What Jobs Do You Avoid?

Like any 20-something young adult does, I often wonder what my long-term career will be (if I have one). Sure, I may dream of being a self-employed business person, but it is hard to see that it will come true some days. While it may be difficult to nail down what I DO want to do for the 'rest of my life', it is much easier to select jobs that I DO NOT want to do. Most of these jobs are not only jobs that I would not want to do for my career, but also 1 day. That's right, 1 day would be too long.

My Past Employment History

While I've had my fair share of quality jobs that have helped me get a later job without all of the qualifications, I also had one horrible job. I guess I should clarify that it is a great job for many people (and many people who I worked with are probably still there), but it just wasn't for me. For 3 LONG weeks I worked in an M&M and Twix factory. Yep, one of the furthest things from my current job, but I did it. For a total of 3 weeks, I worked in a factory and I hated it. Part of it was the constant smell of chocolate (you would never think that the smell of Chocolate would get old'), but the other part was the horrible hours and boring work. My first two days consisted of a 12 hour shift (from 7pm to 7am), standing and doing a repetitive task through the night. Sure, I got breaks every few hours, but I hated it. I almost quit after that first day. But, I needed the money and stuck it out.

Jobs I Won't Do

Because of this past work history, there are certain jobs that I won't accept, no matter what.

Construction ' There are plenty of people who enjoy working with their hands or being active while on the clock. I, however, am not one of those people. In fact, I enjoy not being outside in the hot summer weather or cold winters. I enjoy my comfortable work chair. When I think of construction work, I imagine that I would be stuck doing the worst job. While it may be cool to drive some of the machinery (for example, Hitachi mini excavators look like they would be pretty enjoyable to operate), I imagine myself hurting someone or myself. Besides that, I don't think I have the body to manage it. I lack both the muscles and coordination with dangerous tools to manage it.

Politician ' I know, I know' who wants to be a politician these days, right? I am sure there are some and it isn't me. My introverted tendencies, inability to think on my feed, and lack of faith in the political system to accomplish anything meaningful puts me out of the running on all accounts. While I sometimes like to think that I would be an amazing President, the truth is that I don't have the skill set, nor the patience.

Medical Doctor ' While helping people with their physical ailments and the salary would be nice, the first thing that puts me off to being a medical doctor is the scientific focus. Don't get me wrong ' it's a noble profession and area of focus, but I don't have the interest or patience to learn it. Besides already being in school for 7 years (after graduation from high school), I cringe when I think about going back to school.

The first step in narrowing down your career track is establishing which career paths are not for you. I am halfway there and depending on some future events, I may jump into being self-employed. Time will only tell.

What jobs are not even a consideration for you?

How Marketing Influences Young Adults

As I buy more and more stuff these days and have more transactions with different businesses, the more I am convinced that I am making my decisions based on marketing advertisement campaigns. While I love to think that I have power over and against the marketing people of multi-million dollar companies, the truth is that these people are paid for a reason ' because they are successful.

Despite my original reluctance to admit it, I am influenced by explicit and implicit (or even subliminal) messages each and every day. On rainy days, when it is too wet to bike to work, I ride the train. On the train, there are advertisements and despite my interest in my book or game on my I-Pad, I find myself reading them for no other reason than for the proximity and location of the advertisements. I read them because they are there. It's that simple. When I read them, I think about them, and this ultimately influences my future purchases.

While I do not have an advanced degree in marketing, I suspect that young adults are even more susceptible to advertising campaigns than any other people group. Young adults have many other financial challenges, and to add resisting advanced marketing campaigns seems only to add insult to injury.

Reasons Why Young Adults are Easily Influenced

Love for Technology ' Young adults or people in their 20's are part of a new generation. I am part of the generation that has grown up with computers and the internet from childhood. Incorporating technology into my everyday life is normal to me. So, when companies produce fancy, sleek pieces of technology, I am going to want to buy it. Even worse, when they make it even easier to buy with a fast online payment gateway, enabling me to buy the product with a click of a button, I am going to have a hard time resisting that urge. After all, it's just one click. Who knew so much could be tied up with the click of a button? Marketers know that young adults love technology, even when it is unnecessary, so they plan around this. They don't release the best technology immediately, but strategically plan it out so as to ensure that people are buying products before they fall apart. Who hasn't sold their old piece of technology because they just HAD to have the latest and greatest? The close affinity to technology makes them weak when it comes to marketing ploys.

Exposure ' Young adults are probably the most exposed to marketing campaigns. Because they love technology, they are surfing the web more frequently than older generations. They are watching more T.V. (maybe at the same time as browsing the internet), and they are out and about more often (they have to meet people and celebrate all of their many achievements). What do these places all have in common? Advertisements ' lots of them. With the increase in exposure, it only makes sense they they are more susceptible to advertising.

Lots of Money ' When you add the the exposure aspect and technology piece to the fact that young people have one of the largest pay increases within a short period of time (from college wages, or nothing, to a decent salary job after graduation), they feel like they have money burning a hole in their pocket. Who is to blame young adults for wanting to splurge a little after eating ramen noodles through college? As it turns out, this increased willingness to buy is what makes for great sales.

Again, I am no marketing expert, but if I can figure all of this out, surely advertisers can too. If they are aware of these patterns, it only makes sense for that young adults would be targeted, thereby further increasing their susceptibility to these campaigns. Before you go pointing your finger at young people, have you stopped to think about how you might be a victim of marketing tactics as well?

Have you realized that you are being persuaded to buy something you otherwise wouldn't have bought? When?

Are you handing over money without thinking about it?

How to Invest Your 401(k) Contributions

Recently, Corey posted on How to Start Saving for Retirement. I wanted to take this a step further and help out the readers with how you should invest your retirement savings.

When I first started working, I had a good idea of how I wanted to invest the money I was saving in my 401(k). I think this was because finance is what I went to school for. Many of my friends would ask me to help them out with picking their investments in their 401(k) accounts. When I would see their statement of what they were currently invested in, it saddened me.

I saw everything from leaving everything in cash, to 100% bonds, to one friend dividing up his investments into nine different funds. Nine! When I approached him about this he said that since there were so many options, he thought he was supposed to choose a bunch of them.

The main theme I heard from most is that they were overwhelmed. They had no idea what to invest in. Most simply looked at how the funds performed in the past and picked the ones with the highest returns. Even the benefits person at their place of employment that they were told to call with questions didn't help out. Luckily, help is here.

Your first step is to get a complete list of all of your investment options in your 401(k) along with the management fees the funds charge. You should have an enrollment booklet from when you were hired. If you don't have it, contact human resources.

Your Plan

Once you have this information, you are to pick three funds to start: A domestic stock fund, an international stock fund, and a bond fund. You will invest:

• 50% in the domestic stock fund
• 30% in the international stock fund
• 20% in the bond fund.

This will give you an 80% stock, 20% bond portfolio.

For example, if you save $100 per month, $50 goes into the domestic stock fund, $30 goes into the international stock fund, and $20 goes into the bond fund. If you are just starting out, you should be able to handle this amount of risk. If this is too much risk for you, then you can lower your stock holdings to 60% stocks (40% domestically and 20% internationally) and 40% bonds. I don't recommend going lower than this since you have close to forty years until you will need this money. You need the money to grow and can afford the risk at your age. If you are still nervous about the risk, read the benefits of compound interest. This hopefully will sway you. If note, you can follow my plan when you are scared of the stock market.

I cannot tell you the exact funds to pick, as everyone has a different 401(k) plan and different investment choices. I can tell you this though: Look at the management fees. If any domestic stock fund has a management fee over 1%, cross it off the list. It is too expense. Ideally, you will want something that compares itself to the S&P 500 Index. If you don't have anything that does this, then pick a large cap fund.

When it comes to international stock funds, I hope that you can also cross out anything that charges more than 1% in management fees as well. However, judging by what I see, most of you won't have this option. My advice is to look for an international fund that invests in the entire international market or an emerging markets fund. If you have multiple choices, pick the one with the lower management fees. If all of your international choices charge you more than 1.25%, then do not invest in an international fund in your 401(k). You can do so in a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA and pick something with a much lower management fee.

For your bond fund, pick a fund that invests in the entire bond market. If you don't have that choice, look for a short-term bond fund. Again, look for a management fee under 1%.

