Payday Loan Lowdown

–By Sushma Pradhan

Banks provide you loans for all occasions. The only criterion here is the eligibility.
There is no doubt that loans help one sail through turbulent times, but beyond the safety and security, if you make one mistake it will not take much time to hurl you down the ridge.

Here are few loans that we mostly apply for and at times may be unaware of minute matters that matter a lot later.

1. Student Loan: This loan helps the student to bear the burden of professional education expenses.

Advantages
• The monthly payments can be lowered and this is the indication that you can you can divert the money to the other field where you feel that you need to pay attention to.

• You only need to make the payment once a month for one company.

Disadvantages
• Though you pay lower interest rate, the interest savings are eaten up and the chances of discharge benefits may be lost

2. Unsecured Personal Loan: This is the kind of loan where you mostly use it for personal necessities or in the areas of your choice.

Advantages
• It offers great flexibility to the consumers
• Both the property owners and renter are eligible for the loan as it is not secured  against property
• It can get arranged faster than a secured loan

Disadvantages
• Though it is not secured, however, it does not mean that there is no risk
• In case of a default on repayments of your credit, the companies have all the right to sue you to recover the money.
• The worst condition may be possession with respect to the loan amount

3. Fixed rate Mortgages: It is a mortgage where the interest rate do not change during the entire loan term.

Advantages
• The payment need to made monthly and is spread throughout a period of time
• The interest rate do not alter
• In case the rates go up there is protection
• When the rates go down one can refinance

Disadvantages
• The rate of interest is high
• In case the interest rate improves, the rate does not change
• The payment of mortgage is high

4. Balloon Loans: These loans are either partially amortized or not amortized. In most cases, balloon loans have payment lower than that of an amortized loan because of interest only payment.

Advantages
• An attractive initial low monthly payment
• Many balloons have conversion options, which means that one can convert the balloon loan into a new loan

Disadvantages
• A balloon loan has more risk than Adjustable rate mortgages.
• You risk foreclosure, if you are unable to make the balloon payment as the term ends or if you cannot refinance the loan at high interest rate.

5. Standard variable home loans: It is one of the popular mortgages. The interest may vary throughout the loan term in this type of loan.

Advantages
• The repayments may drop if there a drop in the interest rates
• Without penalty one can make extra or additional payments, which allows the payment of home loan faster
• You have the room for taken back the additional repayments
• It has various features and offers flexibility

Disadvantages
• It draws high interest rate than the basic home loan
• When interest rates rise, the chances of repayment also becomes high as the borrower is supposed to make large repayments

6. Fixed rate loans: In this type of loan the borrower’s repayments and interest rate are fixed for a said period, this could usually be one to ten years.

Advantages
• There is a assurance of repayment amount
• There is no change in the repayment amount even if there is a rise of interest rate
• There is a room for future budgeting

Disadvantages
• There is reduced flexibility
• In case the interest rates falls there is no change in the repayments
• There is a limited additional repayment and hence when limits are exceeded there are chances of break costs or fees

7. Low documentation and no documentation loans: These are products for borrowers where they do not have to be necessarily self-employed or possess tax returns

Advantages
• The borrower needs only to fill a simple income declaration form
• Here there is no requirement of tax returns

Disadvantages
• Associates  itself with high interest rate

8. Graduate loans: These are also a form of unsecured personal loans, that lets fresh graduates’ involve in debt consolidation.

Advantages
• It allows debt consolidation at lower interest rate
• It is useful incase you have other debt e.g. credit cards

Disadvantages
• There are possibilities of lenders to encourage you include your student loan and overdrafts
• Students loans have lower interest rate therefore including it will be a wrong step, on the other hand overdrafts are interest free while you are on a student loan, but with graduate loans overdrafts start incurring interest

9. Payday loans: it is a short-term loan, which covers the urgent need of the borrower.

Advantages
• They are cheaper when compared to the charges levied on a bounced check or an overdraft charges.
• They are mostly seen as an short-term solution to the unforeseen financial constraints

Disadvantages
• The interest rates are too high from somewhere between 400% to 1,000%
• The interest makes it too expensive affair for a borrower

10. Wedding Loans: They are expensive yet people go for them. They are categorized as unsecured personal loan. Nevertheless, one can also obtain them as secured personal loan.

Advantages
• The most important advantage is one does not have to put something valuable at risk
• The loan process is not a lengthy affair, and therefore is a speedy transaction

Disadvantages
• They mostly do not carry high rate of interest
• There are many restriction on the money and the mode of spending
• There are lots of hidden possibilities regarding the rate and the terms, therefore the advertised rates may not be the actual rates

Greetings! Welcome to the 11th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. We have selected 16 good posts for this edition. I hope they will go well with our readers. Here are the posts, not in the order of their ranking.

