I am super excited to host this week’s Carnival of MoneyPros! Here are some of the finest posts that made the cut.

Melissa @ Mom’s Plans writes A Date with Finances Year Two – Last year, I declared a money week to deal with some financial issues I had been putting off. I thought it would be fun to see how I did with last year’s goals and set a few more.

Rick @ Invest In 2012 writes What It’s Like to Be a Trader – Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a trader, not an investor? Here’s an example of Joe’s average day: huge investment positions, 4 hour nights, etc.

Squeezer @ Personal Finance Success writes What is passive income? – You may be asking yourself, “What exactly is passive income?” Passive income is income that is generated with you having to perform little to no work for it to be generated.

harry campbell @ Your Personal Finance Pro writes Getting Away From Internet Job Searches: Networking Tips for Young Professionals – With unemployment at 8.2% as of March 2012, many Americans find themselves relying on the same unsuccessful job hunting tactics. Recent graduates are stuck looking for work in an extremely saturated job market where supply is high and demand is low. So what makes one candidate stand out from another? When I entered the workforce in the summer of 2009, I applied online for every job I could find and unfortunately didn’t hear back from any of them. But I also went to every career fair I coul

Kanwal @ Simply Investing writes Is it Good When Companies Buy Back Their Own Shares? – Companies will sometimes buy back their own shares, but is this good or bad for you the shareholder? Generally it’s a good thing because in the long run it will result in an increase in the share price.

Shaun @ Smart Family Finance writes Should Families Pay Off All Their Loans: No, Debt is Not Bad and It is Not Always Riskier than Cash – I’m sorry, but if you think debt is bad; you are wrong! Debt can be good, sometimes it is even essential.

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes Why Do Banks Sell Mortgages? – Sometimes I use my blog as a medium to rant about the funny things people do with their money; but other times I tackle common questions that I receive from readers or overhear when I’m wondering the golf course streets. One common question/comment I’ve gotten recently has been around mortgages.

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes How does a Letter of Credit Differ from a Bank Guarantee? – In layma’s terms, a bank guarantee and a letter of credit may seem similar, but they are not. Here are the key differences and when to use them.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes Our House On The Market: Month Two – Two months in to having our house on the market, and still no offers. I’m anxious to slash our asking price and reduce allowances we’ve made for closing costs.

Corey @ 20s Finances writes The Basics of Permanent Life Insurance – Understanding life insurance is one of the many challenges that young adults face these days. Between all of the confusing terms and the many options, it can become quite overwhelming. While you may be tempted to ignore this and see how long you can go without getting life insurance, it may be in your best interest to get life insurance now, while your young.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes Only Certain Home Improvement Projects Will Pay You Back – Most of your home improvement projects and remodeling projects are not going to make you money and will unfortunately not translate dollar for dollar in new home equity.

FG @ Financial God writes Cars Are the Mass-Transit Solution of the Future – As you sit in traffic on your way to work, you might find it hard to believe, but one day, that congested highway will be part of the mass-transit wave of the future.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes 10 Signs You Need Help With Money – One thing is certain with money is that it's never too late to make a turn around and admit that you need help with money.

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes 5 Tips to Save Money on Your Grocery Bill – If you are looking to save money, you might want to consider these tips to reduce your expenses with your grocery bill.

KT @ Personal Finance Journey writes Some Smart Ways to Use an Unexpected Windfall – As a child, you may have played the game of LIFE and enjoyed those moments you get an unexpected windfall. The same can happen in real life. A few years ago, many Americans got an unexpected windfall when President Bush offered a tax rebate to a majority of U.S. citizens.

Dave @ Financial Conflict Coach writes What’s The BEST Financial Advice I Can Give? – When someone asks for financial advice, is that really what they’re asking for? In my experience, they’re actually asking for something else- options.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Green Tip #240 – Rain Barrel – The 240th Green Tip: Use a Rain Barrel to collect rain water and reduce your water usage costs.

Jeffrey @ Money Spruce writes How to Be an Entrepreneur – The following is a guest post. Answering the question “How to Be an Entrepreneur” is a a somewhat complicated one. There’s really no simple way to answer it. The first thing I will tell you: being an entrepreneur is easy, but being a successful entrepreneur is not. Here’s a few simple steps to think about.

Evan @ My Journey to Millions writes There Are No Money Rules – I abhor when personal finance bloggers and authors create “unbreakable” rules when it comes to finances. To be blunt, I think most of them are simply bullshit.

Mr. Money @ Smart on Money writes What Are You Doing to Make Your Money Dreams a Reality? – Many of us have money dreams. Often, these dreams focus on some point in the future, when you have more money. We think about the things that we’ll do when we have more money: Go on vacation, set up a charitable foundation, get rid of debt, pay off the mortgage, or accomplish some other feat. Unfortunately, while dreaming about what we’ll do when we have more money, we often overlook the intervening step of planning to make those dreams a reality.

Lazy Man @ Lazy Man and Money writes My 16 Hours in Military Retirement Boot Camp – I’ve mentioned before that my wife is a pharmacist with the military. That unique career choice has given her some of the greatest perks in the job market today. It’s great job security as it literally takes an act of Congress to fire her. Probably most importantly, from my view is that she’s exempt from be deployed for war. However, today I’d like to talk about another of the great perks of her career, her retirement and pension.

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

Peter @ Bible Money Matters writes Betterment.com Investing Website Video Review: Walkthrough of Account Setup and Investing Tools – One thing that attracted me to Betterment was the fact that they were so simple to use for the average investor, they are basically a set it and forget it type investing option where you can set your investing on auto-pilot and invest for the long term. You basically choose how much you want to invest in stocks, how much in bonds, and then you set your allocation. Over time if your percentages get out of whack Betterment will automatically re-balance your portfolio for you, with no need for you

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes How Much House Do You Really Need? – Sometimes we just need to ask ourselves: How much house do I need? If you stay in your house almost all the time, then of course your needs would…

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Ways to Pay Down Credit Card Debt – I avoid paying interest fees because I pay the charges off before interest accrues; it’s the best way to use credit cards in my opinion. If you’re looking for ways to pay down your credit card debt, take a look at this infographic brought to you by Imgur.com. They’ve broken down the steps to becoming credit card debt free in an easy to read infographic:

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes Environmental Reward Program Update – Earth Day/Week is here, and I thought I would take the opportunity to update you on the reward point programs I introduced about a year ago.

Linsey @ 1099 Mom writes What Every Small Biz Owner Should Know about Social Media Security – Thought you were being savvy with your social media account password security? You may have been. Unless you are following the below tips to keep your info safe, however, you risk all of you hard work — and your reputation — at the hands of unscrupulous freelancers, outside agencies, and employees.

