powerful, and it is definitely an ingredient in my recipe for the personal definition of success.

Lance @ Money Life & More writes Business Mileage Reimbursement ' Do You Really Make Money? ' Whenever I've talked to anyone who receives mileage checks they all tell me how much money they 'make' by driving for business miles. The mileage rate more than covers the cost of the gas they use! I want to challenge this assumption. The IRS doesn't aim for people to make money.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes 7 Ways to Save Money on Dinner ' Dinner is an important meal, and it is usually the largest one of the day. As a result, preparing dinner for the family can get expensive. If you are interested in saving money while still providing quality food for your family, you should take a look at these seven money saving tips.

Steve @ Brip Blap writes All About Loans ' Here is a visual guide to the different types of loans available:

Echo @ Boomer & Echo writes Will A Pension Plan Handcuff You To Your Job? ' Spending 25-30 years with the same employer can seem like a life sentence rather than setting you up for the good life in retirement. Here's why:

Mike @ Rewards Cards Canada writes Do You Put Groceries On Your Credit Card? ' For some people, there's a psychological barrier that exists when it comes to using credit cards for essentials like groceries, gas and pharmaceuticals.

16 Ways to Improve Your Finances

Are you looking for ways to improve your finances? It can be difficult to know exactly what to do in order to improve your financial situation, so I have compiled a list of sixteen things you can do to move in the right direction. Some of these may be common sense to you, but others may not be.

1. Pay off Debt ' This may sound easier than it is to accomplish, but getting rid of all your debt is a great way to lower your monthly expenses and have a lot more flexibility. If you pay off debt that had a monthly payment of $300, you now have that much more flexibility. What would you like to do with money that you are paying towards debt?
2. Use a Budget ' A budget is a great way to not only keep track of your expenses, but to limit your spending. It helps keep you accountable. Sometimes that is all you need to keep your spending in line.
3. Track Your Net Worth ' My wife and I just recently started tracking our net worth and it has provided the extra motivation to save and invest aggressively. It's nice to see that number go up and very disappointing when it goes down.
4. Set Financial Goals ' Setting financial goals is a strong commitment of mine. I believe it's one of the many ways to keep you focused on long-term results. If you haven't set financial goals yet, start today!
5. Take a 'Stay-cation' ' Budgeting for vacation may not be enough. By staying somewhere close (or even at home) you can reduce the two major expenses of vacations and use the money to enjoy things that you normally wouldn't do.
6. Commit to a No-Spend-Month ' Are you surprised at how easy it is for the small things to add up? Try committing to a full month of not buying anything. Sure, you can buy groceries, but that's it. I wonder how much money you could save'
7. Sell Old, Unused Items ' Do you have items sitting around that are unused. Why not sell them and make some money. The longer you wait, the less money you will have and the more cluttered your home will be.
8. Never buy NEW ' There are very few items that I will buy new. Big purchases like cars are something I will never buy new. New items have a price mark-up because they are new ' no other reason. Is that worth it to you?
9. Invest Money with a Roth IRA ' A Roth IRA is a great savings investment for people. You can contribute to your 401(k) AND save extra money in a Roth. There is an annual contribution limit and you can't go back in time, so you might as well start today.
10. Increase your 401(k) or 403(b) Contributions ' If you have a little extra spending money each month, think about supplementing your employer's retirement fund. If you aren't maxing out your contributions, why not try to set more money aside for your retirement. It will come out before you get your check, so you probably won't notice the difference now ' but you will appreciate it later.
11. Don't Create a Wish List ' Do you have an amazon wish list? I have found that having a wish list makes me more likely to splurge. This is never good for your finances and you should avoid it at all costs.
12. Eat at Home ' My wife and I save hundreds of dollars each month by eating 90% of our meals at home. We even have a system in place to reduce our grocery bill. If you are eating out all the time, try changing your lifestyle and see how much extra money you can save.
13. Bike to Work ' This option isn't available to everyone (without moving), but it's a great way to save money on gas while staying active. I commit to this in the summer months and save several hundred dollars.
14. Create a Side Income ' Sometimes, it takes earning extra money to give yourself more financial freedom. You can only be so frugal. I now earn a couple hundred dollars from blogging after months of hard work. Find out what you can do to scrape by a few extra dollars.
15. Diversify Your Investments ' If you have all of your investments in one place or even worse, one stock, it is time to diversify. You never know when one area of the market will collapse and you don't want to lose everything in one instance.
16. Spend Less Money than You Earn ' Last, but certainly not least, spending less money than you earn is the only sustainable way of living. This gives you freedom and the ability to put your money to use by saving and investing.

What would you add to this list?

 

Your Spending Plan

Corey's Note: For those faithful readers, I would like to introduce Don, a new staff writer here at 20's Finances. Don impressed me with his quality writing over the past few months and I asked him to join me in adding more quality content on 20's Finances. The focus will always be to provide my readers with the tools needed to succeed financially and I think Don will be a great support for achieving this goal and will be publishing posts on Wednesday's. Enjoy!

For those graduating college this month, before you lay unlimited possibilities. Your future is whatever you make of it. Many of you will be moving out on your own with your first 'real' job. While this is a time filled with excitement, it is also filled with uncertainty. How are you going to pay for everything (including your student loans)? Luckily, there is a tool to help you. Most call it a budget. I call it a spending plan. I like a spending plan because it is a guide to help you achieve your goals. A budget on the other hand sounds like a restriction and implies negativity.

What is a Spending Plan?

As I mentioned above, a spending plan is a guide to help you realize your dreams and goals. It provides you with a sense of direction and in time, a look into the past and where you came from.

How to Create a Spending Plan

There are four key steps in developing your spending plan, which I highlight below. Note that the numbers presented below are simply guidelines. Everyone's situation is different, so tailor your spending plan to fit you. If it does, you will be more likely to follow it.