Vause presents Toilet Paper posted at Active Duty Military Money and Matters. Well, this is a good way to save a little money everytime you shop. If you follow this advice you will not be flushing down money literally.

James presents Free Legal Resources posted at ZooLaw. Use these legal websites to help you save money on legal expenses.

Raj Dash presents 21 Ways to Promote Your Startup Business posted at Bootstrapper. Need to promote your startup business but short on budget? Here are 21 online and offline ways to promote, many of which are low- or no-cost.

Steve Faber presents - More Money Saving Tips posted at Debt Free. Here are some quick money saving tips for decreasing energy usage around the house.

Edithyeung presents 7 Habits of Highly Effective Money Managers posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act.. Money can’t work hard for you unless you are in control of the money. Money is like a child. The child can be easily tamed if you spend time to teach and nurture them. Otherwise, they can easily take over your life.

Ted Reimers presents Save money as a Student posted at College Blog. Follow these tips to survive as a broke student.

Tushar presents Get the most out of Dollars when travelling abroad posted at Life of a Resident Alien…. With today’s weak dollar, you need all the help you can get when traveling abroad. Here are a few tips on how to squeeze that last euro out of your greenback.

Leroy Brown presents Save money with a new car posted at A Penny Saved. Control your budget better with a new car vs an older used one.

Millionaire Mommy Next Door presents Identify Your Spending Values (Baby Step #2) posted at Millionaire Mommy Next Door. Identifying, prioritizing and living according to our personal values is key to our financial well-being. Once we’ve identified what truly makes us tick, our financial decisions will be guided in alignment with our values. If we live true to our values, we are bound to feel fulfilled, content, peaceful and happy. Yes, I believe that under these circumstances, money can indeed contribute to our happiness.

Tushar presents For the Frugal Mind: Cheapest days to shop posted at Life of a Resident Alien…. Never knew this but there are days when you can buy stuff when they are at their lowest price. Here are some items that fall in this category.

FitBuff presents How Much Are You Willing to Pay for Twinkies? posted at FitBuff.com’s Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog. Many people shudder at the word “taxes,” but how do you feel about a “fat tax”?

ChristianPF presents How to make more money with your emergency fund posted at ChristianPF.com. A quick how-to showing you how to use an emergency fund to save more money and increase it’s growth rate.

Joe Caterisano presents 8 questions that will prevent impulse spending posted at penny pinching. Compulsive spending is nothing but a destructive mindset. In order to break this bad habit, we need to be conscious of how and why we are spending our money.

Allen Taylor presents What Are Your Wealth-Building Goals? posted at Personal Investing Advice. The money is out there. No matter how many people tell you that we are in the midst of a starvation economy, that the market is doing this or that, and that it’s too risky to play the game, so to speak, people are getting rich every day. That is the reality.

Warren Wong presents The Life Pursuit Of Money posted at INTJ Personal Development. Why should making money be a life pursuit? Because making money actually helps people! Here’s why.

Thomas Humes presents Retirement - The Real Cost of Procrastination posted at Wealth Building World. If you want to accumulate $1,000,000 when you are 65, how much would you have to save? It all depends on when you get started.

That concludes the 11th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. Next edition of this carnival will be hosted here on 23 July 2007. You can submit your posts here.

Greetings! Welcome to the 10th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. We have received 14 posts for this edition. I hope our readers will enjoy reading these. Here are the posts in the order they were received.

Tracee Sioux presents Virtual Book Club posted at Blog Fabulous. Join our discussion of Suzi Orman’s Women and Money.

Roshawn Watson presents Falling off the Cliff posted at Watson Inc. Many refuse to have an emergency fund, are leveraged up to their eye balls in debt, and are quite simply one paycheck away from financial disaster. How long could YOU survive if your earned income suddenly stopped?

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Money Limerick Contest Results - And The Winners Are? posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog. “The response to Madeleine’s money-related limerick writing contest exceeded my wildest hopes and set a new record - 94 limericks were submitted. And the overall quality of the entries was very impressive — so impressive, that she has decided to expand the prize money pool enough to award an extra prize. …”

Warren Wong presents Grow Your Pile Of Money posted at Personal Development for INTJs. Your Pile of Money is shrinking just by keeping it in the bank! Learn to grow your pile of money here!

