Whether you’re waiting to see exactly how big your tax refund from Uncle Sam will be or you’re the type of person who leaves vacation planning to the very last second – like my friend who decided last week that she and her family are going on a three-week safari in South Africa later this month – it’s never too early to start working out the details for your next family vacation. After all, the average vacation costs roughly $1600, according to Money Magazine; that comes out to more than three percent of the average American family’s household income.

This is a personal finance site, so of course budgeting for your family vacation – getting the most fun out of the least amount of money – is the top priority. It’s also the number one reason why you need to start vacation planning early. If you wait until the last minute, you may lose the opportunity to take advantage of the biggest and best deals out there. I’ll probably have Lauren write about her vacation planning saga soon, you’ll learn that timing is everything!

There are so many factors to consider – and the web can be a fantastic trip advisor, providing you with an untold amount of inside information for just about every destination out there. Here are my top five favorite sites to enhance your family vacation:

• One of the most critical aspects of vacation planning is the weather. A trip to the beach sounds great, but a trip to the beach during hurricane season? Not so much. That’s where Weather Trends 360 comes in. Founded by a former Air Force officer, the site uses historical data to predict the weather just about anywhere on the globe a full year in advance. Want to make sure there’s actually snow on the ground for your family’s late-March ski trip to the mountains? Check this site first.
• There’s nothing worse than arriving at your destination, only to discover that every other person on the planet has the same vacation itinerary as you. Want to have the Grand Canyon to yourself? Dream of being the only person on the beach along Florida’s Gold Coast? CheapTickets includes an off-season trip advisor on its website. This way, you can be sure you’ll avoid the crowds while you score a slow-season discount to boot.
• Travel like a local. The Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory makes it easy for you, providing the contact information for convention and visitors’ bureaus across the globe with just a few clicks of the mouse. Whether you’re traveling to Tuscany or Tuscon, the folks who staff these offices can guide you towards points of interest and special events you may have otherwise missed.
• I’ve made the mistake of flying to my vacation destination without booking a rental car. This is a no-no. I don’t care how awesome your resort is or how pedestrian-friendly your destination – if you stay in any one location long enough, you’re going to get the urge to get out and explore. But who wants to allot $500 for a rental? One of my top travel rules: never pay full price! Head to Rental Car Momma instead. This site has discount coupons for all of the major rental companies, including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis.
• Don’t forget to plan for your gas expenses! This is true whether you’re renting a car or driving your own. AAA’s Fuel Cost Calculator lets you map out your route, then gives you an estimate of how much gas you’ll use – and pay for – to get there depending not only on local gas prices but also on the fuel efficiency of your specific vehicle.

What are your go-to websites for family vacation planning?

Planning For Your Family Vacation – The Ultimate Trip Advisor is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

2012 is an exciting year for me. I’m going to be getting married in June, I will be moving to a new apartment and have to take care of furnishing it and paying all of those one-time expenses that can add up, and I will be working like crazy to make sure my blog and online business ventures don’t get neglected!

It’s a little difficult to decide how much personal information to release through the blog. I like being able to interact with people and I like sharing my lessons with you. They’re interesting and informative and we can all benefit from them. However, there is some information that I want to keep private. This includes income (both online and in real life), so I prefer to give percentages rather than put numbers to it all.

My goals aren’t big on personal items, rather they are heavy on business goals, which definitely influence my personal life in a big way. So while I’m not promising to keep my monthly budget under a specific amount, my personal income and spending habits shine through.

1. Start 2 New Side Ventures

Since I’m starting a business that maybe technically started in 2011, we still haven’t launched yet, and most of the effort will come in 2012, I’ll allow it. For my other idea? I have absolutely no plans yet, but the more I experience, the more I think of income-producing ideas. They don’t always pan out, but with enough hooks in the water, I’m bound to catch something. With 334 days to go, I’m sure I’ll think of some new moneymaking idea at some point.

2. Double My Side Income From 2011

This is a big leap, 2011 was an amazing year for me, but there’s no reason to think I can’t beat it. I have a big head start in that I am not starting from the bottom like last year, so I have everything set up for a big year and I can continue what I’m doing while expanding and capitalizing on my new ideas and projects. Doubling my side income won’t be easy and is far from a guarantee, but I like to set high goals, and hopefully one of my other side businesses will help me get over the hump.

3. Save 60% of My Post-Tax Income

The sad thing about this one is that it’s not something I’m going to actively work toward. I no longer keep a strict budget, but I have guidelines. I don’t spend much money on frivolous purchases, but I don’t hold back from the things I want. Still, being able to save such a large portion of my income at a young age will only help me achieve whatever financial goals I make for myself in the future, so saving is definitely a priority for me.

4. Double My Net Worth

I’m getting married in June, and that means I’ll be taking on some addition student loan debt. This was never a real consideration for me, more a fact of life, but what it does is sets me back in terms of net worth. If I can achieve my first 3 goals, I think it’s still manageable and would be a large source of pride for me.

Readers, what are your personal finance goals for 2012? Did you set income and savings goals? Net worth goals? Personal goals?

Business and Personal Finance Goals For 2012 is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

Sounds like a great time to buy a new home, or take advantage of the low interest rates to refinance your current residence, right?

Well, not exactly.

While it’s tempting to draw a parallel between the interest rate on Federal Funds and mortgage loans, the correlation is shaky at best. It’s true that the Federal Funds rate and the Prime rate compare favorably; there’s also a relationship between the Fed’s rate and short-term loan rates, like a one-year adjustable rate mortgage, or ARM. But just because the Fed’s interest rate is expected to hold steady at that quarter of a percent rate for the next several years doesn’t mean mortgage rates will also stay at or near the historical lows we’ve seen over the past year.

The reason is complex. The most popular type of home loan on the market is the 30-year fixed loan, which has an interest rate that has bottomed out under four percent in recent months. However, even though the length of the term is 30 years, that doesn’t mean homeowners are holding on to their properties for the entire period. In fact, the average 30-year fixed loan is held for just seven years!

