Yakezie Carnival – Credit Card Information Edition

Welcome to this week’s Yakezie Carnival! It’s my absolute pleasure to be hosting.  For those readers that don’t know, the Yakezie group started out as a group of personal finance bloggers who teamed up to help promote their Alexa rankings (a measure of a site’s popularity on the web).  What the Yakezie has actually become is a wonderful group of fellow personal finance writers who are both engaging and intelligent.  It’s been great getting to know these people and their sites and I think you should take a look to!

This week’s theme is a love ‘em or hate ‘em subject – Credit Cards:

Many out there feel like credit cards are awful and are out to take advantage of customers?  Have you ever felt like this?  I know I have!

Smart On Money presents If Your House Is Worth Less Than You Owe, Is It OK To Just Stop Paying Your Mortgage And Walk Away? He states “A lot of people are finding themselves in a situation where they owe more on their home than it is worth, they have negative equity. Because they don’t want to take the hit, they make a strategic default and walk away from their mortgage. Is that OK?”

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff gives us Diversification, discussing the importance of diversification for your overall financial health.

Personal Finance Firewall writes How To Boost Your Saving Power, adding “Fed up with the media telling everyone to spend, I created these ways to boost your saving power and actually improve your finances during the recession.”

Financial Samurai tells us Dream Jobs I’d Do For Free, stating “There’s so much focus on getting a great job and making a lot of money.  Here’s a list of jobs I’d do for free (baby!)  It’s an exercise we can all do that will help us discover our true passions.”

Beating Broke offers Advice for College Graduates.  “A short list of financial advice for college graduates that I wish I would have received when I graduated college.”

Are credit cards always to blame though?  Could it be that it’s the credit card customers who should be taking the brunt of the blame?

Personal Finance by the Book presents Minimum Credit Card Payments Will Keep You In Debt Forever.  He states “Is ‘diabolical’ too strong of a word to describe the credit card minimum payment scheme?  After reading this post, I think you will agree with me that it isn’t.”

Invest It Wisely gives us Living to 100 and Beyond: How Will It Affect Your Retirement Plans? adding “This article is about the impacts of improving living standards, increasing lifespans, and technological advances on your retirement plan.”

Not Made of Money writes Tips For Getting Your Emergency Fund Started. Offering, “Some tips to help you get that emergency fund off to a running start.”

Money Help For Christians informs us Cut Cable TV and Still Watch TV on the Cheap. Stating, “This post shares some tips and tricks on how to live without cable, but still watch TV.”

Ultimate Money Blog says I can’t stand shopping at Walmart. Mrs. Money explains why she can’t stand shopping at Walmart. Even though Walmart has lower prices, sometimes shopping there is not worth saving money!

When you are in credit card debt it can be tough to start a plan to get out of your hole. Which credit cards do you pay off first – high interest or high balance? There are ways to figure this out but for some just getting started is a huge leap forward!

Car Negotiation Coach asks Are you a Monthly Payment Buyer or Budgeter?, and adds “Not knowing the difference could cost you. How do you handle big ticket purchases? Do you tell a salesman how much you want to spend per month or do you focus on the total price? ”

The Wealth Artisan discusses Payday Loans, saying “Payday loans are becoming far more common as the state of the economy continues to deteriorate. In this article we go over some of the tricks of the trade, and the things you need to watch out for when considering a payday loan.”

Narrow Bridge lets us know How Long to Keep Your Taxes and Bank Statements, telling us “Take a few minutes to clean out your file cabinet, but make sure you don’t throw away anything you need.”

Frugal Zeitgeist questions Does A Minimalist Lifestyle Breed Laziness?, and gives us “A devils’s advocate look at how finally reaching minimalism could lead you to do nothing and how it could be considered a lazy life!”

Single Mom, Rich Mom presents The $10,000 Trick to a Rainy Day Fund that just grows and grows, showing us how your savings can grow.

Whether you like credit cards or not the Credit Card Accountability and Disclosure (CARD) Act should help credit card consumers better understand their credit cards.

Consumerism Commentary tells us about The Best Cash Back Credit Cards. Flexo adds “Cash back offers on credit cards are a little harder to come by right now, but here is a round-up of some of the best offers, including one way to earn 21% cash back.”

Money Crush informs How I Saved $355 in Ten Minutes. “No, this isn’t a Geico commercial, but I did save $355 by making two 5-minute phone calls.”

Little House offers Livable Living Expenses. A look at what your expense %’s should look like by category.

Eventual Millionaire presents 10 Ways to Increase Your Productivity, and states “I’ve realized with only 25 hours per week to work, productivity is a priority. It’s essential to create as much income in as little working time as possible.”

Car Insurance Comparison asks What is GAP insurance?, adding “Ever wondered if you should pay for GAP auto insurance for your car that you have bought with an auto loan? Check out this guide to GAP insurance to find out!”

Just as some people hate credit cards, others love credit cards for the benefits they offer!

Saving Money Today asks How Much Would You Spend To Save Your Pet? and continues “Where do you draw the line when it comes to your pets? Would you put your pets needs before your children?”

Clarifinancial explains One Step to Avoid Becoming a Life Lead. He further explains “Why you do not want to become a lead. And the one easy step to keep it from happening.”

Rainy-Day Saver states Landscaping Service: I Still Refuse to Pay For It, and says “Rainy-Day Saver’s lawn is still looking anemic after a full year of home-ownership. But hiring a landscaper service is not in the cards. Here’s why.”

151 Days Off asks What was the most amazing thing you did at 16? “Would you succeed more when you know more or less? A story of Jessica Watson, a 16-year-old girl who traveled around the world solo, with no stop and unassisted.”

Cool to be Frugal outlines 10 Principals for a Frugal Wedding, and tells us “Weddings don’t have to cost a small fortune. Here are 10 ways to make your event meaningful and more affordable.”

Money Reasons presents describes Life Balance is more important than wealth, and further explains “The Financial Lesson that I learned from watching “Up in the Air” is life and relationships is more important than the so touted ‘The Number.’ Don’t let your Net Worth/wealth number consume you and waste your life!”

If you need some help, here are some great credit card tips!

Canadian Finance Blog questions Are Taxes In Canada Really That High? He states “Taxes in Canada have been reported as increasing faster than other expenditures, but tax rates may actually be decreasing.”

Sweating The Big Stuff wants to know Do You Buy More Than You Need? “We all purchase too much sometimes because we want the best quantity and quality, even if we don’t really need it.”

Eliminate the Muda! surprises us with DIY’ing is illegal, and explains “Aggravated by an air conditioning failure, I was amazed to learn that DIY is now illegal!”

The Millionaire Nurse presents Buying in Bulk: Ten Things Not To Buy! He asks “Big Box Bulk Buying: Budget Bonanza or Budget Buster?”

Watson Inc wonders Do The Rich Pay Their Fair Share Of Taxes? “Statements such as ‘the rich don’t pay their taxes’ can be misleading because they often ignore factual evidence to the contrary.”

Well-Heeled states 5 Reasons I Save for Retirement – “motivated both by positive (financial freedom!) and negative (fear of penury) factors.”

Deliver Away Debt presents How-to make a second job work. Having a second job can be tough. Here’s how to make it possible.

Frugal Confessions gives Saving Money for the Person Who Doesn’t Have Time for Coupons, and tells us “In this article learn how to get rock bottom prices without the use of coupons.”

And that’s a carnival!

I hope you enjoyed the Yakezie Carnival and I advise you to go check out these awesome articles and the authors who wrote them.