Mike Harmon presents Article Syndication- The Sky is The Limit So Explore and Aim for the Sky posted at Basic Accounting. Article syndication is a very simple process wherein one gets to share their article among various online sites which helps to impart knowledge through the web.

Eric Stanley presents Saving Money - A Top Strategy For Saving Money posted at Personal Finance Blog Articles. Do you find it difficult to save the money you work hard to earn? If so, then this article aims to help you get on top of your funds and start investing in your future.

Thomas Humes presents Wealth Creation- Don?t Start With the Wrong Concept of Wealth posted at Wealth Building World. If you think wealth creation is all about trying to save more money, trying to cut down on your spending, and budgeting then you are very wrong.

Matthew Paulson presents Should a Married Couple Combine Their Finances? posted at Getting Green. When you’re up at the altar, you’re making a real commitment to your spouse. You’re making a commitment to share your entire life with them, to take care of them in sickness and in health. When you have separate finances, you’re just a joint financial venture.

Raj Dash presents Case Study: Bootstrapping an Online Information Business posted at Bootstrapper. What says budgeting more than “bootstrapping” a business? Here are some suggestions for building up an online information business with very little capital.

Katie Ricotta presents Pay Day Loans posted at How to Save Money the Easy Way. Example of a typical Payday Loan– You write a check for $215 to borrow $200 this loan good for 14 days. After that time the Payday loan organization cashes your check and you give them cash to close out your loan. You have just paid a $15 finance charge for a $200 loan. If you hold it over for 14 more days then you owe $30 for a $200 loan.

Ted Reimers presents Budget Colleges posted at College Tips. Can’t afford college? Check out these budget schools offering a quality education.

Abdulrasool Sumar presents Top 10 Causes of Debt posted at Debt Consolidation Loan. The cost of obtaining cures and medicine in America is increasing every year. The Federal Government is cutting down healthcare spending every single year. Almost all doctors accept credit cards in the USA.

Mark McGuire presents 515,827 Reasons to Quit posted at TheLocoMono Website. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, so might as well quit for 515,827 reasons.

Dean presents List of Restaurants that Give You Free Birthday Meals posted at Mr. Cheap Stuff Coupons. It’s your birthday, you deserve a free meal.

That concludes the 10th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. Next edition of this carnival will be hosted here on 15 July, 2007. You can submit your posts here.

–By Sushma Pradhan

Ants are good citizens, they place group interests first. - Clarence Day

Ants build hills that last for years and prosper for generations too. How do we build our house instead? Like the Grasshoppers, in fact most of us believe in living a life of a grasshopper. I am sure you must have heard the story of the ant and the grasshopper.

In case no then I will let you know in a nutshell. The ant slogs day after day in the scorching heat to prepare for the upcoming winters, on the other hand the grasshopper, hops, and jumps, enjoys, and thinks that the ant is a fool.

Now when the winter is here, the ants are happy and gay, whereas the grasshopper is sad and stiff in the deathbed, due to severe cold. We humans at times, tend to behave as the grasshoppers and forget that the future may be bleak and gloomy. We tend to care for the future and live only for the present.

We tend to believe that ‘I am the one, I rule the world.’ I would say incorrect, how very incorrect. Have you looked at the ants minutely? They are tiny but yes! Definitely not dumb. There are ample of lessons to be learnt from this tiny creature.

1. United we stand: The first lesson that we definitely need to learn from the world of ant is the unity. The collective behavior that is so much a part of the ant world is a successful image of a self-organization in a large-scale. This trait of the ants help them a great deal in finding food and help them supply with the food that can suffice their entire colony, throughout the trying times.

2. Adaptation to the environment: The colonies of ants are very quick in adapting themselves to their environment. In a condition where one or more ants fail to carry out their duties, there is no mismanagement of work. The most important point however here remains the least intrusion of the top-down control.

3. Logistics: The natural application of the ant world is the food-furnishing algorithm. A small example with a vast difference by adapting the ant logistics was tremendously felt by the Southwest Airlines. This airline used the ant intelligence to restructure their cargo operations. On following the ant structure, the company saved around ten million dollars a year.  Their smart moves made them cut down on freight transfer rates and slash the workload for people carrying cargo. The result was, the airline still made money even if the plane was partially loaded.

4. Traffic Rules: The ants are known to adhere to strict traffic laws. However, in the ant world, there are no traffic violations, and there are no issues of tickets either.

Because, number one, such circumstances does not arise here at all and number two, the ants do not believe in violation. A study carried out by the Princeton University of New Jersey, researchers have revealed that the ants create lanes, which efficiently manage and flows the swarm of ants quickly.