It’s because of this relatively short-term lifespan on a long-term loan that loan underwriters determine rates based not on the Fed’s interest rate – which, despite the Fed’s promise to hold the current rate steady for the next 24 months, typically fluctuates multiples times a year – but on five- and ten-year Treasury Constant Maturity bonds, also known as T-bonds. In fact, a comparison of T-bond and 30-year fixed loan rates over the past two years shows when T-bond rates dip, a drop in mortgage rates soon follows. Because T-bonds are less susceptible to the ebbs and flows of today’s turbulent market, the mortgage rates they influence are also largely protected from day to day changes.

Another key element that affects the mortgage market is inflation. Inflation plays a role in your mortgage application because it essentially acts as a financial vampire, stripping the loan’s value in the eyes of investors. For example, if you get a mortgage at a four percent interest rate – in the midst of two percent inflation – the total profit for the investor is two percent instead of the original four. That means when inflation goes down, you’re likely to see a drop in mortgage rates, since investors now have a wider profit margin; likewise, a rise in inflation also leads to a rise in mortgage rates.

Of course, there are other factors at play in the mortgage application process: the delays – ranging from a few hours to a few days – in securing an interest rate, your credit score, the size and length of the loan for which you’re applying, and market issues like supply and demand.

But the bottom line is this: while a low interest rate on Federal Funds is a good thing for a recovering economy, it’s not necessarily a good thing if you’re in the hunt for a new mortgage.

With The Federal Reserve Holding Steady On Interest Rates, Is Now The Time To Buy? is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

In honor of her hitting the books, I’ve been doing some reading of my own. Check it out!

13 Reasons NOT to Have a Budget (via Money Infant)

Don’t Be a Sheep When it Comes to Your Finances (via My Journey To Millions)

Part-Time Jobs You Should Get off the Couch for (via Studenomics)

What is Tax Evasion and How Could it Affect You (via Free From Broke)

Can I Retire? (via Canajun Finances)

Yakezie Carnival at Little House in the Valley
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at Financial Success for Young Adults
Festival of Frugality at Squirrelers
Carnival of Wealth at Control Your Cash
Totally Money at Family Money Values
Festival of Frugality at The Frugal Toad
Carnival of Financial Planning at Skilled Investor Blog
Carnival of Retirement at Retire By 40

Best of the Rest: Back to School Edition is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

If you’re a blogger, the majority of payments are made via Paypal, so this adds a completely new hassle to the income reporting equation. The two biggest problems are:

• Not everyone uses their PayPal account solely as a business account. For sole proprietorships, some payments from businesses should be marked as income. However, payments made from friends shouldn’t be. The IRS requirement doesn’t differentiate the different payments (unless they are made as personal payments). Therefore, in some cases, the 1099-K issued by PayPal may over-report income.
• This also raises the issue of being taxed twice on the same income. If someone pays me over $600, they are required to file a 1099-MISC. If they pay via PayPal, PayPal then records that payment on the 1099-K. We shouldn’t be required to pay taxes twice on the same income!

The 1099-K changes are designed to prevent tax evasion, which amounts to over $300 billion a year in the U.S. I like the idea of holding people responsible for their taxes, and this holds people accountable for their online business ventures which in the past may have gone under the radar. For example, eBay re-sellers are required to report their online income, but it’s been easy to avoid it in the past.

However, this puts a large burden on taxpayers. eBay sales of used goods will still show up on the 1099-K, even though they shouldn’t be considered taxable income (if you sell something for less than it’s worth, it’s generally not taxable).

Because this is so confusing, the IRS did something smart. Really smart. On December 6th, the IRS released the 2011 Instructions for Schedule C, the form to mark profit or loss from business, and in it they gave all business owners a little reprieve and helped us prepare for our 2012 taxes as well.

First, while the 1099-K requirement still stands for 2011, the IRS has deferred the requirement to report the amounts on the 1099-K.

“However, for 2011, the IRS has deferred the requirement to report these amounts.”

What this means is that while you may get a 1099-K from PayPal, you don’t have to record that number on your taxes. You are, of course, still responsible to pay taxes on your income that you received through PayPal, but you can do it the same way it’s been done in the past, by recording only the actual business income on line 1b. You can simply enter ’0′ on line 1a.

Additionally, the 1099-K reporting requirement eliminates the need for some 1099-MISC filings, according to Don Frank, partner-in-charge of outsourcing with CliftonLaronAllen. The 1099-MISC indicates (in a not-so-straightforward way) that businesses should not complete Form 1099-MISC if the payment will already be reported on a 1099-K. So if someone pays you via PayPal and you will be issues a 1099-K, you won’t need to be issued a 1099-MISC as well. This avoids the double taxation issue.

Kudos to the IRS for realizing what a hassle this would be for 2011. I’ve started to prepare for 2012 by separating my personal and business PayPal accounts and by tracking PayPal transactions separately so I won’t have to go through at the end of the year and figure out which transactions were included on the 1099-K and which need to be recorded on the schedule C separately.

Paypal Income Reporting Requirements for Bloggers is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

At the time, I said no because I thought there were a few actions that would have a much bigger effect on his finances. Why try and make about $2 a month when you can make changes that will make you $50 or more?

After signing up for Lending Club and opening an IRA account, he decided to try out Envaulted. Why turn down free money? It’s hard to argue with that logic.

My brother received a cool $100 from Envaulted over the past year, which is pretty sweet. But this past week, the site went down. I won’t even link to Envaulted.com because the site doesn’t even load.

There is no way to request payment anymore, let alone log in. People have connected their bank information, and there is no way to delete it. If I were a customer, I’d be worried. There’s no response from customer service, either. The only public communication was a single tweet from the Envaulted Twitter account, which has elicited plenty of responses, such as this one:

There is also this forum about Envaulted on FatWallet that discusses the issue. Alex, the COO, mentions that information is safe, but doesn’t say anything else to help people out. The mystery continues.

People want to know what happened, if their information is safe, and if there’s any way to get the payments they deserve.

This is just another reminder to choose the companies you do business with wisely, especially when it comes to secure financial information. I think the smart thing to do now is to change the passwords to any financial institutions that you had connected to Envaulted.

What Happened to Envaulted? is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

Show Stability

Avoid job hopping prior to seeking a mortgage lender. Lenders like to see that you can prove stable income every month for any given length of time and going from one job to another only proves that your job history is shaky at best. Transferring to the same job in a new location isn’t a deal breaker, but completely switching careers can cause problems. The best thing you can do is to wait until after the closing date to change jobs.