Step 1: Create a Spending Diary

In order to create your plan, you need to know where your money is going. To do this, you need to record you spending habits for at least a month. You can use whatever method you want ' electronic or pad and paper ' just make it a point to write down every penny you spend, the date, where you spent it and then assign it a category.

Most people will have a few main categories, such as housing, food, clothing, transportation, bills, etc. Below that will be sub-categories. For example, under the food category, you would have sub-categories of groceries and dining out.

It's important to create as many sub-categories as you need. You don't want to get into the mistake that many others (including me) have made with the miscellaneous category. Before you know it, you will have spent $300 last month in miscellaneous. You'll have no idea where that money is going.

Another important point is to make note of any special expenses. These include annual or semi-annual insurance payments, taxes on your house, gifts, etc. The best way to account and plan for these is to sum up the amount for each one and divide by 12. Then you can save that amount on a monthly basis. When the bill comes due, you have the money for it and it doesn't catch you by surprise.

Step 2: Estimate Your Income

Depending on how you are paid, this part could be easy or more time consuming. If you are paid a salary, take the amount you are paid less taxes (your net income) and total it for the month.

• If you are paid weekly, simply take the weekly amount and multiply by 4.3.
• If you are paid bi-weekly, take you paycheck and multiply by 2.16.
• If you are paid semi-monthly, take your paycheck and multiply by 2.

If your income is variable, you will need to look at past paychecks to get an estimate of your monthly income. If you do not have past paychecks to rely on, then make your best estimate for now, and revise as you get paid so you can calculate an average amount.

Step 3: Develop Your Plan

Now that you have your income and expense figured out, you can create your plan. Experts suggest the following guidelines for spending in each category:

Now look at your spending and see how you compare. Realize that you can choose to follow these guidelines or you can create your own. These are just to give you an idea of how much you should be spending in each category. If you like to travel, then you can spend more on travel. Don't feel as though you have to fit in to these percentages.

Final Tips for Your Spending Plan

• People don't change overnight, so don't create a spending plan that doesn't fit you. If you do, you will most likely give up on it after a few short weeks or months. Make small changes over time.
• Your spending plan is flexible. Things happen. Don't look at your plan as set in stone. Tweak it as you go along so that it fits you.
• When you are first starting out, keep it simple. The easier it is to follow, the more likely you will do so. As you progress, you can add layers to it.
• Don't account for every penny. Have a fun category that allows you to spend money however you feel like it. But keep this amount reasonable.
• If you are going to modify the guidelines above, try your best to keep the savings category amount as high as possible. The more you save, the more you can invest. The earlier you start to save, the more your money can compound upon itself. All of this leads to you retiring when you want.

Have you had success with a spending plan?

This post was written by Don, a staff writer from MoneySmartGuides.

Is the Best Job The Highest Paying One?

Too often our society places the highest value on that which costs the most money. Somehow we have come to learn that the most money means the best product and ultimately, quality of life. We convince ourselves that life would be better if we had more money. While it is almost always easier, it doesn't mean better. Quality of life should be determined by more than just the number of bills in our wallet or the number of zero's in our bank accounts.

This often transfers to how we understand our ideal job. Because money provides so much more freedom, we become convinced that the more money we make, the happier we will be. There have been recent work to resist this materialistic trend. One most notable is the Wall Street Journal's article, stating that $75,000 is the happiness threshold income. In other words, anything over this amount in income will not make people significantly more happy. They are clear to point out that this is just a rule of thumb and not a universal standard, but the point is sharp: more money is not always better.

Yet, our obsession continues. We understand promotions not in terms of increased responsibility or recognition for hard work, but merely in salary increase. A performance bonus means more to us in the dollar amount than respect for the quality of work. While I would like to attribute the problem to materialism and be done with it, if I am honest with myself, I believe it also results from the natural transition to a real job after graduation from college.

How We Understand Job Employment: Coming to Grips with the '9-to-5'

One of the most difficult transition periods in someone's life is when they have to get a 'real job'. This often refers to the time following their last education ' be it high school or college. While I worked through college, it was hard adjusting to a full-time gig. My aspirations from college of making a difference in the world and being able to follow my dreams quickly faded. I was faced with the reality of having to make ends meet.

Many young adults face this same challenge. Whether it is paying off college debt or paying for your new car that you just financed, the bills add up. You could be paying for rent for the first time as well. I remember when I thought my parents were loaded, only to discover that the monthly bills (mortgage, insurance, car payments, etc.) gave them little cushion. Young adults face this same issue and it alters how they see their job. Instead of seeing a job as a place to excel, follow your skills and passions, it is instead a place to earn a paycheck. You put in your time and in exchange, you can pay your bills and continue with your lifestyle.

Working the 9-to-5 job is not just a challenge for young adults. Before you know it, the job becomes monotonous and you start to wonder why you committed to this. One response of this is to change your job, in hopes that you can find something more interesting. According to the bureau of labor statistics, research suggested that people born in the late 50's/early 60's changed jobs on average 11 times between the ages of 18 and 44. Another response would be to understand your job strictly as earning more money. Because the job is no longer important in and of itself, you focus on the money.

Is a Higher Salary Always Better?

If you are working your job and considering switching careers, it is always important to take compensation into consideration. But, should this be the most important aspect. Is a job with a higher salary always better? In order to examine this more closely, let discuss two situations.

First, let's assume that you have some pretty aggressive financial goals like retiring early. In order to accomplish your goal, you understand that you have to get a high paying job. You work hard to get a promotion and move up in your field, thereby increasing your salary even more. Yet, it comes to a point where you get burnt out because the job you settled for was motivated solely by income. As a result, you end up buying more stuff to keep you happy. Before you know it, you realize that you need to keep buying more stuff or doing expensive hobbies to justify your sacrifice. Ironically, the job you settled for based on financial reasons is actually hurting your more than the alternative.