The ant use pheromones to create their path and follow a rule that is simple and socially acceptable in their world. Theirs is three-lane traffic, the two outside lane for the outgoing ants and the middle one for the returning ones.

It is time that we humans learnt a lesson or two on traffic rules from the ants. We all know rules are to be followed but once when we are stuck in the traffic jam then, then it is, Traffic Rules! Huh!

5. Its Ant and not Aint: That is right there is no place for ‘I’ in the ant world. Be it for traffic or any other job, genetically they have inherited the behavior of moving continuously. For the ants, it is very important to do their job and mostly importantly do it well too. The colony’s benefit is their target and focus and perhaps this is the most important trait in them that drives them to do their work with utmost sincerity. Nevertheless, with us, we have to accept that we do tend to be selfish at times.

6. A never-ending quest: If one observes ants minutely, one will find that they overcome various obstacles to reach for their food and bring it back to the colony. Similarly, noticing these finer details of the ant to fight every hardship through their undying effort, many software companies have developed highly sensitive software that not just copes with the varied conditions but is also fast, automatic than the traditional ones.

If ants are such busy workers, how come they find time to go to all the picnics? - Marie Dressler

7. A highly effective networking: It is so right, they sniff, and they invade and they are all over, crawling and feasting over the food, which they merrily drag away from right under our nose. Apart from the menace, have you ever thought how is it they sniff the food so soon? Ants efficiently use the method of tracking their food back through the help of pheromone, a chemical that attracts other ants. The ant that returns first to the nest informs the other ants about the food and thereby retreats to the spot by the help of the pheromone marked path.  In fact, this is a strong computing system.

8. Telecommunications: Eric Bonabeau, a leader who has excelled in the field of swarm intelligence believes in applying the ant concept to the human world of problems such as telecommunications routing.
Bonabeau says that routing is essential because mostly the large-scale telecommunication networks are not fully connected for cost effectiveness, therefore the messages have to be guided to make them reach their destination. Instead, he started using virtual ants and made them leave virtual pheromone at the nodes of the network to optimize the routes used by the message. This technique in fact created wonders to the telecommunications.

9. Self-organization: Human beings need to learn this quality and earn from it too. We tend to have a centralized mindset. If you check out the way ant build highways, bridges, nests, chains and furthermore even complex activities like the defense mechanism, foraging, cleaning and nest care, it is completely different and amazing, this is so because they are self-organized and carry out their work through interactions, both direct and indirect.

10. Constructively Strong: Now let us look at their constructive excellence, ants are known to build anthills that last generation after generation, whereas we humans build a home that hardly last a generation.

The ants may be tiny but their feats are amazing. If you destroy their nest and force them migrate to a new place, the ants will do so efficiently. However, the key point here is, in case you repeat your act of destroying the nest again, you will find that this time they are not only efficient but also quicker than before in building one.

Greetings! Welcome to the 9th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. We have received 18 posts for this edition. I hope our readers will find these useful and interesting. Here are the posts in the order they were received.

Raj Dash presents Bootstrapper » Building a Web 2.0 Business From Scratch posted at Bootstrapper. Reflections upon setting up a web 2.0 business with limited funds.

The Skilled Investor presents 18 Low Cost S&P 500 Index Mutual Funds posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog. Measured by invested assets, the S&P 500 index is the most common index fund benchmark in the U.S. The S&P 500 tracks about 75% of publicly traded U.S. equity market asset value.

Allen Taylor presents Making Big Money By Looking At The Seasons Of Investment posted at Investing World Today. All forms of investment markets have “seasons” just like the very predictable weather patterns of spring, summer, fall and winter.

Tim Ramsey presents Student Debt Relief - How To Get Yourself Out Of Student Debt posted at My Debt Relief Blog. In this article you will find out how to get yourself out of student debt the smart way.

Thomas Humes presents Millionaire Mind - Think Like A Millionaire posted at Wealth Building World. Millionaires, multi millionaires and billionaires have a unique way of looking at money. Learn about it and apply it to your own thinking.

Tushar presents Getting the best deal on Airfares posted at Life of a Resident Alien…. Flexibility in your travel plans will go a long way in helping you find a better price on airline tickets. Here’s a look at some of the considerations.

Andy presents 10 Reasons why I Love to Budget posted at moneywalks. 10 reasons why Andy loves to keep budgeting.

Adam Parker presents Creating a Zero-based budget posted at Compelled By Reality. Adam says, One of the things that has helped in this mindset shift of managing the finances given me was to create a “Zero-based budget.” Well, “what is a zero-based budget?” you might ask. I’m glad you asked. I asked myself this same question when I first heard of it.