Pre-Approval

Many potential homeowners skip the step of becoming pre-approved for their loans. Don’t jump into house shopping thinking you can afford a certain amount because there’s always a chance that you won’t be approved.

Getting a pre-approval is more involved than a pre-qualification because the lender will look at your credit history, employment status, current assets and total income to get an idea of what you can really afford. This is why using a mortgage calculator is so important before shopping around for a home, but be sure to use the mortgage calculator in conjunction with an authentic pre-approval.

Credit History

It’s also smart to check your credit score long before the bank does so you know exactly where your credit history stands. This way you can clear up any discrepancies, if they exist and polish that report until it shines. Stay away from applying for other types of credit such as credit cards when seeking a mortgage, since doing so can harm your credit score.

Shop Around

A major mistake that most first-time homebuyers make is not shopping around for their mortgage. Just because you’ve banked with a certain financial institution for years doesn’t mean you have to take out a mortgage with them and just because you’re pre-approved with one doesn’t mean that you have to go with them. Compare multiple banks and home loan lenders to see which one offers the best rates and loan terms.

Finally, the biggest mistake that homebuyers make is not reviewing those loan documents. It’s easy to just sign on the lines pointed out by your loan officer and considering the stack of papers involved in a mortgage document it’s no wonder that people skip this step, but going over the mortgage in its entirety is crucial. You are consenting to take responsibility for that mortgage, so you need to know exactly what terms you are accepting. If there is anything listed that you don’t agree with, bring it up with the loan officer and never be afraid to ask questions.

Don’t Make These Mortgage Mistakes! is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

Taxpayers who disclose offshore accounts must pay a 27.5% penalty in addition to any back taxes, interest, and late charges for up to 8 years. But they avoid going to prison.

$4.4 billion is a nice chunk of change, and that lets the U.S. public off the hook for that much money. So maybe we should all be fans of these types of programs. Others will argue that the rich can just pay off their crimes and avoid any real punishment.

Tax evasion costs over $300 billion a year, so we want back as much as we can, right? Maybe $4.4 isn’t a huge number overall, but for the amount of offshore money hidden, it seems to be a decent pull.

I’m just starting to do my taxes and I’m doing everything I can to report properly and follow the laws. I’m not trying to avoid my tax duties. If I do, then it means someone else will have to make up the difference. I don’t like passing the buck on to someone else.

Based on our current economic situation, I am in favor of collecting these payments. The penalties are harsh enough to still make it hurt, and the benefit of a clean conscience, having the money back in the U.S., and not having even more penalties if they are caught instead of turning themselves in.

Readers, what do you think? Should we accept money we wouldn’t have otherwise have or should we be stricter with people who hide money from the government?

Should Tax Evaders Be Given A Safe Haven? is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

As a result, there has been a lot of backlash online, and Suze responded by calling a few on my personal finance blogger friends idiots. She since issued an apology, but it’s clear that she is preying on the poor and taking advantage of who she is to make money while not doing what is in the best interest of her readers and followers.

There is even an Occupy Suze twitter account, for those who are interested in following along.

I have been a fan of Suze’s with a few exceptions, so this week I present the blog posts about Suze’s Approved Card, please read them, they are quite juicy and show the fight that happened on Twitter!

What We Need from Suze Orman Instead of Another Celebrity-Endorsed Useless Prepaid Debit Card via PT Money

Young, Gullible, and Broke: Suze Orman’s Debit Card FAIL via So Over Debt

Suze Orman Releases Prepaid Card. Wait, What? via Beating Broke

Suze Orman’s Approved PrePaid Debit Card: Bad for Consumers! via The Debt Princess

Suze Orman Shows True Colors With Her Approved Prepaid Debit Card via Gen X Finance

Suze Orman Pre-Paid Debit Card: Can We Afford It? #DenySuzeCard via Girls Just Wanna Have Funds

How to Make Your Own Pre-Paid Debit Card – And Suze Orman’s Approved Card via Free From Broke

Suze Orman’s Pre-Paid Debit Card Scam via Lazy Man and Money

Suze Orman’s Card is Not Approved by Me via Thousandaire

I have appeared in these carnivals recently:

Yakezie Carnival at Broke Professionals
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at Boomer and Echo
Festival of Frugality at Magical Penny
Carnival of Financial Planning at Skilled Investor Blog
Yakezie Carnival at The Ultimate Juggle
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
Totally Money at Help Me to Save
Festival of Frugality at Funny about Money
Canadian Finance Carnival at Canadian Finance Blog

Best of the Rest: Occupy Suze Orman Edition is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

This was based on numbers from 1999 to 2006, and could be even higher in recent years as the weak economy may have led more people to hide money from the government. For example, the average tax refund decreased by $100 in 2011, maybe people are reporting less income in order to keep more of their money.

It’s hard to wrap my head around how much money that is. Congress was recently unable to agree on a plan to reduce the national deficit by $1 trillion over 10 years. Over the same time period, tax evasion will cost us well over $3.3 trillion.

I’m a big proponent of everyone following the tax rules. When we don’t, it means that everyone else has to pick up the slack. Because of this fraud, tax rates are likely higher and future generations will be paying for current expenses.

The IRS is Catching More Tax Evaders

The good news is that the IRS is doing a better job of catching people who aren’t paying their fair share of taxes.

Fraud investigations increased by 14% in 2010, while prosecution recommendations (cases that the IRS thinks should be brought to court) increased 18% and convictions increased by 4%.

Again, it’s possible that some of these increases are due to the economic situation of the past few years, but the fact that the IRS decreased its investigation time by nearly 40 days is another good sign that the IRS is doing a better job.

Don’t Give In To The Pressure

It’s really easy to hide money from the IRS. After I sold my HP TouchPad for $100 profit, it would be really hard for the IRS to track down how much I paid, how much I sold it for on eBay, and how much of a profit I made. So I could hide that pretty easily. But I’m not. I know that people don’t admit to cheating on their taxes, but the fact is that it happens. Stay true, and help reduce that $337 billion number so that future generations are stuck having to pay it!

