Welcome to the 17th edition of the Carnival of Financial Independence! We’re changing it up a bit here at The Outlier Model this week and hosting our very first Carnival. Thanks to Pauline at Reach Financial Independence for the opportunity. If you’re new to The Outlier Model, check out our Master Plan and have a look around. Financial Independence is a key focus for us, so it’s a fitting Carnival for us to host!
If you would like to be included next week, please submit your post via Blogger Carnivals. If you would like to host a future edition, you can contact Pauline on Reach Financial Independence.
The guidelines are:
- You can submit a post that was published during the last month
- The posts have to relate to reaching financial independence, and fit within the following categories: Savings and Simple living, Travel and Lifestyle, Wealth and Passive income, Real Estate and Investing, or Self employment.
- Submit by Wednesday night for the Saturday edition
- Please mention the carnival in your roundups if you have been featured!
Now, on to the posts!
Real Estate and Investing
Mr.CBB @ Canadian Budget Binder writes An Introduction To Investing-Part One – If you are someone who wants to invest or has money invested you should learn basic investment jargon. Take your time and learn what certain terms mean so you understand the next conversation or article that you read about investing.
Investor Junkie @ Investor Junkie writes How to Evaluate Companies Before Purchasing Their Stock – Finding a good stock means finding a good business that is priced at a reasonable valuation. Here’s how to evaluate companies before purchasing their stock.
Greg @ Club Thrifty writes Mortgage Prepayment Spreadsheet – Do you despise debt? Do you want to kill that debt off? Check out our “Mortgage Murder Spreadsheet” and discover what making extra payments toward your mortgage can do for your financial independence.
PK @ Don’t Quit Your Day Job… writes Canadian Real Estate: A Rapidly Inflating Bubble – Oh, Canada! Your real estate is looking mighty frothy. I hope those in the market pay attention to the American warning signs from 7 years ago.
Jon @ Novel Investor writes Building An Investment Checklist – An investment checklist forces you to stay in your comfort zone, stick to your guidelines, and make methodical thought out investment decisions.
Anton Ivanov @ Dreams Cash True writes Why Stock Market Timing Is a Waste of Time – The sad truth is that market timing is largely futile. The vast majority of active traders fail to outperform long-term investing strategies that do not rely on timing the market. Many investors end up with large losses, loose their motivation and proclaim that stock market investing is dead.
Irfan @ Everything About Investment writes Top 10 Warren Buffett Investment Strategies – What lessons can we learn from Warren Buffett’s Investing strategies. Whether you like him or not, his investment strategies are the best, which made him one of the richest people in the world. Warren Buffett‘s investment advice or his investing strategies are priceless and if you can grasp these strategies you should do well as an investor. We know there are other investment strategies out there, but his strategies are both easy to follow and have been successful for several years.
MMD @ IRA vs 401k Central writes Taking An Early Withdrawal from Roth IRA Contributions – You’ve heard you can take an early withdrawal from Roth IRA contributions after five years, but did you know there are specific rules that come with it?
Travel and Lifestyle
Marie at Family Money Values @ Family Money Values writes HOW TO GET THE BEST DEALS ON VACATION RENTALS! – Staying in a vacation rental can be much cheaper and more fun than a hotel, but there are ways to save even more when you do!
Alexis @ FITnancials writes Ride your bike! – Save money and be healthy – Do you have a bike? I do! I don’t ride it too often, but I’m wanting to change that soon. There are so many positives of riding your bike, so why not incorporate it into your daily life, such as when you do your chores and errands?
AB @ Aspiring Blogger writes Google Reader is Dead – Long Live Google Reader! – Like I’m sure a lot of you do, I use Google Reader to manage all of my RSS subscriptions and keep me organized. With Google Reader shutting its doors on July 1, what am I supposed to use instead? Join me as I walk you through the alternatives and help you chose the best Google Reader replacement!
Shannon Ryan @ The Heavy Purse writes How to Teach Your Kids to Think about Debt – We may hope our children avoid debt, but most will experience it in some form. So let’s help them understand what debt is and most importantly–understand how to handle it properly.