I do not recommend looking at the target date funds. They aren't all they are cracked up to be. They are riddled with fees and don't do as good of a job as they claim.

I hope this clears the air for many new employees investing in their 401(k) plans for the first time. If you have any questions, please comment below or email me and I will be more than happy to help you out. I cannot pick the exact fund for you to invest in, but I can guide you.

Financial Carnival for Young Adults ' 18th Edition

Welcome to the eighteenth 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 almost week and features the most recent articles from around the web.

I have decided to limit the number of inclusions for this carnival. My purpose is to provide a great place for young people to learn about other relevant information and not to be a list of articles. I'm sorry if this means those who submit their posts will be included less frequently, but I am confident that the value of the carnival will go up when you are included!

Career

This past week, I wrote about Job Interview tips, pointing out things you can do to improve your chances of winning over the job interviewee. As it turns out, Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes Job Hunting Success ' Building Your Resume(s) ' A guide to building up a resume (or more than one, preferably) in order to have success with your job hunt. In case you are looking for a job AND a soul mate, A Blinkin @ Funancials writes How To Get A Job and Girlfriend - Have you ever been without a job? I have heard that, aside from losing a child, being unemployed is one of toughest experiences to go through. If you have been fortunate enough to have not experienced this anguish, lets find another angle.

I grew up believing that if I got a four year degree, I would be guaranteed a great job. In the past few years, I have come to realize that no job is guaranteed. Glen Craig @ Free From Broke also questions this common belief, writing Should Every Student Pursue a Four Year College Education?  suggesting that it's not the automatic decision it once was.

If a traditional job isn't for you, maybe it's time to consider self-employment or generating other kinds of income:

• Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes Would You Rather Have One-Time or Passive Income? - I think personal finance bloggers have an unhealthy obsession with creating passive income. It sounds great, but they're giving up lots of money!
• MR @ Money Reasons writes Striving for Income Diversification - Why have one income stream when you can have many? This is my attempt at creating multiple income streams.
• Jeremy Waller @ Personal Finance Whiz writes My Search for Residual Income - Over the last 5 years I have constantly had a number of side projects to earn an extra income. In most cases it wasn't much, maybe a couple hundred per month. There have been a few times I did really well and brought in over $1,000 of extra income.

Insurance

I used to think that renter's insurance was unnecessary. I still haven't needed it for any emergency, but I rest easier knowing that I have it. This applies with all forms of insurance:

• Maria @ The Money Principle writes Do you really need insurance? ' We all need insurance because shit happens; and when it hits the fan we have to be protected. If you are thinking that while this is true, the statistical probability of something happening to you is pretty slim you are wrong. For two reasons, read more to find out why!
• Greg Field @ NerdWallet writes How Much Losing Obamacare Would Cost Young Adults - Interesting study and data analysis of the increase of health insurance premiums for young adults. Lost of useful statistics and important information for young adults. Enjoy

Food Expenses

A great way to save money and be intentional with how you spend your food money is to buy in bulk. Don't take this for granted though. Making the assumption that it is always better to buy in bulk is a huge mistake. SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes Battle of the Bulk: Costco, Sam's Club, & BJ's ' They broke down the membership costs of some of America's biggest bulk retailers for you.

The Cost of Moving

The other day I was talking to a friend of mine. He and his fiance were moving into their new apartment prior to their wedding (this is the same friend whose wedding I was in ' read all about how much it cost me). As our conversation unfolded, the topic of moving came up. I remarked how much I hate moving and was surprised to hear his positive response. I have met very few people in my life that enjoy moving and so I was utterly shocked to hear that someone might enjoy moving.

Sure, moving might be a sign of change and exciting things to come in the future, but it is full of busyness. Unless you can afford to pay someone to move for you, moving consists of full days, back-breaking grunt work, and lots of stress. Why would anyone want to move?

As it turns out, my wife and I have been contemplating moving for some time. We like where we are living, but we don't plan to be here long term. A couple personal issues have come up in the past year and life isn't as great as it once was. The idea of moving to a new place, getting a fresh start seems quite appealing in many ways. In fact, my wife and I had a serious conversation just a few days ago when we listed the pro's and con's of getting up and moving sooner rather than later.

In the midst of our conversation, I realized that moving costs a lot. Not just money-wise (although it does cost this too), but in other ways as well. I thought I would share some of my reflections on moving to a new place.

The Social Cost of Moving

One of the most significant costs of moving, in my eyes, is the social aspect of starting over. Whether you realize it or not, when you get settled in one place, you establish a group of friends that you can rely on. Whether it's asking for a ride to the airport, or people to celebrate Holidays with. Your social circle is only made possible by time spent in one place. Getting up and moving to a new state or city wipes the slate clean and you are forced to build up your circle of friends from scratch. This is never an easy task.

Career/Employment Costs

Moving also can disrupt your career track. Many people work their way up the corporate ladder and being uprooted doesn't help this. Moving, unless you are a full-time blogger, requires you to apply for jobs and hope that you get lucky. While it is possible to land a great job (or even one for which you lack the experience), in this economy it can be a long process. My wife applied for jobs for a good 6 months before she got her recent job.

Financial Costs

While some of the financial costs of moving are incorporated in the career section above, moving can be quite expensive. When you add up the transportation, increase in food (from eating out a lot), Hotel (when you are looking for a new home), and the down-payment on your new home (whether you are renting or buying), it can be quite expensive. This does not even include the 'necessary' costs to furnish your new place. Not everyone can furnish an apartment for $600, like we did when we first started out. The increase in costs can put an even larger strain on a family that is already pushed to the limit.

Why We are Delaying the Move

As we talked through our discussion about moving, my wife and I decided that we will be postponing our next move (if not forever). We realize there is the possibility that we will stay in the same area for the rest of our lives, but we don't think it will really happen. There were a few major factors that are keeping us in the area. First, (and perhaps foremost), my wife just started Graduate school. I will be finishing in December, but she will still have 2 years after this summer course. There is a chance for her to transfer if we did move, but she is enjoying her program and it makes little sense to move now. Plus, if we did move, it would probably delay her graduation even longer and we would rather be done with school sooner rather than later.

Another reason is that we are just not ready to move emotionally. It takes a lot to be able to get up and move to a new place without knowing anyone. We did it once already and don't look forward to doing it again. Last, but not least, employment. For the most part, we are both happy with our jobs and we have some financial security with both of us working. (After all, we just created a fun budget ' talk about a sign of some security). It will take a great job offer for us to get up and move. It is highly unlikely that both of us will have a new job if and when we do move, so we would have to be able to live off of one income for a while until the other can find suitable employment.

Overall, moving far away takes a lot of commitment and energy. While we do anticipate that we will have to make this change in the coming years, we just aren't ready for that kind of change.

Have you had to make a significant move? Have you decided that you will be staying put? What informed your decision?

Job Interview Tips

Have you ever felt like you were guaranteed the job, only to be turned down hours or days later? When applying for jobs, whether it be immediately after graduation, or just trying to move up the corporate ladder, the interview can be one of the most important aspects of getting the job or not. The aspect of the hiring process that helps successful candidates stand out more than others, I'm convinced, is the short period of time of face-to-face contact in the job interview. While experience is an important thing, we all know that you can get a job without the experience (otherwise everyone would be unemployed ' you have to start somewhere).

I have the privilege of maintaining my successful streak. Ever since I have been 16, every job for which I have interviewed, I have been offered. There were plenty of jobs that I applied for that I didn't get job interviews, but there is only so much you can do about that.

Why Interviews Techniques are Important

Understanding proper job interview techniques is a necessity. It's important not only because of the level of importance that employers use to judge candidates, but it is also important because it is the one thing that you can improve overnight. You can't get years of relevant job experience, a higher degree, or anything else to pad your resume, but you can adjust what you do in the interview to help you stand out.

