Money Hacks Carnival – New Year’s Eve Edition

Welcome to the New Year’s Eve Edition of Money Hacks Carnival. Today marks the last day of 2008, probably one of the most interesting years for the US economy in recent times. We saw an economic stimulus plan send out billions of dollars to tax payers, corporate bailouts give billions more to banks and other financial institutions, wide scale fraud, layoffs and high unemployment, a major international stock market crash, he housing and credit bubbles popped, retirement accounts were decimated, and a host of other changes occurred in he financial realm. It’s enough to make you want to redefine financial terms and put 2008 behind us.

Well, we can’t go back with a giant eraser and undo past mistakes… but we can affect our present and our future, and these articles are here to help you do just that. Here’s hoping that 2009 brings you happiness, health, wealth, and love!

Debt & Credit

The credit crunch is in full effect right now – lenders are restricting the amount of money they are lending. New loans were down 55% in 2008. I think it’s great that banks are being a little tighter with their money because not too long ago many weren’t even verifying income when people bought a several hundred thousand dollar house. With tighter lending, I think your credit score will become more valuable in the near future. Fewer loans means people are taking on less debt, leading to an increase in the savings rate in the US. I think that’s a positive trend, but I also realize our economy is built on credit and debt. These articles can give you more information about managing your debt and credit.

The Dough Roller presents The Balance Transfer Index™ | How Does Your Card Rank? posted at The Dough Roller, saying, “Check out this proprietary balance transfer index that ranks cards based on the real cost of the balance transfer, including fees and interest rates after the offer expires.”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents How To Get Free Credit Scores, myFICO Credit Scores On Discount posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Happy New Year!”

Chris Holdheide presents How Pain And Pleasure Effects You Getting Debt Free posted at stumbleforward.com, saying, “Learn how pain and pleasure play a role in getting debt free.”

CreditAddict presents Discover Business $100 Bonus: Here Today, Gone Next Week posted at CreditAddict.

Credit Shout presents The New Formula for Calculating Your Credit Score posted at CreditShout.

Michael Bass presents What is a Junk Debt Buyer? posted at Debt Prison, saying, “Often, original creditors are selling debts that were absolved due to bankruptcy or debt settlement. And collection agencies also sell debts in bulk to other collecting companies. Why would anyone buy debt that legally can’t be collected on?”

Lazy Man and Money presents Brief Interview With a Visa Representative posted at Lazy Man and Money.

Mr Credit Card presents Paying Off Your Credit Cards posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

Economy

The US and world economies both suffered through a major financial crisis in 2008. 2009 is sure to bring more changes as a clearer picture of the hows and whys becomes available. No one can say for certain what will happen in 2009, but I can tell you this much – look for volatility in the stock market in the first few months of the year.

Mary@SimplyForties presents A Ripple Effect of the Mortgage Crises posted at SimplyForties, saying, “A sad side effect of the mortgage crises.”

Mark presents NFL & The Economy | Smart Money posted at Smart Money.

Tushar Mathur presents 3-6-3 Rule – An unofficial banking rule !! posted at Invest In India, saying, “The banking industry of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s is often described as operating according to a 3-6-3 rule .The rule basically explains how bankers would give 3% interest on depositors’ accounts, lend the depositors money at 6% interest and then be playing golf at 3pm.”

Shaun Connell presents Financial Happiness: The Real Goal of Financial Planning posted at Financial Planning, saying, “Financial planning almost always revolves around the same basic theme: get a job that pays well, save as much as you can, invest as much as you can, make as much as you can, hoard as much as you can. But what if financial planning -isn’t- about the money? What if it’s about something else? This is a must-read for anyone who has any sort of financial plan.”

Frugality & Saving Money

With the US and world economies not doing so well, and there being a lot of uncertainty in the stock markets and job markets, now is the best time to maximize your savings. These tips and articles can help you do just that!