Wealth and Passive Income
Dividend Growth Investor @ Dividend Growth Investor writes Dividend income is more stable than capital gains – Dividend income has remained more stable than capital gains. Since 1977, the dividend income for S&P 500 has experienced declines in only 4 out of 34 years. As a result, it is no surprise that the predictable nature of dividend payment amounts is appealing to investors in retirement.
Michelle @ Diversified Finances writes Sources of Passive Income – Many people get into the rental market as a form of passive income. Depending on how you want to define passive income, rental income may or may not be included as a passive choice. However, for the sake of this post, we will say that rental income is passive.
GMM @ Grad Money Matters writes Work Less and Earn More – Some of you may be baffled by this title, but it’s definitely not a typo. It is absolutely possible to work less and earn more. Let me give you a hint though, this probably won’t work too well if you try these methods at your full time job.
Michael @ Financial Ramblings writes Spend Less Than You Earn – Spend less than you earn. It should go without saying. And yet, it often doesn’t. Take, for example, (currently former) NFL baller Chad Johnson (formerly Ochocinco, formerly Johnson) who is spending $45k more per MONTH than he’s taking in. If that’s not a recipe for disaster, I’m not sure what is. Looking at the bright side, at least he’s no longer in jail…
Alice @ Hurricanes, Panties & Dollars writes The pterodactyl retirement plan – An interesting conversation, a plan to trap a pterodactyl and waking back up in the real world. Plus a fun, catchy video and perhaps a little talk about retirement.
MMD @ My Money Design writes My Post Retirement Ideas for When I Become Financially Free – Having some post retirement ideas and goals for what you’ll do with yourself is just as important as the planning it took to get you there.
Michael @ Dividend Growth Investing & Retirement writes CH Robinson Worldwide Dividend Stock Analysis – CH Robinson Worldwide dividend stock analysis covering earnings, dividends, dividend growth & sustainability and a valuation to determine my target price.
Self employment and Career
John S @ Frugal Rules writes Taking the Plunge: 1 Year Quitiversary – I have been officially running our own business for one year now. I have learned many things over the past year, but most importantly that being self-employed is not easy but is incredibly rewarding and that fear can be a powerful thing.
Dollar @ Easy Extra Dollar writes How to make money online – Making money online can be a difficult task, but not today where you can find many ways on how to make it. We cannot deny the fact that there are now lots of people who are searching for a job through online since this is the easiest way we can possibly do.
Jason Hull @ Hull Financial Planning writes Starting Your Own Business May Make You Happier – A recent study from Wharton shows that entrepeneurs are happier (and they’re better-looking, too)
Gary @ Gajizmo writes What Questions To Ask In An Interview? – With millions of new graduates flooding the job market as well as millions of already unemployed Americans, it is important that you take advantage of every part of the interview process when demonstrating you are the best candidate. While most interviewees begin to relax during the end of the interview, knowing what questions to ask your interview may just give you a leg-up on the competition.
Gary @ Gajizmo writes Jobs That Require No Experience – Similar to the chicken and the egg paradox of which came first, getting a job without experience can be difficult, but you need to get a job in order to earn experience. This can be especially frustrating for new graduates or the recently unemployed looking to make a career change. Here are the best jobs that require no experience.
Robert @ My Multiple Incomes writes The Truth About Making Your Job Pay – For most people, having a primary job is their main income stream. But the sad truth is, many people don’t do what they really need to do to make their job pay. There is so much money that people leave on the table when it comes to their jobs, and if you’re looking to maximize your income, that needs to stop. Here are some simple tactics that you can look into today to make your job pay more.
Robert @ Entrepreneurship Life writes Developing a Marketing Plan for Entrepreneurs – Developing a marketing plan is crucial to building a profitable business. It guides you to the target audience you need to reach. It helps you grow your business because you are putting your services or products in front of the people that need them.