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes Vancouver Personal Finance – A couple of weeks ago, TeacHer Finance wrote a post asking whether or not personal finance advice should depend on geography. I say YES.

Jason @ Live Real, Now writes Five Signs You Don’t Need That – Everybody occasionally buys things they don’t need, from DVDs to luxury cars. There are signs that what you’re buy may not be an actual necessity. Here are five signs you should put that back:

Sean @ One Smart Dollar writes What are the Best Days to Buy Specific Items – Did you know that you can save money just buy making purchases on a specific day of the week or month?

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes The Average Returns to Expect on Mutual Funds – This Post was Originally published at The Average Returns to Expect on Mutual Funds on Start Investing MoneyWhen you are deciding on a vehicle for investing your money, mutual funds may come up in conversation more often than not. Because the risk is spread out, the investment is perceived as safer than gambling on individual stocks.

MR @ Money Reasons writes Fixing Your Garage Door Opener By DIY – These are the steps I followed to replace my craftman garage door gears that were shredded. This particular repair cost me $25 vs around $200 for a repairman.

MMD @ MyMoneyDesign writes Before Retirement, Eliminate Your Biggest Expense – Have you ever considered the benefits of paying off your mortgage early as a way to save BIG during retirement and reduce the amount of income you’ll need? If you’ve got a lot of time between then and now, even better! Let’s crunch some numbers and see how much extra it would take to eliminate your mortgage payments altogether.

Kay Lynn @ Bucksome Boomer writes Is Your Career Aligned with Your Priorities – Middle-age can find you reflecting on your life, your job, your family. You may be burned out from your work but feel that you have to stay because you can’t give up the money. You may think that someday you will be able to transition from the job with the lucrative salary to something you truly feel passionate about. However, for many people that transition never occurs.

Ryan @ Early Retirement Investments writes Are You Spending Too Much on Business Expenses? – Related Posts:How to Save Money Every Month Using UnionBank Online Banking ServicesFinding Money for Retirement When Your Paycheck is SmallQuickBooks Pro 2011:…

Maria @ The Money Principle writes Regulate the people, not the banks! – Read why it is not the institution that the government need to go after, but those few selfish individuals in the company!

Kevin @ Thousandaire writes It’s All About Creating Income – Lots of people worry about saving millions of dollars. If you generate passive income, you won’t need so much in savings.

Earth and Money @ Earth and Money writes Comparison of Foreign ATM Fees Charged by Canadian Banks – A comparison of the foreign ATM fees charged by all the big five Canadian banks, and a few alternative options as well. With a little insight and planning, you can go abroad and spend your money the right way – enjoying your trip!

Jason @ Work Save Live writes Where to Save Your Retirement Investing Contributions – Welcome to the 3rd week of my ‘Understanding Retirement Planning & Investing’ series! If you’ve missed the first two posts be sure to check them out! Everything You Need to Know About a Roth IRA & Why to Start One.

YFS @ Your Finances Simplified writes The Benefits of Giving to Charitable Institutions – They say that giving and helping others can offer people more satisfaction than acquiring material things. For centuries different individuals, even the most wealthy ones, have found a sense of fulfillment in giving, and indeed it is in the act…

Steve @ Money Infant writes Happy Songkran from Thailand – No, I haven’t lost my mind. I know it isn’t New Year in most of the world, but here in Thailand it is.

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes Saving Money By Doing Small Repairs Yourself – How I save money to spend on my kids by doing small repairs myself. If what you are trying to fix is old, it might be worth it to try fixing it yourself.

PITR @ Passive Income To Retire writes Risky Investments – High Return – Investing with great risks gives you a bigger potential return. You won't always avoid mistakes, but you will learn from them.

Princess P @ Portfolio Princess writes Smart, Savvy, And On A Budget – Sometimes sticking to a budget is no easy task, but there are ways to make saving money easy by following these simple budgeting tips.

Penny Thots @ Penny Thots writes Cash as an Investment Strategy – I’ve started to think back to the many “investing opportunities” that I said, “I wish I had more cash to take advantage of this.” When reviewing my IPS last year, this was one of the things I noted for adjustment. I call it “opportunity cash” and it means increasing my total cash allocation.

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes The Finances of Addiction – It seems like just about everybody is addicted to something. Do you know how expensive additions are?

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes How to Make $500/week Cleaning out Foreclosures – Foreclosure cleaners often earn a whopping $500 to $2,500 per house that they clean. Here are a few tips on how to score these jobs…

Cash Flow Mantra @ Cash Flow Mantra writes My Seagate Technology Trade – Seagate initially got my attention in November of last year as a stock that was paying a decent dividend of over 4%. I thought it would be an important component to my dividend plan for my retirement account. Ultimately, being able to manage a portfolio of dividend stocks will be some great knowledge to have so that I don’t have to deplete principal during retirement and can live off the generated income instead.

Luke @ Learn Bonds writes Should You Trust Your Financial Advisor? – Does your financial advisor have a fiduciary duty to act in your best interest? It depends on the type of advisor you are work with.

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes Who I Have Not Become – At some point in life, we all dream of becoming someone else, someone different from who we are now. We have certain aspirations and hopes. Sometimes we live up to our dreams. Sometimes they remain just that … dreams.

John @ Married (with Debt) writes Pay Off Debt Before Investing: Rule 9 – This is Rule 9 in my 10 Rules to Eliminate Debt and Change Your Life Should I pay off debt before investing? If you are asking this question, let me first say congratulations.

TRL @ The Retired Landlord writes Why I am Investing in Real Estate – Investing in real estate is not a easy commitment, but doesn't mean it isn't worth it. Find out why I am investing in real estate.

101 Centavos @ 101 Centavos writes To Peak Oil or Not To Peak Oil? – The world is running out of oil… so might as well buy a few shares in the companies that make it and move it around. Having had some cash free up…

Steve @ Brip Blap writes 7 Things You Don’t Want to Skimp On – You don’t always want to save as much as you possibly can on everything. I can think of at least a few examples where spending the least amount possible is not always a great idea.

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes Is the Cash Method Helpful? – Is an all cash method of budgeting the best way to control your spending? Find out if the envelope method is right for you.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Build a Home Series – Floor Plan and The Lot – The first steps with our builder were to decide on the floor plan of our future home and to pick our lot. We had to pick our floor plan first.

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes Why are Home Foreclosures Picking Up in 2012? – Find out why foreclosure rates are increasing in 2012. Will you be next?

Busy Exec @ The “Busy Executive” Money Blog writes Reassessing the Value of Your “Stuff” – The true value of things depreciate at different rates for different people. Just because you are tired of it, does not mean it doesn’t have value to someone else.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Revisiting The Buffett Rule – I previously wrote about how I was against The Buffett Rule, raising taxes on the rich to help balance the budget.

