Finance Gets Personal

Welcome to the eighth installment of the Carnival of Snowflaking!

Today we’ll be taking a look at infamous quotes from some famous “flakes.”

Jessica Simpson

Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish? I know it’s tuna, but it says ‘Chicken of the Sea.’

I’m not anorexic. I’m from Texas! Are there people from Texas who are anorexic?

Is it kinda weird that I’m getting a little bit emotionable?

My Editor’s Pick for this week’s carnival is The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Snowflaking posted by Kelly Faysash at DEBT SMACK. Kelly presents a snowflaking tip that’s so simple, even Jessica Simpson could do it (you know, instead of dropping $800 for bra and panty sets that she can’t be bothered to ask the price of)! I chose this as an editor’s pick because it’s a tip I’ve started using myself. Sometimes, I also snowflake the amount when I do buy something.

Paris Hilton

What’s Wal-mart? Do they sell like wall stuff?

What is the Wall Street Journal? Is that good?

Ah, Paris Hilton. She may not have to keep track of her money, but snowflakers do. Amy shows us her method for Tracking Every Dollar at My Daily Dollars. It’s a highly efficient system. Perhaps Paris employs a similar one for her “little black book.”

President George W. Bush

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.

We got issue in America. Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OBGYNs aren’t able to practice their, their love with women all across this country.

Wait a minute. What did you just say? You’re predicting $4-a-gallon gas? … That’s interesting. I hadn’t heard that.

Rachel Anne Williams shares her Snowflakes in June posted at The Roost. Looks like Rachel sold a lot of books on Amazon - I doubt W. was one of the buyers, though.

Britney Spears

I’ve never really wanted to go to Japan, simply because I don’t really like eating fish, and I know that’s very popular out there in Africa.

I get to go overseas places, like Canada!

I always listen to ‘NSYNC’s Tearin’ Up My Heart. It reminds me to wear a bra.

Poor Britney could use a little guidance these days. Given her penchant for spending money, some retirement savings tips might help. Retire Happy has a Warning About Snowflaking into Roth IRAs at My Retirement Blog. This is good advice, but keep in mind that non-working spouses are also eligible to contribute to Roth IRAs. Which, ah, would have applied to Kevin Federline…

Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt

I would do reality TV forever. It’s so much cooler to have people come up to me and be like, ‘Spencer Pratt!’ and know my name, than to be Orlando Bloom, who’s famous for being some pirate. (Spencer)

I plan to win an Oscar. I’m very ambitious. (Heidi)

Well, I’m trying to be a billionaire before 30…I definitely want to go into politics later in my life. I plan to be governor, at least, and president if possible. (Spencer)

Oh, to be young and ambitious… But I guess if W. can be president and Marisa Tomei can win an Oscar, there’s hope for all of us. Anna’s off to a great start with snowflaking, as seen in Snowflakes in May, posted at To Be Debt Free.

Thank you for joining me in this oh so hot edition of the Carnival of Snowflaking. Keep snowflaking, but don’t be a flake when it comes to your money!

I will be hosting the Carnival of Snowflaking this Thursday. Snowflaking, of course, is the concept of using small amounts of savings or earnings beyond our normal budget to meet our financial goals.

If you’ve written a post about snowflaking in the past month, please submit it here by Wednesday at noon Eastern time. In order to be included, your entry must not be submitted to any other blog carnival, should have been posted within the past month and must be about snowflaking (duh!).

I’m looking forward to all the great submissions! For more information about snowflaking or the Carnival of Snowflakes, please visit the Snowflake Revolution homepage.

Photo Credit: tongue catching snowflakes by petit hiboux, used under Creative Commons licensing.

On Tuesday, I’ll be hosting the Carnival of Money Stories, my very first carnival! (I made it through the wilderness…)

This carnival deals with people’s personal experiences and stories about finance. If you have written a post about this topic in the past month, please submit it here by 5 p.m. Eastern on Monday, June 2.

Snowflaking, the popular concept of throwing all your extra little bits of money toward your debts, has quickly snowballed into its own website and carnival. Check out the first edition of the Carnival of Snowflakes, hosted by paidtwice, snowflaker extraordinaire!

The submissions include lots of practical advice and suggestions for coming up with extra snowflakes (even pennies!)

As for me, I’m trying to come up with a more systematic way to handle snowflaking. I currently snowflake all my bonus income and other “surprise” checks, but tend to re-absorb other savings back into my checking account. After reading all these submissions, I’m ready to go sell some more stuff on Craigslist, hawk off my old gold jewelry and teach Italian (not that I speak Italian, but that’s beside the point!).

Photo Credit: snowflake by Pesky Library, used under Creative Commons licensing

Carnivals I Participated in This Week:

Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted by Money Ning, which included my post Financial “I Never” with Finance Girl (I had a fun time writing this post, but no, I wasn’t really taking shots).

Carnival of Twenty Something Finances, hosted by The Bag Lady, which included my post Childhood Money Memories, Part I as an editor’s pick. This post was also included in the Carnival of Money Stories, hosted by The Financial Blogger.

Money Hacks Carnival, hosted by Mommy Gets Paid, which included my post Why Did We Buy This House Again?