MoneyNing presents Value Added Tax Refund (VAT) for Vacation Shopping posted at Money Ning, saying, “Remember not to leave money on the table!”

nickel@fivecentnickel.com presents Airport Car Rentals are a Ripoff posted at Money Tipper.

passive family income presents Control Your Home Heating Costs posted at Passive Family Income, saying, “Tips on how we save money on our home heating bills”

Pinyo presents MoneyAisle Review – Best Interest Rates for CDs and High-Yield Savings posted at Moolanomy.

FIRE Getters presents FIRE Finance: Lottery Tickets – Our route to Wealth? – A Top Personal Finance and Investing Blog for Early Retirement and Money Management! posted at FIRE Finance.

Barry presents Save Money While Playing Golf posted at Associate Money.

Mr. Banker presents Lock In CD Rates Now! posted at Best Interest Rate Banks.

The Smarter Wallet presents Plan Your Vacation Well: Travel Tips For The Early Bird Traveler posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Thanks! Happy New Year!”

Pamela Grundy presents Save Money by Buying a Washer and Dryer | Personal Finance Analyst posted at Personal Finance Analyst.

mbhunter presents Three websites for earning free gift cards posted at Mighty Bargain Hunter, saying, “I use these sites frequently for earning gift cards easily, and without any cost!”

Sun presents FNBO Direct Dropped Rate to 2.80% APY posted at The Sun’s Financial Diary.

Income

Just like maximizing your savings, increasing your income should be another important part of your financial plan for 2009. Strengthen your day job, try for a raise, and working on alternative income streams are all good ideas in a tough economy. These articles can help you regarding your income in 2009.

FMF presents How to Conduct an Exit Interview posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “Good thoughts on making the most of an exit interview.”

Matt presents Are You a Broke College Student? Get a Dirty Job? I Did! posted at Steadfast Finances.

Ryan Bateman presents How Much Will Wall Street Bonuses Be This Year? How Much Will Your Bonus Be This Year? posted at One Million Bucks! (OMB!): My Personal Finance Journey, saying, “A great post on how much the bulge bracket investment bank bonuses will be and how much my bonus is this year…”

Writers Coin presents Is Being a Sports Fan a Waste of Time? posted at The Writer’s Coin, saying, “Time Management: Are all those hours spending time watching and following sports wasting valuable time that we could be using to do more productive things?”

Investing

Investing is always important, even in a bad economy. With depressed prices, there are sure to be some bargains out there – the trick is finding them! If you are a buy and hold investor or utilize dollar cost averaging as an investment strategy, then these depressed prices may represent a buying opportunity. Of course, the first thing you need to overcome is the fear of investing in a rough market…

Dorian Wales presents Key psychological factors in stock market success posted at The Personal Financier, saying, “Psychology plays a key role in stock market success. Know these main key success factors.”

Sean Reynolds presents Money posted at Creativity, saying, “The important thing about money is to figure out how it works then money can be a slave to you rather than you being a slave to it.”

retirehappy presents All About Mutual Fund Loads posted at My Retirement Blog.

jeflin presents Only In Bad Times Do We Know Who Is Swimming Naked posted at Jeflin’s Investment Blog.

Dividends4Life presents Managing The Risk Of A Dividend Cut With Allocations posted at Dividends 4 Life, saying, “One tactic to help manage the risk of a dividend cut is to limit your allocation in any single investment to a maximum of 5%. However, if the allocation is measured by market value, our portfolio may still be at significant risk of a dividend cut. Consider the following:”

Jim presents Low Minimum Initial Investment Mutual Funds on Blueprint for Financial Prosperity posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Investing School presents Adding an Online Savings Account as Part of Your Investment Strategy posted at Investing School, saying, “Even the most aggressive portfolio should have some safe investments!”

Ryan at The Military Wallet shares 2009 TSP Contribution Limits.

J. Savings presents Am i a Grandpa if i get my nephew a Savings Bond? posted at Budgets are Sexy., saying, “Giving a savings bond as a present may not be the “coolest” thing out there, but it may jump start the person’s net worth!”

Other

Ryan Suenaga presents Mint’s New Thing posted at Uncommon Cents.

That concludes the New Year’s Eve Edition of Money Hacks Carnival. Submit your blog article to the next edition of money hacks carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.