Ashley @ Money Talks Coaching writes How to Spend Less on Gas – How much gas are we using to drive to work, to school, to the store, and so on? Here are some tips on how you can deal with the high price of gas.

PPlan @ Provident Plan writes Top 5 Mortgage Mistakes – Learn about the top five mortgage mistakes that you can make when buying a new house or condo.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Card Review and a 2 Free Flights! – Earn up to two free flights with the Chase Southwest Rewards credit card! If you're traveling soon, this card is one that you need now!

Sicorra @ Tackling Our Debt writes Top Summer Vacation Spots In Canada – Calgary for the Calgary Stampede – Have you booked your summer vacation yet? Why not come out to Calgary this summer? Get online and book your trip to Calgary for July and we’ll see you at the Calgary Stampede!

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes How to Network at Work and Increase Your Influence – The importance of a personal network is well known and is as applicable to your personal life as to your working career. Follow these strategies on how to network at work and watch as your influence increases.

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Thank You For Irresponsible Credit Card Usage – There are many personal finance blogs that tell you to cut up your credit cards or exercise greater willpower with credit cards. While that may be good advice depending on your situation, I want to personally thank the countless people who are irresponsible with their credit card usage.

Investor Junkie @ Investor Junkie writes What Is Tactical Asset Allocation? – If you are looking for a way to take advantage of changing asset values, and if you want to keep up with what’s happening in the markets, Tactical Asset Allocation is a strategy that can help.

Matt @ Living in Financial Excellence writes Your Debt Free Date – Whether you realize it or not, you already have a debt free date. Whether you are already on a plan to pay everything off or you aren’t even paying attention, you are already on a path to becoming debt free someday. Even if you don’t pay extra on your debts, if you stop borrowing money for cars or college or dinner on your credit card you will automatically become debt free.

Van Beek @ Stock Trend Investing writes Growth Investing vs. Value Investing – When it comes to investing in stocks, there are two major styles of investing: growth investing and value investing. There has been an intense debate as to which investment style yields the best returns and what style of investing suits investors. Let us first understand the two styles and then compare the two approaches.

Theresa Torres @ http://editorial.equities.com/ writes Like a Robot: How to Overcome Emotional Investing – When we let emotions rule our decisions, we often find ourselves in hot water. When it comes to investing, it’s best to keep a clear head by following these simple steps.

Brent Pittman @ On Target Coaching writes Deposit Your Checks Remotely Into ING Accounts – I wanted to let you know about a cool new feature for those of you with ING Direct Checking accounts that allows you to directly deposit checks into your ING accounts.

Teacher Man @ My University Money writes How To Use Your Liberal Arts Degree To Get a Government Job – I have been someone negative about the job prospects out there for people like me with a liberal arts degree before. While it is still not what I recommend for most people coming out of high school, it can be a valuable tool in your career tool belt if leveraged correctly.

Boomer @ Boomer & Echo writes Preparing For Retirement: Some Thoughts On Turning 50 – There are plenty of reasons why people put off planning for their retirement. The future has a way of arriving faster than we ever thought. No matter how well you are doing today, making sure you have the financial resources you will need for a secure future takes careful planning.

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance writes The Fact and Fiction Behind “Two Can Live as Cheaply as One” – Based on a qualitative retrospective of four areas of spending, “two can live as cheaply as one” has not been true for us, and it’s even possible that we have increased overall spending since we got married.

SB @ One Cent at a Time writes Everbank Review – A Bank Which Pledges Yeild – Not often we come across banks who has rate pledges, EverBank announces at its home site that the rates for its account holders would remain in top territory. Read moe in this review.

Robert @ My Multiple Incomes writes My Multiple Incomes Expense Report – I want to continue to be as transparent as possible, and so here is a breakdown of my expenses, as well as how much time I spend on my various income streams each week.

Jefferson @ See Debt Run writes Everything I Need to Be Happy – Happiness that you get from obtaining material things is short lived. Taking a deeper look, I quickly realize I have everything I need to find happiness in life

Glen Craig @ Free From Broke writes What is FOREX Trading and is it Right for My Portfolio? – You hear about FOREX trading everywhere these days and the promises of making a killing. But what is FOREX Trading? How does it work? Read on to find out.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes Building Up Your Financial Literacy – A guide to some steps you can take to increase your financial literacy and make yourself better able to handle financial matters.

J.P. @ Novel Investor writes Shorting A Stock: Profiting On The Way Down – Everyone and their brother wants the market to go up, not the short seller. Shorting a stock is not the popular choice, but there are profits in going against the crowd.

Thank you for your submissions!

Carnival of Money Pros is a post from Money Cone ^DISCLAIMER

Best Rewards Cards To Maximize Your Cashback

I call this Return on Expenses.

For those who use a credit card for convenience and not for the interest rate, it makes sense to choose a card that maximizes rewards. 5% cash back on gas? That’s more than what the markets returned last year! Claim what’s rightfully yours!

If cash paying customers were offered a better deal, I would definitely go all cash! But credit card companies prohibit price discrimination in their terms and conditions.

Is it worth it?

Is this pursuit worth it? In order to find out, follow your expenses. What are the expenses that chip away that 2% or 3%, one expense at a time?

Here are some statistics for the year 2010 for an average family.

Money spent on Gas and Motor Oil: $2,132
Money spent on Restaurants: $2,505
Money spent on Groceries: $3,624
Money spent on Clothes: $1,700
Money spent on Drugs $410
Online Holiday Shopping $658

Those are some big numbers and all are almost always paid with a card. A 3% cash back would be nice.

One Card To Rule Them All?

I’ll cut to the chase. There isn’t one. But a combination of cards can get you close enough.

What Makes The Cut

Before I reveal the results of my research, a note on the criteria chosen to evaluate the cards:

• The card must have cash as rewards. Not points or miles.
• No annual fees, no matter how good the rewards are.
• No revolving categories. I can never remember them.
• No store cards. Too restricting.
• No expiration on the rewards. One less thing to remember.

The Cards Revealed..!

1. American Express Everyday Blue Card

Why This Card Was Chosen:

This card addresses 3 of the expense categories above – Gas, Apparel and Groceries. 3% on Supermarkets, 2% on Department stores, 2% on Gas.

And if you use this card for any other expenses, you still get 1% cash back. Not too bad! And of course no annual fees.

