Carnival of Personal Finance: Visit Portland! Edition

Hi! I’m excited to host this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance. If you are new here, you’re looking really great today, is that a new shirt? If you’re not new here, I hope you already know how amazing you are. Now, here’s the situation. I live in an amazing, lovely, beautiful, dark, dreary town that would brighten by your presence. So, come visit Portland, and holy cow, please let me know when you do! I play a really amazing tour guide Barbie. I’ll show you photos of my sweet town and try to woo you and your vacation time westward (or north, for Californians, and south for Canadians).

Editor’s Choices:

• Glen Craig from Free From Broke presents The Taxpayer Relief Act of 2013 – The Fiscal Cliff Averted, and spells out what this means for us.
• TTMK from Tie the Money Knot presents 10 Wealth Creation Habits, and I especially like, “work hard and focus on healthy decisions.”
• John from Card Hub presents Ask the Experts: Why Do We Make New Year’s Resolutions (And How Can You Keep Yours This Year)?. Boy, do I love this. I love making lists and resolving to be a better version of myself this year than I was last year. But why? Well, now we know.
• Eric from Narrow Bridge argues for making credit card payments twice a month.
• Kristen from My Dollar Plan presents 12 Budget Friendly Health Tips, and I like this list because she also excludes processed food.

2012 Recaps:

• Fitz Villafuerte from Ready To Be Rich presents The Top Ten Blog Posts of 2012, and says, “A round up of the best personal finance blog posts by Ready To Be Rich for 2012.”

To do, in 2013:

• Rob from Credit Card Offers IQ presents What Not To Do In 2013, and says, “Check out our list of 5 things that you should not do in 2013.”
• MD from Start Freelancing Now presents Let’s Fix Your Business Idea Together — It’s Time to Make Some Real Money, and says, “How to fix that business and make real money!”
• Mike from The Financial Blogger presents Online Company Goals: Let’s Kill It, and says, “My goals to make it big with my business.”
• Glen from Monster Piggy Bank presents Get Smarter About Money in 6 Steps, and says, “6 Tips on how to get smarter with your money.”
• Lance from Money Life and More presents Don’t Call It a “New Year’s Resolution”, and says, “Every year you hear about all sorts of great goals people set to better themselves or a situation in the coming new year. They are called “new year’s resolutions” and most of them get forgotten within a few weeks of the new year.”
• Matt Bell from Sound Mind Investing presents Can’t Build Savings? Yes, You Can, and says, “One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to save more money. Here are five suggestions for doing just that.”
• Ray from Squirrelers presents 10 Things to Do This Year to Help You Build Wealth, and says, “As the new is upon us, it’s a good time to take stock on how we can build our wealth. This post shares 10 tips.”
• Rob from IRA Rates presents New 2013 IRA Rules, and says, “Do you know that the IRA rules have changed for 2013? Stay up-to-date with the current changes to better protect your retirement and investments.”
• Pauline from Reach Financial Independence presents 13 money resolutions for 2013, #1 Start somewhere!, and says, “Here is a series to help you kick start your finances in the new year, because the hardest part about reaching a goal is to start working towards them. Once you gain momentum, motivation increases and there is nothing stopping you.”
• PK from Don’t Quit Your Day Job… presents Stock Picks for 2013!, and says, “Sure, these stock picks are for a contest. However, they are fully vetted and even though I’ve only invested in some I think they’re pretty decent ideas.”
• Ornella from Moneylicious presents Are Your New Year’s Resolutions About Problem Solving?, and says, “Instead of addressing the common New Year’s Resolutions and personal, I decided to turn my attention to how to focus on your real goals. Somtimes the answer to accomplishing your resolutions is staring at you the whole time, kind of like the Candle Problem.”
• Tonya from Budget and the Beach presents 13 Ways to Start the New Year Right, and says, “13 simple ways to start off the new year with more positive energy and renewed vigor. “

Investing:

