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Weekend Ramblings – November 3

Ken Faulkenberry @ Arbor Investment Planner writes Why Tactical Asset Allocation is Changing the Investment World – Tactical asset allocation is an active strategy that includes continual management of risk through portfolio rebalancing to a flexible asset allocation based on value.

Sean @ One Smart Dollar writes The Cost of Halloween Doesn’t Need to be Scary – The average American will spend $80 this year on Halloween. This doesn’t need to be the case if you find creative ways to cut down on the costs.

Michael @ Modest Money writes Why Is Talking About Money Hard? – When it comes to discussing issues revolving around money with parents or partners, the conversation can get awkward, or even aggressive, quickly. As a result, many people try to avoid bringing up money matters as much as possible. This is the wrong approach.

Mich @ BeatingTheIndex writes Argent Energy Trust: Eagle Ford Shale Upside Beacons – Argent Energy Trust is the third member in the select cross border club of Canadian income trusts. It offers high yield & exposure to the Eagle Ford shale oil play in Texas.

J.P. @ Novel Investor writes 2013 IRA Contribution Limits Increased – The IRS has announced the inflation adjusted numbers for the 2013 IRA contribution limits. Most important was the bump in the maximum contribution.

Paul Vachon @ The Frugal Toad writes 10 Frugal Ways to Save on Food – According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food is the third largest monthly expenditure families have after housing and transportation. With a little planning, you can save on food costs by trying some of these easy tips.

Gen Y @ Gen Y Finance Journey writes The Joy of Slow Cooking – A slow cooker is the best friend of someone who has little kitchen space, little time to cook, and is on a budget. Though many slow cooker recipe books will instruct you to do copious amounts of prep work, you can usually get the same great flavors, or close to them, with absolutely no prep work, meaning you have fewer dishes, and spend less time cooking.

Steven @ Grocery Alerts writes Tips for saving money on your Halloween party – October is here and many people are planning halloween parties. Depending on the size of your crowd, your party could get costly. Here are a few ways to plan a spooktacular halloween party on a budget.

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes Getting The Most “Bang” For Your Halloween Bucks – A lot of people always complain that Halloween costumes are such a waste of money.

SBB @ Simple Budget Blog writes Budgeting for Vacations – Find out how you can scrounge a few extra pennies to go on an exotic trip.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Using a Midwife – One Year Later – The Experience – Details of our midwife and home birth experience a year after we welcomed our son into our lives

MR @ Money Reasons writes Financial Benefits of Having a Fuel-Efficient Car – I’m buying a new car, and unlike when I was younger, I’m now going to buy a fuel-efficient car to get the best overall value with my purchase. Continue Reading →

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Yakezie Carnival- Yakezies Unite for Japan Edition

It’s my turn to host the Yakezie Carnival today (in case you don’t know, it’s a collection of the best personal finance blogs on this planet, basically), and given the current events in Japan, I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer, but wanted to encourage everyone to think about Japan today and consider donating to the red cross. It’s the least we can do.  Rachelle from Landlord Rescue has a very creative way of determining how much you should donate (e.g. if you have ever eaten sushi, donate $5; if you own a Sony, donate $5…)

In Canada you can text ASIA to 30333 to donate $5 (will show up on your cell phone bill)

If you live in the US, you can text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10  (will show up on your cell phone bill)

I’m not sure what the difference in dollar amounts of set donation amounts say about us in Canada (that we are cheap?) but if you want to donate more, you can go directly to the redcross website (Canada and US) to donate more.

Now on to the Yakezie Carnival:

This week, it’s my turn to host and I have the honor of receiving the torch from last week’s host, Dr. Dean!  Next week, it’ll be Control your Cash who will be hosting the Yakezie Carnival, so be sure to tune in and follow the Yakezie torch :)

  • My Personal Finance Journey discusses about Why A Credit Score Boost Is Necessary For Most Consumers.  Jacob looks at the various factors that go in to calculating your specific credit score and a reminder of the benefits of keeping it as high as you possibly can.
  • Squirrelers has a light-hearted blog post, a post looking at some Crazy Keywords. He says “it’s often funny to see the keywords people use to find their way to your blog. Someone came to my blog looking to find out about humans
    exterminating alligators!”  Hmm I wonder what that post that was referring to?
  • Kevin over at Invest it Wisely has a great post I found very useful as a first time home buyer-  called “Don’t Get Suckered by the Banks: How Much Can You *Really* Afford to Spend on a New Home?” In this post he proposes spending no more than 33% of your net worth on ALL housing costs including mortgage, utilites, taxes, etc.
  • Dr. Dean over at the Millionaire Nurse Blog has a great post too, titled “Buy and Hold: Is It Dead?“  Buy and Hold as an investing strategy has been declared dead by many.  In the post are his thoughts this and a poem to boot, too! (Dr. Dean sure is a creative cat!)
  • Don at Money Reasons has a creative post (all these creative cats in the Yakezie, I tell ya!) “Best Way to Crush Aluminum Cans“.  The article is about how his son’s aluminum can recycling experiment has accumulated in the garage and how Money Reasons discovered an easier way to crush the cans to make the process much quicker.
  • Krantcents has a great article I really enjoyed myself, called The Emotional Side of Retirement.  Planning retirement is more than just savings, what are you going to do?
  • Bucksome Boomer talks about how to dispute a credit card charge
  • Joe from Retireby40 blog discusses who really loses in a short sale
  • A Yakezie challenger, the Ultimate Juggle reveals how you can work remotely (one of my ultimate dreams).  In this post, ultimate juggle talks about the adjustment she had to make when she started telecommuting into work.  She still drives to work a few days a week and that’s a piece of cake.  But with a baby at home, working remotely required an adjustment period.  She hopes this helps other that are following a similar path!
  • Crystal from Budgeting in the Fun Stuff gives  you the low down on how to buy a car.

That’s it for the yakezie carnival this week, folks!  Please tune in to next week’s host, Control your Cash as he catches the torch and passes the Yakezie light on.

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

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Happy Blogiversary to ME! Youngandthrifty.ca Turns One!

If you read about the blogiversary  bonanza giveaway a few posts back, you’ll know that today is cause for celebration!  Today officially marks “one year” that youngandthrifty.ca has existed in this internet realm.

I just want to say that I honestly cannot believe that my blog has survived for one year.  I remember when I was starting out, I would be excited if 10 people visited my site…in a week.  Now there is an average of 350+ people who stumble by my site in a single day!  Most importantly, through this blog, I have learned so so so much, about blogging, wordpress, html, coding (er.. maybe), personal finance, friendship, networking, social media etc. etc.  the list goes on.

Continue Reading →

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