Financial Carnival for Young Adults ' 19th Edition

Welcome to the nineteenth 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. As many of you will recall from last week, I have decided to feature less posts each week to improve the readability of the carnival and keep it useful for my readers.

What to Do with Extra Money?

As many of you will recall, my wife and I have been adjusting to life with a little extra money. Young adults face this challenge all the time as they get their first job out of college. This is most likely the most drastic financial challenge in one's entire career, so it is important to know what to do with it.

Glen Craig @ Free From Broke writes Just Because You Can Spend More, Doesn't Mean You Should ' How many times have you been told that you could actually afford more than what you are planning to spend? Be warned though, it doesn't mean you should spend more!

Dave @ 6400 Personal Finance writes What To Do With A Raise ' There is plenty of advice available online to help you get a raise at work but very little concerning what do actually do with it. I aim to fix that problem.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Why You Don't Want to Keep Up with the Joneses - Most of us have heard about keeping up with the Joneses, this article explains why you definitely should not do this!

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes Battling Shopping Addiction: Making Behavioral Changes - Do you have Shopping Addiction? Learn how to Battling Shopping Addiction by making behavioral changes.

Not a Smart Phone?

One of the areas that I have successfully avoided over-spending is with a smart-phone. I still have a dumb-phone and don't regret it at all. Okay, there are probably one or two moments every couple of months that I wish I had a smart phone, but it still doesn't justify it. Other people tend to think just like me:

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Why I Don't Want A Smartphone - Ok I admit that part of me does really want a smartphone, but I am just not willing to get one right now. With my current situation, the negatives simply outweigh the positives.

Evan @ My Journey to Millions writes What the Hell Is Wrong with Some People? Emergency Fund vs. the Smart Phone - Nearly a third of Americans do not have any emergency savings but almost half has a smart phone? What is wrong with people?

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.

Family Finance

Last, but certainly not least, everyone should realize that their family situation(s) affect their approach to finances. My wife and I came from different environments and we have seen that in how we approach different situations. While it does not determine your approach to finances, it does contribute.

Sometimes it means recognizing what your parents did wrong like when Erika @ From Shopping to Saving writes Bad Financial Advice From My Parents - Financial advice I've heard from my parents that I did not listen to.

Other times it means appreciating the lessons that your parents taught you, like when L Bee @ L Bee and the Money Tree writes What my father taught me about customer service. - I was busy yesterday celebrating father's day! We met my brother for lunch and then went shopping at the outlet center and I did not get home until 6:30 or so and had to finish up the article due on my first freelance assignment.

Ultimately, I think that the best parents are those who are questions like Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff. He asks an important questions. Is An Allowance for Kids A Good Idea? - How should kids be taught about money? Is an allowance a useful tool or is it bad for children?