What NOT to Do in a Job Interview

While it is true that I have been offered every job that I have interviewed for since I was 16 years old, the hidden truth is that I have not been offered every job that I interviewed for. When I was 15, I aspired to get a job before turning 16. In the state that I lived in, the legal working age was 14, but most employers didn't consider anyone until they were able to drive. I had the upper-hand. My uncle worked for a local bank (and was the VP). After a few phone calls and emails, he put me in touch with the HR representative. It was only a matter of days before I had an interview scheduled for one of two positions open. Piece of Cake, I thought'

I went into the interview full of confidence. Getting an interview was more than half of the battle, as I was told, and I had done that with little effort on my part. I assumed that the interview was a technicality. Oh, how I was wrong. I, a 15 year-old-boy walked into a room with 3 HR representatives for my interview. My nerves heightened and sweat began to drip down my forehead as the questions came one after another. I did my best to compensate for my lack of preparation, relaying on my strengths and skill set, but I kept kicking myself as the interview went on. My mind was swirling, full of self-criticism of the answers I found myself giving even while the interview went on. The interview ended with a typing test. The only time that I have been asked to do so in an interview process. If there was one thing that I did correct in the interview, it was far exceeding the necessary 40 words per minute.

It was only weeks later that I learned that I did not get either of the jobs. I was disappointed that I missed out on a great opportunity that had a starting wage several dollars an hour over minimum wage. For a 15 year old, to be able to work afternoons, and occasional Saturdays, thereby having my nights and weekends free, it was the best job in town. And I blew it. Yet, it was one of the best things to happen. It was at that moment, that I learned the secrets of a successful interview. Here are some of the things that I did wrong (and that you should avoid doing in a job interview):

• Feel confident because an interview was requested ' Never forget that you do not have the job until an offer has been extended. Remembering this will keep
• Depend on who you know instead of who you are and what you can do. (The job force often becomes about 'who you know', but use this to get your foot in the door. Once inside, do the rest of the work, because you have to)
• Doubt your responses (especially in the interview); Doing this will only hurt you. It will be evident to the one conducting the interview and will cause you further confusion.
• Come Unprepared ' Coming unprepared to an interview is like trying to make a new meal without a recipe. Some people may be able to manage it, but very few. It's best to dot your i's and cross your t's.
• Doubt your ability ' One of the things that I regret the most is not being confident in my ability to succeed at a job. I didn't know it before coming to the interview, but I was also interviewing an open teller position. This caught me by surprise and when they asked me if I could perform the job well, instead of highlighting my strengths, I responded that I would be more comfortable in the other position. (STUPID!)

Best Way to Stand out to Employers

While I am sure many of you are laughing at my rookie mistakes, I have learned a lot in the past 10 years. Learning from my mistakes early on was what led me to land my first job while in high school just months later. There were over 400 applicants for 20 jobs. This meant group interviews and even though I am typically an introvert, I survived with a job offer. I held this job until I graduated, getting a great reference for future opportunities. So, what did I do differently? What have I learned about succeeding in a job offer beyond the things of what NOT to do?

• Dress for Success ' Okay, I realize that I am not saying anything new here, but it's true. If you want to get a job, you have to dress the part. This is one of the first things that employers will look for and if you can't do this, don't even bother trying to convince them that you will excel at the job.
• Make a Personal Connection ' This is one of the most important things in the interview process. In the interview for my current position, before the interview officially began, I already knew where my current boss was from, his education background, and his wife's first name. There is no such thing as 'small talk,' in an interview. Everything should be done for a reason. As it turns out, I was hired for a variety of reasons, but being easy to relate to helped me stand out.
• Send a Thank You Note ' This is another popular bit of wisdom, but it is true. It does take some skill to perfect (to avoid being annoying or obvious, but the right thank you note at the right time can seal the deal for your next job offer.

While you may not be able to get a CEO position without the education to back it up, these should help improve your chances. Take advantage of the interview to secure your next job.

What tips do you have to improve your chances of getting hired?

photocredit: victor1558 via flickr

The Value of Looking At The Long Term

Over the past weekend I was driving and listening to a personal finance program on the radio. A man in his early 30's called in and said that he has about $150,000 (which is everything he has) sitting in a bank account. He is currently earning 0.60% on his money and wanted to know of a way to earn a higher return without investing in the stock market. He is risk adverse (afraid to take on risk with his money) and doesn't want to lose anything. The host said that this person was part of the younger generation that is scared of investing in the stock market because they lost everything in the market collapse of 2008. Because of this, they will need time until they feel comfortable investing in the market again.

I felt bad for this caller and others in his shoes. The reason is because while they refuse to invest in the stock market for fear of losing money, the safe place where they have their money, saving accounts, are losing them money as well, through inflation.

With interest rates low, inflation easily erodes away your buying power. Many do not realize this however because when they look at their bank statement, it still shows the same principal amount each month.

How Inflation Works

In simple terms, inflation makes goods and services more expensive to consumers. If the inflation rate is 3%, that means prices are increasing at roughly 3% per year. So a pack of gum that costs $1.00 today will cost $1.03 next year. The higher the inflation rate, the faster prices increase.

How You Are Losing Money

If you are only earning 0.60% on your investment, in one year, $100 will be worth $100.60. With inflation currently around 2.5%, in one year anything that costs $100 today will cost $102.50. By playing it safe, you 'lost' $1.90 in purchasing power.

If on the other hand, you invested in a bond fund that earned 3%, you would have earned $3.00 in one year. So a $100 investment would be worth $103. Take away the cost of inflation from above and you are left with $0.50. After inflation, you still had a positive return.

You Need To Invest in The Market

What scares me most are that the majority of people that are afraid of the market will not have enough to retire. As they save as much as they can, inflation is going to eat away at most, if not all of their earnings. The solution: invest in the market. I am not saying you have to have everything in the market because you don't. You can still keep a healthy bit of money in cash. But you need to take some risk with your money.

Let's assume you refuse to take no risk with your money. Without risk, you will earn virtually no return as any return you do earn will be eaten away by inflation. We will assume you retire at 70 and live until 90. We will also assume you will live on $50,000 per year and that Social Security will cover $18,000 per year. This means you need to save $640,000 by the time you are 70. Without Social Security, you are looking at needing to save $1,000,000.

If you are 30 years old, to save $640,000 means you need to save $16,000 per year, assuming you have nothing saved currently. If you earn 5% per year, that $16,000 per year drops to just over $5,000. That sounds more manageable.

The point that I am trying to make is that by not taking risks with your money, you are in truth taking a very big risk: not being able to afford to retire. If you are someone who fears investing in the stock market, I urge you to read up on the subject and to educate yourself on it. Put some money into relatively safe investments so you can earn a higher return and have a better chance at being able to afford retirement.

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

Financial Carnival for Young Adults ' 17th Edition

Welcome to the seventeenth 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 almost week and features the most recent articles from around the web. I hope everyone fully enjoys their weekends. I just returned from an overnight canoe trip with one of my best friends. There's nothing like taking full advantage of the two days off from work.

Ash @ Sterling Effort writes Why only a fool would invest in Facebook ' A look at why investing in Facebook is not a smart idea.

Glen Craig @ Free From Broke writes Ally Bank Online Checking Account Review ' Ally Checking is a free online checking account which offers up low fees and free ATMs, among other great benefits. Check out why you should open an Ally Checking account.

101 Centavos @ 101 Centavos writes What You Know Ain't So ' Or rather, what you know may not necessarily be so. Conventional wisdom has a conventional way of being frequently turned on its head. Myths get bust'

Ryan @ Early Retirement Investments writes 7 Savings Steps to Take Before Retirement ' It may seem far off now, but retirement has a way of sneaking up on hard-working consumers. And the earlier you begin planning for your golden years, the more money you'll have saved up.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Mainstream News Finally Joins The Investment Fee Bandwagon ' Vanguard has been preaching about the effect of fees on investors for years. I've wrote about the effect fees have on your investments, and even on the new 401(k) regulations and how high those fees are.

Jason @ Work Save Live writes How to Invest in Consumer Debt ' How to Invest in Consumer Debt Many investors are familiar with investing in corporate and government debt through the purchase of bonds. Bonds are often attractive because they're considered one of the safer types of investments. This is especially true of U.S. Treasury bonds which are guaranteed by the U.S. government.

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes A Rebel in Blue Jeans ' Blue Jeans were unique in Russia, and to have a pair was considered rebellious. Read my story!

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes 5 Popular Unnecessary Expenses ' Find out more about wants vs. needs as I list five common unnecessary expenses of the average family. Do you need to but that?

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes Investment Club Strategies For 2012 ' Ever heard of an investment club? If you're not in the know, an investment club is simply a modestly sized group of private investors, and it's generally made up of a set of friends, church members, a few family members, or neighbors.

