Carnival of Personal Finance #205: Pay it Forward Edition

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Wikipedia tells us that the expression "pay it forward" is used to describe the concept of asking that a good turn be repaid by having it done to others instead. More specifically, the creditor offers the debtor the option of "paying" the debt forward by lending it to a third person instead of paying it back to the original creditor.  In this week's edition of The Carnival of Personal Finance, I ask everyone to think about the concept of "Paying it Forward".  Does someone owe you money or a favor?  Consider asking that they repay their debt to you by doing something nice for someone else instead! 

In the Pay it Forward movie released in 2000, (based on the novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde) a 12 year old school boy was given an assignment to come up with a plan that would change the world through direct action. The boy comes up with the plan to "pay it forward" by doing a good deed for three people who must in turn each do good deeds for three other people, and so on down the line. A beautiful concept.  I hope you enjoy this week's edition of the carnival - there were close to 80 submissions!

Featured Selections

Work at Home Mom from Empowering Mom:  presents Today We Lost a Client.  This is a good way to view change, not only as it applies to your business or career finances, but also life changes in general.  Every change is the opportunity for something better to come along.

InsureBlog presents Lower Cholesterol, Have Sex, While Unemployed, "How does getting paid to make love AND reduce your cholesterol sound? InsureBlog's Bob Vineyard reports on one drug company's new outreach program to help folks who've been recently laid off."  Hmmm...

Deposit Accounts from Deposit Accounts presents Tips for Beginning Investors. You may already know these investing basics, but it never hurts to review.

Debt Kid shares What Puking Taught Him About Finance.  I love the title of this post.  The tie-ins between puking and finance are an entertaining read, too.

American Consumer News presents No Action Needed to Receive Social Security Stimulus Check.  Trisha Wagner helps people understand the latest stimulus checks, who qualifies, and how to get yours.

Fine Tuned Finances presents What Exactly is "bounced protection".

Money Smart Life presents Improve Your Credit Score in 5 Simple Steps.  An increasing number of people are struggling with lower credit scores as a result of the economic climate - here are 5 steps to improving your score and getting on track of better credit offers and lower interest rates.

Loved by Wisebread: Frugality Topics

In case this is your first visit to Wisebread.com, you should know that it's a community blog based on the concepts of Living Large on a Small Budget.  Take a look around, there are many great articles to be found on this site, as well as tips for saving money, finding great online deals, and forums to discuss it all with like-minded individuals.

That One Caveman from One Caveman's Financial Journey presents Save Money By Buying the "Good" Toilet Paper, and says, "Sometimes buying the cheapest option can end up costing you money - toilet paper is no exception. By buying better toilet paper, you can use less and your cost-per-use actually drops below the "cheap" toilet paper."  I really agree with this except when you have young children in the house. They tend to use too much toilet paper no matter what kind you buy and can throw your cost-per-use way off.

Savings Toolbox provides more Tips to Find the Best Deals on the Internet.

Money Beagle from Money Beagle presents Unplanned Spending That I Hope Is Worth It.

Penelope Pince from Pecuniarities presents DIM (Did-it-Myself!) Country Kitchen Storage Shelf, and says, "How we built a country-style kitchen shelf for storing fruits, vegetables, flour, rice and miscellaneous foodstuff with leftover paint and lumber for under $10. Also, frugal storage solutions for above-mentioned items.

David Nofsinger from Spiffy Links Personal Finance presents Finding Cheaper Transportation

Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck presents AmericaÂ’s increasingly frugal habits. "How much of the "new frugality" will stay with us when the economy eventually rebounds?"  

jim from Bargaineering presents 2009 Sales Tax Holiday Schedule.  Find out when your state offers tax-free shopping, and plan your shopping trips for those dates to save some money.

Aryn from Sound Money Matters presents That Makes Me Stabby: The Handbag as Investment. I was unsure at first how someone might convince people a handbag was an investment, but I think Aryn does a pretty good job of it here!

