Carnival of Personal Finance #239 – Hot Money Trends of 2010 Edition

Welcome to the 239th Carnival of Personal Finance! This week’s theme is based on New Trends of 2010. I wanted to bring in the New Year with some hot trends in 2009 that will likely continue into 2010.  Some are frustrating to all of us, while some present opportunities for savvy folks like yourselves (following this Carnival is a great start!).  Please feel free to check out the rest of my site, and don’t forget to Subscribe to Email/RSS (what is RSS?) to get future updates from Darwin’s Finance.  Enjoy!

Editor’s Choice

J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy presents The Move Your Money Movement which is a grassroots effort to “Fight the Power” if you will, of the Big Banks.  How effective this movement could be in the face of massive lobbying dollars and insiders (ex-bankers) spread throughout Congress and the administration is questionable, but never second-guess the will and determination of the everyday citizen.

DR from Doughroller presents 11 Smart Money Moves to Supercharge Your Finances.  Jim listed out some top-notch financial priorities everyone should jump on now to take charge of their finances.  Now’s as good a time as any!

J.D. Roth from Get Rich Slowly presents 10 Steps to Financial Success in 2010 – while it’s a new year and you may have seen other  similarly themed articles out there to start off on the right foot, this was one of my favorites – great bang for the buck.  Check it out!

Jim from Bargaineering presents How to Opt Out of Credit Card Internal Marketing.  I love a good screw-you back to companies that routinely mess with and take advantage of their customers.  Marketing ploys are a common abuse and Jim shared some easy ways to opt out.

Miss M from M is for Money presents Money and Etiquette: Dining with a Terrible Tipper.  We’ve all encountered this situation before and it’s always fun to reminisce on your annoying outing while taking some advice from Miss M.

Money Management and Budgeting

Personal Finance Goes Mainstream – From Dave Ramsey and other PF personalities gaining prominence on television to some of our own PF trailblazers writing books and producing podcasts, there’s no slowing down the PF movement in 2010.

Kevin from No Debt Plan presents Go Radical: Sell Everything, and says, “Want to truly change your financial life in 2010? Selling everything is a great start to put some serious money toward your debt.”

The Engineer from Engineer A Debt Free Life presents The Engineer’s guide to setting up a personal budget , and says, “It’s a great how to get started budgeting article for beginners.”

Kevin Duffey from 20s Money presents Personal Finance Manifesto, and says, “This is a fairly comprehensive guide to personal finance and establishing a strong financial position.”

Mr. ToughMoneyLove from Tough Money Love presents Staying Off the Car Payment Treadmill, and says, “Many consumers buy their first vehicle on credit and never get off the car payment treadmill. This is how we got off and stayed off.”

RC from Think Your Way To Wealth presents 5 Common Money Related Resolutions that Can Help Your Finances in 2010.

Craig Ford from Money Help For Christians presents 20 Reasons To Start A Budget In 2010, and says, “Sometimes we need to know why we should do something before we get the motivation to follow through. This post offers 20 reasons to start budgeting.”

Studenomist from Studenomics presents How-to Save Money on Gym Memberships & Are They Worth it?.

Patrick from Cash Money Life presents The Most Important Financial Goals for 2010, and says, “Many people have lofty New Year’s resolutions, which they may or may not achieve. This article boils down personal finance goals into a few top level goals to strive to achieve.”

Single Guy Money presents Single Guy Money’s 2010 Financial Goals.

Fabulously Broke in the City presents 5 lies we tell ourselves to help continue spending, and says, “The 5 lies we keep telling ourselves so we can continue spending when we know we should stop.

Sun from The Sun’s Financial Diary presents Indulge Your Resolutions without Breaking the Bank.

Simon Zhen from Realm of Prosperity presents Be the Friendly Financial “Stop” Sign.

FFB from Free From Broke presents New Year’s Resolutions Are Bulls&%$, and says, “Are New Year’s resolutions really worth it? Most people don’t end up keeping them and even worse get set back from their original goals.”

Revanche from A Gai Shan Life presents Furniture Shopping on Craigslist.

Big Cajun Man from Canadian Personal Finance presents Personal Finance Resolutions For the New Year?, and says, “Is it time to make resolutions? If so, make them achievable ones”

Free Money Finance presents Seven Financial Resolutions for the New Year, and says, “Resolutions for money success in 2010!”

Jason from Live Real, Now presents Bribes vs Rewards, and says, “This is an article about family finance and responsibly reward positive behavior in children.”