YFS @ Your Finances Simplified writes 4 Ways To Stop Wasting Your Paycheck on Your Commute ' Everyone has done the following calculation at least once: If my commute is 20 miles round trip and I work 5 days per week, how many days am I working just to get to and from work? The answer here is often frightening.

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes Why have Appliance Purchases Accelerated? ' When discussing our recent washer purchase with my grandmother, something occurred to me.

Dr. Dean @ The Millionaire Nurse Blog writes When Is a Cough Not Just a Cough? ' Are you interested in preventing a deadly disease with a mere vaccine? This is one of those great returns on a small investment.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes 8 Surprising Ways People Waste their Money ' Here are 8 surprising ways people waste their money and it can easily be fixed with proper money management and educating yourself!

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes How To Get A Job and Girlfriend ' Have you ever been without a job? I have heard that, aside from losing a child, being unemployed is one of toughest experiences to go through. If you have been fortunate enough to have not experienced this anguish, lets find another angle.

Luke @ Learn Bonds writes Understanding Bond Mutual Fund Fees ' An explanation of Bond Mutual Fund fees and expenses and how to minimize the costs associated with investing in all types of mutual funds.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes The Found Money Dilemma ' What Would You Do? ' Good Samaritans come in all shapes and sizes, but what would you do if you found cash on the street or in the elevator. Share your finding story.

Ashley @ Money Talks Coaching writes Happy Birthday to Me ' I saw an article a while back that I thought was an amazingly scary and wonderfully inspiring way to celebrate a birthday.

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes Battle of the Bulk: Costco, Sam's Club, & BJ's ' I've broken down the membership costs of some of America's biggest bulk retailers for you.

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes The Hidden Costs of Owning a Smart Phone ' Smart phones can be great to use, but they can cost an arm and a leg. Find out if it is worth the cost.

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes Spending Money: iWant vs. iNeed ' There were so many things I could use the new Ipad for, so I kept trying to convince myself that I needed it. It could help me get closer to my goal of''.

Ted Jenkin @ Your Smart Money Moves writes The New Credit Card Problem: A College Education ' I used to think that people getting into credit card debt was our biggest problem amongst personal financial issues for individuals and couples. Then, we saw a period of time (and we are still feeling the effects of it) where people over mortgaged themselves not truly understanding all of the costs involved with home ownership. Now, I have great concerns about our future students and their ability to really afford a college education. It's hard to reach for the stars when you finish c

Evan @ My Journey to Millions writes Energized and Focused ' I didn't consider any costs on my weekend away because I knew when I got home my vacation fund would take care of it. Getting home and paying off the trip without feeling it in our main checking accounts or saving accounts is fantastic.

Grand Per Month @ Grand Per Month writes Make a Grand Per Month with Pizza Delivery ' Delivering pizzas won't make you a millionaire, but about how much can you expect to earn as a pizza delivery driver? The average pay is $7.00 an hour plus tips and mileage. If you think about it, that's actually not too bad. With tips, I'd say the average hourly wage is more like $10, and when you tack on a reimbursement of $0.50 per mile, you could be earning even more!

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes Young People & Saving For Retirement ' If you are still a relatively young person, or if you are just starting out into the working world, it is likely that you have given little or no thought to retirement planning.

JP @ My Family Finances writes Afraid of College? The Two Biggest Reasons Why Americans Don't Get a Four-Year Degree ' Why are so many Americans afraid to go to college? The St. Louis Fed presents two statistics that make going to college very scary.

Passive Income Earner @ The Passive Income Earner writes Discount Broker Overview for Dividend Investors ' It's always a pleasure to be featured in the Globe & Mail by Rob Carrick and this week he highlighted my RBC Direct Investing Discount Broker review. Since I have been investing, I have used 5 different discount brokers (not so discounted back in the day though) and it's a competitive market out there.

Penny Thots @ Penny Thots writes Do You Have an Emergency Fund? ' Unforeseen expenses are often beyond your control and will pop up now and again whether or not you're prepared. Your ability to handle them is totally within your control, however. So, back to my original question: Do you have an emergency fund?

Beating Broke @ Beating Broke writes Trying a Container Garden This Year ' This year, we're giving a container garden a go. We purchased several (8-10) containers of various sizes and shapes, filled them with potting soil and topsoil and purchased all the seeds we thought we might need for the year.

Kevin @ Thousandaire writes Roth IRA Contribution Limits for Married People ' When one spouse makes all the taxable income, both spouses are allowed to fund their Roth IRAs if they file a joint return.

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes 9 Ways for Slackers to Make Money Playing Games ' Nothing is better than making money from something you already love doing and after two years of writing for this blog, I'm starting to believe it's possib

Invest It Wisely @ Invest It Wisely writes 5 Ways to Help Your Kids With Their Finances

Hank @ Money Q&A writes Killer Stock Characteristic #3 ' Dividend Yield ' I love stocks that give dividends to investors. I often prefer to buy stocks that offer a dividend yield as opposed to regular stock.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes Professional Profiles: Sarah, the International Grad Student ' My best friend earned admission to graduate school across the pond. Turns out, she's not the only American flocking to Britain for business school.

PITR @ Passive Income To Retire writes Pros and Cons for Full-Time Blogging ' Have you thought about blogging full-time? Make sure to consider both the pros and cons before you make the leap of faith.

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

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Largest Lotto Winnings in an Infographic ' Who doesn't daydream about winning the lotto, inheriting a fortune, or coming into a windfall? Of course, most of us don't rely on this happenstance to fund our future and we make financial plans accordingly (ie. we save for a rainy day and fund out retirement accounts.) But it's fun to think about what a person might do with all that money.

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes Myrtle Beach ' The Perfect Affordable Family Vacation ' The following are some of the reasons that my family like to vacation down in Myrtle Beach for our primary family vacation

Corey @ 20s Finances writes How to Prosper ' Hopefully, you sat down and created your spending plan that I outlined in the spending plan post last week. It doesn't take a lot of work, but will go a long ways to helping you prosper. Let's focus on a bigger picture now. Follow these three rules and you will be on your way to financial success.

PPlan @ Provident Plan writes Are You Tied to Your Possessions? Is that okay? ' Find out why your commitment to your possessions might be a good thing and why your stuff is not inherently bad.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Staycation: Better for Your Wallet and the Environment ' By staying home during your time off you save money and the planet.

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes How Do You Budget Money for Emergencies? ' My fiancee's hairdry broke the other day. With prices of new ones up to $200, I'm glad I have an emergency fund!

Deacon Hayes @ Well Kept Wallet writes How to Stop Junk Mail and Telemarketing Calls ' Have you ever opened your mailbox to find that it is full of junk mail? Where you find a pile of credit card and insurance offers that just end up going in the trash. Have you ever been eating dinner, your phone rings and it is a telemarketer on the other end? If so, here are ways to stop these.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes If You Can Read, You Can Cook ' Spice Review ' When Edward over at If You Can Read, You Can Cook started a spice line that could replace McCormick packets for less money, I just had to try it out!

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes Reader Question: How Single People Can Limit Waste and Save Money at the Supermarket ' The grocery store can be a treasure trove of food opportunities for the single person. You just have to look. Here are my tips for solo cooking and dining:

Jeremy Waller @ Personal Finance Whiz writes My Search for Residual Income ' Over the last 5 years I have constantly had a number of side projects to earn an extra income. In most cases it wasn't much, maybe a couple hundred per month. There have been a few times I did really well and brought in over $1,000 of extra income.

MR @ Money Reasons writes Striving for Income Diversification ' Why have one income stream when you can have many? This is my attempt at creating multiple income streams.

John @ Married (with Debt) writes Push Yourself, But Not Over a Cliff ' If you've been following our debt payoff progress reports, you know that we are two months away from paying off approximately $100,000 in consumer and student loan debt.

Jeff Rose @ Good Financial Cents writes How to Find a Trustworthy Online Course ' here are a never ending assortment of online courses to choose from, and many people are turning to them to learn from the comfort of their own homes.

Jeff Rose @ Life Insurance by Jeff writes Why I Am Buying a $500,000 Term Life insurance Policy ' A term life insurance policy is a great way to protect your family. In the event that something were to happen to me having a term policy in place gives me some comfort knowing that my wife will have money to take care of our mortgage, bills, and have some protection for her.

