My Family’s Money

Welcome to the November 3, 2008 edition of the carnival of twenty something finances.  For this edition, because I am in control (muhaha), I have decided to use my Phenomenal Cosmic Power that carnival hosting brings to intersperse what I want into this collection of personal finance articles: oddly colored, magical bears.

You see, these bears are dashing, they are daring, they are even courageous and caring, faithful and friendly with stories to tell. That’s right, they are the Gummi Bears:

I remember that this show taught me a lot about living life with a magical potion that you need to keep out of the hands of Duke Igthorn and his band of Ogres. I don’t think I could have gotten through third grade without learning that one. But that wasn’t all that the Gummi Bears were about. I think that we can also learn something about the world of personal finances, and especially personal finance for those in their twenty somethings.

So without further ado, the carnival.

Savings, Banks, and Credit Cards

Zummi Gummi is the wise yet unreliable keeper of the Gummi wisdom.  Very useful to the Gummies in principal, when it comes down to times of dire need Zummi can be frustratingly forgetful.  I think he is much like banks, credit card companies, and other aspects of our consumer side financial insitutions: useful in principal, but hard to work with when times get tough.

• J. Savings presents I’m all for the Credit Cardholder’s Bill of Rights no matter what. posted at Budgets are Sexy..
• :: Suzanne :: presents Anatomy of a Bank Run posted at :: adventures in daily living ::.
• Mr Credit Card presents Best Reward Cards For Recently Rebuilt Credit posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.
• Credit Shout presents Five Steps to Negotiating a Better Credit Card Deal posted at CreditShout.

Budgeting

Grammi Gummi is the voice of reason and the glue to keeps the Gummies together.  Her maternal strength and knowledge of the secret gummiberry juice lets the Gummies go about their business of protecting the forest from evil and maintaining internal cohesion, even with teenage Gummies getting the group into a mess or two with Ogres.  This is the same role that I think a budget performs in a person’s or family’s life.  It keeps the financial wheels from falling off and the person or family moving in the right direction.

• Save Money presents Revising My Budget posted at How I Save Money.net
• Danny Gamache presents Simplify Your Budget posted at The Success Professor, saying, “This article shares a simple process that can help twenty somethings to develop a simple budget system that works! It provides lifestyle freedom with the benefits of a basic structure.”

Frugality, Life Lessons, and Other Financial Survival Skills

Gruffi Gummi was a jack of all trades, making due with whatever was around him to get the job done.  He was wise, but not like Zummi – Gruffi’s knowledge came from the school of hard knocks and experience.  If you ask me, this is what being frugal is all about.  A person can save a lot of money over the long term by applying themselves and learning to do something rather than paying the “easy tax” and getting and “expert” to do it for them.  And besides, it pays to learn.

• Dorian Wales presents How I Saved $2,000 by Being Creative and What Else Did I Discover posted at The Personal Financier, saying, “The before and after pictures of my latest experiment are attached but there was so much more to the process.”
• Joseph presents Davesfarm Canada’s Cheapest Man posted at Penny Pinching.
• David B Bohl presents How the Average American can Weather the Financial Crisis Without Becoming Emotionally Overwhelmed posted at Slow Down Fast Today!
• Kevin presents Printable Coupons and Online Promotion Codes posted at More4kids.
• Livingalmostlarge presents paying tuition to life posted at LivingAlmostLarge.
• Cash Money Life presents Beware of Flood Damaged Cars posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “tips on buying your next used car.”
• Michael Bass presents Firestone Tires Hattiesburg Lying Suckers posted at Debt Prison.

Commentary on the Economy

Gusto Gummi is an artist, and like all artists he feel like he has something to say about pretty much anything.  Sometimes he says it straight up, other times he uses his art to express his thoughts.  Maybe we all have a little Gusto in each of us, spurning us on to make our voices and opinions heard.  And what else is there to make our voices and opinions heard on if it is not the state of our economy?

• Mr. ToughMoneyLove presents Our Economy Needs More Engineers and Fewer MBA’s posted at Tough Money Love » Hard Truth and Tough Love for Money Problems and Personal Finance.
• Ben presents Greenspan’s Monstrous Love Child – A Grim Bedtime Story posted at Grown Ass People, saying, “The background information to the current market panic told as a humorous, yet grim, bedtime story.”

Investing, Retirement and Being Smart

Tummi Gummi is a fat, gluttonous bear with a penchant for sweats.  He seems to be a little slow to think and to act, but on the whole he is just as helpful and courageous as the other Gummi bears.  Investors are kind of like Tummi.  They want to gorge themselves on phenominal returns or sweet, sweet dividens.  Knowledge in the game of investing is key, but sometimes as a group investors can appear slow to think and to act – but then burst into a frenzy of activity.  In the end though, everybody wants their account to be a full of cash as Tummi wants his stomach to be full of pies.

• The Shark Investor presents Be Freaking Productive posted at The Shark Investor.
• FIRE Getters presents Secure Retirement – At What Rate Should You Save For It? posted at FIRE Finance.
• Big Cajun Man presents Canadian Personal Finance Blog » Blog Archive » Einstein: The Rule of 72 posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “Einstein may have done a lot for Physics, but he did a lot for finances as well.”
• Adam Freedman presents Be Greedy When Others Are Fearful posted at The Investor’s Journal.
• Jim presents How To Invest Like Harvard & Yale posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.
• Raymond presents How To Calculate and Track Your Net Worth posted at Money Blue Book.
• Green Panda presents 5 Things to Do to Build Wealth in Your 20s posted at Green Panda Treehouse, saying, “Increasing your net worth is doable.”

Education

Cubbi Gummi is the youngest of the Gummies, but he is by no means someone who should be ignored.  His youth is a great asset to himself and to everyone around him.  But he needs guidance and help in his path to mature Gummi Bearness, guidance and help he finds in those who have gone before him.  In the same way, we as 20 somethings need to be taught by those that know more than us and have walked down the path of financial success before us.  For some that means going to college and finding a smokin’ deal, for other it means finding somebody that you trust and listening to what they have to say.

• Ted Reimers presents The Most Expensive Colleges for 2008-2009 posted at CampusGrotto.
• Eric Rosenberg presents My Narrow Bridge Adventure Begins posted at Narrow Bridge, saying, “An intro to my new personal finance adventure in blogging and money.”

The Untouchables

Ogres are really stupid but insanely powerful creatures.  Servants to the evil Duke Igthorn, they are better left alone.  Some financial products and services are definitely better left alone.  In the long run, they will not help and will in the end only hurt your financial situation.  Stay away from them just like you would a terrible ogre, unless you want to hit the ogre over the head with a nice fat cut of mutton.  Then it is okay to get close.

• Quimby C presents Handle Cash Emergencies with Short Term Loans posted at loansarehere.com.
• Andrea Smith presents How Can I Recover from Bankruptcy? | Consolidate4Free: Free Debt Consolidation Articles posted at Free Debt Consolidation: Qualified Financial Management.

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That concludes this edition of the Gummi Bear Carnival of Twenty Something Finance. Feel free to submit your blog article to the next edition of twenty something finances using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

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