Secondly, let's imagine you decide that money isn't everything. You make some lifestyle sacrifice in order to follow your dreams. You go through several years of low-paying jobs before getting a mediocre-paying job in the field that you enjoy. Instead of focusing just on salary, you understand your job as a means to fulfillment. It's not just a place to punch in at the beginning of the day and punch out at the end. This inevitably means that you have to work longer because it is lower pay, but it means a lifetime of happiness.

I think it would be naive to suggest that it always happens in either one of these situations. I am sure that both of these do happen every day, but the majority is probably somewhere in the middle ' some sort of compromise between following your dreams with no interest in a high salary and completely disregarding your passions for the salary. What I hope to illustrate however is that having a high salary does not equal happiness. It often leads to other areas in life that counteract pursuing a high-paying salary. There are some situations where a high-income job and your passions can coincide (they are not mutually exclusive), but it's not always the case. All I know is that when we view our job as a place to earn a paycheck, it becomes easy to confuse it with a prison cell ' doing your life sentence 40 hours a week.

Financial Carnival for Young Adults ' 13th Edition

Welcome to the thirteenth edition of the Financial Carnival for Young Adults. My purpose with this carnival is to create an easy-to-find place for information about finances for young adults. The carnival is hosted here at 20's Finances each week and features the most recent articles from around the web.

Glen Craig @ Free From Broke writes Education: Your Hedge Against Inflation ' You're wondering what your best hedge against inflation is. Maybe gold? Stocks? How about education? Yes, education can be a great hedge against inflation.

Kurt Fischer @ Money Counselor writes Income-Based Student Loan Repayment ' Budget-busting student loan debts are proving impossible to repay for growing numbers of graduates. The Income-Based Repayment program, and the prospective Pay-As-You-Earn proposal, can help many student loan debtors meet their payments, preserve their credit ratings, and hope one day actually to get out of debt!

Raj @ eMoneyLog writes How to Achieve Financial Freedom in Four Steps ' In this post I explore what 'Financial Freedom' means to various people and how one can go about to try to achieve it in a methodical manner which requires efforts but will help you achieve financial freedom.

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes University Will Pay You $3,500 to Eat Only Fast Food for 3 Months ' Oh, brother' A new study at Washington University in St.

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes Convenient Banking Technology ' Banking used to be an incredible hassle. I hated going to the bank, waiting in line, making sure that your forms or deposit slip was filled out properly, being lectured by the teller if it wasn't, having to deal with specific hours'the list goes on and on.

PITR @ Passive Income To Retire writes Why Quality is Important ' Find out why quality content is important to help your site's traffic grow and how I am changing my writing strategy.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes The Money Conversation for Couples ' I found this article at US News. It lists six topics related to money that you should have with your significant other before getting married.

Corey @ 20s Finances writes How to Increase Net Worth ' As many of you know, several months ago, I challenged myself with several short-term financial goals. One of them, which I haven't talked about too much is to increase my net worth by 50%. For those who don't know, net worth is the difference between your assets and liabilities.

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes Secure Your Future by Developing Multiple Streams of Income ' If you are like most people, you work hard at your day job. Maybe you used to make what you considered a good salary, but now, with the economy, your income seems to be dwindling. Perhaps you haven't gotten a raise in several years, or if you have gotten a raise, you simultaneously face an increase in health.

101 Centavos @ 101 Centavos writes Career Tips For Young Folks ' This is a series of blog posts, dormant for a while, resurrected for a while. These would be career tips #15, #16 and #17, meant for young people entering'

Jason @ Work Save Live writes Should You Buy a Car Through CarMax? ' Rust buckets, over-sized purses, methods of transportation, and a means of showing worth and status. Maybe it's needless to say, but there isn't a topic I detest more. When I hear the word 'car' all I can think about are over-priced machines that have gone from performing a function to being status symbols.

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes What is Manilla & Why Should You Try It? ' Manilla is a free (yes, that's right! 100 percent free) web based service to make our financial lives more organized and easier to manage.

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes Why Hobbies Save You Money ' Staying active and finding things that you enjoy can actually save you money. Find out how to define yourself not by the things you buy.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Green Tip #242: Sharing Toys ' Share toys, keep your baby stimulated but save money.

Luke @ Learn Bonds writes Why Bond Laddering is a Bad Idea ' If you are investing in the bond market you have probably had Bond Laddering recommended to you as a strategy. Here is why this is a bad idea.

TRL @ The Retired Landlord writes Important Traits of a Successful Landlord ' Find out what it takes to be a successful landlord. Do you have these important traits to make a profit in real estate investing?

Linsey @ 1099 Mom writes I Want to Be a Freelance Finance Writer ' Today's 'I Want to Be' Series features Miranda Marquit who works from home full-time as a freelance finance writer for many personal finance blogs. To learn what her typical day is like and what advice she has for writers just beginning, read on.

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Keeping Up With The Joneses In The Digital Age ' As the internet has evolved and we truly enter the digital age as a society, the biggest enemy of our personal finances has been quietly growing stronger and stronger. No it's not inflation. It's not government taxes. It's something much less obvious. It's those pesky Joneses!

PPlan @ Provident Plan writes Would Jesus Support the Buffet Tax Law? ' Find out if Jesus supports the Warren Buffet Tax law and what the Christian response to paying taxes should be.

Invest It Wisely @ Invest It Wisely writes Getting Screwed Out of Your Hard-Earned Capital: How CDs and GICs Are Rip-Offs for Long-term Investing ' Is there such a thing as a guaranteed rate of return? There seems to be a trend for people to flock to safety by buying certificates of deposit

Maria @ The Money Principle writes Politics and economy in the Eurozone part 2 ' The immediate response of the markets last week was quite muted. They assumed that with Germany in charge of the Euro and Merkel in charge of Germany, the austerity programmes will continue to the bitter end. Simpletons.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes How A Little Preparation And One Question Saved Me Over $1,000 ' I hate buying a new car, but a little preparation and one simple question he me save money buying a new car this time with a little preparation.