Doctor S from Finance Your Life presents I Spend Too Much Money On..., and says, "We all have certain aspects of our budget that we splurge on. My problem is fast food and, in particular, one fast food spot. "

linke from Man and his Money presents The frugal beauty of an old truck. "Basically, it's a love story. I have driven the same truck for 17 years and over 225,000 miles. I contrast the meager amount I spend to drive and maintain my truck with what the average consumer would spend over the same time period. I believe length of ownership is key to keeping transportation costs to a minimum."  Completely agree!  I drove a basic Chevy Cavalier for 12 years, and for 190,000 miles.  I would have driven it longer if it didn't finally start having some mechanical issues - at that point, fixing the car would have been more expensive than the vehicle was worth.  But for 12 years that car was PAYING me to drive it!

Olivia from Independent Beginnings presents Up-Front Spending Can Work Against You.

 Fabulously Broke in the City presents The True Cost of an Item.  "I propose that instead of just looking at a cost of an item, check out the accessories that come with it as well, and factor that into your purchase as it's "true cost".

MLR from My Life ROI presents Spring Cleaning Checklist: Medicine Cabinet, and says, "This spring cleaning chore falls into money management for a few reasons: You wind up throwing away expired meds that you bought in bulk to lower your cost/unit, if you do this task every so often you could wind up saving yourself money in health care costs, you could prevent accidents from happening, and you will be better prepared for emergencies."

Debt & Credit

Debt Free Destiny from Debt Free Destiny presents Retired and in Debt: Now What?.

Debt Freedom Fighter from Discover Debt Freedom presents The Worst Credit Card Company Practices Revealed.

Apply4-Credit.com from Apply4-Credit.com presents A Students Credit: A Report Card for Life.

J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy presents Paying extra towards your loans now, goes a long way later!, and says, "The more you pay off now, the less you pay in interest later - It's like kickin' compound interest in its head and getting away with it :)"

Mr Credit Card from Ask Mr Credit Card presents The Banking Industry Responds to the Proposed Credit CardholdersÂ’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009.

Erica Douglass from erica.biz presents Cash Back Rewards Credit Cards, and says, "Which credit cards pay more than 1% cash back? They're getting harder to find, but here are two (plus a bonus guide on easily switching from one card to another!)"

David from Credit Card Offers IQ presents 4 Credit Cards After the Federal Reserves Own Heart (if it had one), and says, "Here are four credit cards that are already following many of the Fed's credit card regulations that do not go into effect until 2010."

Chris Holdheide from Stumble Forward presents How I Made Over $500 With My Blog To Pay Off Debt, and says, "How I made $500 in 8 months with my blog."

MFD from My Findependence Day presents 9 Questions To Help You Choose The Right Credit Card.

Chief Family Officer from Chief Family Officer presents Does the mortgage interest deduction make carrying a mortgage worthwhile? .

Tyler Metzger from Taking Charge presents Does your credit card make you smile?.

Investing

The Dividend Guy from The Dividend Guy presents 4 Benefits of Employer Share Purchase Plans and Pensions and 1 Downside, and says, "An important component of many people's savings is an employer share program - here are some benefits of those programs and 1 downfall."

Wealth Pilgrim  presents Stock Market Rally - Should You Buy or Sell Now?.

SVB from The Smarter Wallet presents Use Candlestick Charts, Trading Signals To Evaluate The Stock Market

Pinyo from Moolanomy Personal Finance presents Penny Stocks Are Not Cheap Stocks, and says, "Dispel a common misconception among beginning investor that low priced stocks are cheap."

Matt SF from Steadfast Finances presents 20 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Choosing an Online Discount Broker.

p>D4L from Dividends Value presents High-Quality Low-Risk Dividend Stocks. "We are a product of our environment. Our life experiences not only shape out behavior, but at its very core, they shape our thought process. The Great Depression forever changed a generation of people. It appears the “Great Recession” may be having a similar effect on another generation."

Shadox from Money and Such presents Slumdog Millionairre and Investment Strategy, and says, "Connecting games shows, movies and investing in one fun post."

Joe Light from Invest Wisdom presents Can new asset classes improve your diversification? "Last year, nearly every asset class--whether it was stocks, bonds, real estate, or commodities--lost money. That's led many people to say that diversification "failed" and led some money managers to introduce new asset classes that can improve investors' diversification. But did diversification really fail and can new asset classes really make things any better?"

Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents presents How To File a Complainst Against Your Broker.  "If you have a run in with a sleazy broker, here's some steps you can take to file a complaint. "

Saving

Jeff from StretchyDollar.com presents Set Your Own Interest Rate!