Investing and Finance

Blue Chip Companies asking for (and receiving) Handouts from the US TaxPayer – With the likes of GM and various large banks coming back to the trough multiple times, Congress kept asking “How Much do you Need?”.  In the end, GM filed for bankruptcy anyway, even though it was clearly evident months in advance that nothing would forestall the inevitable.  Even though politicians warned that allowing GM to fail would result in disaster for the entire auto supply chain throughout the midwest, no such scenario played out.  The auto industry is alive and well, as evidenced by Ford’s recent blockbuster earnings (didn’t need handout) and GM’s survival under government oversight.

Dividend Growth Investor presents Dividend Aristocrats List for 2010 , and says, “The dividend aristocrats list includes companies which have increased dividends for over 25 years in a row. It is equally weighted and re-balanced once an year. Over the past 3,5 and 7 years the index of elite dividend stocks has managed to outperform the S&P 500 by 5%, 3.7% and 4.40% respectively.”

Silicon Valley Blogger from The Digerati Life presents Investing In Bonds: Make Money The Boring Way, and says, “About investing in bonds!”

Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents presents Roth IRA For Children: Your Kid’s Guide to Tax Free Money, and says, “Wondering if your kids can benefit from the tax free savings of a Roth IRA? Here’s how.”

ElizabethG from Modern Gal presents Investments I am Avoiding in 2010.

Kevin from My Dollar Plan presents Ignoring Finances When Young is a Risky Game.

D4L from Dividends Value presents 8 Dividend Stocks Covering Their Dividend, and says, “As dividend growth investors we are looking for stocks can continue to raise their dividends indefinitely into the future. One metric that provides an indication of a dividend’s sustainability is its payout ratio.”

Mr. GoTo from Go To Retirement presents Using Whole Life Insurance to Create a Pension Income Stream, and says, “Whole life insurance is generally a bad idea for providing death benefits. But there may be other uses as a tax deferred investment for those looking forward to their later years.”

Mike Piper from The Oblivious Investor presents Spreading (mis)Information, and says, “Everybody in the personal finance industry has a business interest in getting you to believe one thing or another. So who can we turn to for unbiased information?”

Junior Boomer from Consumer Boomer presents Best Options for a 401k, and says, “hen it comes to 401(k), what are your best options? There’s a ton of information out there that could confuse a Harvard graduate and the landscape is forever changing.”

Frugality and Saving

Americans start living The New Normal – While I was initially skeptical of the ability of Americans to truly change their ways and start becoming more frugal, we’re starting to see changes in both the data and pop culture (odd correlation between the two).  Perhaps in 2010, Frugal will be “In”.

David from Money Under 30 presents Six Ways to Save on Gym Memberships, and says, “At gyms across America this January, throngs of new gym-goers will pony up initiation fees, sign year-long membership contracts and in general way too much. But not you. If you’re resolved to join a gym in 2010, you don’t have to go broke to get fit.”

Len from Len Penzo dot Com presents 10 Money Saving Tips to Get the Most from Coupons.

Miss Thrifty presents Slow Cooker: save money on food – and save on washing up .

Mike from Personal Finance Ninja presents Procrastination: Screwing You Since 1986 – Why Investing Early Matters & the Power of Compounding Interest , and says, “An article about why investing early is important complete with a slide show and some awesome ninja illustrations”

Austin from Foreigner’s Finances presents Use the Enthusiasm of a New Year to Automate & Guarantee Savings in 2010, and says, “97% of New Year’s Resolutions don’t last. If you realize this fact, you can just take advantage of the freshness of the new year and get your money automated in January so its ready for the rest of the year and on. ”

CindyS from Oh My Aching Debts presents 10 Cheap and Easy DIY Ways to Save On Your Energy Bill, and says, “Although I am by no means a Ms Fixit, even I can do these 10 things to save on my electric bill. ”

Debt and Credit

Credit Card Companies Raking Over Consumers to React to Legislative Oversight.  Outrage after outrage continue to roll out as main street watches with disbelief as credit card companies seem to be completely shameless in their efforts to stick to anyone they can in any manner possible prior to implementation of new restrictions and oversight from Congress.  Time will tell which loopholes they’ll find next, but for most Americans, can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.

Mrs. Money from Ultimate Money Blog- Save Green and Live Green presents I Can’t Bring Myself to Pay Extra on the Mortgage.

Adam from Money Relationship presents 2010 Financial Resolutions, and says, “I am giving everyone permission to call me a liar if I don’t hit these financial goals in 2010.”

Connie Prater from Taking Charge presents Video cartoon spoofs new credit card law.