Matt @ Living in Financial Excellence writes What I Have Learned by Interviewing People Who Are Debt Free ' For the past six months now I have had the pleasure of being able to interview debt free individuals and couples on the Debt Free Living Podcast. So far I have released about 20 episodes and it amazes me how unique each story is regarding how they got debt free. It also is interesting to me to see what each person's 'Why' is. Some got their finances together in order to travel more, some do it to quit a job they hate and do something they love, and for others it was to stay at home with t

Ashley @ Money Talks Coaching writes The Envelope System Works: Even on a 10 Year Old ' I've talked quite a bit about my frustration with my daughter and her lack of concern when it comes to money. She wouldn't save money to save her life.

MMD @ MyMoneyDesign writes Yes, People Still Fall for Pyramid Schemes ' Do people still fall for get-rich quick schemes? This group of people I came across in OH did. While traveling for business, I stumbled upon a meeting of people at a restaurant who were being given a sales pitch for something that clearly sounded like a pyramid scheme. Here is my story.

Jeremy Waller @ Personal Finance Whiz writes Top Personal Finance Posts Of The Week ' Big Fat J.P. Morgan Losses Edition ' Last week JP Morgan Chase announced it was sitting on at least $2.3 billion in paper losses stemming from trading naked credit default swaps. These high risk derivatives are analogous to buying insurance on a house you don't own ' doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

John @ Married (with Debt) writes Give Yourself a Raise (No Boss Required) ' When my boss revealed how shitty my raise was going to be, it didn't bother me that much because I already had a plan to give myself a $1,800 per month raise.

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes What to Do When an Investment Pays Out ' This Post was Originally published at What to Do When an Investment Pays Out on Start Investing Money

Kevin @ Thousandaire writes How to Save Money on a Date ' Save money on your dates by using daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social to find interesting cheap dates.

YFS @ Your Finances Simplified writes 10 Common Characteristics of Millionaires You Can Follow ' Back in 2007, Forbes Magazine reported that all over the world there are a total of 946 billionaires, and according to Capegemini, a financial consultancy firm, in 2011 there are about 10 million millionaires. All of us probably have this dream of becoming millionaires ourselves, and sometimes we're left wondering how these once ordinary people manage to make it big.

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes Basic Rule to Use Credit Cards and Avoid Debt ' Find out how to use credit cards and avoid debt all together. It can be summed up in one basic rule, but it often implies much more.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes Why You Should Be Debt-Free on Your Car ' There are many reasons why you should be debt free on your car. You can spend the money elsewhere instead of on a car payment.

Jeffrey @ Money Spruce writes Setting Financial Goals 101 ' The following is a guest post The most fundamental step in setting financial goals is to gain control over your daily financial affairs by setting up and sticking to a budget. Thereafter, you will need to set longer-term financial goals. At this point, you will need to build a financial safety net to ensure financial independence.

MR @ Money Reasons writes Debt Free' Now What? Real Estate ' I've been debt free for a while now! It's time to pickup debt to buy assets instead of expenses.

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes Life Lessons From My Mother ' Yesterday was Mothers Day. You all know that. I don't live near my mom, so I was sad I wasn't able to take her out for breakfast or anything like that.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes How to Finance Your Start Up ' The following is a guest post. Starting a new company is an expensive proposition. A new business owner has to pay for land, supplies and employees. Financing all of these purchases is not easy considering there is little revenue coming in.

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes 6 Hidden Money Wasters ' We think of many ways to save but what most people don't know is that many everyday things that they buy on a regular basis are money wasters.

Beating Broke @ Beating Broke writes Are You Rationalizing Your Way Into Debt? ' Pay special attention the next time you're looking at purchasing something. See how many times over the next month, you attempt to rationalize a purchase based on what it will cost per month on credit over what the total price will be. I think you'll be surprised just how often you use that same sales tactic on yourself.

Everything Finance @ Everything Finance Blog writes Top Four Budgeting Apps to Keep Your Finances on Track ' If you are like most people, you have a smart phone or an IPad or something similar. Why not put these savvy technological devices to work for you by using apps that will save you money.

KT @ Personal Finance Journey writes Can You Afford NOT to Save for Retirement? ' Saving for retirement can be difficult. With the recent increases in the cost of gas and groceries and other basics combined with a loss of income because of the economy (or a lack of raises over the last few years), saving for retirement can seem like a goal that is out of reach.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes How to Access Cash in a Hurry ' Your home is equipped with smoke detectors, and your car carries a spare tire in the trunk, but are you equipped for a financial emergency?

Earth and Money @ Earth and Money writes Planning a Green Frugal Wedding ' Guests ' At most weddings, there is a fixed cost associated with every guest that attends ' food, dishes, venue, all these things are related to the number of guests that you have. So that begs the question ' do you really want to invite your dad's cousin's nephew's boyfriend who winds up getting drunk at the open bar?

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes Facing Foreclosure? Here are Some Programs that Might Be Available for You ' Here are several programs that you can take advantage of when facing foreclosure. The possibility of foreclosure isn't without hope to evade it.

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes Do You have a Future as the Woman Who Lived in Her Shoes, or the Man Who Lived with His Tools? ' Thirty-Five year old Carrie Bradshaw had a stunning financial realization during an episode of Sex and the City.