Other benefits:

• Damaged your brand new iPhone? No worries! If you bought it with your Everyday Blue Card, you are covered for up to 90 days!
• Is the salesman pressuring you to get extended warranty on that laptop? Why when you get it for free with this card?
• Did that store just refuse a return? Once again this card comes to the rescue!
• Some travel benefits too like theft, damage and collision coverage and travel insurance

2. Amazon Chase Visa Card

Why This Card Was Chosen:

This card covers some of the categories not addressed by the Amex card. 2% cash back on Restaurants and Drugstore purchases. In addition, 2% on gas and 1% on everything else, same as the Amex Blue card.

And best of all, it offers 3% cash back on purchases from Amazon! I do a lot of shopping online especially from Amazon so I might be a little biased here!

Note: This card is advertised as earning points for purchases, but you can redeem your points as cash back which is what I do.

Other benefits:

The Amazon Rewards Card I have has benefits similar to those of Amex Everyday card. But I can’t find them listed in either Chase or Amazon’s site. Please check with Chase or Amazon on additional benefits.

3. PenFed Platinum Cash Rewards Card

Why This Card Was Chosen:

PenFed Platinum Rewards card offers 5% cash back on gas which is better than the 2% offered by both Chase and Amex. There are other cards that offer 5% cash back on gas, but I chose this one since I already am a member of PenFed and the other cards don’t necessarily offer anything better than this card.

Other benefits:

• No Foreign transaction fee. If you use your credit card abroad, most cards charge you an additional surcharge as foreign transaction fee. Very useful if you travel abroad frequently.
• 0.25% on other purchases
• This card is from a Credit Union!

Summary of Cash Rewards

Honorable Mentions

Not everyone may share my aversion to annual fees or revolving categories. In my research I found two cards that offered generous rewards but did not meet all of my criteria above.

Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express

For a $75 annual fee, you get 6% cash back at supermarkets, 3% cash back at gas stations and department stores, and 1% everywhere else. Depending upon your annual expenses, this might be worth considering. In addition, you get all the benefits of the American Express Blue Cash Everyday card mentioned above.

Chase Freedom Visa

If you have the discipline to remember revolving categories, you should consider this card! You’ll earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent each quarter. From April-June, you’ll earn 5% on Grocery stores and Movie theaters, from July-September, you’ll earn 5% on Gas stations and Restaurants and from October-December, you’ll earn 5% on Hotels, Airlines, Best Buy and Kohl’s purchases.

You’ll also receive $100 bonus if you sign up for this card. To qualify and receive your bonus, you must make purchases totaling $500 or more during the first 3 months from account opening.

My Thoughts

A combination of these three cards will help maximize your rewards on your purchases. A 2% return on expenses is not too shabby. Limiting the number of credit cards you use also means less worries on id theft and curtails your temptation to sign up for more.

Finally, what if you do carry a balance? In that case, your best reward is to pay off your balance. None of these rewards match up to the 17% or 18% you pay every time you carry a balance.

What is your favorite rewards card?

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In Pursuit Of The Most Rewarding Rewards Card is a post from Money Cone ^DISCLAIMER

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Royalty trusts are a great way to add income to your portfolio. The fact that you can reduce the taxable portion of your ‘royalties’ by factoring in administrative expenses and depletion is an added bonus.

The downside is you have to calculate those expenses yourself based on the Tax preparation booklet Royalty trusts will send you during tax time. And based on those figures you’ll have to fill out a Schedule E (Form 1040).

If you own Royalty Trusts in a tax-deferred account, you can skip the tax preparation step and unlike MLPs, owning Royalty Trusts in your 401K or IRAs won’t trigger the dreaded UBTI. But if you happen to own them in a taxable account, be prepared to spend some time doing the tax math for each Royalty Trust you own.

Owning a Royalty Trust in a Taxable Account – What to Expect

If you own a Royalty Trust in a taxable account, come tax time, expect these in the mail:

• 1099-MISC Miscellaneous Income form
• Tax preparation booklet

You’ll get these even if you haven’t sold your units. 1099-Misc details the royalties you received for the tax year. The tax preparation booklet is required to calculate the net gain or loss on your distributions. You’ll get to reduce your tax liability on your royalties by reducing administrative expenses and depletion charges. Since the Royalty Trust doesn’t keep track of how many units each unit holder holds, you’ll have to do the calculations yourself.

Once you have the numbers, you should know where to enter them in TurboTax. And no, upgrading to TurboTax Premium is not going to make the task any easier! I hope the slideshow below will ease some of your pains! I’ve used BPT as an example, but the process is quite similar for other Royalty Trusts as well.

Handling Royalty Trusts In TurboTax

Start

Handling Royalty Trusts In TurboTax

Prepared using TurboTax Deluxe

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In TurboTax, go to Federal Taxes.. Wages and Income and select Rentals and Royalties.

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Done!

As you can see, the process isn’t straightforward and can easily confuse someone entering RT data in TurboTax for the first time.

Royalty Trust FAQ

I never received the Tax Preparation booklet, what do I do?
If you did not receive the Tax Preparation booklet from your Royalty Trust, you can contact them to send you one or you could download the pdf from the Royalty Trust’s website. The tax preparation booklet will not contain any personal information (like your SSN).

Also remember, the booklet is sent to you by the Royalty Trust, not your broker.

I own Royalty Trusts in my IRA do I have to fill out Schedule E?
For tax-advantaged accounts, you don’t have to fill out Schedule E. The extra tax work is required only if you own them in a taxable account.

Are there online tools to do the Tax Preparation for Royalty Trusts?
All you need is a calculator! But some Royalty Trusts do provide online tools. All you have to do is fill out the number of units you held during the tax year and it’ll do the work for you. Check the Royalty Trust’s website.

Where can I learn more about Royalty Trusts?
Check out my previous article: Unconventional Income From Uncommon Stocks – Royalty Trusts

Recommended Reads:
How to handle MLP Schedule K-1s in TurboTax

Disclaimer: Not a recommendation to buy BPT. I’m not a tax consultant and the information presented is not intended as legal or tax advice. Consult a qualified tax tax professional before filing your tax return.

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Handling Royalty Trusts In TurboTax is a post from Money Cone ^DISCLAIMER

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For this month’s link roundup, I thought I’ll try a different format.

Let me know how you like it!