Stephanie presents What Are the Biggest Dangers to a Healthy Budget? posted at Work at Home in Progress. Some habits are worse for sticking to a budget than others.

David presents Do Budgets Really Work? A Few Tips for Your Budget posted at Money Under 30. Four out of five personal finance pundits say a budget is the only way to trim spending and save cash. Unfortunately, four out of five “real” people might disagree.

Matthew Paulson presents The Ten Truths of Frugal Grocery Shopping posted at Getting Green. Unless you plan on eating out for every meal in your life in hopes of having a heart attack by age 40, chances are you’re going to need to make a weekly trip to your local Hy-Vee, Wal-Mart, or whatever grocery store happens to be prevalent in your area.

Tushar presents You are in financial trouble if… posted at Life of a Resident Alien…. In today’s financial world, you can’t be caught napping. “Float” — the time it takes a transaction to clear your account — has all but disappeared, and financial services are eager to penalize any lapses, such as a bounced check or an over-limit transaction, with hefty fees.

Steve Faber presents - It Always Costs More Than You Think - Things to Remember When Budgeting posted at Debt Free. There’s no such thing as a free lunch…or puppy. Almost everything costs more money in the long run than you think it’s going to at the outset. We’re all guilty of this kind of financial wishful thinking.

Ruth Mitchell presents Art is Universal posted at Buy Outside the Box. Small entrepreneurs can get the blues too. Always keep something inspirational in your back pocket to get you out of it.

Warren Wong presents Why Not To Drive posted at Personal Development for INTJs. These days, practically everyone has a car. In fact, people buy a car when they’re 16 and don’t have the money for it, which is extremely reckless since you should [[save money while you’re young]]. In general, people seem to expect you to have a car (especially in California) as soon as you can afford it.

Steve Faber presents It Always Costs More Than You Think - Things to Remember When Budgeting posted at Debt Solution. There’s no such thing as a free lunch…or puppy. Almost everything costs more money in the long run than you think it’s going to at the outset. We’re all guilty of this kind of financial wishful thinking. Here are some ways that things you buy always seem to cost just a bit more than you bargained for.

R.Pettinger presents How to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early posted at Mortgage Blog. How to Pay off your mortgage early.

Abdulrasool Sumar presents Good Credit Scores Can Save Money on Mortgages, Home Equity Line of Credit & Auto Loans posted at Consolidate Debt. “What if you could invest that money in a simple mutual fund that covered the entire stock market and left it until you were approaching retirement?” Historically these funds have earned on average 10 percent per year. Investing even $100 per month of money saved, thanks to a better score, over the course of 40 years adds up to over $559,500.”

That concludes the 9th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. Next edition of this carnival will be hosted here on 06 July, 2007. You can submit your posts here.

Greeting, Payday Loan Lowdown brings 8th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. We have received 10 posts for this edition. Here are the posts in the order they were received.

Roshawn Watson presents Be Your Own CFO (Part 1): The Dreaded “B-word”… posted at Watson Inc. Most would not erect a building without architectural plans or drive across country without a map. Similarly, it is an absurdity to try to reach financial goals (i.e. retiring with dignity and having substantial sums to give away) without living on a budget.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Test Your Buyer’s IQ: Quit Wasting Money On Costly Crap posted at The Digerati Life. Do these ideas and inventions really deserve our money? Or can we as consumers see through the hype well enough to know that cheaper alternatives do exist and are preferred over those newfangled, hot offerings that are advertised by our retailers?

Trent presents Financial Preparations For A Second Child posted at The Simple Dollar. Trent shares his experience about financial preparations for a second child.

Jane Chin presents Couples: Joint or Separate Bank Accounts posted at Jane Chin. Couples who pool salaries versus those who keep separate bank accounts.

Abdulrasool presents Can Debt Negotiation Ruin Your Credit? posted at Debt Consolidation. Debt Negotiation companies will charge you enormous amounts of fees by using the following tactics: -> Large upfront “down payment” type fee -> Fee based on amount of debt you owe or # of creditors you owe to -> Fee based on the amount of debt that a creditor is willing to wipe away.

Edithyeung presents 7 Habits of Highly Effective Money Managers posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act.. Money can’t work hard for you unless you are in control of the money. Money is like a child. The child can be easily tamed if you spend time to teach and nurture them. Otherwise, they can easily take over your life.

