Debt Hater

The 67th Festival of Frugality right here!

Welcome to the 67th Festival of Frugality!

Save some cash, save the earth, save your health!

There are a lot of good tips for saving in this week’s festival (and some thought provoking posts as well).

Here are the best, arranged in categories for your enjoyment:

Eat at home
Ispf at Grad Money Matters has tips for making meals at home less tedious – good advice for all of you who claim to hate cooking!

Eric at Saving Simply writes about how meat is not required for all meals. There are plenty of tasty, healthy and CHEAP alternatives.

Smarter Shopping
Buying cars is hard, but here’s a good tip on getting your mind right before you start crunching numbers or negotiating from Golbguru at Money, Matter, and More Musings.

Likewise, Steve Faber at Debt Free suggests thinking about how much things really cost before you decide something is a bargain.

John did a post for Queercents about deciding when (and how) to replace a computer. Uh, like I dropped more money than I had for my Mac. Don’t make my mistake! … but I do love my Mac.

Do it cheaper
Marshall Middle at How to Make A Million Dollars has some solid tips on lowering your phone and cable bills – saving more than $1,000 a year without sacrificing.

Surfer Sam (and maybe some friends) have Ten Tips to Cut Your Energy Bill in Half and helping Mother Earth.

Story3girl is looking forward to Earth Day and making some small changes that help the environment and save her some money.

Frugal Zeitgeist suggests getting healthy will save you money. Tip #1 – STOP SMOKING.

John Peter at OhCash has suggestions for decent family vacations on the cheap.

And Free Money Finance says that puppy may actually save you money in the long run – by boosting your kids’ immune systems?

And there’s always more ways to save money:

Tips for getting free stuff from My Wealth Builder.

Cheap magazines on Ebay from My Two Dollars.

Free news, right at your local subway station from We’re in Debt.

Fancy lunchbox tricks from Frugal Upstate – this isn’t just for the kids’ lunch.

Back-up your files to save money later, The Frugal Momma learned the hard way.

A tip for saving money on toys from the Money Smart Life.

Maybe budgeting to the penny isn’t as helpful as you think, from Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Finally, after all the hard work being frugal, here’s 10 reasons from Personal Finance Advice why you still ain’t rich.

Go. Learn. Share.

Thank you!

DH

PS -- Mapgirl is hosting next week's carnival. So if you have something great and didn't make this carnival, be sure to submit your post here.

Festival of Frugality #67 here next week!

    The next Festival of Frugality will be right here on Tuesday, March 27!

    The festival is not just about living cheaply, but making the most of your resources and spending wisely.
    So get your posts together and submit! You can do that here.
    Just get them in no later than 6 p.m. CST on Monday please.

    The current Festival is hosted by Sharon Rosenberg at The Frugal Duchess. Check it out!
   

The 78th Carnival of Debt Reduction

    This Carnival has a lot to do with setting priorities while paying down debt.
    What’s important to you?
    What can you live without?
    How far are you willing to go to pay down the debt… is it worth that sacrifice?

    These bloggers write about Priorities:

    Tricia at Blogging Away Debt isn’t getting fanatical about debt repayment. She’s more interested in enjoying life and building health money habits.

    Free Money Finance comments on an L.A. Times article about a young student who is fanatical about paying off his debt. This guy is living in his truck to save money.

    Mr. Credit Card writes about the possibility of selling your stuff to repay debt faster. It’s a question of needs vs. desires.

    Sharon, The Frugal Dutchess, explains that your priorities should dictate how you spend your cash.

    Single Ma has the means to pay off her car… but it’s not at the top of her priority list. She tells us why – and points out that focus on priorities is ultimately the key to getting out of debt.

    Stephanie at Stop the Ride is trying to figure out what’s important when the budget is bare bones and there still isn’t much available for debt repayment.

    Once you set your priorities, you need a plan or you’ll never reach you goals.

    These bloggers have tips for creating your Plan for Debt Freedom:

    The Simple Guru is out of debt, but still needs to think carefully about where the money should go.