Robert @ Beat The 9 to 5 writes The Most Important Step To Turn Ideas into Business Reality – I’ve been asked this same question twice in the last two weeks: what’s the single most important step that you can take right now to turn your idea into a business reality? That’s a tough one, because there are so many different little things that you can do to make your business a reality. While I’m not an expert, here’s what I’ve learned from trying (many times) to turn an idea into a business reality.
Lazy Man @ Lazy Man and Money writes So, You Want to Be a Certified Financial Planner (CFP)? – So adding it all up, it’s a 3.5 year full-time commitment to be a Certified Financial Planner (I’m going to be conservative and assume that I can’t find a CFP to be an apprentice under). If I wanted to put that much time into something, I’d go with business or law school. There’s even a pharmacy school option for those who excel at that kind of thing. The median CFP salary of around $67K simply doesn’t warrant spending nearly 8 years of education.
Saving and Simple Living
Bank Free Credit @ Bank Free Credit writes Give Up a Few Channels and Save Big: Free TV – There is a way to bypass the bloating costs of cable and satellite television, and once again enjoy virtually free TV.
Chris Topher @ This That and The MBA writes Nature vs. Nurture: Money Sense – I learned something very interesting recently that made me think a lot about where our money sense comes from. During a recent visit from my dad, he told me that when my grandparents bought their first house.
Michelle @ Making Sense of Cents writes How I Stay Motivated When Being Frugal – I have to say that ever since I started this journey to rid myself of debt, it has sometimes been a struggle to stay motivated. We all have experienced burnout when we put our all into something and its only natural.
SB @ One Cent at a Time writes The Balance Transfer Game – How To Play To Win! – We get balance transfer card offers all the time. Unfortunately for those banks and fortunately for us, we do not carry any balance on our cards. We pay in full every month. For those who are already in credit card debt, this post can be very helpful.
Michael Kitces @ Nerd’s Eye View writes Latest Social Security Trustees Report For 2013 Confirms Most Benefits Will Still Be Paid – Recently, the Social Security trustees’ report was released for 2013, revealing that while Social Security is on an unsustainable path, even if NOTHING is done to fix it the consequences will merely be a 23% benefits cut beginning in 20 years. Does that mean we’ve been overstating the true consequences of Social Security’s “insolvency” after all?
Martin @ Studenomics writes The Simple Tools That Will Help You Save More Money Than Ever Before – The tools that will make your life easier.
Michael @ The Student Loan Sherpa writes Meet Colleen: Learn the Cost of 7.25% Interest and Putting Children First – Colleen is well educated and a dedicated social worker, but despite all of her efforts, her student loans have had major negative impacts on her lifestyle and planning for the future.
Ryan @ Cash Money Life writes When it’s OK to Move Back Home After Graduation – Is it ever OK to move back home after college graduation? There are many times it makes sense. Many graduates face crushing student loans, debt, and more.
Brock Kernin @ Clever Dude writes Would You Boycott a Business for Bad Customer Service? – A Subway manager called me a liar, so I’ve been boycotting that location for 3 years.
Travis Pizel @ Enemy Of Debt writes Worrying Doesn’t Accomplish Anything. Take Action. Now. – Do you worry about your financial situation? You’re wasting your time.
Daisy @ Suburban Finance writes Earn Your Degree Without the Debt – Get Your Degree Without the Debt Do you currently know of someone that will soon graduate high school and will head off to college?
Charlotte Baker @ TeensGotCents writes Interview with The Family CEO – Charlotte of TeensGotCents interviews Julie Mayfield of The Family CEO. Julie shares how her family is sending their daughter to college debt free.
Minimalist @ Minimalist Finance writes Putting Your Kids Through College – Many people say that nowadays a degree is expected and holds no more value than a high school diploma. While this is certainly an exaggeration, in order to secure a bright future, teens and young adults must plan for going to college, or through trades school training.
Andrew @ Listen Money Matters writes about investing in rental properties. – This is a great way to build passive income.
