Yakezie Carnival – Arachnophobia Edition

When my wife and I started writing about our financial goals and our experiences working towards obtaining them, we didn’t know if we could find an audience for our articles.  We both loved to write and had been looking for an outlet, and as such we started See Debt Run on a cold January day, and have had a wonderful time growing the site ever since.  A big factor in our site’s growth has been our participation in the wonderful community of Financial Bloggers known as Yakezie.  The  people that we have met and the things that we have learned through Yakezie, have had a huge impact on us and on this site.

With all of that said, we have always wanted to host the Yakezie Carnival, to share the best articles of the week from the multitude of other Yakezie Members and Challengers out there.  We requested this honor a few months ago, and finally this week– it was our turn.  I must admit though, at the time that I was putting this list together, my skin was absolutely crawling.  I couldn’t stop thinking about a recent situation where I was in a room with dozens spiders darting up and down the walls and all over everything.  As such, I dedicate this week’s Yakezie Carnival to everyone’s favorite eight-legged friend.

Editor’s Picks:

Sean @ One Smart Dollar writes How to Eat Right on a Budget - Most people think eating right is expensive. I want to show you that it’s possible to eat healthy and stay within your budget.

Jeff Rose @ Good Financial Cents writes My “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” Experience - We all have them; those moments in our lives where we are presented with a crossroad. Where each path has the potential to lead us into a totally different result.

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Leaving Your Heart Out Of Financial Decisions - Have you ever wondered why we sometimes rush into some financial decisions without properly thinking things through? Maybe we have weak willpower, but the reality of the situation is that we are letting our hearts impair our judgement.

Best of the Rest:

Robert @ My Multiple Incomes writes The Financial Perks of Marriage - There are a ton of financial perks that come along with getting hitched. In fact, if you follow my multiple income stream strategy, you know that having two incomes helping support a family is a huge benefit. But beyond just having a second income source, there are a lot of other things you gain (besides a spouse!).

Roshawn Watson @ Watson Inc writes Why Do The Rich Get Richer? – In addition to the divisive political and sociological issues surrounding economic disparity, there are personal finance aspects of the discussion that I think we could all benefit from. In this article, we discuss eight reasons the rich get richer.

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes How Do You Budget Money for Emergencies? – My fiancee’s hairdry broke the other day. With prices of new ones up to $200, I’m glad I have an emergency fund!

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes How To Get A Job and Girlfriend – Have you ever been without a job? I have heard that, aside from losing a child, being unemployed is one of toughest experiences to go through. If you have been fortunate enough to have not experienced this anguish, lets find another angle.

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes Myrtle Beach – The Perfect Affordable Family Vacation – The following are some of the reasons that my family like to vacation down in Myrtle Beach for our primary family vacation

101 Centavos @ 101 Centavos writes What You Know Ain’t So – Or rather, what you know may not necessarily be so. Conventional wisdom has a conventional way of being frequently turned on its head. Myths get bust…

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes Professional Profiles: Sarah, the International Grad Student – My best friend earned admission to graduate school across the pond. Turns out, she’s not the only American flocking to Britain for business school.

Invest It Wisely @ Invest It Wisely writes 5 Ways to Help Your Kids With Their Finances – This is a post by David Bakke, father of a young son, and contributor for Money Crashers Personal Finance, a blog focused on sharing tips on money management,

JP @ My Family Finances writes Afraid of College? The Two Biggest Reasons Why Americans Don’t Get a Four-Year Degree – Why are so many Americans afraid to go to college? The St. Louis Fed presents two statistics that make going to college very scary.

John @ Married (with Debt) writes Push Yourself, But Not Over a Cliff – If you’ve been following our debt payoff progress reports, you know that we are two months away from paying off approximately $100,000 in consumer and student loan debt.

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes Young People & Saving For Retirement – If you are still a relatively young person, or if you are just starting out into the working world, it is likely that you have given little or no thought to retirement planning.

Kevin @ Thousandaire writes Roth IRA Contribution Limits for Married People – When one spouse makes all the taxable income, both spouses are allowed to fund their Roth IRAs if they file a joint return.

Jason @ Work Save Live writes How to Invest in Consumer Debt – How to Invest in Consumer Debt Many investors are familiar with investing in corporate and government debt through the purchase of bonds. Bonds are often attractive because they’re considered one of the safer types of investments. This is especially true of U.S. Treasury bonds which are guaranteed by the U.S. government.

harry campbell @ Your Personal Finance Pro writes 10 Apps That Help You Save Money – When you’re not playing Angry Birds or Draw Something, your smartphone can actually be used to your advantage. Most of us take our phones for granted but there was a day when you had to print out directions from Mapquest or even look them up in a book. Now, all I have to do is enter the address or business name into my phone and it can instantaneously provide me three different routes. My iPhone 4 has definitely changed the way I spend and save money, so I’ve compiled a list of apps that

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes A Rebel in Blue Jeans – Blue Jeans were unique in Russia, and to have a pair was considered rebellious. Read my story!