Great Reads Around the Personal Finance Blogosphere:

Snowflaking Will Melt Your Debt and More! from My Super-Charged Life - for anyone wondering what “Snowflaking” is and how to implement it, this is a great compilation!

There Are No Victims In the Housing Bust from Pinching Copper - read through the comments too - this has turned into quite the controversy.

Was That $1,000 Really Free? What We Are Doing With UPromise from Can I Get Rich On a Salary - here’s a good overview of the UPromise college savings program, from someone with more than $40 in their account.

The Freeloader’s Toolbelt: 50 Tools to Help You Get Anything Free Online from Free Geekery - awesome list of freebie links! I think I’m going to sign up for some free magazine subscriptions.

My posts were included in three carnivals this week. Check them out:

• Debt as a Symptom of Sexual Addiction was an editor’s pick in the Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted by Stock Trading To Go. My post on Charity Showers was also included (I think I screwed something up with the submissions this week - I’m not really trying to “stuff the ballot”).
• When Did You Finally Hit Rock Bottom and Decide to Get Out of Debt for Good? was included in the Carnival of Money Stories, hosted by Chief Family Officer.
• My Mattress is Pathetic was included in the Money Hacks Carnival, hosted by Bible Money Matters.
• I forgot to submit anything to the Festival of Frugality, but you should read it anyway. Flexo of Consumerism Commentary, the carnival host, announces that he is quitting his day job to blog full-time.
• After Hitting Rock Bottom, An Epiphany! was not included in the Carnival of Debt Reduction, but I’m guessing it’s because I referred to Dave Ramsey as a crazy bastard.

Here are some posts from the various carnivals that you might enjoy:

• Don’t Get Scammed! Reduce the Risk of Identity Theft from the The Digerati Life. Now, this is what Dave Ramsey should be focusing more of his attention on.
• Five Ways Fantasy Baseball is Like Personal Finance from Free From Broke. I’d like to draft Warren Buffett, please.
• The Lazy Cheapskate’s Guide to Saving the Planet from Five Cent Nickel. Call me stupid, but I didn’t know cruise control saves gas.
• Even More Reasons Why You Can’t Trust Your Real Estate Agent (the follow up to Why You Can’t Trust Real Estate Agents When Buying a House and Why You Can’t Trust Real Estate Agents When Selling a House) from Quest For Four Pillars. Things that make you go hmmm…

Photo Credit: exhibition-ism by striatic, used under Creative Commons licensing

Rather than just give you the obligatory rundown of which carnivals my posts have been included in this week, I’ve decided to take the time and highlight the posts that I particularly enjoyed:

From the Carnival of Personal Finance, which includes my post Debt as a Symptom of Sexual Addiction:

• Just Say ‘No’ to Crap from Squawkfox (crap is whack!)
• Poor Kid Blues from Brip Blap (when I was a kid, I had to beg my mom for Guess? and B.U.M. sweatshirts - I’m tearing up just thinking about it!)

From the Carnival of Debt Reduction, which includes my post Would You Like to Save 49 Cents Today By Opening an Old Navy Card? as an editor’s pick:

• Is It Easier to Lose Weight or Pay Down Debt? from Frugal Dad (I’d have to say paying down debt, because I’m too lazy to try to lose weight.  People used to wonder if I was anorexic, but now they’re more likely to wonder if I’m pregnant.  I’ve been meaning to do something about that, but getting pregnant for real seems easier than exercising.) 
• Should a Gift Keep Costing? Am I a Gift Horse? from Squakfox (Do you give gifts with monthly fees attached?)

From the Festival of Frugality, which includes my post When I’m Debt-Free, I’m Buying the Expensive Toilet Paper!:

• Drugstore vs. Department Store Makeup from Chief Family Officer (I would buy everything at Target if I could figure out what matched my skin and would actually look good!)
• Beware of the Laundy Detergent Cap from No Credit Needed (Personally, I have a hard time putting in only the recommended amount of detergent - maybe I do have OCD)

From the Carnival of Money Stories, which includes my post Confessions of a Former Bank Teller:

• It’s Only Five Cents More from I’ve Paid for this Twice Already… (It’s easy to rationalize five cents, but five cents can add up!)

From the Money Hacker’s Carnival, which includes my post Why Does Dave Ramsey Push Identity Theft Insurance*?

• Rent DVD Movies for $1 With The New Release and Redbox from Prime Time Money (I’ve used Redbox a few times, but I tend to be one of those people who can never get movies back in time, so I have to be careful)

Enjoy!

Ray Roman at Money Intellect was kind enough to interview me for this week’s Friday Blogger Spotlight. So, please stop by and learn more about me!

In other Finance Gets Personal news, my posts were included in three carnivals this week:

• Money Hackers Carnival includes my post Snowflaking: 100 Ways to Come Up With More Money for Your Debt Snowball as a “Best of Carnival” pick
• Carnival of Money Stories includes my post Are Children’s Birthday Parties Getting Out of Control?
• Carnival of Personal Finance includes my post 10 Signs You Have Financial OCD

Lynnae of Being Frugal is hosting the Carnival of Finance #144, which includes my post 10 Signs You Have Financial OCD.

It’s my first carnival, and I’m excited to be included! Be sure to check out all the other great posts.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!