Larry Russell presents The kind of financial advisor you need — A Tip from The Skilled Investor posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog. Good or bad, financial advisors are expensive. If you need a financial advisor’s help and you carefully select a good financial advisor, the value of the personal finance and investment advice that you receive might easily repay the advisor cost.

Ruby presents 25 Ways to Make Money Quickly and Easily (and Legally)! posted at Advice and Rants. How can you earn some extra money easily and quickly? You may be broke, debt, and desperate to make some money quickly, or you may be unable to work full-time (maybe because you’re a student like me?). Don’t worry, there are ways to make money quickly, easily, and without robbing a bank.

Alfaking presents Budget Day posted at Alfa King Memories. Last year everyone was happy with the income tax incentives as the Minister announced exemption of some 40 000 taxpayers from direct taxation. What ensued afterwards is only to make one lament on the decisions.

Raj Dash presents Bootstrapper » Bootstrapping Your Business Cash Flow posted at Bootstrapper. Bootstrapping your cash flow is part of budgeting for a business.

That concludes the 8th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. Next edition of this carnival will be hosted here on 24 June, 2007. You can submit your posts here.

Greetings! The 7th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting is live. We have received 11 posts for this edition. I hope our readers will enjoy the posts. A link back to this carnival would be appreciated.

David Butler presents Find Amazon items at half price or less posted at Nimisis.com - For Sports, Software, Technology…. Unfortunately Amazon doesn’t have a search form that lets visitors find the most discounted items… so this site was set up to do just that.

Praveen presents My Simple Trading System: Six Steps for Lottery Winners posted at My Simple Trading System. Develop relationships with professionals who can help you with things such as taxes, financial and estate planning, and insurance.

Abdulrasool presents The Dark Sides of Debt Consolidation posted at Debt Consolidation. When paying off their debts, consumers have their minds on only 1 thing, and that is the monthly payments. Some debt consolidation companies will therefore lower your current monthly payments, which is nice, but they will also stretch your payback period.

Stephanie presents What Are the Biggest Dangers to a Healthy Budget? posted at Work at Home in Progress. Little mistakes can add up fast and destroy an otherwise healthy budget.

Bill presents How To SAVE A Million Dollars posted at Ask Uncle Bill. Jonathan Clements of the Wall Street Journal writes some pretty good stuff. Pretty good as in real good compared to most writers who write on finance topics. Here is one on how to save a million.

Raj Dash presents Worthwhile Free Applications For Bootstrapping Entrepreneurs posted at Bootstrapper. During the past two years, there’s been an explosion of new applications - both web browser-based and old-school downloadable. Both have their merits, with web-based apps offering the ability to share files, sometimes to even collaborate remotely in real time.

The Skilled Investor presents THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog. Lawrence Russell and Company released of a free version of its VeriPlan™ lifetime personal financial planning software application. This free version of VeriPlan is the most powerful personal financial planning software that is available for free use by individuals and their families. The free version of VeriPlan can be downloaded from the Internet via The Skilled Investor website.

Tushar presents Credit Score Breakup and ways to boost it posted at Life of a Resident Alien…. Avoid applying on your own for a lot of loans and credit cards, particularly in a short period. And avoid excessive card-hopping.

Gustav S presents The Money Tree : Is like to play with Marbles. posted at success-is-in-you.com. Some simple rules as when you play with marbles can really make the difference in your financial life.

Jason Elder presents What Is Bankruptcy Furniture posted at A Bankruptcy Lawyer’s Blog. Bankruptcy takes a toll on every aspect of your life. People often rent furniture rather than buy it because it can be less expensive at the time or they just like to trade in the furniture after a while rather than buy it.

Kristine McKinley presents The Fastest Way to Pay Off Debt posted at Financial Tips for WAHMs. There’s some debate among financial planners as to the best way to pay down debt. Some say paying the highest interest rate debt first is the best way; others say paying the smallest balance first is the best way.

That concludes the 7th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. Keep submitting your posts to the future editions of this carnival. Don’t forget to mention this carnival on your blogs. Thanks.

Greetings! Welcome to the 6th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. No surprise that we have received 17 posts for this edition out of which 14 have been selected in the end. Without further ado, here are the posts in the order they were received.

Cade Krueger presents Money In The Bank posted at Make Money Business Opportunity @ Write To Right. Negotiation can save you a lot of money simply by asking. It goes back to the saying that you can never know what you could have gotten if you just asked. Often it will lead to you finding that you could receive more that what is mentally possible.

FIRE Finance presents E-ZPass With Budget Car Rentals! posted at FIRE Finance. Rent an E-ZPass-equipped vehicle and for only an additional $1.50 for each day you access a tollway — and the cost of tolls, to avoid highway congestion and sail through toll booths with E-ZPass!