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Leaving Your Heart Out Of Financial Decisions ' Have you ever wondered why we sometimes rush into some financial decisions without properly thinking things through? Maybe we have weak willpower, but the reality of the situation is that we are letting our hearts impair our judgement.

SB @ One Cent at a Time writes 101 Ways to earn extra money from side hustle ' An extensive list of 101 ways to earn extra money on the side by doing small hustle. See what fits for you. This post is to give you the possibilities, it's up to you to implement.

SB @ Finance Product Reviews writes Citi Thank you Prestige Card Review ' Do you Need it? ' Citi bank thank you prestige card, one of the elitist cards out there. Read more to find out who should apply for this card.

Kraig @ Young, Cheap Living writes How to Handle Stress at Work ' I had a stressful day at work and to get through it, I've learned to go through 4 steps that help me out of messes like this one: relax, think positively, formulate a winning plan and execute on it.

Sean @ One Smart Dollar writes How to Eat Right on a Budget ' Most people think eating right is expensive. I want to show you that it's possible to eat healthy and stay within your budget.

What's Your Financial Priority?

We not only make choices about where to spend our money, but we are also forced to make decisions about what is more important to us. Should I buy this or that? If I buy this, I won't be able to get this. While I bet we all had enough money to do whatever we want, most people are bound by our finances. There is a limit to the number of bills in our wallet. Whether you like it or not, you have to prioritize something.

Common Examples of Financial Priorities

There are many common ways that we establish priorities with our personal finances in our everyday lives. People often talk about these in extreme situations, but it doesn't have to any large financial sum or in worst case scenario.

In the movies'

A popular version setting financial priorities comes from the movie, 'John Q'. If you aren't familiar with this movie, it is about a lower-income family struggling to make ends meet when the son has heart failure. John, the father, is forced to come up with the cash for a surgery since he doesn't have adequate insurance. He makes many choices that directly involve his finances, making his son's life the clear priority. Before his son was ill, John made the choice to keep the electricity on instead of paying the car payments on the second car. After his son is facing death, John starts with selling his stuff. His son's life means more to him than his material possessions. He gets donations from the church. He even takes people hostage in an effort to save his son's life.

In real life'

It's not that rare that we make these type of decisions. Instead of buying a second car, my wife and I spend that money on a vacation (and have money left over). Saving money for retirement is more important than having the latest gadgets or biggest T.V. Living in a safe neighborhood is more important than saving hundreds of dollars on rent. I could go on forever, but I think you get the point, which is, that you face decisions everyday. Big and small. We are forced to prioritize how we spend our money. What is most important should be that which we direct our money. Is this the case?

What Your Financial Priority Should Be

While it is hard to establish everyone's priority (because everyone's situation is different), here are some important things to consider.

Safe Home ' Having a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, and place to relax seems like one of the most important things to me. I would hate to be forced to live on the street or in a neighborhood where I was afraid to go outside.

Retirement ' Considering that too many people do not save enough money for retirement, this should be a priority for everyone. With the uncertainty of social security for young adults and the rising costs of health insurance, I bet it is difficult to save too much. Making retirement a priority now will go a long ways to alleviate this need later in your career. Invest now while you have time.

Health ' Staying healthy is one of the things that keeps coming up in my life. Whenever I spend time with older family members, I can't help but be reminded of how important it is to take care of your body. I want to live as long as possible and would hate to regret not doing enough to stay healthy.

Memories ' I also don't want to grow old and regret not doing enough things. I don't want to live my life in front of the computer or T.V., but instead want to travel to exotic places, enjoy close friendships, and live life to the fullest. Many people wait until retirement to enjoy the things they care about most. I don't want this to be me.

Things that Should not be the Priority

While it is always hard to say what your priority(ies) should be, it is much easier to point out things that you should avoid.

Stuff ' While I enjoy having nice things like anyone else, this should not be the priority. If getting the latest gadget or newest car causes you to sacrifice other more important things, something is wrong. We all know that cars are destroying society in more than one way. Why feed the fire?

What's Your Financial Priority?

Whether you realize it or not, you value certain things over others. As a result of our limited finances, we often are more willing to spend money on the things that matter more to us. In the same way that I am willing to pay a few extra hundred dollars in rent for a comfortable place to live, others choose to have a second car over a nice vacation or college fund for their child. You can't have everything and you must make choices.

If you are uncertain as to whether you have the correct financial priorities, start asking yourself if you will regret making the choice that you are and whether there is something better that you could be doing with your money. Are you making the best decision?

We Set Up a Fun Budget

I have previously talked about our jump in income over the past year. For those who don't know, I started making a little money on the side from my new hobby and my wife got a promotion. We have been very diligent in saving and putting money towards retirement, but we never really gave in to some of our wants. Earlier we had been frugal by necessity, and now we have been faced with questioning what we want to do with our extra money.

I'm convinced that this is one of the leading causes of financial irresponsibility for people in their 20's. It's not too rare that a young adult gets their first decent paying job and makes more money than they could have imagined. Within a few years, many young adults go from eating ramen noodles in their dorm room to rolling in the dough.

A couple weeks, my wife and I got to talking about how diligent we have been with our finances. We are maxing out our Roth IRA's, contributing to my 403(b), saving extra money, and don't have any debt. We still make sacrifices like refusing to buy a 2nd car, but we are left with a little extra money each month. After much deliberation, we decided to set up a 'fun budget.'

What Do I Mean By a Fun Budget

I am sure many of you are wondering if I have gone off the deep end. Others may wonder what the heck I am talking about. For those who can't read between the lines, our fun budget is purely to spend on stuff that we want. Not stuff that we need, but purely want. We designated a specific amount for each month that we can spend on items or experiences that are not necessary without having to feel guilty. It is small enough to still let us prioritize our financial goals, but large enough to let us have a little fun.

What exactly does that equate to? What do I mean exactly?

Okay, if I have to lay it out for you, I will. Things that we imagine we will use our fun budget for are eating out (yes, that is not a necessity), buying books (because we can rent them from the library if we really want to), going to concerts or movies, going out for drinks with friends, and buying stuff. Things that will not be included are groceries (we have to eat), clothes (if we need them for an event or job and are not just buying to have extras), gas, insurance, etc. Basically, it is as simple as it sounds. If it is a necessity, it will not be deducted from our fun budget. This is purely for pleasure.

Why We Set Up a Fun Budget

Before any of my financially responsible readers criticize my choice, let me point out why we decided to set up a spending plan for life's pleasures. With the extra income coming in and many of our financial goals already met, we realized that we have some extra cash. For those of you who don't know, my wife and I have (until recently) barely made ends meet. We were doing okay, but with little room for eating out or doing fun stuff. Our idea of splurging was buying a $20 pizza that would last us for 4-5 meals and renting a $1 movie from redbox.

To make a long story short, we realized that one major area of our life that was lacking was a decent social life. Throughout our adult life, we have prioritized a debt-free lifestyle. This means paying for grad school in cash, even when it is hard. Yet, at the same time, we did not want to let ourselves loose. We didn't want to justify financial irresponsibility or spending money without any consequences. We decided to find a compromise. By establishing a spending plan for fun, we are therefore keeping ourselves from spending too much money.

Perhaps more importantly, it brings the joy of budgeting back. One of the curses of making too much money (don't get the wrong idea ' we aren't making THAT much money) is that you have a large enough cushion that it is not necessary to budget. Budgeting becomes unnecessary and therefore a chore. Yet, our fun budget helps to keep things exciting. By limiting our splurges, we are forced to prioritize what we really want. It's like a child in a candy store who is given the option of 1 item in the entire store. Most likely, that kid will take his/her time deliberating the decision because it is that important ' they have to make the best choice because they only get one thing. It's the same way for us. Implementation of our fun budget means that we are still evaluating our spending.

While it was difficult to give in to the urge to 'live a little,' I have come to see the benefits of controlled splurging. By establishing our fun budget, we are making things exciting again, enjoying life while we can, and still saving money. In case you are wondering, our first month's fun budget was spent on a portable dishwasher (we're renting, so it had to be portable). This was a GREAT investment because it saves us at least 2 hours a week on dishes each week. Talk about a great investment! Before our fun budget, we would have kept convincing ourselves that it wasn't necessary and continued to live in misery even though we could afford it.