Did You Know…

The word “internet” first appeared in the Washington Post on 9/26/1988 – Robert@DIY Investor

The average income of millionaire households is approximately $350,000 (~5x the national average) – Roshawn@Watson Inc

Contributions can be taken out of your ROTH at any time, there is a restriction on only the earnings – Sigma Swan Blog

Larry Swedroe visited (& commented on) this post! – Mark@My Own Advisor

The first ETF’s were introduced in 1993 - Money Infant

The retirement planning conventional wisdom of drawing 4% of your portfolio annually was based on the work of William Bengen – The Dividend Ninja

You have a chance to win an Amazon gift card and other goodies every month of this year – Joe@Retire By 40

There is a low cost alternative to doing your MBA! – Jeffrey @ Money Spruce

You can still contribute to an IRA even If you don’t earn an income but you’re married… – Sense To Save

Mike & Molly participated in SOPA boycott! – Mike & Molly

J. K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame is no longer in the Billionaire club according to Forbes. Because she gave away most of her wealth! - Hunter@Financially Consumed

Olive oil can be used to moisturize dry skin – Shilpan @ Street Smart Finance

The concept of “work hard now so I can play later” bothers Average Joe – The Free Financial Advisor

“Women always become more interested in a man after another woman begins talking to him” …hmm! – Financial Samurai @ The Untemplater

Kids CAN be taught about finance – Christa Palm @ MomVesting

“The average American spends $232 a month on dining out” - Aloysa @ My Broken Coin

IRA rollovers aren’t as stressful as it used to be – Buck Inspire

The choices you make might be due to hyperbolic discounting – Money Cactus

Your FICO score matters even to utility companies – World of Finance

Form 8949 is the new form to report capital gains including cost basis, starting this year (2011 tax year) – Sig Figure Investor

It is not a good idea to buy bonds now – Barb @ Barbara Friedburg PF

Soros Fund Management holds Amazon, Best Buy, Apple, Google and Wells Fargo, and…. Adecoagro! – 101Centavos

Alberta Producers Losing $18B a Year! – Mich@Beating The Index

Don’t Exercise Before Blood Tests – Kris @ Everyday Tips and Thoughts

Carnival Mentions

Carnival of Money Pros @ Money Reasons

The Carnival of Financial Camaraderie- Rain Man Edition @ 36 Months

Yakezie Carnival: Setting Your Clocks – 20 And Engaged

Canadian Finance Carnival 78, 79

Carnival of Money Pros: Daylight Savings Edition @ Sweating The Big Stuff

Totally Money Blog Carnival – Outrageous tax deduction edition – Wealth Informatics

Yakezie Carnival Dr Seuss The Lorax Edition – Miss WallStreet

Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #226 @Personal Finance By The Book

Carnival of Retirement, 8th Edition – How We Want To Retire – Money Reasons

Yakezie Carnival – The Daytona 500 Edition – Not Made Of Money

Carnival Of Financial Camaraderie #22 – My University Money

Totally Money Blog Carnival #3! – Budgeting In The Fun Stuff

Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #193 – July 15, 2011 – Money Beagle

Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #224 – February 17, 2012 – Aaron Hung

Yakezie Carnival Mardi Gras Edition – Financial Success For Young Adults

Did You Know… (Blog Round-Up) is a post from Money Cone ^DISCLAIMER

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Good customer service is never an accident. The motivation to provide good service has a lot to do with a company’s culture. When Delta’s CEO talks about ‘customer satisfaction’, ‘quality’ and ‘good service’, I think he is mocking us all. When Jeff Bezos of Amazon says the same things, I know he means it.

As a lone consumer, there isn’t much I can do. A bank like BofA would be shut down as a criminal enterprise in most countries, but when you make political contributions to the tune of $530,500, the largest ever by a bank, it is hard to shut down that bank. I think Warren Buffett invested in this bank for exactly this reason and not because he believes BofA is a wonderful bank. Buffett is no fool.

What I can do is, not deal with such companies. Might not make even a dent in how these companies do business, but greatly reduces stress in my life.

Susan Komen Foundation

Even before the planned parenthood controversy, I had decided not have anything to do with this organization. This foundation sent lawyers behind any fund raising organization that used the word ‘for the cure’! And lawyers don’t work for free! That’s your donations at work!

Their associations with companies to promote their efforts always raised eyebrows. You could buy specially engraved Smith & Wesson guns with the awareness ribbon engraved on them. Do you see the irony here when compared to the refusal of donations to planned parenthood?

They collaborated with M&M and get this, KFC! Apparently, death by obesity is less important than death by cancer.

And a CEO with a pay package of slightly less than half-a-million dollars to run a charity.

Nope. Sorry.

Privacy Guard

If you are looking for identity theft protection, I can’t tell you where to go. I can tell you where NOT to go. Privacy Guard comes to my mind. The service provided by Privacy Guard is offered mostly by Chase as a trial offer. You call to cancel within 30 days and you won’t be billed. I did and they billed me year after year claiming I never called. I was no exception, there are tons of complaints against this company.

Stay away.

Delta Airlines

I’ve flown Delta. When things don’t go wrong, their service was ok. It was like taking the bus. You don’t think much about it. But when things do go wrong, it is a nightmare. Here’s one such experience.

This was a flight for an international travel. Delta was the connecting carrier. I arrived at the airport and was told that the flight was cancelled. No big deal. I was on vacation, and didn’t mind catching the next flight. But here’s the kicker. They didn’t provide one! Instead they advised me to pay for the fare at the Jet Blue booth next to Delta if I want to catch my connecting flight!

The travel agent couldn’t believe it since Delta and the connecting international airline were partners and when things go wrong, you usually get the next flight with a corresponding flight from the connecting airline. Delta didn’t care!

So we went home and I was on the phone from 2 am till 6 am (I wish I was exaggerating, I’m not) making various calls to the Delta, to the international airline and the travel agent. Delta was the worst with wait times lasting 45 minutes and when you do get them, they were of no help. Not to mention, extremely rude. And there was not even a talk about a refund.

I hope I never have to fly this airline again.

Homesite Insurance (Progressive)

Homesite is one of Progressive insurance group’s homeowner insurance partners. Homesite is not related to Progressive insurance group. And to be clear, I have nothing but good things to say about Progressive. But their association with Homesite leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Since bundling your home and auto insurance saves you a bit, I decided to sign up for homeowner insurance from Homesite since my auto was already with Progressive. A year passed, and I got a renewal with an increase of more than $250! No claims or anything the past year or …ever!

No biggie, I called to see if they may be able to reduce the premium. After the call, Homesite increased my premium by another $75 dollars!

So this woman takes my call and goes over the various coverage and claims that with the new information, the premium has gone up and I now have to pay $75 more.

Ok may be this is how the industry works. Fine, but that’s not what bothered me. Throughout the call, this woman was least interested in what I was saying and extremely unhelpful. She couldn’t care less if I stayed with Homesite or not and most annoyingly was giggling almost throughout the call. Either she was high or flirting with a co-worker.

No, this wasn’t an outsourced call.

Progressive is the complete opposite. They were so good and so accommodating, I actually switched back for my auto insurance from a different company! Pity they teamed up with Homesite.

Oh, and don’t bother using Homesite’s contact page. They don’t acknowledge your email or respond to it.