Simon from Realm of Prosperity presents Getting $10 Removed On Late Fee For Late Credit Card Payment. 

Blogging Banks from Blogging Banks presents E-Trade Savings Account APY Decreases to 0.95%.

Money Management

FMF from Free Money Finance presents Money Lessons from Monopoly, and says, "You can pick up a lot of good money management skills by playing Monopoly."

Helen from Affine Financial Tips presents Why do I need to create an LLC?, and says, "With the economy in the doldrums, many folks are starting a business -- either on the side or as their new full time employment. If you do, be sure to consider creating an LLC to protect your personal assets."

Frank Curmudgeon from Bad Money Advice presents Millionaires as Role Models.

Jennifer from Getting Ahead presents Do you have a Freedom Account?

Silicon Valley Blogger from The Digerati Life presents Best High Interest Savings Accounts In Online Banking

Matt from My Financial Recovery presents Allowance And Chore System For The Kids, and says, "We have a new chore and allowance system in place to teach the kids money management and responsibility."

Brad Chaffee from Enemy Of Debt presents 3 Proven Steps To Debt Freedom

pfincome from Passive Family Income presents Personal Finance Lessons I Learned Growing Up, and says, "The lessons I learned growing up helped shape my frugality today."

Careers

Mr. ToughMoneyLove from Tough Money Love presents For Some Jobs this May Be As Good As it Gets, and says, "Middle class incomes are stagnating. Employers are entering an era of new frugality, perhaps permanently. You may be living in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Erick Simpson from Managed Services Blog presents Why Your Organization Needs a Sales Manager.

vh from Funny about Money presents Incorporating for Fun and Profit.

Wojciech Kulicki from Fiscal Fizzle presents Don't Play the Recession Victim at Work - Boost Your Productivity.

Dan from Darwin's Finance presents 10 Ways to be Annoying at Work and Ruin your Career, and says, "This article highlights 10 incredibly annoying tactics and behaviors in the workplace and how to tackle them head on."

Finance

Mr. GoTo from Go To Retirement presents Plans for Retirement Income, and says, "Baby boomers and other are adjusting their plans for retirement income. Where do your plans fit in?"

B Simple from Simplifed Financial Lifestyle presents Avoid Those Financial Teasers

ElizabethG (Modern Gal) from Modern Gal presents Why I Increasingly Distrust Financial Reporting.

MoneyNing from Personal Finance Blog by MoneyNing presents The Mistake of Waiting Till the Last Minute, and says, "Don't let last minute surprises ever happen."

DR from Doughroller presents Lies, Damn Lies and Personal Finance, and says, "Is personal finance a myth that has wrongly replaced the role government should play in our lives? Find out why one reporter thinks so, and why she is so wrong."

Todd from Gloomberg News presents FMyLife Financial Advice, and says, "Some of the most valuable lessons are learned when things hit rock bottom. FMyLife & Gloomberg present you with 3 Financial Mistakes and How to Prevent them!"

The Incidental Economist from The Finance Buff presents Health Insurance in Retirement, Part I: How Much Health Care Will You Use?

Ray from Financial Highway presents Importance of Wills and Powers of Attorney in Financial Plan-Step 6 Financial Planning, and says, "We often focus so hard on building wealth that we forget some other important aspects of personal finance, such as a will and power of attorney."

Real Estate

Smarty from Growing Money presents Rental Property Update May 2009, and says, "Damages and Renovation at Rental Property"

Dan Melson from Searchlight Crusade presents You Want an Agency That Can Pay ENOUGH Attention to YOU.

Baker from Man Vs. Debt presents Why Australia?: Financial Implications of Our Overseas Move

Carrie from Carrie...On The Cheap presents 10 Reasons To Rent.

Economy

Marie from Moneymonk presents End of Middle Class? .

Reviews

Kate Kashman from The Paycheck Chronicles presents A New Sort of Auction, and says, "There's a new sort of online auction, but it isn't a good one for the consumers."

Chance from Personal Finance Software Reviews presents Personal Finance Software Comparison

Next week, Greener Pastures is hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance.  If you would like to submit your personal finance themed blog post for possible inclusion in the carnival, you can use this submission form.