Tax Evasion Costs Over $300 Billion Each Year is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

I aim to reduce delinquencies by using smart criteria for picking loans, and it appears to have paid off.

15.85% Interest Rate

I couldn’t be happier about this, and I’m so encouraged that I actually sold a few of my 11-12% loans so that I could have the cash to invest in loans with higher interest rates.

Here’s a quick snapshot of my loans:

Issued & Current – 169 loans for $5,028
Fully Paid – 4 loans for $100
Late 31 – 120 Days - 1 loan for $24

As you can see, almost all of my loans are in good standing, with only one being late. That loan had a missed payment in December, but I’m hoping it gets back on track as the payment is currently ‘processing.’ Of course, I am prepared for the worst. Let’s assume that he goes into default: that is still only 1 of 174 loans, about 0.58% default rate, far better than the 3% average for Lending Club.

Of course, having loans paid off early hurts my performance, but since that first bump, I’ve been a little more careful not to pick borrowers who are too good.

Future Lending Club Plans

I’m going to be investing the $125 I have in available cash this week so that it’s not sitting there earning nothing. My goal is not to have idle cash sitting around for more than a week, and since I can invest in a loan for as little as $25, I’ve been lagging in January.

Overall, I’m extremely pleased with my performance and I hope to keep up the good work!

Lending Club Returns at 15.85% in January 2012 is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

Well, sort of.

We have our individual income tax rates set, we know our state tax rates, but by only extending the social security tax cut for 2 months, Congress has made it harder for us to plan. We don’t really know whether we can count on that 2% tax savings for the entire year or if our paychecks will become a little bit smaller come March 1st.

Originally, having the tax rate go back to 6.2% would have meant an increase of $2,340 for those who make $110,100 or more.

With a 2 month guaranteed tax break, if Congress really can’t agree on an agreement for the other 10 months of 2012 and the social security tax rate does indeed increase to 6.2%, that will cost taxpayers who make $110,100 or more a total of $1,950. That is not a small sum at all!

However, I do believe that since both Democrats and Republicans have shown indications that they want to extend the tax break through the end of 2012, and while I have no idea how they’ll come to an agreement, I do think that we will see the social security tax rate remain at 4.2% through the end of the year.

While I don’t advocate spending the money before you have it, I think it’s safe to calculate the savings over the course of the year. Maybe that will be extra savings that you can put toward retirement, or maybe that’s a grand or two that will go toward paying off debt. Either way, use it wisely and enjoy your extra savings in 2012!

Planning for Social Security Taxes in 2012 is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

On Friday, I finally picked up my car. I got in, turned it on, and I see that the same maintenance light was on. So I paid $371 and they didn’t even fix the problem? That’s no good. After waiting a few minutes, they said they’d need the extended weekend (and what turned out to be the entire following week) to take a longer look and fix it, so I immediately got worried about my trip to San Francisco over the Christmas weekend.

It’s kind of hard to go without a car, and bringing my car in a few days later wasn’t a realistic option, I made specific plans for Wednesday-Friday and lining up something similar the following week would be difficult. I was pretty annoyed because all they had to do was turn on the car to see that the problem wasn’t fixed and the maintenance light was still lit.

The guy asked me if I needed a loaner car, so I said, “If I can bring it to San Francisco,” thinking that putting about 1,000 on a loaner car wasn’t a realistic possibility, but surprisingly, the guy said it was ok, so I got in and drove away as fast as I could before he could change his mind.

Then, I got to thinking about just how much having a loaner car would help me.

A trip to San Francisco was going to be at least 900 miles, so not having to put those miles on my car was definitely welcome. And there is obviously a cost to driving a car, and the IRS agrees. The IRS says that driving your own car for business uses can be deducted at a rate of 55.5 cents per mile.

That includes the cost of gas, so it was pretty easy to figure out the total cost of my trip:

1,048 miles x 55.5 cents = 58,164 cents or $581.64. Wow, I thought we’d be saving money by driving, but that’s more than the cost of 2 plane tickets! Of course, we still did have gas expenses ($138.13), so the final savings from not having to drive our car was a whopping $443.51.

So I saved over $443 by not driving my own car for about a week. The repairs cost me $371, so I was able to save over $72 on my trip to the mechanic. How many people can say that?

I did not plan to get a loaner car (I didn’t get one from Wednesday-Friday because I didn’t even know it was an option), and I certainly didn’t plan to not have a car on my trip (in fact, I brought it in so that I would have a healthy car for my big trip).

But, I got a little lucky, so I’ll gladly refer to this trip as the one where I made $70 bucks from the mechanic!

How I Made Money on a $371 Visit to the Mechanic is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

2011 was a fantastic year for me, highlighted by my engagement and cross country move to California to start my new life.

I hope we can all learn from our positive and negative experiences of 2011 and apply them to 2012 to make it our best year yet!

Good luck to everyone and have a prosperous year!

Editor’s Picks:

Sustainable PF from Sustainable Personal Finance presents 5 Tips to Help You Grow Your Business, and says, “You need to set things in motion that allow your business to grow, and to thrive. Here are 5 tips that can help you grow your business.”

Darwin from Darwin’s Money presents 2012 Social Security Tax Deal Explained, and says, “Here are the juicy details behind the latest Payroll Tax holiday on Social Security taxes for the beginning of 2012.”

Dan Meyers from Your Life, Their Life presents The Timeline of an Entrepreneur, and says, “Do you feel like you’re working in circles as an entrepreneur? If so, then you can relate to this timeline!”

Squeezer from Personal Finance Success presents The Truth About Extreme Couponing, and says, “Most frugal individuals have seen the TLC show Extreme Couponing; however, a lot of mis-information exists on the subject of extreme couponing. Most individuals seem to think that you can buy a few editions of a Sunday newspaper and have a sufficient stack of coupons to save hundreds of dollars. This idea is false, and I will explain it and provide more truths about extreme couponing.”

Miranada @ Financial Highway from Financial Highway presents 50 Home Business Ideas, and says, “Many of us want to earn extra money from home. And, indeed, starting a home business can be a good way to cultivate additional income, and help you reach other financial goals that you might have. From creative business ideas, to the more mundane, here are 50 home business ideas.”