First Internet Bank of Indiana

If you’ve never heard of this bank, good for you! If you are thinking of refinancing your home, here’s one bank to stay away from. Their behavior was so unprofessional, it warrants an entire post by itself.

When you lock in a rate, you are guaranteed that rate for the lock-in period. That’s the point of locking in a rate. Not at FirstIB. A week after locking in the rate, I get an email saying the rate has gone up and they can’t provide the agreed rate unless I paid points.

This bait-and-switch tactic is very effective because by then you’ve already paid for the credit reports and the appraisal and if you choose not to go with the vendor, you lose that money. But I was looking at the bigger picture and hinted that I will going with another vendor.

Guess what? The agent pulled the classic car salesman tactic – ‘let me talk to my manager’. Within 10 minutes I get an email agreeing to the original rate!

This is just one incident, but every step of the way it was an unpleasant experience. Thankfully, FirstIB is only a broker and not the actual lender and now that the deal has closed, I don’t have to deal with them again.

Bank of America

I’m a BofA hipster. I quit this bank before it was cool to hate BofA! Much before their sub-prime fraud, the mortgage fraud, the muni fraud, the robo-signing fraud and yet-to-be-revealed frauds.

Thankfully my mortgage wasn’t sold to BofA.

Do you have a blacklist of companies you don’t hope to deal with? Share your stories!
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Companies I Won’t Do Business With is a post from Money Cone ^DISCLAIMER

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If you are reading this from your RSS reader, click here for the slideshow

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was a visionary, a technologist, husband, father and an inventor.

Jobs is listed on 342 patent applications, either as an inventor or a co-inventor ranging from computer software to staircases.

The day before he died, he was awarded a patent on the OS X dock feature found in Macs.

Here are some of his other inventions…

1

Staircase

If you were wowed by the stunning design of Apple stores, you have to thank Steve Jobs. At least when it comes to staircases. Jobs is listed as a co-inventor for the transparent staircase design that is seen in many Apple stores.

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2

Packaging

Apple is well known for its attention to details starting with the packaging of its products.

IPods when uboxed, appear as though they are floating within the transparent plastic container they come packaged in. This effect and the packaging mechanism has been patented by Jobs and his team.

photo

3

Power Adapter

Apple’s competitors managed to reduce the weight of their notebooks but never bothered to reduce the size and weight of their power adapters. Remember those heavy, monstrous bricks that passed as power adapters? Apple was the first to pay attention to this problem.

Jobs and his team made adapters look sexy, light and functional. Patent number D519922 was awarded to Jobs and 12 other co-inventors.

4

Media Player

Patent # D469109 was awarded to Apple’s most recognized product, the iPod.

The application was filed on October 22, 2001 and the patent was awarded on Jan 21, 2003.

5

Display Device

It was a stunning design and a marvelous breakthrough – cramming the CPU within the display unit. This design won numerous awards and Johnathan Ive in one of his interviews, talks about how challenging it was to keep the stand from wobbling!

The monitor design was patented and Steve Jobs is listed as one of the co-inventors.

6

Computing Device

The patent abstract reads: We claim the ornamental design for a computing substantially as shown and described. The Mac Mini is Apple’s cheapest computer. Size of a lunch box, comes without a display unit, keyboard or a mouse.

A true engineering marvel.

7

Mouse

Though Apple did not invent the mouse, they popularized this input device.

The Apple mouse evolved from a single mouse button to no physical buttons.

A patent was awarded for the design of this device in 2011.

8

Building Exterior

Steve Jobs took a deep interest in the design of the Apple Store.

This particular design as seen in the Upper West Side Apple store was patented by Jobs and his team.

9

White Electronic Device

The first generation IPod shuffle was only the size of a pack of chewing gum and Apple’s product page actually said: Do not eat iPod shuffle!

The design for this ‘White electronic device’ was patented in October of 2006.

RIP

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

-Steve Jobs

The Many Inventions Of Steve Jobs [Slideshow] is a post from Money Cone ^DISCLAIMER

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Should you go with a 15 or 30 year mortgage?

I hate surprises and predicting the future wasn’t my thing. But I did know, the rates on fixed mortgages were at an all time low and my motivation for buying a house is to dwell in it and not to flip or rent.

15 vs 30 Year Mortgages

That narrowed the choices to either a 15 year or a 30 year mortgage. The difference is very simple. You get to own your home sooner, pay less money overall with a 15 year mortgage vs having to pay more for a longer period of time with a 30 year fixed loan.

On the flip side, with a shorter term, your monthly payments are higher than with a longer term.

On the face of it, it makes perfect sense to choose the 15 year mortgage if you can afford the higher monthly payments without significantly denting your lifestyle.

Why wouldn’t you want to own a home sooner?

Also consider my temperament. I abhor debt of any kind, be it my car or my credit card. Except for my first car, I always paid upfront for my subsequent buys. I use credit cards, but don’t carry a balance.

Having lived debt-free, it would’ve made perfect sense to pay off the mortgage as soon as possible via a 15 year loan. But after careful consideration, I decided, I’ll choose a 30 year loan. Call me crazy, but hear me out.

Let’s start with the mortgage rates from the Wall Street Journal, as of today

Mortgage Rates as of today from the Wall Street Journal

As you can see, the current rate for a 30 year mortgage is 3.88% and the rate for a 15 year mortgage is 3.16%. We’ll be focussing on these two rates for this little experiment.

Assume the loan amount is for $200,000, no PMI. How much extra will I be paying if I were to choose a 30 year mortgage, but attempted to pay it off in 15 years at these interest rates?

15 Vs. 30 Year Fixed Mortgages

Difference - 15 Years Fixed Vs. 30 Years Fixed But Paid Off In 15 Years

Why is this awesome?

Let’s see, you pay off a 30 year loan as though this were a 15 year loan. Actually you pay it off 7 months earlier but you pay almost $10,000 more over the life of your loan than a 15 year mortgage. But this extra payment comes with one very important factor:

You now have the flexibility of adjusting your extra payments if you ever have a cash crunch or a job loss, which will not the case with a 15 year loan.

This very important flexibility is worth the little extra you’ll pay over 15 years. The alternative is frightening. If you can’t make your payments on a pure 15 year fixed loan due to a job loss or any other emergency, you risk losing your home.

What’s with the bi-weekly payments?

If you notice, I added this sleight-of-hand trick to the loan. Bi-weekly is making a payment every 2 weeks instead of once a month. On the face of it, doesn’t seem like this would make much of a difference. But you actually save $4589.04 by doing a Bi-weekly payment!

See a year has 52 weeks, which when divided by 4 (4 weeks in a month) gives 13, not 12. You are actually making one extra payment annually which over time, cuts your overall payments by $4589.04 in 15 years!