Readers, do you have a fun budget? Or do you think it encourages you to spend too much money?

Photocredit: images_of_money via flickr

7 Ways To Pay Off Your Student Loans Quickly

I am an advocate of paying off your student loans quickly. With the average graduates student loan bill coming in around $24,000 many feel overwhelmed with the standard 10 year repayment plan. This post is designed to show you ways how you can make a big dent in your student loan balance and get rid of the debt quickly.

Pick Up Additional Income

This can come in various forms. You can work overtime at your current employer, pick up a second job, or start your own side business to increase your income. Whatever you earn, you should be using all of it to pay down your student loan debt. I worked a full time job including overtime along with a part time job for a year after I graduated. I was able to pay off a healthy portion of my loans using this strategy.

Continue to Live Like You Are In College

Just because you have a job making a decent salary doesn't mean you have to spend it all. Likewise, just because friends ask you to dinner or to go clubbing doesn't mean you have to say yes. You can decline. Even better, offer alternative things to do. I remember my friends asking me to go out and I didn't want to spend the money. At first I kept turning them down. Then I thought of a way to hang out with them for cheap: hosting game night at my house. I make everyone dinner and then we watch a movie or play board games. It was such a big hit, we rotate hosting duties now.

Sell Stuff

Not only your stuff, but other people's stuff as well. Scope out yard, garage, and estate sales for items and turn around and sell them on eBay or Craigslist. But don't just randomly buy things. Spend some time on eBay learning what sells and what doesn't. To make it less time consuming, pick items that you know about too. That way you know what you are looking for when at the sales. The eBay app for your smartphone is also a good tool too when you are at the sale. When I was in college, my roommate and I used this strategy. I helped cover most of our living expenses and helped us have a little extra at month end.

Review Your Loan Agreement

Let's be honest, most of us didn't read what they were signing when it comes to student loans. If you are lucky, you may have some hidden perks in the agreement. Some student loans will shave off a quarter to a half of a percent of interest if you make a certain number of payments on time or if you sign up for direct debit. Lowering your interest rate will help you pay off your loans more quickly as more of your monthly payment will be going to the principal.

Use Windfalls as Payments

Any extra birthday or Christmas money can be put towards your student loans. Also, any tax refunds and bonuses from your job can go towards paying off the debt too.

Get Your Employer to Pay

If you are working for a private employer, this might be tough to do. But many government jobs will pay off $10,000 per year of your student loans up to a total of $60,000. Also, you can look into volunteer opportunities that will pay off a portion of your loans as well.

Negotiate Your Salary

If you are still looking for a job, be sure to negotiate for a higher starting salary. It may seem odd in the current economic climate, but it is doable and well worth it. Don't accept a potential employer's first offer. Come back with a counter-offer that is still reasonable.

If you already do have a job, then work hard and approach your employer six months before you are set for your review and talk about a raise. Doing it beforehand will increase your chances of getting more.

If you combine some of these tips, you will be amazed at how much you will be able to pay off your student loan debt and how quickly too.

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

When to Lease a Car? When to Buy?

A friend of mine recently started having car problems. Her car was old and it is time to get a new(er) one. Being the person who obsesses about finances, she asked me what kind of car she should get. The questions didn't stop there. Next, she asked me whether she should buy a car or lease one. While I would love to say that I knew the answer for her right away, it just wasn't the case. To be completely honest, I didn't even know that much about leasing a car ' mainly because my parents never leased a car. They always bought the cars, thereby leaving me with a gap in understanding.

Why do people lease cars when they can buy them? Is it better to lease a car? Is it better to buy one?

As I suspected, there is no easy answer, but I do hope to shed some light on the basics of leasing a car and when it is better than buying your own car. While I am still against financing cars, I know that not everyone has this luxury and leasing or buying a car with financing might be someone's only option.

How to Lease a Car ' Basics of Car Leasing

After doing some basic research with my friend Google, I found a great article about leasing a car. This form of getting a car is actually quite a simple concept. The idea is that instead of buying a car (either with financing or cash), you are renting a car. In other words, a third party buys the car (usually a bank) and allows you to use the car for a monthly payment (and down payment). You general lease a car for a set number of months, ranging from 2-5 years. You agree to take care of the car, performing and paying for regular maintenance and return the car at the end of the lease. As I have been told, some (if not all) leases have the option of buying the car at the end of the contract.

Benefits of Leasing a Car

While leasing a car may not be for everyone, it does have its benefits. As I can tell, leasing a car gives you the advantage of not having to worry about selling the car after a few years. This may not sound like a lot, but for those who are strapped for cash, this may be an answer to prayer. Otherwise, imagine this. You want to upgrade your car and you have some cash to buy the next car. In order to keep your cash reserves in place, it means selling your current car. But, you can't just sell your car without a new one. Often, it means that you buy a car, scrape buy for a few months while hoping and praying that you sell the car. This can be stressful as any other financial challenge.

Another benefit of leasing a car is that you can drive a new car for less than it would cost to buy it. Leasing a car is generally lower than the monthly payment to purchase (even though it means you will always have a car payment ' if you keep leasing). Not only is it generally lower, but it also means that you don't have to worry about whether you will owe more than the car is worth.

Last, but certainly not least, leasing a car means that you are driving a new car. With that, the odds of having to deal with car repairs is significantly lower. As a general rule, you don't have to worry about major repairs. As we all know, dealing with major repairs can be expensive and time-consuming.

Why Leasing a Car Could Cost More

While leasing has its advantages, it isn't without it's downsides. While my friend is convinced that leasing is the best option for her at this point in her life (and apparently 20% of Americans as 1 out of 5 cars is leased), I am not entirely convinced. The best way that I have found to determine whether it is the best financial option is to estimate the total costs per year. Let me give you an example.

If I can buy a new car for $20,000, in two years, it will be worth approximately 14,500 (assuming 15% deflation rate each year). Assuming I can either find 0% financing or pay cash, that means I am spending $2750 each year plus gas and maintenance. Let's imagine that I can lease the same car for 2500 down at signing and $200 per month. A 24 month lease would mean that I am paying $4,800 in monthly payments in addition to the $2500 down. $200 per month for a new car may sound like a great deal, but it really means I would be paying $7,300 for the two years or $3650 each year plus gas and maintenance.

This was only an example used to illustrate the calculation, but the key is that deflation or the value of the car at the time of selling the car is often over-looked. Instead, people often place emphasis on the short-term costs (monthly payments) instead of the long-term costs. Since you are still responsible for maintenance, I would guess that leasing a car is often more expensive than buying (but I would have to do more research).

Buying or leasing a new car may not be the best options to choose from (I prefer to buy a used car because it's value depreciates slower). Yet, when forced to choose between the two, I will side with buying a car over leasing because I have the cash reserves to not stress about selling the car in a short period of time. Everyone else may not have the time or money to save by buying a car, and therefore leasing may be the better option.

Have you leased a car before? What was the deciding factor?

 

Financial Carnival for Young Adults ' 16th Edition

Welcome to the sixteenth 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 almost week and features the most recent articles from around the web. In case you missed last week, a friend of mine at Young Family Finance graciously hosted as I was hosting another one.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes Advice for Twenty-Somethings Getting Started Managing Money - A list of suggestions for those in their twenties to start managing their money on their own, in order to get their finances in good shape for their lives on their own.

Gil Tenorio @ Financial Management Blog writes 6 Important Things You Should Know Before Investing in Stocks ' In this post, I would like to point out several important things that you should know before investing in stocks. This would help you out in your preparation prior diving into the water

Kurt Fischer @ Money Counselor writes Driving is Expensive! ' The cost simply to own the average sedan is over $16 per day. Fire up the engine and put it in gear, and soon you're talking about real money.

Glen Craig @ Free From Broke writes Five Ways to Use Credit Cards Without Getting Buried in Debt ' Oh we love using our credit cards, don't we? But we need to use them wisely or we end up in debt. Here are five ways to keep from getting buried in debt with your credit cards.