    The Family CEO switched to debit from credit to avoid overspending.

     NCN shares the lessons he learned paying off debt and how to create your own debt repayment roadmap.

    Paula at Queercents suggests paying attention to your emotions to prevent bad money moves.

    The Tight Fisted Miser has a warning about borrowing money at lower rates to pay off debt at higher rates.

    Anja Merret warns about installment plans, which may look like a smart way to pay off debt.

    Steve at Debt Free suggests setting up automatic payments for credit cards to avoid missing a payment and facing sky-high interest rates as punishment.

    Ben at the Money Smart Life has encouraging stories of folks who got out of payday loans.

    Matthew at Getting to Graduation breaks down typical college expenses and how you might be able to come up with the cash.

    Thanks for participating! Thanks for reading!

    DH

(Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of debt reduction using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.)

I'm hosting some carnivals so get your posts ready!

    I'm hosting the 78th Carnival of Debt Reduction on Monday!

    If you  don't know already, here's how to submit posts. Please have your submission in by 6 p.m. CST (my time). And let's get some good (on topic) posts in the carnival!

    The current carnival, #77, is up at by Climbing out of Debt and there are some good posts in there so check it out!

    Also check out the 90th Carnival of Personal Finance at Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge (and the Alternative Finance Carnival she's posted. Cool stuff).

    DH

Carnivals before it's too late!

    If you haven't done it yet, you really need to check out my favorite PF Carnivals this week.

    Tricia at Blogging Away Debt has the Carnival of Debt Reduction.
    I liked the post about 5 steps to debt reduction, Debt like a trip into the Grand Canyon, and avoiding 10 common debt reduction mistakes.

    The Hustler $$$ blog has the Festival of Frugality. I like the posts about Freecycle.org, saving money at the grocery store and financial calculators that show you just how much money you're blowing! There's also a post about being frugal and still poor... how is it possible? Ponder it at Tight Fisted Miser.

    I encourage all of you to participate in Carnivals. It's a great way to find new bloggers and get other people find you. I also recommend hosting some carnivals. I loved hosting the Carnival of Debt Reduction a few weeks ago and I signed up to host it again in March and the Festival of Frugality too!

    Also, check out BlogCarnival.com to find Carnivals on a ton of topics, not just personal finance. You may want to start your own.
   
    DH
   

This week's Finance Carnivals

    There's always good ones and this week there are great ones!

    The Festival of Frugality is at Money, Matter, and More Musings. I have a post in there! There are posts on savings on travel, groceries, household items and jewelry!

    The Carnival of Debt Reduction, required reading for debt haters, is at No Credit Needed. It's even a podcast!

    The Carnival of Personal Finance is at Five Cent Nickel. There's a primer on Mutual Funds, a comparison of Roth vs. regular 401k and creating a personal finance goals (you know how I feel about measurable, achievable goals! Important!).

    Enjoy!

    DH

This week's Carnival of Debt Reduction

    WELCOME TO THE CARNIVAL!

 

    The newest Carnival of Debt Reduction is up and ready for your perusal.

    This Carnival is interesting because there are a lot of posts about how debt maybe isn't so bad (ironic considering the name of my blog!). I hope these posts will spark a lot of discussion among you all. Please comment, tell folks off, agree with folks or ask questions!

    Successfully Reducing Debt

    Beef Stooge has three rules for debt reduction… I wish I knew about these six years ago!

    Surfer Sam has 14 steps to get your finances in order – these steps also work nicely when trying to get out of debt – Wish Surfer Sam had told me these a few years ago!

    The King of Debt, I assume wants a new moniker, but he advises debt haters to automate their debt repayment so they can’t sabotage themselves.

    Scott Lee has tips for how to use credit cards without going into debt. 

    Sarah, who is living large on a small budget, has some tips on how to get your head right to pay down your debt.

    Steve at Get Debt Free tells you how to set the goal of debt freedom.

    Blunt Money reminds us to reward ourselves, just a little, while getting out of debt.

    NCN offers some support while completing your debt reduction journey. Check out the updated charts of 60 No Credit Needed Network members hell bent on getting out of debt (or saving some cash), including yours truly.