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes How to Lose Friends and Alienate People ' This post is presented by Beaker. If you want to see more posts written by him, make sure to check out Under Beaker's Microscope tag at the end of this post. Money is very important in our society. We are all working very hard for all the money we can get our hands on.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes Should you buy Supplemental Unemployment Insurance ' Should you buy Supplemental Unemployment Insurance is a post from: Broke Professionals if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed. Unemployment is one of life's setbacks that can seriously damage a person's financial security. It can happen to anyone, even you.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Our Food Fight ' Month 1 Results ' We are trying to cut back our expenses where it won't hurt much to build up some padding once we close on our new house. Here are our month one results.

Dave @ Financial Conflict Coach writes Fighting About Money? Remember The 3 P's! ' If you find yourself fighting with a spouse/partner, parent, child, family or friends about money- try using the '3 P's' to calm things down.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes How to Save Hundreds of Dollars a Year on Your Water Bill ' while most of us have access to the city water we need for drinking, flushing, and gardening, there is one easy way you can cut your water bill down quite a bit while potentially saving thousands of gallons of fresh water this season: by catching the water you need from the sky, free of charge.

Kraig @ Young, Cheap Living writes How to Achieve Balance and Do What You Care About ' How well do your values and what you care about line up with what you actually spend your time and money on? My definition of life balance here is based on if you're doing what's important to you, or other things which are throwing your balance off.

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance writes Joint and Separate Money Series: Individualized Marriage and Money Management ' I review a paper wherin the hypothesis is that couples who have more individualized marriages will tend to have more separate money management styles. Results include which group has higher marital satisfaction ' joint, separate, or hybrid. What do you think of the authors' definition of individualized marriage?

Jeff Rose @ Good Financial Cents writes How to Manage Your Finances After College ' You've done it: On previous advice, you've gotten your college degree and been set loose into the working professional world. Now what? Here's 4 simple steps to get started.

Sean @ One Smart Dollar writes How is My Credit Limit Determined? ' Understanding how your credit line is determined can be a great way to start understanding your finances.

JB @ My University Money writes Are Banks Really In It For You? ' Learn from my mistakes and never assume the banks are in it for you. They aren't, in fact they make a killing off you so don't make it easy on them whenever they try to push a product on you.

Young @ Young And Thrifty writes RRSP vs RESP Accounts ' There are obviously numerous aspects of each person's financial situation that will come into play when looking at whether a RRSP or an RESP contribution is right for them.

Khaleef Crumbley @ Faithful With A Few writes 4 Reasons Why I Will Not File For Bankruptcy ' To file for bankruptcy is not an easy decision. Even though it has become more common, here are 4 reasons why I will never do it!

Jeff Rose @ Life Insurance by Jeff writes Term Life Insurance In Your 20's ' Do you Need it? - I started to write a post that helped 20 year-olds decide how much life insurance they needed to buy when something hit me ' I'm not 20 anymore! Here's some tips from a 20 year old that recently did buy term life insurance.

Khaleef Crumbley @ Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet writes Planning A Financial Diet ' Eat Healthy And Spend Less ' Eat healthy and spend less'something that seems impossible However, if you follow these tips you can do both!

Kim @ Money and Risk writes How to Get a Hot New IPO and Why You Did Not Get in on Facebook ' Ever wonder how you can get shares of a hot IPO ' initial stock offering? Here's the scoop.

Lance @ Money Life & More writes How I Paid for My Hobby ' Hobbies are a lot of fun, but there is one thing that prohibits many from taking part in their favorite hobby as much as they would like to. Cost. Hobbies, while fun, can be expensive. In this post I describe how I paid for my hobby.

Echo @ Boomer & Echo writes How Young Adults Can Still Thrive Financially ' It's hard to see the silver lining for today's youth, but luckily there are still plenty of opportunities for young adults to thrive financially.

Mike @ Rewards Cards Canada writes Why Cash Back Beats Travel Rewards ' A free vacation keeps many Canadians loyal to their travel rewards program, but for me, cash back is king. Here's why cash back beats travel rewards.

Glen Craig @ Free From Broke writes Ally Bank Online Savings Account Review ' Sick of barely existant interest rates and all sorts of confusing fees for your saving account? Take a look at Ally Bank and their online high yield savings account in our review.

SB @ One Cent at a Time writes How to shop at Garage Sales ' A Guide to Garage Sale Shopping ' A shoppers guide to garage sales. What to buy, what not to buy and tips for a successful treasure hunt at a garage sale is included in this post.

Mike @ Rewards Cards USA writes Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards - Paying credit card interest can hinder your efforts to become debt free. Here are some of the best balance transfer credit cards on the market:

SB @ Finance Product Reviews writes PerkStreet Platinum Visa Debit Card Review ' An honest and case based review of PerkStreet financials Platinum Visa debit card. Read to find out more.

Financial Carnival for Young Adults ' 12th Edition

Welcome to the twelth edition of the Financial Carnival for Young Adults. My purpose with this carnival is to create an easy-to-find place for information about finances for young adults. The carnival is hosted here at 20's Finances each week and features the most recent articles from around the web.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes Book Review ' The Art of Non-Conformity ' A book review of The Art of Non-Conformity, a guide to doing what you want with your life, particularly helpful for younger people.

Dr. Dean @ The Millionaire Nurse Blog writes iPads And Tablets: Ten Ways To Keep 'Em Safe While Traveling ' iPad's size and weight make them great for traveling Read all about how to help keep yours from the black hole that is ' airline lost and found.'

FG @ Financial God writes Betting on the Future President ' Have you ever visited Intrade, which brands itself as the leading prediction market? You can make a market in almost anything these days, it seems. Intrade is a prediction market based in the Republic of Ireland, and lets you bet on predictions in all kinds of areas, including the future president of the United States.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes What Income Level Do You Consider Rich? ' There's no secret formula to getting rich. Even as little as 10 Percent of your income invested over 30 years and you'll be set for the rest of your life.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes The 3 O's of Success ' The 3 O's of Success is the fifteenth in a series of articles to help you reach your goal.