Dr. Dean @ The Millionaire Nurse Blog writes Second Home: 7 Warnings! ' Is this the time for you to buy that second home? Maybe the moon, sun, and stars are lined up and it's the perfect time'.but, maybe not.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes Harnessing The Power Of Compound Interest ' There is a power of compound interest that both savers and investors need to understand and harness in order to grow their wealth.

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes Understanding the Different Stock Indexes ' Read more to understand the difference in the stock indexes. Information is power when it comes to the exchanges!

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Canadian Dividend Stocks: Brookfield Renewable ' Many investors are looking to Canada as a source of investing opportunity that are a little more eco-friendly than their competitors like Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes What Are Your Options for Dealing with Debt ' One of the biggest problems with debt is that being burdened by it makes you feel helpless. However, you always have options for dealing with debt, for tackling it yourself to using debt management services by Pay Plan.

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

101 Centavos @ 101 Centavos writes How To Painfully Save Hundreds of Dollars a Year ' While we're off on vacation, I'm recycling/re-branding/editing some old posts. This one was originally posted on November 6th, 2010. Save hundreds'

Jason @ Work Save Live writes Things to Consider With Your Relationship and Money ' This week I'm taking a part of a 'Blog Swap.' So instead of posting on my site today, I'm trading places with one of my fellow bloggers! I hope you enjoy hearing from a new perspective! Your Relationship and Money A lot of couples fight about money.

John @ Married (with Debt) writes Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen and the Prosperity Gospel ' Preachers like Creflo Dollar and Joel Osteen are leading figures in the prosperity gospel movement. What is it, and is it right?

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes Should You Hide Money From Your Spouse? ' A recent study showed that many partners or spouses hide money from their significant other. Is it okay to hide money from your spouse?

YFS @ Your Finances Simplified writes Rental Property #3 Numbers Analysis ' As I told you guys in the last post, I'm going to give you the actual break down of my current and future rental property purchases.

Maria @ The Money Principle writes Four conditions under which cash loans may not be such a bad idea after all ' Before I go on and set out the four conditions under which, I believe, cash loans may not be a bad idea let me tell you a story.

PPlan @ Provident Plan writes Insurance: Pros and Cons ' In all walks of life, it pays to be safe. Doing your best to ensure that you don't succumb to any illness, injury or any other form of harm is important,

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes Are You Entitled? Does Entitlement Lead to Debt? ' Find out how the feeling of entitlement affects your spending habits and what you can do to stop it.

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes How to Make Money as a Part-Time Baseball Umpire ' If you love the sport of baseball and have some free time, there's no reason you can't be an umpire for real and get paid to do it!

PITR @ Passive Income To Retire writes Reasons Why People Don't Follow Their Dreams ' Find out why people fail to realize their dreams. Why do people fail? Why do people give up on their dreams?

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes Debt Settlement vs. Debt Consolidation ' Debt settlement and debt consolidation are among the top debt-reduction options for individuals who have more debt than they can handle. While both tracks can help you get out of debt, their approaches are very different.

JP @ My Family Finances writes Are Bank CDs a Waste of Time and Money for Families? ' These days it's hard to see bank CDs as anything but a waste of time and money for your family's finances.

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes Is Getting Pet Insurance Worth It? ' For some people, the issue of getting pet insurance is simply ridiculous.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes 35 Money Lies People Tell Regularly ' Men supposedly lie six times more per day than women, and when someone tells you, be a man or a woman ' 'Nothing is wrong, I'm OKAY', they're really lying to your face.

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes It's Not Necessary To Pay For Your Kid's College Education ' ****** Disclaimer (Edit): This post is in no way meant to reduce the accomplishment of those who had their parents pay for college for them, nor is it meant to be a compare/contrast of people that pay for their own 'Read more »

Kevin @ Thousandaire writes Invest in Used Washers and Dryers, Get Rich ' I bought a washer and dryer set for cheap and re-sold it four years later for a 75 percent profit.

Ashley @ Money Talks Coaching writes Get a Free $25 to Lend on Kiva ' Maybe I'm behind the times on this but I recently learned about Kiva. I'd heard of it before but I didn't know what it was.

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes Simple Steps To Grow Your Business ' As your business starts succeeding, you should look at what the next level is. This can encompass a whole range of things, from moving out of the house and into a real shop, or even just making your existing business look more professional and function more streamlined.

Kanwal @ Simply Investing writes Did You Buy Shares in Facebook? Should You? ' On Friday (May 18, 2012) Facebook became a public company. Facebook shares began trading on the stock market, meaning anyone could now own a part of the company. But should you have bought shares in Faceboook? The answer is no. Facebook shares started trading at $38 each, which valued the company at $104 billion.

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes Would You Pay More For a House With a View? ' Do you think that houses with an excellent view is worth more? Would you pay more for one?

Luke @ Learn Bonds writes Are Investors in the PIMCO Total Return Fund Missing Out? ' The PIMCO Total Return Fund is Underperforming PIMCO's new BOND ETF. Are PIMCO Total Return Fund Investors missing out?

Jeremy Waller @ Personal Finance Whiz writes Top Personal Finance Posts Of The Week ' Facebook IPO Post Mortem Analysis Edition ' So'Facebook's IPO was on Friday'and it was one of the least exciting IPOs I've ever seen. The hype leading up to it was off the charts. This was supposed to be one of the biggest IPOs in years. It opened pretty stinkin' close to my prediction.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes Our House On The Market: Month Three ' We've now had our house on the market for three long months, and I'm losing faith. We're dropping the asking price, but I wonder whether it's enough to get it sold.

Corey @ 20s Finances writes Cost of Being in Someone Else's Wedding ' Do you have any close friends getting married soon? Have they asked you to be in their wedding? Do you know how much it will cost you to say yes? I was in a friend's wedding in December and will be in another wedding in June. Between those two weddings and having 3 other weddings to attend in the next few months, I have weddings on the mind.

Laura @ NerdWallet writes Maximizing Money for School: Tips for Filling Out FAFSA ' If you want to maximize student aid, there are several key guidelines you'll need to follow.

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes Addictions Can Ruin Your Budget ' Addictions can get expensive, not all of them, but some of them can. Addictions can ruin your budget and financial goals. Will addictions ruin everybody's''

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Getting Excited about FINCON12 But Nervous Too' ' The Financial Blogger Conference 2012 is going to be awesome, but I am already nervous about speaking. This will make FINCON12 a bit more stressful for me.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes 5 Ways to Pay Off Your Mortgage Without Breaking the Bank ' Imagine your life without a mortgage; you'd have more money to spend, more money to save, more money to invest'more money for everything!

MR @ Money Reasons writes Are You Underestimating Your Abilities and Potential? ' Are we underestimating ourselves? Read my story of a brilliant neighborhood mom that could have made much more money in life.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes May Progress Monitoring ' I can't believe it's already June! The years just seem to fly by. It's that time again when I need to check my progress to see how I'm doing on my goals: Save $6,000 this year Ride 1,000 miles on my bike Increase my readership to 375 readers daily So how am I doing at day 150?

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes 20 Ways to Spend Money On and Off Board a Cruise ' I am fresh off the ship of the first cruise I have ever taken.

Invest It Wisely @ Invest It Wisely writes Living to 100 and Beyond: The Changes Ahead ' This is the second in a series of articles on living to 100 and beyond. This post was originally published on May 26, 2010. Living to 100 and beyond'

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes Reevaluating Your Wireless Service ' Do you spent too much on your wireless service? These people are perfect examples of why you should reevaluate your plan today!

Steve @ Brip Blap writes 10 Quotes on Careers ' Here are what some famous people have said about careers and my take on them.

Jeff Rose @ Good Financial Cents writes The Social Media Afterlife: What Happens to Our Social Media Accounts if We Die? ' As a small business owner, I'm always looking for unique ways to market myself and social media is an easy (and free!) way to do it. But have you ever thought about what happens to all your social media accounts if you die?

Investor Junkie @ Investor Junkie writes The New Sovereigns ' Consuelo Mack's WealthTrack last week had Jason Trennert of Strategas Research Partners discussing the new sovereigns. Meaning stocks who have better CDS spreads, and less risk to default than the US government. The theme of the broadcast is 'Something's Got To Give'.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes How to Ace a Job Interview ' Interviews may be grueling and nerve-wracking for many, but this does not have to be the case. With ample preparation, any applicant like you can ace this process and in the end get the job of their dreams.