Usiere Uko @ Financial Freedom Inspiration writes Saving with a Mission – For us too save consistently, we need to save with a mission. If you save for the sake of saving, you soon end up spending it and return to square one
Matt Becker @ Mom and Dad Money writes Bad for the Budget. Good for the Soul. – Personal finance writers, myself included, like to talk a lot about saving money. But being able to spend your money on things that make you truly happy is just as important. Here are a few examples of how I spend money to increase my enjoyment of life.
Robert @ Kids Ain’t Cheap writes Prepping Your High School Grad’s Finances for College – Within the next few weeks, high school kids around the world will be prepping to embark on one of the biggest adventures in their life. They will be leaving the comforts of what they know and preparing to attend college.
Grayson @ Debt RoundUp writes My Percentage Based Debt Payoff and Savings Rule – I am a big believer that you can save money while paying off debt. I believe this because I did it. Not only did I do it, but it also changed my money mentality. I used an allocation strategy similar to retirement investing.
Bryan @ BryanMaltier.com writes Ways To Make Money in College – Making money in college has many benefits. In addition to having spending money and covering your living expenses, you can graduate without credit card debt and immediately start paying down your student loans. Here are a few simple ways you can start to make money in college without taking on a full-time job.
Chris Topher @ This That and The MBA writes Tips for Organizing an Effective but Frugal Home Budget – Making a frugal home budget is an art and to accomplish this art, one needs to have an insight to the capability of handling the finances. Organizing a frugal budget will not only be helpful to maintain a stable financial situation, but it will also indicate your financial prudence for the near future.
Dollar @ Easy Extra Dollar writes Various Ways of Earning Easy Extra Dollar without Exerting too much Effort – We just want some extra money that comes in from the internet without us having to work too hard. Now, you could indeed earn easy extra dollar out of completing offers, but if you want to start receiving more money than that you’ll have to start working on referrals.
John @ WILD about Finance writes How to get a cash injection – Getting a cash injection can sometimes seem impossible if you don’t know what the options are for you out there. Believe it or not, there is often a solution lying just around the corner which will help dig you out of that black hole.
Simon @ Chance with Finance writes Saving Money in Everyday Situations – The costs of goods are rising and there seems to be a salary freeze on most peoples income at the moment, so now is the time to save money in a few simple steps.
Jimmy @ Finance Romance writes The volatile stock markets sailing the choppy seas – With the FTSE and DOW Jones both rocking to and fro and a total change of around 9% in the last few weeks, I take a deeper look into this.
Jon Haver @ Pay My Student Loans writes Obama Student Loan Forgiveness Program – This plan only applies to federal student loans. His plan has no impact on any private loans taken out by students to pay for college education. President Obama’s biggest saying in this is a college education is only worth so much when the debt you receive is so high.
John @ OurInsuranceCanada.com writes Health Insurance Options for Self Employed – There are many benefits to owning your own business; you are able to set your own hours, you have the flexibility that you often do not have while working for someone outside the home, and you have absolute control over every aspect of your company.
Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Roll Another One – If collecting coins is something you do, here are some places to pick up a few extra (I’m not condoning stealing, mind you, just pointing out the obvious)
Melissa @ Minting Nickels writes Are You Saving Enough? – Do you have enough in the bank to cover an emergency, or do you automatically charge these expenses to your credit card and focus on paying them off later? Everyone talks about having an emergency fund, but how much should you really have in there?
Kristen Hawley @ ReadyForZero Blog writes What Happens When You Stop Paying Your Student Loans – Are you struggling to make payments on your student loans? One blogger talks about her journey and why it’s important to stay on track.
KK @ Student Debt Survivor writes Taking Advantage of Bank Sign-up bonuses = Easy $200 – Have you ever received a bonus for signing up for a checking account? I made a quick and easy $200 for signing up for mine. Better than the current pathetic interest rates the banks are offering? You bet!
Penny Thots @ Penny Thots writes Pallet-ible Design – Want a widely-available, dirt-cheap source of materials for home dec, as well as your garden? Consider the lowly pallet.