• Div Guy from The Dividend Guy Blog presents Best 2013 Dividend Stocks, and says, “We have put together a list of the best stocks to buy in 2013.”
• Roger Wohlner from The Chicago Financial Planner presents Investing in 2013 – Is it Different This Time?, and says, “For regular readers of this blog, my investing suggestions for the current year will look very much like my suggestions for past years.”
• FMF from Free Money Finance presents Income to Wealth to Income, and says, “As I move into real estate investing and begin entering some serious retirement planning years, I have thought about the “cycle of money” or “flow of money” over the course of a person’s lifetime. To me this flow is best summarized by the words “income to wealth to income” for the following reasons.”
• Darwin from Darwin’s Money presents This is the Only Stock I’ve Bought in Months – 3D Printing About to Change the World, and says, “If you haven’t heard about 3D Printing yet, you will soon. It’s about to change the world and here’s the only pure play stock up 300% over the past year which has 3D printing at its core.”
• Andy from Saving to Invest presents $500 Increase in 2013 401k and IRA Contribution Limits Makes a Real Difference at Retirement, and says, “The $500 increase may not seem like a lot at first glance but over a number of years with the effect of compounding, the higher contribution limit can make quite a difference.”
• D4L from Dividend Growth Stocks presents 4 Dividend Stocks To Avoid The Social Security Blues, and says, “As a fiscal conservative, the direction of our country concerns me. With the current administration’s primary focus on fixing the budget deficit with higher taxes on the “wealthy”, rather than a combination of higher revenue AND meaningful spending cuts, our country is left in a perilous situation.”
• Michael from Financial Ramblings presents Fiscal Cliff Tax Changes, and says, “Curious what the fiscal cliff legislation was all about? Here’s a rundown.”
• Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents presents Retirement Planning Checklist, and says, “If you are approaching retirement do you know if you are ready? Do you have the funds saved that you will need?”
• Grayson from Debt Roundup presents How Are Your Retirement Savings Shaping Up?, and says, “Investing in your retirement is one of the best money moves you can make. If you already have a retirement account, do you know how it stacks up? See how your retirement savings is shaping up.”
• Dividend Growth Investor from Dividend Growth Investor presents Best Dividend Stocks for 2013, and beyond, and says, “In this article, I am going to outline a few dividend stocks, which make very good candidates for a beginning income portfolio. In other words, if I were starting a portfolio tomorrow, I would include the following stocks.”

Workplace:

• DPF from Digital Personal Finance presents Thinking Like an Entrepreneur While Being an Employee, and says, “Quite often, many people view being an employee as a distinctly different endeavor than being an entrepreneur. However, entrepreneurial thinking can be useful in many walks of life – including when working for someone else in your day job.”
• Miss T. from Prairie Eco Thrifter presents 6 Tips to Help Get that Salary Raise, and says, “Asking for a raise can be a daunting experience and may require a lot of confidence on your part. Just don’t forget that there really is nothing to lose if you ask for a raise, but there is a lot to be gained. The process can also help you realize if you yourself feel that your performance is worthy of garnering a higher salary.”

Relating:

• Adam from Adam Hagerman – Financial Coach presents Sharing Expenses In a Relationship, and says, “If you are looking for different ways to share expenses with your significant other, click on through to learn some of the more popular options!”

Things I’d Rather not Think about (but are still important!):

• Odysseas from Wallet Blog presents Why You Can’t Comparison Shop For Life Insurance, and says, “Anyone who’s ever taken out a life insurance policy knows that while you can try to shop around for the best rates, offers aren’t finalized until your paperwork and physical exam results are processed. So what should you do about this important aspect to protecting your assets.”
• Clint from Accumulating Money presents Term vs. Whole Life Insurance, and says, “Term and whole life insurance policies have financial advantages, including deferred income tax on returns for whole life and ways for beneficiaries to avoid estate taxes altogether.”

Real Estate:

• Kim from Eyes on the Dollar presents Hidden Benefits of Foreclosure Hunting, and says, “This post is about interesting tales and hidden treasures that might be found when purchasing foreclosure properties.”
• Mrs PoP from Planting Our Pennies presents Easy DIY – Get Rid of Fluorescent Lighting, and says, “Got old ugly fluorescent lighting in your house? Does it scream 1980′s? Check out this cheap and easy update that will your lights look like they cost big bucks, but for about $100. “
• Louis from Wallet Hub presents FHA Loans vs Conventional Loans, and says, “One of the biggest choices any home buyer has when taking out their loan is deciding whether or not they want to get an FHA loan or a conventional loan offered by a private lender. Picking between the two options can be very tricky–depending on a buyer’s situation each has its own advantages and disadvantages.”
• Philip from PT Money Personal Finance presents How to Buy a House with No (or Low) Money Down, and says, “Brandon Turner of Bigger Pockets discusses loans that are still available for anyone who wants to purchase a home with $0 down. He also addresses the bigger question of IF you should even do that.”

Money Management

• CF from The Outlier Model presents Net Worth Update: January 2013, and says, “Tracking your net worth is the best measure of financial success. It doesn’t tell you when you’ll be financially independent, but it is a great marker of overall financial health. Here’s where we stand at the beginning of 2013.”

Frugality:

• eemusings from NZ Muse presents Summer, how I adore thee, and says, “Though not the associated costs. I find summer fun comes with a higher price tag.”
• Green Panda from Green Panda Treehouse presents How-to Have a Booming Social Life This Year Even If You’re Broke, and says, “How you can have fun when your wallet is empty.”
• Lily from Paying Down Debt presents Simple Ways to Stay Out of Debt, and says, “There are easy ways to stay out of debt.”
• Bob from Dwindling Debt presents Ways to Make a Family Budget Work, and says, “It’s critical that a family uses a budget.”

Taxes

• Michal from Dough Roller presents The 2013 Tax Hike–What You Need to Know, and says, “Here is a quick guide with everything you need to know about the 2013 increase in federal taxes.”

Credit cards:

• Martin from Studenomics presents Should You Build Credit in College?, and says, “We look at the idea of building your credit from an early age.”