PPlan @ Provident Plan writes Are You Tied to Your Possessions? Is that okay? – Find out why your commitment to your possessions might be a good thing and why your stuff is not inherently bad.

PITR @ Passive Income To Retire writes Pros and Cons for Full-Time Blogging – Have you thought about blogging full-time? Make sure to consider both the pros and cons before you make the leap of faith.

Dr. Dean @ The Millionaire Nurse Blog writes Summer Insects: Become A Serial (insect) Killer! – How to limit your aggravation and health risk from those flying pesky devils that bite during the summer.

Theresa Torres @ CreditDonkey.com Tips writes Do Men and Women Use their Credit Cards Differently? – According to an online consumer survey we conducted, there are basic differences in how men and women use their credit cards which is illustrated in the following infographics.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes The Found Money Dilemma – What Would You Do? – Good Samaritans come in all shapes and sizes, but what would you do if you found cash on the street or in the elevator. Share your finding story.

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes Investment Club Strategies For 2012 – Ever heard of an investment club? If you’re not in the know, an investment club is simply a modestly sized group of private investors, and it’s generally made up of a set of friends, church members, a few family members, or neighbors.

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes Spending Money: iWant vs. iNeed – There were so many things I could use the new Ipad for, so I kept trying to convince myself that I needed it. It could help me get closer to my goal of…….

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes Why have Appliance Purchases Accelerated? – When discussing our recent washer purchase with my grandmother, something occurred to me.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Mainstream News Finally Joins The Investment Fee Bandwagon – Vanguard has been preaching about the effect of fees on investors for years. I’ve wrote about the effect fees have on your investments, and even on the new 401(k) regulations and how high those fees are.

ETZ25 @ Entertainment Timez writes Hiking – Hiking is a lot of fun. You should try it. This tells you about my hike.

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes 9 Ways for Slackers to Make Money Playing Games – Nothing is better than making money from something you already love doing and after two years of writing for this blog, I’m starting to believe it’s possib

Evan @ My Journey to Millions writes Energized and Focused – I didn’t consider any costs on my weekend away because I knew when I got home my vacation fund would take care of it. Getting home and paying off the trip without feeling it in our main checking accounts or saving accounts is fantastic.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes The 3 S’s of Success – The 3 S’s of Success is the nineteenth in a series of articles to help you reach your goal.

Ashley @ Money Talks Coaching writes Happy Birthday to Me – I saw an article a while back that I thought was an amazingly scary and wonderfully inspiring way to celebrate a birthday.

Jason @ Live Real, Now writes The Proper Amount of Clothes to Own – I own a dresser full of clothes, plus about a dozen button-down shirts, and 1 suit. I do not own 60 rubbermaid containers full of clothes. Unfortunately, my mother-in-law did.

Corey @ 20s Finances writes How to Prosper – Hopefully, you sat down and created your spending plan that I outlined in the spending plan post last week. It doesn’t take a lot of work, but will go a long ways to helping you prosper. Let’s focus on a bigger picture now. Follow these three rules and you will be on your way to financial success.

eemusings @ Musings of an Abstract Aucklander writes Motivation: Saving vs paying down debt – Do you find yourself more motivated to say or pay off debt?

Beating Broke @ Beating Broke writes Trying a Container Garden This Year – This year, we’re giving a container garden a go. We purchased several (8-10) containers of various sizes and shapes, filled them with potting soil and topsoil and purchased all the seeds we thought we might need for the year.

Luke @ Learn Bonds writes Understanding Bond Mutual Fund Fees – An explanation of Bond Mutual Fund fees and expenses and how to minimize the costs associated with investing in all types of mutual funds.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes 8 Surprising Ways People Waste their Money – Here are 8 surprising ways people waste their money and it can easily be fixed with proper money management and educating yourself!

MR @ Money Reasons writes Striving for Income Diversification – Why have one income stream when you can have many? This is my attempt at creating multiple income streams.

Ryan @ Early Retirement Investments writes 7 Savings Steps to Take Before Retirement – It may seem far off now, but retirement has a way of sneaking up on hard-working consumers. And the earlier you begin planning for your golden years, the more money you’ll have saved up.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes Killer Stock Characteristic #3 – Dividend Yield – I love stocks that give dividends to investors. I often prefer to buy stocks that offer a dividend yield as opposed to regular stock.

Money Beagle @ Money Beagle writes Take Advantage Of Your Productive Times – Maximize the value of your time by working hardest when you get most done.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Largest Lotto Winnings in an Infographic – Who doesn’t daydream about winning the lotto, inheriting a fortune, or coming into a windfall? Of course, most of us don’t rely on this happenstance to fund our future and we make financial plans accordingly (ie. we save for a rainy day and fund out retirement accounts.) But it’s fun to think about what a person might do with all that money.

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes The Hidden Costs of Owning a Smart Phone – Smart phones can be great to use, but they can cost an arm and a leg. Find out if it is worth the cost.