Lean Life Coach from Eliminate The Muda! presents In Debt? – Find Free Help, and says, “Eliminating your debt is not easy and it’s not fast. But if you do it yourself you will learn lessons along the way that will be instrumental in keeping you out of debt in the future. You will learn how manage money, live within your means and how to make better financial decisions.”

Real Estate, Economy and Taxes

Health Care “Reform” – While the current disparity in affordability and availability of even modest health care for many Americans seems unfair, the current legislation is flawed to put it mildly.  Time will tell just how flawed the assumptions, controls and costs are, but Health Care Reform will be a major topic in 2010, as well as what impact it will have on employees with “Cadillac Plans” (millions of middle-class/working-class Americans like you and I), people/companies who stand to benefit, impact to investors and what kind of hidden tax this legislation evolves into.

Adam from RabbitFunds presents Why Parker Bros Monopoly should save the housing market, and says, “For years, I have played Parker Bros Monopoly. We all have. And yet, too many of us did not learn the most basic real estate principles that this children’s game is teaching. So it’s time to be a kid again.”

Jason from One Money Design presents Should You Prepare Your Own Taxes, and says, “Should you prepare your own taxes this year? It’s important to consider such things as time, cost and the simplicity of your return before making a final decision.”

Bucksome from Buck$ome Boomer’s Journey to Retirement presents Home Ownership: The Good, Bad and Ugly of HOAs, and says, “This is the last article in a four part series on our experiences with real estate transactions. Belonging to a homeowner’s association has points that are good, bad and ugly. ”

Well-Heeled Blog presents Buying A Home Together Before Marriage – Yay or Nay?, and says, “Would you buy a home together with your significant other before getting married? The buyer’s market has prompted many couples to do so, but I say the risks of breaking up and the complications of splitting up property are too great. I’d prefer to commit to real estate with another person after we’re both committed legally to each other. ”

Paul from FiscalGeek presents 2010 IRS Federal Tax Withholding Calculator is Out. Stop Loaning the Government Money, and says, “Using free tools available from the IRS reduce your monthly tax payments and get your refund in the form of extra money every paycheck.”

Andy from Saving to Invest presents Tax Considerations in a Rising Government Spending and Tax Rates Environment , and says, “With U.S. government debt soaring as the result of stimulus spending to rescue the economy, many economists believe there’s a good chance that tax rates could rise, perhaps even before your 2009 filing. With higher rates a real possibility, you may need to rethink the way you do year-end tax planning, and these are four ways of potentially maximizing tax efficiency, for next April and beyond.”

Kyle from Early Retirement Blog presents Why Your Taxes Might Go Up In Retirement, and says, “Many people assume their tax rate will go down in retirement. Here’s why that might not happen.”

Career

Personal Finance Blog movement has legs – More and more regular people are taking up blogging to share their experiences, gripe about crappy customer service, to try and make some money on the side or pursue various other ambitions.  Regardless of their motives, the movement is picking up steam, as evidenced by the rapid growth of quality content and reader acceptance in the PF movement.

Funny about Money presents Entrepreneurs: Adirondack Chimney Sweep, and says, “A second income stream turns into a successful business after the city buys out its senior employees.”

Mike from Minting Pennies presents Can’t Get No (Job) Satisfaction, and says, “A musically themed post about job dissatisfaction and the dangers of thinking too big too soon when starting your own enterprise.”

Reviews and Misc

Politicians Giving Away the House – in an effort to curry favor with large blocks of voters, pandering politicians on both sides of the aisle embarked on a series of hastily implemented, poorly conceived financial schemes ranging from cash for clunkers to the home mortgage modification programs fraught with fraud and waste. 2010 will see Cash for Caulkers, Cash for Appliances and whatever else they conjure up this year.

Bob from Christian Financial Help presents Verizon users have to wait until Spring for the Nexus One, and says, “Verizon users hang on just a few months, the Nexus One is on the way!”

Sam from Financial Samurai presents Everything Is Rational – The Answer To All Things Irrational, and says, “This is a core concept in addressing things that seemingly make no sense. In fact, everything makes sense, and it’s not our business to try and change others.”

Baker from Man Vs. Debt presents I’m Gonna Kick Some Major Ass in 2010!… Bet on it., and says, “An update on my plans to increase my income, build my business, and pay down my debt in 2010. It a tough road, but I’m about to kick some ass!”

Peter from Bible Money Matters presents How To Make Money With A Blog, and says, “this is the how-to article I wish I had when I first started blogging for money.”

Thanks everyone for participating in the 239th Carnival of Personal Finance!

photo credits – evil inside, yo-yo blogger