That’s the power of compounding. Small actions have an avalanche effect over time.

Conclusion

I’ll reiterate – by choosing to prepay a 30 year loan in 15 years, you will overpay by about $10K. But that’s the price you pay for the flexibility of adjusting your monthly payments. Say your car broke down or you had to replace your roof, you can pay just the minimum for that month and make up for it when you get a bonus or when your get your tax refund. I think this flexibility is good to have.

Another factor to consider if you are doing a refinance is to see if instead of paying closing costs, which is usually a percentage of the loan, if it is better to use that money to prepay your existing mortgage. Never rush into refinancing your home.

Mortgages, it’s always a numbers game!

For more unconventional wisdom, consider subscribing to my feed. Hey, it’s free!

Why I Chose A 30-Year Mortgage Even Though I Could Afford To Pay It Off In 15 Years is a post from Money Cone ^DISCLAIMER

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Not all advice is good advice...

Let’s take a closer look at some widely accepted nuggets of personal finance wisdom, which may not be necessarily good for you.

‘Max out your 401K’

If I had a dollar for every time someone mentioned this, I wouldn’t need a 401K! On the face of it this looks like sensible advice – max out your tax-deferred savings. But take a closer look at how a typical 401K is setup. You have a limited choice of mutual funds to pick from, the funds themselves have high expense ratios and some have sales loads and if you wanted to go all cash, you don’t have a choice. (I’m speaking from my experiences with 401Ks, past and present)

Why feed an industry that exists just because there is no regulation or poor regulation? A typical 401K is setup in such a manner that the fund company and the 401K provider wins no matter how the market does. Do I sound like Ron Paul? Here’s an example:

Say you wanted to put your money in an S&P 500 index fund in 2011. A fund company that is loved by 401K providers is Rydex. RYSYX from Rydex, is an index fund that tracks the S&P 500. In 2011, S&P returns were 2.09% including dividends. Not great but better than keeping that money in the bank.

If you invested your money in an index fund that tracked the S&P, your returns should be close to 2.09% less expenses in theory.

If you had invested $10,000 in RYSYX S&P 500 index fund, you would’ve made $9,946.19 from 2011 to 2012 – a loss, when you should’ve seen a gain

Yes, you would’ve lost money when you should’ve seen a gain! And that’s because, RYSYX has an incredibly high fee of 2.29% and a sales load of 1% on top of it. Compare that with another index fund that tracks the very same index, Vanguard’s VFINX which has an ER of 0.17% and no load. From an investor’s point of view, both are identical funds.

With Vanguard’s VFINX, another S&P 500 fund, your $10,000 investment would’ve grown to $10,082.56 from 2011 to 2012 – a gain of $82.56

Given a choice, which one would you pick? Obviously Vanguard.

Choice, that’s what a 401K curtails. RYSYX is very profitable for 401K providers.

401Ks are the sole reason companies like Rydex even have costly funds like RYSYX.

Unconventional wisdom
Max out your company’s contribution. No less, no more. If your company does a dollar to dollar match, that’s 100% return! Don’t say no to that. For savings beyond that, consider an IRA. The limit is a lot less – $5000 vs. $16,500. See if your spouse qualifies for Spousal IRA. If you do, you just doubled your IRA space! Once you’ve exhausted these options, and if you still have money left, reconsider your 401K again as a last resort.

“Buy a used car”

This is actually good advice, but thrown around loosely. Yes, you do lose money the minute you take your new car out of the dealership. A used car is a better option, but then not all used cars are the same. There is an ocean of difference between a 10 year old Sebring and a 10 year old Camry. A worn out car will cost you more in the long run on maintenance. And you can never tell which part is going to fail next or when.

Unconventional wisdom
Buy a used car, but one that is still under warranty. This way, if a major part fails, you are still covered. If that is still beyond your budget, pick a car from a maker that has a reputation for reliability. Keeps your insurance low and you might get a good price when you are ready to trade up.

“Choose a 15 year mortgage over 30 year mortgage”

Another piece of advice that is frequently thrown around is that if you can afford a 15 year mortgage, you should go for it instead of a 30 year mortgage. Yes being debt-free sooner is good and with a 15 year mortgage you definitely lower your overall payments on your house… provided there is no disruption to your cash flow for the next 15 years! What if you lose your job and end up on a jobless spell for a year? You still have to make those payments and If you don’t have enough savings, you are toast.

if your emergency funds are limited and if you are like millions of Americans with a regular job, you should consider a 30 year mortgage even if you can afford a 15 year mortgage based on your current income levels. Use the extra savings to build up sufficient savings and once you reach a comfort level, make extra payments on your 30 year mortgage to pay it off sooner.

Even $100 in extra payments on a 200K loan will shave off 5 years of a 30 year mortgage. By making extra payments, you can pay off your house in 15 years if you choose to, but have the flexibility of adjusting the extra payments if there is a temporary cash crunch. A 15 year mortgage doesn’t offer you that advantage.

Unconventional wisdom
Sign up for a 30 year mortgage, but strive to pay it off in 15.

“Don’t raid your retirement funds to pay for your house”

Depending upon the type of the fund, there are different rules. With a 401K, you can take out a loan of up to 50% or $50,000 whichever is less tax-free and without penalties. With an IRA, you can use up to $10,000 penalty-free for buying your first home. Unlike a 401K, you don’t have to pay it back since this is not a loan.

Now, there are times when raiding your retirement can actually be beneficial. Say you are short of $10,000 on your downpayment to avoid a PMI. PMIs are monthly payments that you make as insurance premium for your lender in case you default. Read that again, this is not insurance for you, but your lender! From your perspective you are literally throwing your money away. This is one good example of using your retirement money to avoid PMI and use that savings to replenish your retirement funds, at your pace.

Unconventional wisdom
If using your funds means avoiding PMI, go for it, but pay it back with the savings.

“Avoid credit cards”

A more appropriate advice would be ‘avoid keeping a balance on your credit cards’. Whether you like it or not, credit cards have become a necessity today. All businesses factor in the cost of doing business using credit cards into their products and services. If you have the discipline to pay off your balance every month, why not get back your share of the costs? Choose a rewards card that works for you and enjoy the benefits while boosting your credit scores while you are at it!

Unconventional wisdom
Don’t maintain a card balance and enjoy the rewards of a good rewards card.

The takeaway

When it comes to personal finance, what works for your friend may not necessarily work for you. The best way to find out if a piece of advice is in your best interest is to educate yourself. The more aware you are, the better your chances of making the right call.

A fool and his money are soon parted.

Unconventional Wisdom In Personal Finance is a post from Money Cone ^DISCLAIMER

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A good set of winter tires will go a long way in getting you home safely

A few years back a question like that wouldn’t have even crossed my mind! But moving to the east coast, I’ve learn’t a few tricks on driving in snow without getting myself killed!