Money Management

John from Passive Family Income presents 4 Ways to Make Money with Things You’re Already Doing, and says, “But what if there was a way to bring in some extra money without any additional effort on your part? What if you could earn money just by doing the things you’re already doing? The good news is that you can and here’s how.”

Bryan at Pinch that Penny! from Pinch that Penny! presents An Analysis of a 2 Broke Girls Episode, and says, “This post analyzes certain money decisions in a recent episode of the tv show 2 Broke Girls.”

Miss T. from Prairie Eco Thrifter presents How to Throw a Green Party, and says, “Entertaining doesn’t have to be damaging to the environment, nor do you have to limit the fun to throw a green party. Being aware and choosing to make better environmental choices are good ways to start turning things around for our planet. So check out these great tips on how to throw a green party and do your bit for the environment.”

Bob from Christian Personal Finance presents What’s your new years financial resolution?, and says, “A new year is right around the bend. You’re probably already dreaming up a few new year’s resolutions for 2012. Don’t forget some financial resolutions as well! Here are some financial steps you can take in 2012 to get started on the right foot.”

Lisa from Thriftability presents Money Sense: Online Banking, and says, “Online banks offer a great way to save money. However, that doesn’t fully encompass its advantages – in other words, online banks aren’t just a way to conveniently store your money… they offer respectable products. From checking and savings, to IRA’s, great credit card rates, and home loans, online banks can get the job done!”

Crystal from Budgeting in the Fun Stuff presents Our Christmas Spending for 2011, and says, “We didn’t go absolutely nuts this year, but we did end up spending more than normal. It helps that we made very good friends over 2010-2011 that we didn’t have before, so our Christmas gift list nearly doubled.”

Kate Kashman from The Paycheck Chronicles presents Setting SMART Goals for 2012, and says, “Goals are great, if you know how to make them work. Using the SMART acronym will help you create truly useful goals.”

Matt Bell from Matt About Money presents To Go Big in 2012, Think Small, and says, “With the start of a new year, lots of people make a list of goals they’d like to accomplish. But success goes not to those with the biggest list; it goes to those with the smallest list of high-impact goals. ”

Finance and Economy

Echo from Boomer & Echo presents Will You Be Better Off Financially Next Year?, and says, “What are some of your financial priorities for 2012? Do you think that you’ll be better off financially next year?”

Nicole from Nicole and Maggie: Grumpy Rumblings presents Yet another “levels of personal finance”, and says, “We present the terrified-of-debt-ultra-responsible-perhaps-too-thrifty-by-US-standards levels of personal finance.”

Revanche from A Gai Shan Life presents In search of a common language: poverty and the great silence.

Crystal Groves from The Money Drain presents Money Tip: Christmas is Over, Here’s What You Do Now.

Credit and Debt

Glen Craig from Free From Broke presents Stay on Top of Credit Card Payments – How to Make Sure You Pay Your Credit Card on Time, and says, “How to stay on top of credit card payments? You’re well-meaning but you just can’t get your credit card bills paid on time. See some great techniques to pay your credit card on time.”

Roshawn Watson from Watson Inc presents Home Mortgage Leverage SUCKS!, and says, “An article was circulated last week where the author lamented losing the leverage benefit of having a home mortgage. Here’s a counter-perspective: counter-perspective: home mortgage leverage sucks!”

Ashley from Money Talks Coaching presents Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Review, and says, “The Dave Ramsey Financial Peace class cost me just under $100 and I would say it is worth that smallish investment, especially if you are just getting started in getting control of your money. You will learn skills that will more than pay you back for the $100.”

Chris Holdheide from Stumble Forward presents 5 Ways Prepaid Debit Cards Beat Credit Cards, and says, “Learn how debit cards really are the better alternative to having a credit card.”

Saving

Squirrelers from Squirrelers presents 10 Winter Savings Tips, and says, “With winter upon us, it’s good to keep in mind ways to save money during this season of colder weather.”

Philip from PT Money Personal Finance presents Health Savings Account: Use It or Lose It, and says, “Discusses what an HSA is and ways to maximize its use for your family.”

Investing

Dividend Growth Investor from Dividend Growth Investor presents Tech Dividends on the Rise, and says, “Some companies such as International Business Machines (IBM), Intel (INTC) and Microsoft (MSFT) have been able to generate rising earnings per share over the past decade. This has enabled them to initiate a dividend, and also to increase it over time.”

D4L from Dividend Growth Stocks presents Bonds Look Morbid When Compared To These Dividend Stocks, and says, “Even hibernating bears know that bonds have essentially been dead money over the last year, or so. Interest rates are ridiculously low and not likely to improve any time soon given the anemic U.S. economy and European financial concerns. What’s done is done, so what should we expect to earn from bonds in the future? Consider these two scenarios.”

IS from Intelligent Speculator presents Do You Trust Your Government?, and says, “Do you trust your government’s role in investing?”

The DIV-Net from The Dividend Investing and Value Network presents Start Off Your New Year Right, and says, “The best way to start building a dividend growth portfolio is to start with a little capital. I personally started with about $7,000 when I initially started building my Freedom Fund.”

Div Guy from Dividend Guy Blog presents My Investor Xmas Wish List, and says, “What I want to see in the investing world.”

Sean Smarty from Grow Money presents Invest In Spreads Rather Than Stocks.

Career

Control Your Cash from Control Your Cash presents If we’re doing too many posts about whiny babies, please let us know, and says, “Pulitzer laureate Richard Russo spent 12 years in college and somehow never learned a thing about economics. Earlier this month, he bitched in the New York Times about how Amazon itself is now encouraging its customers to do what we figured out (and anyone else could) all by ourselves.”

Green Panda from Green Panda Treehouse presents The Best Way to Start Your Own Business After College, and says, “The steps to making money after college.”

Martin from Passive Income Now presents How to Make Money as a Blogger, and says, “The easy steps for making money with a blog in 2012.”

Taxes

Peter from Bible Money Matters presents What Are the Rules for Inheriting a Roth IRA?, and says, “What are the rules if you inherit a Roth IRA? It’s important to know, because an inherited Roth IRA can trigger: Estate Taxes, and/or Income Taxes.”