Robert @ My Multiple Incomes writes The Financial Perks of Marriage ' There are a ton of financial perks that come along with getting hitched. In fact, if you follow my multiple income stream strategy, you know that having two incomes helping support a family is a huge benefit. But beyond just having a second income source, there are a lot of other things you gain (besides a spouse!).

Paul Vachon @ The Frugal Toad writes Frugal Living Made Easy ' Frugal living is all about making informed and deliberate choices in how to spend money. In other words, frugality allows me to get more value for my hard earned dollar and who wouldn't want that?

Robert @ The College Investor writes Things Not to Spend Money on in College ' At a young age your money is worth a lot more than when you're old because of how long it can work for you; invest it wisely and it will grow rapidly, squander it on frivolous things and you'll end up barely scraping by your whole life. Spending money on stupid things only leads to trouble'here are five things you should never spend money on while in college if you want a financially lucrative life.

Kraig @ Young, Cheap Living writes How I'm Achieving My Goals by Attending FinCon12 ' After having started my blog just 6 months ago, I booked my trip this week for the 2012 Financial Blogger Conference in Denver. This is quite exciting for me and my career as I plan to use it to achieve my personal and professional goals. In this post, I talk about those goals and how the conference fits in with them.

Mr. Money @ Smart on Money writes Before You Retire: Are You Building Your Assets? ' If you want to be truly ready for retirement, one of the best things you can do is make sure you have built up plenty of assets. And you want to reduce your liabilities as well.

Everything Finance @ Everything Finance Blog writes A Review of Pear Budget: A Real Simple Budgeting Program ' One of the best ways to control your money is to keep track of your spending. There are many different software programs that will do this for you. Today we are going to look at Pear Budget, an online budgeting program. You can try it for free for 30 days; after that, it is $4.95 per month to use.

Matt @ Living in Financial Excellence writes Selling a House When the Market Stinks ' Ok, I have to admit. To say the housing market in our area stinks is putting it lightly. I really don't think it stinks. I think it flat out sucks. So when we made the decision to move to Iowa, we knew we weren't exactly going to have a smooth transition. But we didn't know what we were in for either.

Melissa @ Bargaineering writes How to Get Organic Fruits Cheaply: Go Directly to the Farm ' Rather than shopping at your local organic store or shopping the overpriced organic section in your local grocery store, consider working directly with a local organic farmer.

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance writes How to Move Out on a Shoestring Budget ' I outline five steps to help you prepare to move out on your own for the first time.

Enjoy Your Vacation ' I Did!

As some of you may already know, a couple weeks ago my wife and I stepped away from our everyday lives to enjoy our annual vacation. We were celebrating our third anniversary (early because of other commitments at the actual time of our anniversary) and we enjoyed it 100 percent! Many of my readers were asking me about it, so I thought I would share a little bit more about how we did some simple things to keep the vacation affordable and yet still have an amazing vacation.

Travel Off The Beaten Path

When it comes to my philosophy when traveling, I understand that there are two major differences in how people travel. You can follow the crowd to the nice resorts, sit by the beach, eat at a restaurant for every meal, and order room service. This option is nice because it allows you to live care-free for the entire vacation. All of the ordinary concerns that life brings you are out the window and it allows you to relax. I would be lying if I didn't enjoy this sort of vacation. My wife and I had one of these vacations on our honeymoon, mostly because it was paid for.

There's the important part ' paying for this type of vacation. Not everyone, myself included, can afford this type of vacation annually or even every two years. As it turns out, I looked into the resorts on the Caribbean island we were staying. The average cost per night was $450-600 per night and that wasn't even an all-inclusive deal. No matter how much you budget for your vacation, you may not be able to afford spending over $5,000 in one week. Even if you can save that much money, it may not make sense to spend what would equal the amount of a second car in one week (if you have been reading this blog for sometime, I often dream of buying a second car).

The alternative to living the luxurious vacation life is to travel off the beaten path. You can elect to travel to the same location and stay somewhere where it is less expensive to do so. If you avoid the crowds of people, odds are the prices will decrease. This is what we did. We were able to stay in a two-bedroom cottage with a private pool for a 1/3-1/4 of the cost of renting a private room at a resort just 5 minutes away by abiding by this travel philosophy. In case you are worried that we had to make major sacrifices in the quality of the stay, here are some pictures of our private cottage (which also came with housekeeping and someone to clean the pool daily).

Sunset View from Our Porch

A View of Our Porch

Our Private Pool

How did We Afford it?

If you are wondering how we were able to afford such a nice place, please don't suspect that we are rolling in the cash. We definitely budget for a nice vacation each year (or every other year at least), but the trick was getting away from the crowds as I mentioned above. In fact, to be more specific, we used a site called VRBO.com. It stands for Vacation Rental By Owner. It is a great place to find vacation rentals for very affordable prices. Not only can you find them in the U.S., but other exotic places like the Caribbean. Think of it like a craigslist of vacation rentals. It's an easy way to connect with private owners who are willing to rent out their homes at a fraction of the cost of resorts. It's a great way to plan a vacation on a budget. If you are looking to go on a nice vacation, you might want to check out VRBO.com to see what you can afford.

Enjoy Your Vacation

The summer months are ahead of us with many more possible vacations. I hope that you are able to get away from the 9-to-5 and enjoy a nice vacation. I am a huge fan of using incentives to motivate financial success and organizing a nice vacation is one of the best rewards out there. My wife and I love to travel, so we prioritize our spending accordingly. You can do the same.

Have you ever used VRBO.com?

Feel free to share your vacation plans in the comments below.

Should You Look Into Temporary Jobs?

It's no secret, it's hard to find a good paying full time job. With unemployment still sitting around 8%, those out of work have typically resorted to low paying retail and fast food positions. There are other options, such as staffing agencies (or temp agencies). These are businesses whose job it is to help you find a job.

The Recruiting Process

You reach out to the staffing agency and provide them with your resume. You tell them what jobs you would like to work, your salary expectations, etc. You may have to take a short test to show you are competent to perform the work as well. From there, the agency looks in their database to try and find you a match. But there is no rest on your end. You should review the open positions on their website too and let them know if you find anything you would be interested in doing.

If a match is found, you will interview with the company that is considering hiring you. If you are ace the interview, there is a good chance you have a job!

Job Contracts

It is important to know what type of contract you have with the staffing firm for this particular position. Some positions are simply temporary. A company will hire you for six months during their busy season. After that, you are unemployed again. Another possibility is temp-to-hire. Here, you are a temporary worker for six months. After the sixth month, you continue to work for the company but they can now hire you full time. A final possibility is direct hire, where the staffing firm places you in a full time job with the company from the beginning. For the remainder of this article, I will be talking about temporary and temp-to-hire job opportunities.

Advantages of Temp Jobs

The biggest benefit is getting your foot in the door. Even though you are technically employed by the staffing agency, you are showing your skills to the employer where you are working. It is imperative that you be the best you can be so that your temp job can turn into a permanent one.

Another benefit is that you are covered by Equal Opportunity Employment laws. The staffing firm cannot discriminate against you based on your race, creed, gender, etc. You have the same rights as anyone else applying for the position.

Even if you are not hired full time, the experience you gain and get to put on your resume will help you to land a full time job. Face it, having something on your resume is better than nothing.

Disadvantages of Temp Jobs

The biggest disadvantage is uncertainty. As the end of the contract nears, you do not know if you will be hired full time or not. You can always ask for a status update, but don't be surprised if your superior is vague.

Another disadvantage is that you aren't eligible for the benefits at the company where you are working. This means no health care coverage, no 401(k), no vacation time, etc. While many staffing agencies do have benefit packages for its workers, they are usually not as generous as other firms.

A third disadvantage is you can expect your pay to be less than the full time employees doing the same job. This is because part of your pay goes towards the staffing firm who placed you.

A Temp Job is Valuable

In my eyes, a temporary job's advantages outweigh the disadvantages. When I first graduated from college, I worked a part time job at first because I couldn't find full time employment. I ended up using a staffing agency to find me a job. It was temp-to-hire job and a few months in, I was hired full time. I ended up staying with that company for over five years.

Even though you give up some benefits and a lower salary, the experience is invaluable, along with the possible network connections you can make.

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

Photocredit: Bede Jackson via flickr