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes Earn $5 for Taking a Picture of Your Grandparents (and 12 other weird things') ' Fotokoi is an online market that allows people to exchange photos. The best part is, people interested in your work will pay you for rights to your photo.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes What Is Gap Insurance On Your Car And Why You Need It ' What is gap insurance? And, do you need it? Gap insurance is a type of car insurance policy that is designed to cover the gap between what the value of your car actually is, and what you owe on the vehicle.

Kevin @ Thousandaire writes Paul Ryan is a Fiscal Liberal ' If Barack Obama is the most liberal president in history for spending $3.6 trillion in 2011, then why does the Ryan plan spend $3.5 trillion in 2013?

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes What is Crowdfunding? ' Crowdfunding works in much the same way as microloans for the poor. You receive a large number of small cash infusions, rather than one or two large ones.

KT @ Personal Finance Journey writes In Debt? Consider Paying Cash for Your Purchases ' Are you in debt (besides the mortgage)? Do you have thousands of dollars worth of student loan debt and/or credit card debt? If you are struggling to make your payments, one of the best things you can do is to stop using credit and begin to use cash.

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes 8 Most Common Types of Houses ' Shopping for houses means looking through countless of listings, In order to eliminate the confusion, below are the eight most common types of houses

Jacob Wade @ I Heart Budgets writes Budgeting Basics (Part 2): Tracking Your Income and Expenses ' This is part 2 of the budgeting basics series on iHeartBudgets.net. This week we are talking about how to track your income and expenses in detail and put everything in categories, which will be the foundation of your budget. Also, read through the end of the post for this week's bonus question!

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes How to Make it in America ' I am sure you know that it is not easy to make it in America. Making it (whatever it means for you) requires a lot of work and determination. It also requires bravery and courage. For someone like me, making it in the land of opportunity was not just about hard work and determination.

Maria @ The Money Principle writes Politics and economy in the Eurozone part 1 ' The people have spoken in France and Greece. They do not like this austerity business one little bit. Can you blame them? After all it was not the people who caused the problem so why should they suffer while the banks get off scot-free?

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes Unexpected Costs of Pet Ownership ' Pet ownership can be quite expensive. If you are considering getting a new pet, make sure to consider these costs.

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes Should I Buy A House? ' I rarely divulge details from my personal life, but today I'm looking for some feedback. Let me give you the full story: I have been dating Miss Blinkin for approximately 1 year and 4 months. Without giving too much information, I foresee an engagement in the coming months.

MMD @ MyMoneyDesign writes What Did You Learn From Working as a Teenager? ' Was your job as a teenager a complete waste of time, or did you learn some incredibly valuable life lessons that prepared you later on in life to be a better working professional? I present to you 17 lessons I learned from my early days of employment that I still carry with me today.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Doing it Again ' Renting Out a Spare Bedroom ' We rented out the spare bedroom of our current home 2 of the 5 years we've lived here. And we're doing it again starting today.

ETZ25 @ Entertainment Timez writes Thoughts on a Dividend Stream For Entertainment ' I hash out my plan of attack for the future dividend stream for entertainment.

101 Centavos @ 101 Centavos writes Wall Street Hates Wal-Mart ' After running a just-for-fun post a while back on a Redneck-themed stock portfolio, some readers suggested adding Wal-Mart (WMT) to the mix.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Why You Need A Will ' A few weeks ago, I wrote a guest post over at Money Q&A titled Four Overlooked Estate Documents You Need.

Jeffrey @ Money Spruce writes Travel When Retired? No! Travel Now! ' I just don't buy into the whole 'travel when you're retired' thing. It seems like such a waste to wait my whole life to travel (and, not to be morbid, but assuming I make it to retirement age). I just got back from my latest trip to Montreal, which was fantastic. It was my first visit, and it definitely won't be my last.

Kanwal @ Simply Investing writes Top 5 Things You Need to Know About Dividend Paying Stocks ' Dividends are cash payments made to shareholders.  As a shareholder you are part owner of the company and therefore are entitled to share in the profits. Dividends can also help you determine when a share is undervalued, and priced right for purchase.

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes Investing in a Timeshare ' Is It Worth It? ' Is investing in a timeshare worth it? Find out the benefits and costs associated with timeshare vacation programs.

YFS @ Your Finances Simplified writes What Is Asset Allocation and Why Is It Important? ' One of the things that investment gurus always emphasize is to diversify, diversify and diversify. Supposedly, diversification will help improve the overall performance of your portfolio since it doesn't ride on just one investment vehicle.

PPlan @ Provident Plan writes U.S. Companies Exploit International Workers ' Lack of Fair Wages ' Learn more about Infosys and why U.S. companies should not treat workers this way.

Ryan @ Early Retirement Investments writes Retiring Early is Only Going to Get Harder ' Related Posts:Why Your Children Should Open a Roth IRA at Age 18Common Sources of Retirement IncomeAbout The Baby Boomers Already Flocking to RetirementFinding'

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes Wedding Gift Etiquette ' Buy A Gift or Write A Check? ' So what do you want for a wedding gift? With just weeks to go before my wedding, I've been asked that simple question more times than I can count. When people pose it, they're looking for a simple answer.

Vanessa @ Random Thoughts & Acronyms writes A Frugal Girl's Guide to Europe ' How I visited Europe for two weeks for a bit over 2 000$

PITR @ Passive Income To Retire writes How Blogging Has Changed My Life ' Find out how blogging has changed my life. It has not only improved my writing, but has allowed me to build a side business.

Linsey @ 1099 Mom writes Update Your Blog to Get Even More Paying Customers ' A verdict has been reached: Provided that your company's blog is full of useful, engaging insights, there is a direct correlation between the amount of content you generate and the number of people who are buying your product or service!