Other

Colin Williams from humble savers presents Five Ways To Save Money – New Year Resolutions For Your Financial Future, and says, “Many people will have New Year financial resolutions. There easy to make, hard to keep. A quick guide to have financial goals that can be managed and achieved.”

Money Walks from Money Walks presents Three Tips to help you Save on Car Insurance, and says, “Money Walks shares three tips for cutting the cost of your car insurance premiums.”

FMF from Free Money Finance presents Five Retirement Surprises, and says, “Here are 5 surprises I have found in retirement and some suggestions for you on each.”

Teacher Man from My University Money presents My Goals For 2012, and says, “With everyone doing “End of the Year” posts I thought I would join the party with my own modest contribution. Within my job in education, we are all about setting SMART goals:”

vh from Funny about Money presents Seven Must-Have Web Tools, and says, “Money management, time management, frugal travel, bargain hunting, and even security can all be found in the cloud now!”

Money Thinker from Money Thinking presents 4 Financial Resolutions for the New Year, and says, “Money Thinker shares a few New Year’s Resolutions that she’s made considering her finances and encourages readers to do the same.”

Mike from The Financial Blogger presents Did 2011 Suck? Let’s Kill it in 2012, and says, “Are you ready for 2012?”

Martin from Studenomics presents 24 Random Life Lessons Learned in 24 Years, and says, “Life lessons picked up in the last 24 years.”

Dannielle from Odd Cents presents How To Protect Yourself From Identity Theft.

Be sure to

Carnival of Personal Finance #342: Happy New Year Edition is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

I don’t think I set any specific goals in 2011, and I’ll go over some 2012 goals in a few days, but when I look back, a whole lot has happened. And most of it was unexpected, so any goals I set would be irrelevant. Let’s look at my year in review:

Posts I’m Proud Of

I’ve written a lot of posts this year, but there are a few that I really liked (and a few others that were popular in the personal finance community):

Stable Government Jobs Promote Laziness

How to Be a Frugal iPhone Owner

Would You Ever Move Into Your In-Laws’ House?

It Pays More To Have a Side Gig If You Make More Money

A Nigerian Scam Could Be A Legitimate Transaction

Federal and State Estimated Quarterly Tax Payments are Due!

Blog Improvements

In addition to a new theme that was put into place around March, I also was able to increase readership dramatically. In December 2010, I had just over 5,500 people visit my site. In December 2011, the number is over 13,000 and growing rapidly. Compared to 2010, my traffic increased by over 130%. I’m pretty proud of myself in that area.

Side Income

Through this site, a related side venture with a partner, and various staff writing positions, I was able to increase my income dramatically, and in total I made about 300% more from my side business in 2011 than I made in 2010. It was great to have second and third sources of income, and that allowed me to become self-employed for a few months over the summer and relieved what would have otherwise been a lot of stress.

Thank You!

Finally, I want to thank you guys for reading. A blog is nothing without readers, and without knowing that people were reading, I would have stopped writing years ago. Please let me know if there is anything you want me to write about, I love suggestions!

This year has truly been amazing for me, personally and professionally. And yet, I won’t bask in any of my accomplishments for more than a few minutes this morning. I’m already looking forward to 2012, which I hope will be just as amazing.

Reflecting Back on 2011 is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

Actually, it was such a grueling job that it spanned 2 almost full days of work. When I was 16, I got a job making $7.25 as a farmer. I would bike to work at 6am and immediately start picking whatever the vegetable of the day was. Sometimes it would be corn (ever have fresh corn on the cob? The sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted), sometimes it would be strawberries (pick 3, eat 1), and other times it would be sugar snap peas.

But in August, it becomes planting season, which means a lot of weeding in the hot and humid field. And when things haven’t grown yet, it’s not really a field. Just a big brown area many acres long and wide. And I’d stand there weeding around the pumpkins for a few hours, making my way up the line. When I got to the end, I’d move one row over and work my way back.

Obviously this wasn’t the most interesting work, but the time managed to tick by just a little bit faster because I was working with a few friends from school. At noon, we’d go back in for a two hour break when the sun was hot and grab some cold water and usually some bread and jam. At 2pm, we were out the door and back to weeding.

It was brutally hot, 100+ degrees at times, and in New England, it was pretty humid, too. I would come home and shower and the dirt and mud would come off, but I was left with a mighty fine farmer’s tan that summer.

The reason I hated this work was because it involved no thought whatsoever. Every minute was the same as the last one and the same as the next one and there wasn’t much to look forward to. Why? Because the next day was going to be exactly the same. The only thing to look forward to was that I’d be picking an actual vegetable and would be able to grab a healthy bite to eat every few minutes!

Readers, what was the hardest $100 you ever made? Any horror stories from your teenage years?

The Hardest $100 I Ever Made is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

It’s very simple to join:

• Pick 3 stock you think will perform the best in 2012
• Sign up on the Money Pros Index Fund Challenge registration page (registration is ending soon!)
• Track your progress among the competitors to see if you can beat the Money Pros!

Here are my picks for the year:

BAC – Bank of America
F – Ford
INTC – Intel

I think all three of these stocks are undervalued and have plenty of room for growth. When the stock market starts moving up at a fast pace (and I think it will, I’m just not sure when), I think all three of these stocks will move faster than the average stock. Hopefully 2012 is a good year for growth!

Nothing here should be taken as investment advice, this is a friendly competition that I’m involved in for fun and this shouldn’t say anything about my personal portfolio.

Join Our Free Stock Picking Contest For Bloggers and Readers is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

When you use an out-of-network bank, you are often charged by that bank you aren’t affiliated with to use their ATMs. Fees usually range between $2 and $4, and when you’re only taking out $40, that’s a pretty significant percentage of your withdrawal. I hate it, and it’s actually the only reason I still have a Bank of America checking account today: it’s so freaking convenient!

Free ATMs NYC is planning on launching a new type of ATM throughout the country by the end of 2012. These ATMs won’t charge you any fees (but your bank may charge you for using an out-of-network ATM) but in return you can simply watch a commercial.

Free ATMs NYC will charge companies for ad space and that will cover the costs that users were being charged.

Think this is a small market? Think again: Americans spent about $4 billion in ATM fees this year!