Deacon Hayes @ Well Kept Wallet writes Simplify Your Life – One of things that I have struggled with most in life is focus. I have an unlimited amount of ideas, but I have limited time and resources to go after them. I used to believe this was a bad thing, but my perspective has since changed.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Staycation: Better for Your Wallet and the Environment – By staying home during your time off you save money and the planet.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes If You Can Read, You Can Cook – Spice Review – When Edward over at If You Can Read, You Can Cook started a spice line that could replace McCormick packets for less money, I just had to try it out!

Mr. Money @ Smart on Money writes Boost Your Deductible and Save on Insurance – While many people acknowledge the importance of insurance, no one likes to premiums. If you want to reduce your costs, one of the best ways to do so is to boost your deductible.

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes Battle of the Bulk: Costco, Sam’s Club, & BJ’s – I’ve broken down the membership costs of some of America’s biggest bulk retailers for you.

YFS @ Your Finances Simplified writes 4 Ways To Stop Wasting Your Paycheck on Your Commute – Everyone has done the following calculation at least once: If my commute is 20 miles round trip and I work 5 days per week, how many days am I working just to get to and from work? The answer here is often frightening.

Passive Income Earner @ The Passive Income Earner writes Discount Broker Overview for Dividend Investors – It’s always a pleasure to be featured in the Globe & Mail by Rob Carrick and this week he highlighted my RBC Direct Investing Discount Broker review. Since I have been investing, I have used 5 different discount brokers (not so discounted back in the day though) and it’s a competitive market out there.

Jeremy Waller @ Personal Finance Whiz writes My Search for Residual Income – Over the last 5 years I have constantly had a number of side projects to earn an extra income. In most cases it wasn’t much, maybe a couple hundred per month. There have been a few times I did really well and brought in over $1,000 of extra income.

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes 5 Popular Unnecessary Expenses – Find out more about wants vs. needs as I list five common unnecessary expenses of the average family. Do you need to but that?

Everything Finance @ Everything Finance Blog writes How to Make a Financial Plan and Stick to It – Between the economy and the high cost of goods as well as our consumer driven American culture, getting ahead financially can seem difficult. However, the best way to grow your wealth is to make a financial plan and stick to it.

Matt @ Living in Financial Excellence writes Learn How to Coupon at CVS: Roll Your Extrabucks – CVS is one of my favorite places to shop at for freebies and awesome bargains. It takes a little bit of time to learn how to, but once you master CVS, it will be a breeze! Below are step by step instructions on how to save the most money at CVS!

Brent Pittman @ On Target Coaching writes 10 Free College Savings Calculators – How much do you need to save for your children’s education? The answer may surprise you. Calculate the estimated amount and get to work.

SB @ One Cent at a Time writes 101 Ways to earn extra money from side hustle – An extensive list of 101 ways to earn extra money on the side by doing small hustle. See what fits for you. This post is to give you the possibilities, it’s up to you to implement.

SB @ Finance Product Reviews writes Citi Thank you Prestige Card Review – Do you Need it? – Citi bank thank you prestige card, one of the elitist cards out there. Read more to find out who should apply for this card.

Kraig @ Young, Cheap Living writes How to Handle Stress at Work – I had a stressful day at work and to get through it, I’ve learned to go through 4 steps that help me out of messes like this one: relax, think positively, formulate a winning plan and execute on it.

PK @ Don’t Quit Your Day Job… writes Have You Ever Been Dropped By a Company? – Recently dropped by my Home Insurance company for choosing a ‘dangerous dog’, I’m back with a new company. I didn’t see that coming – and hopefully my experience helps someone, somewhere…

Jacob @ My Personal Finance Journey @ My Personal Finance Journey writes FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2012 Buying vs. Renting a Home – Which is the Better Financial Move? – This post asks the question of whether or not one should buy or rent a home. Though the answer is not black and white, this point addresses several factors to consider allowing one to make a decision based on one’s own particular situation.

Melissa @ Mom’s Plans writes The Tale of Two CSAs or How We Decided to Purchase Two Produce CSAs This Year – Between the 2 CSAs, I now have enough to meet our veggie requirement for the week. CSA 1 will give us enough new to us produce that we can feel adventurous, while CSA 2 will give us yummy tried and true veggies that we know and love.

Melissa @ Fiscal Phoenix writes Two Roads to Affluence: Produce More or Be Satisfied with Less – As we work harder and have more stress from work, we consume more, or we feel that we are entitled to consume more. We go out to eat regularly, go shopping and buy more materials than probably we actually need. Then, we get stressed out from cleaning and getting rid of clutter in our house.

Philip @ PT Money Personal Finance writes Best (Intangible) Gifts for Grads – The best gifts can be the ones that don’t cost any money. This post includes a few of those.

Poor Student @ Poor Student writes Replacing Work Days To Achieve Financial Independence – A new way to think about dividends

Paul Vachon @ The Frugal Toad writes How to Save Money on Health Care – Health care continues to get more and more expensive each year. And it is one expense that everyone incurs at some point in their life. As such, it is important that you understand the drivers of health care costs, and what you can do as an individual to save money on all costs associated with your health.

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