Adam presents Creative Online Family (or Personal) Budgeting Tool posted at Queercents. Google Spreadsheets has an answer for keeping track of expenses.

George Courtney jr presents How You Can Eliminate Money Concerns posted at The Authentic Bartender Blog. You could get a better job, maybe one with less commute. You could invest your money and collect on the profits.

Abdulrasool Sumar presents Differentiate Between Good Debt and Bad Debt posted at Debt Consolidation. "When you buy something that goes down in value immediately, that’s bad debt." He adds, "If it has no potential to increase in value, that’s bad debt." For example, buying a 21′ inch monitor for your computer for $1000 and putting it on your credit card is a form of bad debt.

Alex Z presents FU Fund - The Old Kid On The Block posted at Funds Zine. Educating people about personal finance and investing.

Josh presents Why start saving for retirement now? posted at The Mad Money Analyst. Many people procrastinate having to mow the lawn or get out of bed in the morning. But why do so many people procrastinate saving for retirement? So many reasons exist as to why you should start saving now for retirement. Just think about the costs for food alone that you will incur in retirement.

George Courtney jr presents Get More Miles for Your Money posted at The Authentic Bartender Blog. The American Automobile Association’s (AAA) Daily Fuel Gauge Report shows the nationwide cost of a gallon of gas at $3.09. Some parts of the country will see the cost of a gallon of gas increase to $4 in the coming months, with a combination of lower inventories and increasingly higher demands to blame.

Tim Ramsey presents 2 Debt Tips for Improving Your Credit Score posted at My Debt Relief Blog. If you are struggling with debt and need to improve your credit score, you need to understand how important financial organization will be. Getting your finances organized will go a long way toward improving your credit score and reducing your debt. So how do you go about making these changes?

Erik presents How To Give Yourself A Raise in Five Minutes posted at Money Crashers. The best way to write a budget is at the beginning of the month. Take all of your income and subtract out all of the recurring bills you will pay for that month.

Dean presents How to Use Yahoo Answer to Save Time, Money & Reduce Stress posted at Mr. Cheap Stuff Online Coupons. Use Yahoo Answers to help you save money.

FitBuff presents How to Legally Get Your Cable and Phone Bills Paid for Free! posted at FitBuff.com’s Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog. You know how your cable and/or phone bills seem to come about 31 times a month, instead of just once?

Annette Berlin presents Tax Deductions For Your Old Clothing–Frugal Journey posted at Frugal Journey. Did you know you can get tax deductions for your old clothing? It’s true. Just take them to any charitable thrift shop, get a receipt and you’re ready for tax time. Start now, so you’ll have plenty of deductions for this year.

Patrick Daly presents How Much Should a Web Freelancer Charge Clients? posted at Develop Daly. You are a freelancer with no backup support, sick day pay, benefits, etc. So you can charge more than you might think.

That concludes the sixth edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. Keep submitting your posts to the future editions of this carnival. Thank you for your contribution.

–By Sushma Pradhan

The art of tipping began centuries ago when the medium of communication was through coachman. The coachman was given some cash as a bribe to ensure promptness of the communication. This is how the art of tipping began.

With time, the art of tipping has taken a new form in this service-oriented society. We have to pay gratuities in places that grow more in number with every passing day. In most of Europe, the service industryis seen as a noble service, however, things in the United States is quite different, this profession does get the kind of respect it should. To understand tipping it is very necessary to understand the perspective of tipping. This profession mostly involves immigrants, students, single parents looking for flexible hours and many other who are struggling in their fields.

One most important point what most people fail to understand is that the servers are not the sole owners of the tip you provide. The percentage is more of 50-60. The popular or nicer the restaurant, the more is the division of the tips and less percentage to the server.

Here the point is, what and where is tipping appropriate. To simplify the art, here are the list of service providers that we usually come across and may need tipping.

Hotel Housekeeping: If you are staying in at a cheap hotel accommodation, the tip could be $1 per day.

Message: It was a wonderful effort to make everything so smooth and comfortable.

On the wackier side, have a heart to write, “If you think you deserve more than this, this is not the place for you”.

Taxi Drivers: 15percent is nearly good but you can reduce 5percent if the drive is nearly dangerous and hand over 10percent.

Extra: Pay $3 to $5 as extra, if the cab drivers are generous enough to help with your luggage, and help you to rush to your destination safely in situations where you were getting late.