If these ATMs show up in my neighborhood, you can bet I’ll be visiting them pretty often and I’ll be able to close my checking account at Bank of America once and for all and end that nightmare.

When I read this, I thought of other applications for the same idea. I hate the idea of paying 8% of my savings at CoinStar just to have them count my coins. What if there was a machine that made me watch a commercial for a minute while it counted my change? I’d sign up for that in a heartbeat!

Readers, do you think free ATMs will catch on? What other “obvious” business ideas have you missed out on?

Free ATMs Are Coming! Will You Leave Your Big Bank Now? is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

For the most part, I really enjoyed the book. It details 8 ratios that will help turn us from laborers to capitalists. These ratios include the Capital to Income Ratio, which he argues should be 12 times your annual salary at retirement, and The Savings Ratio, which should be 12% of your income if you’re under 45, or 15% if you’re over. He lists several other ratios, including Debt Ratios and Investment Ratios to help us benchmark where we should be at different points in our life.

My problem is that this book is geared more toward people in their 40s and beyond. The ratios work really well for people later in their lives because more people have found their comfort zones by that point and know what their typical expenses and income are and will be for the next several years. In contrast, people in their mid-20s to 30s have constantly changing lives and it’s hard to project our incomes or expenses (which can change rapidly) very far in the future.

Those in their 40s can benchmark their financial situation and see how they’re doing in regards to savings, debt, investment, and insurance. Those in their 50s will receive a realistic assessment of their ability to retire.

For people in their 20s and 30s, Your Money Ratios will tell you how to get started and stay on track over the next 30+ years. It helps see where you need to be at different points in your life and it’s possible that the book will help you reach your goals 5 or 10 years down the line, but if you’re reading it at a young age, you’re almost sure to miss your targets and most of it isn’t even relevant.

Here are a few examples:

• There are no ratios for people who are under 25. This makes sense because most people younger than that are really just starting out. However, it means that there’s no benchmark for me yet and I have to use the 25-year mark as my benchmark.
• The capital to income ratio is really hard to attain for most young people. At age 25, who doesn’t have a lot of student loan debt? The capital levels should be really low and likely negative for a few years (and the debt may still be growing), so achieving 0.1% ratio at age 25 is really hard.
• Mortgage to Income Ratio? Please. The vast majority of 25 year olds are just starting their careers. This is pretty useless for 25 year olds.

The Problem With Money Ratios is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

I knew there would be a lot of competition, so at 7pm EST sharp, I went to HP’s eBay page and tried to purchase the $99 16GB refurbished tablet. The site was slow, and while I was able to get to the checkout page, it hung up there. I tried in several different tabs and browsers, but with the same result.

I got a tip from a twitter user to use ebay.co.uk, and that site was working much faster. However, I was too late to snag the $99 version. All that was left were the $149 32GB version. At that price, it didn’t make much sense, but I figured I could worry about that later and sell it for a little profit if I decided it wasn’t worth it.

I was able to check out successfully and I had a $149 version on the way. I immediately listed my item on eBay to see how much it could get. I was hoping for $200 so that I could turn around and buy a Kindle Fire tablet (which costs $200). The total price for me would effectively be $149, which is great for a tablet that would have much more value to me.

After half an hour, I refreshed the page to find that the price has skyrocketed from the initial $0.99 price to a whopping $212. I had to double check that I was reading it properly, but my eyes weren’t deceiving me. 30 minutes later it had reached $232.50.

Well, that worked out well. The final price ended up being $250, which meant a $101 profit before fees (but the buyer paid for shipping).

This whole operation took no more than 20 minutes of my time on a Sunday evening. It was the easiest $100 I ever made and it allowed me to get the tablet I really wanted for effectively $100, which is a no-brainer.

Readers, what is the easiest $100 you ever made?

The Easiest $100 I Ever Made is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

The contribution limits can increase based on inflation. There was no change in income limits between 2009 and 2010, but there was an increase of $2,000 from 2010 to 2011.

While inflation is typically a decent measure, there are other factors that should be influencing this number. The biggest one in my mind is taxes.

If taxes were to rise, there would be less disposable income for someone who makes $107,000. So shouldn’t the limits rise if taxes rise?

If this person is left with $8,000 in disposable income of his original $107,000 income in 2011, maybe after a tax hike he would be left with only $3,000. But that same person might be able to make more money the following year, but he would actually be allowed to contribute less to his IRA account because of that.

I argue that on average, if you have the same amount of disposable income left from one year to the next, you shouldn’t be barred from making the same contribution amount as a year earlier. This could include things like federal tax rates, social security tax rates (which have been temporarily lowered and are still may increase in 2012)

While the current system does account for some external factors, it fails to take into account taxes, which have a very real effect on people.

Readers, do you think IRA contribution income limits should be determined by inflation rates alone or should other factors like tax increases be relevant to the discussion?

IRA Contribution Income Limits Should Be Based on Tax Rates is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

Peter Renton, who runs SocialLending.net, is the expert. He has about $100,000 (!) investing with Lending Club, and he’s also active on Prosper as well. Well, now he’s releasing all the lessons he’s learned will the public.

He came up with the P2P Lending Wealth System, which consists of over 3 hours of video and 8 modules for users, teaching everything from the basics of P2P lending to maximizing your ROI.

I got a sneak peek into his system, you really wont find this stuff anywhere else, and he’s offering it only for the next few days. Go check it out, Peter believes that anyone can increase their returns by 3-5% using his methods, which for me would come out to around $200 in the first year alone! Pretty great if you ask me.

Check out these great reads from around the web:

Does It Matter Who Makes More Money in a Relationship? (via Well Heeled Blog)
Get a Head Start on the New You (via Money Smart Life)
Uncommon Ways to Make Money (via Three Thrifty Guys)
Options are Crack (via Darwin’s money)

Yakezie Carnival at 20′s Finances
Totally Money at Faith and Finance
Carnival of Wealth at Control Your Cash
Carnival of Financial Planning at PT Money
Personal Finance Whiz Carnival at Personal Finance Whiz

Best of the Rest: Learn P2P From The Best Edition is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

But how do we get that initial $5,000? We don’t mind putting in some money, but $2,500 each is a little more than we were hoping for. So what options do we have for getting that initial funding?