    AVOIDING DEBT

    Trent of The Simple Dollar has some helpful tips for avoiding irresponsible spending… I should have read this before I went shopping this weekend.

    Joe of Penny Pinching has more tips for avoiding impulse buying.

    Laura the Dragon Slayer says maybe we wouldn’t be in so much debt if we felt fulfilled for other reasons than money and status symbols.

    Clink at Coins on the Pavement says you can avoid debt, if you stop trying to keep up with the Joneses.

    Mr. Credit Card has four things you should consider before taking on debt.

    Golbguru vents about greedy students failing to delay gratification.

    GET THEE BEHIND ME DEBT!
    These bloggers say avoid debt at all costs. Is that necessary?

    Matthew of Getting Green says a high credit score just allows you to get into debt.

    Mona of Time to Budget says there’s no way to wisely use credit cards.

    DEBT: OUR MISUNDERSTOOD FRIEND?
    These bloggers raise an important question -- Is debt really that bad? Hell yes! But that’s just me, check out their arguments on the softer side of debt:

    Uncle Bill suggested a young woman go into a little debt (for school), but she’d rather work two jobs.

    Tricia at Blogging Away Debt might be in debt a little longer to save for retirement.

    Paul has an Extreme Perspective about debt – maybe you can live just fine deep in it.

The following posts aren’t about debt reduction, but they have some excellent tips on personal finance in general:

John of Queercents has a nifty Excel spreadsheet for tracking your expenses. And he tells you how to make one just like it.

Silicon Valley Blogger has 22 ways to save money… I don’t know about swiping cemetery flowers to save some cash on a wedding though. But there are 21 other good tips!

FMF has 9 Keys to making the most rewards credit cards.

Michelle says teach your kids about money.

Debt Be Gone pays cash for a car repair.

I'm hosting the Debt Reduction Carnival on Monday

    Hello finance family!

    As you can see, I was on a brief hiatus. This week has been very tough and it's not going to get any more pleasant any time soon. My guy is leaving on Thursday and he's packing. It's funny how you know something is coming and you're all prepared for it, but when it actually happens it's like "Holy crap."

    Anyway, I am hosting the next Carnival of Debt Reduction and I'm very excited! Put on your thinking caps and think about any lessons you've learned, and tips you've shared or any good books are articles you've read about beating back debt. Post them this week and then submit them at the Blog Carnival submission page for debt reduction here.
    If you've already posted something this week you think people would like to read, send me those too.
    Please try to keep the topics as much about debt reduction as possible. there are so many personal finance carnivals, that you can find a carnival for your posts (there's frugality, personal finance and a bunch more).
    For you newbies to the debt reduction world, this is a great chance for you to find other likeminded bloggers and to introduce yourself and your blog.
   

    Also, please submit your posts no later than 9 p.m. CST on Sunday, Jan. 21. (That's 10 p.m. on the East Coast, 7 p.m. on the West Coast for you time challenged people)

    I look forward to reading the submissions!

    DH

The First Carnival of Debt Reduction of 2007

It's up at the NCN Network. Visit the carnival here.

I have submitted a post and there are plenty of other good ones. Blogging Away Debt has paid off $13,000 in one year! There are inspirational posts for all of your trying to reach debt emancipation, how-to posts for folks just getting started and some posts on specific topics such as auto loans.

And visit the Carnival of Personal Finance at Mighty Bargain Hunter. It's loaded with good tips this week!

Enjoy!

DH

A storied Festival of Frugality

    The Festival of Frugality is up at No Credit Needed.

    I submitted an article and there are at least a dozen others worth reading. But it's in a funky format, NCN has looped the posts into a silly story about Jim and Jenny: A Personal Finance Romance.
    It's pretty funny and throughout there are some good posts. My favorite is from Personal Finance Advice about things you can buy to save money. It's the kind of post you keep the link to for future reference.
    And there are a number of posts about wedding savings, including a post about recycling cans and bottles for wedding money.

    DH