Beating Broke @ Beating Broke writes The Work Revolution ' In The Work Revolution, Dr. Clow lays down the argument that it isn't that you need to find an escape from work, but that work as we know it is in need of a revolution.

Matt @ Living in Financial Excellence writes If You Feel You MUST Get a Credit Card, Keep These Tips in Mind ' I'm in no way endorsing the use of credit cards as a savvy way to win financially. I'm perfectly fine living without credit cards and I strongly believe that I am much farther ahead because I don't have credit cards. If you disagree with me and really want to get one anyway, that's fine. At least take the time to make sure that the card you choose is the best one for you and know what you're signing up for. What the big print giveth, the small print taketh away.

Steve @ Brip Blap writes Stability and Desperation ' What all of these people fail to realize is that the instability they feel in uncertain times like these arises from their own lifestyle, and not from the government or the corporations or 'the economy.' Learning how to build prosperity, not just surviving paycheck-to-paycheck, is a big first step. Learning to live within your means gives you a more stable life. Learning to think more about making money than saving money helps create stability.

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance writes Joint and Separate Money Series: Changes During the First Year of Marriage ' I review a study in which married couples were asked about their money management systems and ownership models around the time of their wedding and one year into marriage. The authors found a general trend toward pooling and shared mindsets, along with several other interesting observations.

TRL @ The Retired Landlord writes Different Places to Save a Down Payment ' Find out the many different accounts or investment places that you can use to save a down payment for a rental property.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes Start Saving Early for Retirement: Tips for Young People Just Starting Out ' The longer you save for retirement, the more money you will have to retire on, even if the amounts saved are quite small in the beginning. This article looks at the reasons an early start to retirement saving is so vital and why so many people just don't get it.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes When Should you go for a Reverse Mortgage? ' Reverse mortgages are tricky things. Instead of avoiding them, why not research them and see if they would work for your financial goals!

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes Using Extra Income to Pay for Luxury Items ' I was under the (incorrect) assumption that I had already told you guys how I afford to pay for my luxury items. Sometimes I get a little confused about what information I post on here, reply to in comments on here and leave in comments on other people's blogs.

Jeremy Waller @ Personal Finance Whiz writes Reader Question: Spend Money to Repair a Gas Guzzling SUV or Sell And Get a More Fuel Efficient Car? ' This week I received an e-mail from one of the PF Whiz readers: We are at a cross road dilemma to purchase or repair. Our gas hog Acura 2005 MDX, with 107,000 miles needs new a timing belt & other minor repairs. The cost estimate is $2800. This car only takes premium unleaded.

Jason @ Work Save Live writes Why We Didn't Sell Our Car on Craigslist ' Last week I detailed why we considered buying a car through CarMax, and I wanted to do a follow-up on a service of theirs that we actually used.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes How to Save Money on Hotel Rooms ' How to Save Money on Hotel Rooms is a post from: Broke Professionals if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed. You don't have to be rich to take a trip or go on a vacation, but they do cost money.

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes The Importance of Vacations For Kids ' This article explains the reasons that we prefer to take destination oriented vacations for the kid's sake.

MR @ Money Reasons writes Is Now The Time To Buy Real Estate? ' With the low mortgage rates, is this the perfect time to buy real estate? I find myself looking more and more often.

Everything Finance @ Everything Finance Blog writes How To Transfer Money Between Bank Accounts ' You may need to transfer money between bank accounts if you have money in two different banks. There are several ways to do this beyond the obvious of driving to one bank, withdrawing the money and then depositing it at the other bank. Which way works best for you depends on how quickly you need the money and how much money you want to spend to transfer the funds.

Thad @ ThadThoughts writes 10 Tips: How To Beat Stress ' Working too hard? Having trouble sleeping or staying focused? These tips can help, and not one of them refers to Red Bull!

Ashley @ Money Talks Coaching writes Should I Get Married with Debt? ' Money and marriage. They go together like peanut butter and jelly,

Robert @ My Multiple Incomes writes The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Backlinks ' Social media is a great starting point for backlinks, and since popular articles are usually shared multiple times, the amount of backlinks multiplies over time. If this happens, not only will you see increased traffic to your site, but you will see your site ranking highly in Google as well. Also, I will give you some tips on how to execute a social media backlinking strategy that will save your time and effort. Continue reading to see the full list of social media backlink sites, how t

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes 4 Things All Women Need to Know How to Do ' I think independence and self sufficiency is a must for all women.

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes Actively Avoiding Debt ' Find out how you can actively avoid debt by not having a wish list or items that you want to buy next.

Teacher Man @ Young And Thrifty writes Choosing the Latest Investing Fad ' Don't you love the guys/gals that get their investment advice from the water cooler? You know the guys and gals that are constantly hopping on the bandwagon of whatever terrible investment advice that their co-workers heard on the radio on the way in this morning?

John @ Married (with Debt) writes The Goal of Work is Retirement: Rule 10 ' This is Rule 10 in my 10 Rules to Eliminate Debt and Change Your Life The reasons I started Married (with Debt) are twofold: to help people get out of debt, and help them change their lives.

Teacher Man @ My University Money writes Lifestyle Inflation ' The Upward/Downward Spiral ' Yes, I know, many of you have seen this before, and are probably thinking, 'Man, I don't go out and spend frivolously, I'm not trying to pretend I'm a Rockefeller, I'm just an everyday person, I don't have any lifestyle inflation.' Here is the thing ' lifestyle inflation is a silent beast.

Luke @ Learn Bonds writes Predicting the Future Rate of Inflation ' May Edition ' What does the market say about inflation predictions? The answer is plenty.

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes Frugal Mother's Day Ideas ' Sometimes what we want to give loved ones cannot come close to what we can actually afford to give them.