We didn’t want to go to family and as for money. We believe in our product and because of that, we should be able to convince non-partisan parties to invest with us. When you go to friends and family, you risk causing uncomfortable situations later. This should only be a last resort, and we decided against it.

One creative option for us is to use a site like Kickstarter, which is a funding platform designed to help fund creative projects. There are several of them out there, and instead of having people invest in your business, people fund projects they believe in and the project owners give out perks for certain contribution levels. So you could give away a t-shirt to each person who invests $25, but all the money is the project owner’s to keep and never has to be returned.

It’s a risk-free way to get money for a project. The only downside is that you are releasing your idea to the general public and there’s no way to ensure that nobody will steal it. I think it’s a fairly small risk (especially since we are nearly done with building the site) and the benefits outweigh that risk.

As I wrote this article, I got a phone call from my investment partner friend who I floated the idea to a few weeks ago who would help us with some aspects of the business and also be an investor. We’ve been over the idea, showed him our site mockups, and explained in detail how the business would work, what role he would have, and the terms of the investment.

Looks like we are $3,000 closer to our goal, just $2,000 to go!

Readers, do you think we should fund it ourselves and assume the risk or go with Kickstarter to get the rest funded?

How to Obtain Capital for a New Business is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

It was just a little while back that Daniel published an article about why he thought it was important NOT to do what you love for your career. He made some very great points about why someone shouldn’t blog full-time. You can imagine the internal conflict that I faced after just announcing my early retirement plan – part of this goal is to have a full-time income from blogging part-time. Thoughts immediately flooded in: Did I make a mistake in announcing my goal to quit my day job for blogging income? Is Daniel right in the sense that blogging will take over my life?

These concerns are not something that I have completely resolved, to be quite honest. But, I am still going after my goal to replace my income and sustain that by working 3 days a week.

Why I want to “Retire” in 2-3 Years

I first started thinking about creating passive income streams and getting out of the rat race when I realized how my retirement plan was quite limiting. Like any other person (who actually plans for retirement), I figured I would save throughout my entire career (10-20%) and have enough money to retire on. Retirement always seemed nice. Financial security meant that I wouldn’t have to work and more importantly, that I could travel! My wife and I love to travel, but we limit ourselves to a 1 week vacation each year (not only because we want to save for the future, but also because we only have so many days off and are obligated to spend some of those days with family).

When I stopped to think about it, I really didn’t like this idea of retirement at all. There were two aspects that made me hate it actually. First, the fact that I have to wait 35-40 more years to really travel places sounded horrible. Plus, who can say that I will be healthy enough to travel the world at age 60? Secondly, I realized that sitting around all day (like I had normally envisioned retirement) sounded boring. I am the type of person that likes to keep busy. Heck, I’m currently working full-time, going to grad school, and blogging. How could I manage to just sit around all day? The short answer is that I couldn’t!

When I realized that I didn’t want to wait to live my life and that I still plan to remain busy in retirement, I asked myself why I couldn’t do that sooner. Why can’t I live life to the fullest right now? I decided to shoot for the stars and go after my new goal of working 3 days a week to sustain a decent income. With that, I can not only travel more, but contribute to the community – instead of being entirely focused on moving up in the corporate world or making as much money as possible.

How I Plan to Manage It

After reading Daniel’s post about the difficulty of setting boundaries from blogging, I knew that I related. I spend my early mornings and late evenings frequently checking my email for any news related to my blog. I find that I check my blogging email more than my personal email. Blogging is becoming more than just a hobby, but not in a bad way.

While I haven’t made the transition to blogging as my career, I want to take what Daniel said seriously and set boundaries. I can’t imagine staying up through the night and responding to emails. Refusing to do that is an obvious and easy boundary, but what else can one do to keep blogging from taking over your life? Here are some ways I will keep it enjoyable (and from controlling my life):

• Use an action plan to accomplish tasks – Instead of constantly checking my stats, sitting on twitter all day, or doing other unproductive things, I will use an action plan. I know a few other bloggers that use this idea and it keeps them involved in the parts of running a blog that is important for growth. This keeps you working on the areas where your blog needs it and makes your time pay off more.
• Keep a large queue of posts - While I know that some bloggers stay up late the night before a post is due, I cannot operate that way. In fact, I currently have a large queue for my primary blog (through the end of 2011) and a few weeks on my secondary blog. Keeping a large queue is important to me because it allows me to write when I am inspired, instead of under pressure to produce something. This also helps me keep the quality high, because I have lots of time to revise. It also ensures that if I get sick for a week, everything continues without any major hiccups.
• Be Satisfied with progress – Instead of pouring my life into my blogs in order to be a big name blogger, I am going to be satisfied with making enough to replace my day job. Considering that not very many bloggers make that much money, this will still be a feat in and of itself. You can fall into the danger of always trying to do more (and that isn’t the best mentality to take).

Overall, I’m sure there’s a lot more that could be done to ensure that blogging as my career remains enjoyable, but these three things will be a great start.

What other tips should I consider to keep it enjoyable?

Why I Want To Do What I Love For A Career is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely

I love the enthusiasm, but I’m pretty sure major purchases shouldn’t be surprises. Surprise, I just locked you into a $30,000 contract and you’re going to be paying someone else every single month for the next 5 years!

Gifts That Keep on Taking

There are a few other gifts that work in similar ways. While it may seem very generous, an xbox 360 for example is sweet because it’s expensive and you may not have been willing to pay for it yourself. But, there’s another side to it. You’re now responsible for buying games to go along with it, and at $50/each, the costs can add up. And you don’t want to waste a brand new, xbox, right?

Similarly, getting someone a nice picture without a frame kinda sucks because you’re forcing them to spend on getting it framed, which can definitely be expensive.

Be smart with your gifts, don’t give gifts that will cost the other person money. And if you’re in a relationship and buying a gift with shared money, don’t buy something really expensive that the receiver will have to share the costs of.

Readers, do you hate gifts that keep on taking? What other terrible gifts have you gotten?

Give This Gift If You Want To Piss Off Your Husband is a post from Sweating The Big Stuff: Spending Wisely