The Best of Money Carnival showcases the 10 best personal finance articles over the past week. This week we have articles on everything from iPhone apps to job interview strategies to ATM skimmers. Enjoy!
1. Imagine going to your nearest ATM to take out money for the weekend. Like always you dip you card into the ATM, take out your dough, and everything seems just fine. Only a few days later you learn your bank account has been cleaned out by bandits who had stolen your ATM card number and security PIN using an ATM skimmer. So how did they do it? And more importantly, how could you have spotted the skimmer when you used the ATM? To find out answers to these questions, check out 10 Tips to Save You from an ATM Skimmer (via Wisebread).
2. For those that think “budget” is a four letter word, controlling your spending can be a real challenge. Fortunately, there are ways to manage your money without recording every single penny you spend. So if you want to learn how to optimize your spending without budgeting, check out How to Optimize Your Spending (via PT Money).
3. One of the great things about personal finance is that there are many different ways to accomplish financial freedom. While some have “systems” that they claim are the only way to meet your financial goals, the truth is that different approaches work for different people. And to this principle in action, check out With Apologies to Dave Ramsey, One Size Doesn’t Always Fit All (via Personal Finance by the Book). We particularly like the point about credit cards!
4. One of the things that drives me crazy is when folks don’t take responsibility for their own decisions. It’s always somebody else’s fault. These same folks tend to have perfect kids who can do no wrong. Well here’s a great example of just this kind of person in Your Take: Who Pays the $200? | Budgets Are Sexy (via Budgets Are Sexy).
5. Interviews take lots of preparation. Having interviewed a lot of people in my day, it’s easy to tell whether somebody is prepared or not. And preparation goes a long way to landing that job. So if you’re looking for work, be sure to check out 25 Interview Questions Asked (via Christian PF).
6. As Tax Day approaches, it’s the perfect time to consider opening a ROTH IRA. If you ever wondered what your options were, wonder no more. Instead, check out Best Places to Open and Setup a Roth IRA (via The Consumer Boomer).
7. So what should my mom invest in? I ask because she’s been asking me. In her late 60s and nearing retirement (she’s a school teacher), she worries about the risks associated with the stock market. So what exactly should a sound investment portfolio look like for retirees? You’ll find some answers to this question in the article, Asset Allocation for Retirement Portfolios (via The Oblivious Investor).
8. Having owned an iPhone for some time now, I can attest firsthand just how awesome and useful they are. And the number of iPhone apps available is growing each day. Many of these apps can help us manage our money, and here are 10 Smart iPhone Apps that will Save you Money (via Fire Finance).
9. Do you spend more money if you shop with a credit card then you would if you shopped with cash? This perennial question seems to evade a clear answer, but you’ll find one valiant attempt at Credit Cards Vs. Cash: Spend More With Credit? (via Money Help For Christians).
10. Ever wonder how you could translate an ABA routing number into the actual bank it represents? Well believe it or not, there is a free tool to do just that–Reverse ABA Routing Number Lookup (via Bargaineering).
We hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s Best of Money Carnival. If you are a blogger and would like to submit an article to the carnival, you can do so by clicking here. And a quick shout out to Free Money Finance, the brains behind the Best of Money Carnival.
Thanks so much for including my article.
I’m hoping this is a what if joke qusotien as it is wrong on so many levels . no offence.First of all what kind of investment is going to give you a guaranteed return by July? You won’t even have time for a 6 month CD. And what kind that you can cash out in so short a time? Investment means risk no matter what. What happens if they don’t pan out as expected? You will still need to pay the credit company. Plus you have to make payments as you go along. In addition 0% in most cases mean that if you have slow payed or have not paid the card to zero by the end of the offer you owe the regular APR retroactivly on the previous balances.There are way to many varibles to even consider this as a good idea. Credit is the number one investment in life that one can make and it’s not worth making a few bucks to mess it up. Good credit means you get the best deal in buying a car, car insurance, housing, medical insurance and everything. You lose a bit of money that you saved and invested well you just lost it. ***** up the credit and it can follow you and cost you big bucks for up to 10 years! And these so called Gurus are a scam just like the real estate gurus. You know darn well they are not doing the same thing that they tout as they have money convincing people to sign up or try for the easy money.
Thanks for hosting!
Thanks for including my submission. Much appreciated!
Thanks for hosting the carnival and including our post.
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Best wishes ahead
Cheers,
FIRE Finance