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes How to Dodge Investment Scams ' This Post was Originally published at How to Dodge Investment Scams on Start Investing Money

Echo @ Boomer & Echo writes Pitfalls Of Chasing The Highest Dividend Yield ' Choosing a dividend stock involves a lot more than simply looking for the highest dividend yield. Here are some of the pitfalls to avoid:

Mike @ Rewards Cards USA writes Best Airline Miles Credit Cards ' One of the reasons that many people sign up for rewards programs is to save money on travel. Here are some of the best airline miles credit cards:

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Career Lessons From My Mom ' In honor of Mother's Day this coming Sunday, I decided to write about how my mom overcame financial adversity. As a single parent she went from collecting welfare to being a successful entrepreneur and is now retired early. She is a true success story.

harry campbell @ Your Personal Finance Pro writes Traveling on a Budget: A Review of My Vacation to Maui ' I never realized the value of a vacation until I started working full time. You could even say I took my travels to Thailand, Hungary & Turkey for granted. My trips during college were an awesome experience that I would recommend to anyone at any age. But for working professionals, who get anywhere from 2-4 weeks off a year, vacation time becomes a precious commodity. I get two weeks a year but I think I would be a lot happier with four

Sean @ One Smart Dollar writes 8 High Paying Jobs Without a College Degree Needed ' Not everyone has the means or want to go to college. Luckily for them there are still plenty of jobs that you can make over $100,000 while not having a college degree

Jon Rhodes @ Affiliate Tips writes How Many Keywords Should You Use On A Page? ' This article talks about blogging, and how many keywords you should include in a post.

Earth and Money @ Earth and Money writes How NOT to Make a Financial Decision ' When it comes to making financial decisions, it is imperative that you have a clear and focused mind. Given how hard we work for our money, a poorly made financial decision can come back to haunt us many times over.

SB @ Finance Product Reviews writes Best Credit Cards for Balance Transfer in 2012 ' We analyzed over 20 cards geared towards balance transfer scenario and rated top 3 based on overall feature of the cards.

SB @ One Cent at a Time writes Top Risks for Investing in Oil and Natural Gas ' Every investment opportunity has its share of risks. This article talks about the risks of investing in oil and natural gas sector, geared towards beginner investors.

Lance @ Money Life & More writes Rental Property ' The Financial Side ' There are many numbers that are important when making a decision on buying a rental property. The first one that we calculated was how much we would offer for the townhouse. It was listed at $73,500 which may not seem like a lot but would probably be about 5,000 under market value IF it was in great shape and ready to rent out. It wasn't, so we definitely would not be offering anywhere near that amount.

J.P. @ Novel Investor writes Remember Your Investment Horizon ' Fears in Europe, slowing economy, unemployment concerns, and a few hundred other data sets all contribute to the daily swings of the market. When the markets start acting crazy, remembering your investment horizon will bring everything back into perspective.

Financial Lessons and Myths from the Game of Life

The game of life is a classic American board game. I grew up playing this game as a child with my family and I continue to play it with my wife and friends. While my wife is not a huge fan, this game represents one of the many fond memories I had as a child. Who wouldn't want to re-live their childhood memories, while building new relationships?

The last time my wife and I sat down to play with friends, I realized that this game is all about money. Talk about a great post idea, right? I couldn't stop myself from analyzing the lessons that the game of life teaches young children. If you are playing this game with your children, do you know what they are learning by playing this game? Find out the lessons and lies that this game teaches.

Money Lies from the Game of Life

1. Life is all about money ' In the game, the main goal is to make the most money of all the competitors. You get life tiles for different life actions, like having a child or graduating college. Sounds like it is teaching kids that life experiences matter, right? WRONG! In the game life tiles = money, but this isn't the case in life ' nor should it be.
2. Good not to have a house/children ' If you are a strategy person and have played this game long enough, you will know that it is almost always better not to have a house or children. The main reason is because there is no liability. You never know when you could land on the tile that makes you pay money for not having insurance. This is not the case in real life.
3. Car insurance is not necessary - Similar to number 2, you can choose to take a gamble and not get car insurance. You may end up regretting this, but it could pay off big. In real life, however, everyone is required by law to have it in real life.
4. It doesn't matter when you pay back your school loans ' In the game of life, you only have to pay $5000 in interest for every 20k and you can pay it back at any time during the game, including at the end. There is no extra interest for waiting. This teaches people to live with debt as long as possible ' otherwise, if you pay it off too soon, you could be force to take out another loan (with more interest to pay back).
5. There are few career choices ' The game of life is simple ' you get a college and your salary more or less corresponds to your job. There are very few option in the game of life. In real life, you can think out of the box and earn money from new business ideas. Think how the world would be different if there were no self-made millionaires.
6. You are stuck in your career ' In the game you can only change your career if you land on a special space. In real life all it takes is time and hard work. In fact, you can switch jobs easier today than ever before. Most people switch jobs multiple times in their career, and some switch occupations completely.
7. Return on your stock investments is a game of luck ' While there is some truth to this in real life, investing in the stock market isn't just luck. There is a lot of research and educated investments involved. It's not as simple as luck.

Financial Lessons from the Game of Life

1. Going to college doesn't guarantee higher paying job ' I will be graduating with my master's this coming December, and even though I live in a place with a high cost of living, will be making less than many with just a bachelors.
2. Buying a house is optional ' Some people think that you have to purchase a home, but renting is a perfectly viable choice. In fact, some people prefer this to have more money to invest. I am looking forward to home ownership for the simple reason of having lower living expenses in retirement, but it will be a few years.
3. More money you make the better retirement you are going to have ' This is undoubtedly true. The more that you make in your career, the better retirement you will have.
4. Making money on your house is a game of chance ' This volatile market has brought uncertainty to the security of the stock market, but is probably more stable than in the game of life.

What has been your experience with the game of life?