Weekend Link Love And Carnival Roundup

First off, congratulations to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for winning the ACC Championship and earning a spot in the Orange Bowl.  Anybody got any cheap tickets?  I’m a bit behind on round-up posts, since it seems like there are a million more pressing matters to attend to on a Sunday afternoon when I usually sit down to write them.  But I’m making a concerted effort to be consistent from now on.

First, the carnival links, since I’m way behind…

Thanks to Fiscal Geek for hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance #232 and making my post How Many Hours Per Week Do You Work? an editor’s pick!  Although I must confess, I stepped it up last week and worked 41.5 hours.  I’m so ashamed.

Thanks to A Gai Shan Life for hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance #233 and including my post When And Adjustable Rate Mortgage Isn’t Financial Suicide.

Thanks to Suburban Dollar for hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance #234 and including my post on how to build defensible passive income streams.  It’s one of my favorite posts I’ve written in a while.  And I remember the pog craze.  Never did quite understand that one.

Links For The Week

And now on to the links of the week…

Mr Cheap at Four Pillars ponders using threats as a negotiation tactic.  In my experience, it’s usually easier to get what you want when you’re nice.  Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t use complex psychological tricks, but at least be nice about it

Bad Money Advice writes about the (hopefully) impending death of a tricky class of mutual fund shares, the B class shares.  In short, fund companies tried to play investors’ growing aversion to load mutual funds by eliminating the load and jacking up the expense ratio.  Most long-term investors would do better paying the load up front, of course.  It goes without saying that practically all investors would be better off in low-cost Vanguard index funds, but that’s a fight for another day.

The Oblivious Investor brings us perhaps the best (although not the easiest) way of calculating the return on purchasing a home is imputed rent, which is basically the value of the rent you don’t have to pay by virtue of owning.  On a separate but related note, I very highly recommend you check out two of Mike’s (the guy behind the blog) latest books, Oblivious Investing: Building Wealth by Ignoring the Noise (read my review) which Mike was kind enough to send me a free review copy of and his latest, Investing Made Simple: Investing in Index Funds Explained in 100 Pages or Less which I recently finished reading and plan to write a review for one of these days.  Both are plainly written, free of financial jargon, and very easy to understand.  They would make great stocking stuffers for a recent college graduate or perhaps somebody looking to start taking investing seriously.  These books could keep you and your loved ones from making costly financial mistakes, and I highly recommend them for beginners.

Jim from Bargaineering warns you not to buy a home within 5 years of graduation.  I broke this rule, and everything he says is true.  That said, it’s an individual decision.  I’ve questioned my decision quite a few times, since, and at times do feel tied down.  Ah well, I can always sell (thankfully I wouldn’t have to take a loss).

Mrs Micah published a guest post by Ask Mr Credit Card entitled Organizing Your Small Business Finances.  Now following a few of these tips has caused quite a bit of frustration for me as I’ve grown this blog and a few others into actual money-making operations.  Never, ever, ever mix personal and business funds!

Dough Roller teaches us how to win in Vegas!  Well, not really, since every system is flawed.  The best way to leave Vegas with your shirt still on your back is to get really, really good at a game like Poker that involves some amount of skill.  Hopefully you can get skilled enough to give yourself a slight (although never a large) edge.  Or you can play the penny slots and enjoy the free booze.

Studenomics wrote a massive post on Buying A Home – Renting vs Owning.  It’s well worth a read if you’re thinking of jumping in the market.

No Debt Plan writes about Making Christmas Different This Year.  Christmas doesn’t have to be about presents and material possessions, it can be about family, friends, and happiness.

Jeff at Good Financial Cents explains why term life insurance is usually the smartest choice.  Insurance should be bought to fulfill an unmet need, not as an investment vehicle.