Prior to moving to the east coast, I had never driven in snow. I was blissfully unaware of what it takes to drive in snow. I still remember that day. A cold wintery morning, no snow, but icy conditions and I had to attend an interview. I turned on my gps, put on some music and hit the gas!

The GPS told me to take a steep, cobble-stoned road that was covered with ice. And I did. The car went up a bit and then got all floaty and started slipping! Lights I’ve never seen in my car started flashing (stability assist)!

My first instinct was to hit the breaks and park the car. Luckily I didn’t, I was halfway there, and even though the car was slipping, it was moving forward. But I did make it!

So what went wrong? I wasn’t speeding, the tires were new, the car had traction control and stability assist and yet it was a struggle and potentially dangerous to go up that road. How do you climb up a steep road covered with ice?

Winter tires. That’s what was missing. My tires were actually pretty new, but they were sporty, summer tires meant for California roads. Winter tires make a huge difference. A lot of science goes behind the materials used and the treads for better traction and grip on icy roads. This one thing will make a huge difference on how your car performs in slippery conditions. Get your tires changed before the start of winter and change all four tires. (I know this post is a little late for that!)

Climbing up a steep, slippery road

If you are climbing up a steep slippery road and your car starts slipping but keeps moving forward, don’t hit the breaks! Once the car stops, you will start slipping backwards with pretty much no control. For me, I kept going till the road started leveling again. Of course, avoid steep roads if possible, but if you do have to take them, keep this in mind.

Climbing down a steep, slippery road

Going downhill is always harder than climbing uphill when roads are slippery. Breaking may or may not work depending upon how good your tires are how slippery the road is. If you break too hard, your car has the potential to skid, if you break too slow, it may or may not stop. Once again, a good set of winter tires helps a lot.

Negotiating a turn when roads are wet

When you make a turn, your car is pulled towards the edge of the turn by what’s called the centrifugal force. Slushy and wet roads magnify this effect. Slow down! That’s the best advice I can give (and it works)!

Saving money on tires

Now tires are not cheap and prices vary greatly between retailers for the exact same set of tires. Here’s how you can get a good deal on a tire:

• Never buy tires from a dealership. The quote I got for a set was somewhere in 4 figures. Got the same set of tires for 30% less including labor at a local auto shop
• If you have a Costco membership, that is a good place to get tires
• You can order tires online and get it shipped either to you or to a auto shop near you. You cut the middleman and the savings are significant and worth your effort. Amazon has a limited selection, Tirerack and Discount tires are other well known tire dealers
• Once you purchase the tires, go to the manufacturer’s website and look for rebate forms. A number of tire manufacturers provide significant cash backs in the form of mail-in-rebates
• Haggle! When getting your tires installed, haggle on the price. These costs are not set in stone!
• PRO-TIP: When you are getting your tires changed, ask the mechanic to check your brakes as well. Usually, there is no additional charge for this

If you own a 4WD/AWD, you may think you are covered. But remember, a four wheel drive provides control and stability but your tires provide traction. Go with a good set of tires because no 4WD can defy laws of physics!

Share your winter driving stories, tips and tricks!

This one thing will make a huge impact on how your car handles in snow and ice is a post from Money Cone ^DISCLAIMER

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What time is it? It’s time for another roundup! Some great reads from my usual list and I’ve added some great posts from new, promising bloggers to this roundup.

But before we get to it, here are some news snips that’ll make you go hmmm!

• Apple is sitting on so much cash that if it decided to distribute it all as dividends, each shareholder will get $112 per share! Apple sadly, doesn’t pay dividends
• SOPA, the draconian copyright law failed as lawmakers bailed leaving the architect of SOPA, Lamar Smith fuming. A small victory for the masses
• If infidelity is your thing, you should try running for president! Just ask Bill Clinton, Herman Cain or Newt Gingrich!
• The good news at Research-In-Motion, the makers of Blackberry phones, is that the CEOs have stepped down. (Yes, RIM needed two CEOs to keep it running). The bad news is the new CEO had this to say after assessing the threats RIM was facing from Apple, Nokia and Microsoft: “I don’t think that there is drastic change needed”
• This lender will lend you $1,500 for just 234.25% APR. You don’t have to compare payday loans to see if that is a good deal!

Now for some good reads!

TheFreeFinancialAdvisor with 5 Jaw-Dropping Financial Advisor Interview Questions. Informative read!

Crystal@BudgetingInTheFunStuff, who makes a living blogging, with an excellent piece – Don’t sell yourself short!

Ashley@MoneyTalks with: Your Money is Like an Unruly Child. Find out why!

A back-to-the-basics post at WorldOfFinance aptly titled, What is personal finance?

We all have good and bad roommate stories! But is the savings worth the hassle? Check out Jeffrey’s post!

Green Panda@Greenpandatreehouse with Are Investment Risks Not Worth Taking?. Sane advice.

Unless you are a celebrity, you don’t talk about this, but always good to know! MomVesting with Prenups!

Daniel@SweatingTheBigStuff asks: Should Tax Evaders Be Given A Safe Haven? What do you think?

101Centavos with a fun post : Redneck Dividends

Barb@BarbaraFriedbergPersonalFinance with Enjoy Life and Make Money-part 1. They can go hand-in-hand!

Joe@RetireBy40 with a post on how well they have finances under control compared to averages.

Novel Investor has the solution to The U.S. Debt Problem!

LaTisha with an excellent piece: How to Write a Job Getting Resume

A very nice post from Shilpan@StreetSmartFinance: 3 Must Money Lessons for Smart Investors

CashFlowMantra gives an update on his efforts to eliminate PMI…

Bret@HopeToProper with an intriguing post Where Would You Invest a Million Dollars?

Mich@BeatingTheIndex gives an update on his portfolio for 2011. Before ye judge, look at Mich’s 2010 returns!

FinancialGod with a thought-provoking post: The Role of Money in the Financial Crisis

Ken@ArborInvestmentPlannerBlog presents Six Top Global Investment Trends for Your Portfolio in 2012

SixFigureInvestor with some practical tips on where to stash your cash today.

Carnival Mentions
Posts from my blog were featured in the following carnivals. Thanks!

Canadian Finance Carnival #67

Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #216 – December 23, 2011

Canadian Finance Carnival #68

Carnival Of Financial Camaraderie # 13 – Christmas Edition

The Best of Money Carnival #135 – It’s a New Year of Money Edition!

Totally Money Blog Carnival #49

Yakezie Carnival : Better late than never edition

Thanks for reading!

Blog Roundup is a post from Money Cone ^DISCLAIMER

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