Message: It was a pleasant drive around (ignoring the times we nearly held our liver in the mouth)

On the other side, it could be “Had it not been rude, I would have deducted the extra from your pay, to clean all the puke over me”.

Shuttle Driver or the Hotel Porter: The tip may not be extended to a buck per bag.

Extra: For your special deliveries and request, $2 to $3 is ideal. Keep in mind that tipping means avoiding carrying trouble for yourself later. Gosh! Imagine you reach home and realize that your bags carrying important things are gone, instead you have carried a bag that is nothing but trouble because it was identical to yours.

Car Wash Attendant: For a regular car wash, the attendant should be getting $3, but if it  is a service, where you feel privileged, your paying $5 is justifiable. Your tip will ensure you a further better service in the future. Do not worry your tipping will never go vain.

Valet Parking: The share of tip that a valet parking deserves is $3, if it is a place you visit once in a blue moon. On the other hand, if it is a place of regular visit, $5 is ideal. Most importantly, if your car is returned as good as you sent and furthermore if it was not taken for a joy ride during your momentary absence, then your tip is worth it.

Extra: You may tip an extra $15 if the car is parked right at the front and center on your way back.

Restaurant Servers: The tip of 15 to 20 percent, is good enough, if the service was wonderful and the grub was hot, while delivering at your table.

Extra: You may add 5 percent extra as bonus if the restaurant servers did a good job. Like served you the delicacy the way you had expected it to be, and checked if everything was fine throughout the meal, checked regularly with your drinks. These are the points you may ponder on while deciding the tip for the restuarant servers.

In case the Restaurant is well established and a busy one, do call ahead and let them know that you will be there. One more thing, offer some tip the moment you arrive, and rest be assured to get the table that offers the best view.

Message: There is no reason why not to come back here repeatedly, the food, the ambience, and the service is class in itself. Keep it up.

On the wackier side: God grant me mercy, the continental dish tasted 100% oriental, are you sure, your senses are right! Or perhaps my taste buds have goofed up.

Hair Stylist: The ideal tip for the hairstylist should be around 15 to 20 percent of the bill and yes excluding the taxes.

Extra: Extra attention from your hairstylist means wonders to your looks. Whether you have just gone for a regular haircut or to come out with a polished finish depends on the generosity of your hairstylist.

So next time when you walk in, they will willingly spend some extra time to set things perfect for you.

The Coat Checker: I would suggest one should not be paying anything to the coat checker. There are times when the coats are misplaced and mismatched.

Extra: If you feel that job is well done and there is other help offered $1 to $3 is perfect.

Washroom Attendant: Have some pity, that poor guy is surrounded by shit all day long, so hand over $1 to $2 to him.

Extra: None if you smell poop, when you have actually gone for a pee. The best option here, run out as quickly as you can.

Bartender: You should be tipping your bartender around 15 to 20 percent per drink.

Extra: If you have to wait a long, twenty to twenty-five minutes in a crowded bar that’s bad, so a $5 is fine. Nevertheless, if you need personal attention of the bartender for the rest of the night generously give away $20 per drink and enjoy your drink along with the service.

Food Delivery Person: Stick to the standard form of tipping. 10 to 15 percent, if the promise of delivering you on the stipulated time is maintained.

Extra: Tip an extra 5 percent if the food was delivered when you were on the verge of acting like an early man. Remember this 5 percent will take you long. You can say good-bye to waiting long hours in future.

To give a final addition, it is essential to remember that you always fold the cash in thirds or half and pass it on the person, with your palms facing downwards. It is highly rude attitude to pass the cash up in the air or with your hands in the air. Be grateful they are doing their jobs, had it not been they, who would have done that job? Why don’t you try? Self-service? Unless you feel the little tip would shake the monthly budget, then forget it , just walk away. However, the choice is yours

Greetings! Welcome to the 5th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. We have received seven good posts for this edition. Here are the posts in the order they were received.

Tushar presents Shopping at Costco…the frugal way !! posted at Life of a Resident Alien…. Shopping at Costco…the frugal way.

Kathryn presents How to Score Outlet Mall Coupon Books for Free posted at See Jack Shop. See Jack Shop, the new blog for men on a budget, gives excellent tips on how to score free coupon books at your local outlet mall and instructs you on how to join the VIP club for even more exclusive deals.

John Place presents Control Your Spending posted at johnplaceonline.com. Control your spending by taking responsibility for your own financial decisions.

Maly Oudommahavanh presents She Spent Only $20 on Clothes Last Year posted at Wise Bread - Personal Finance and Frugal Living Guide. This is a post about Alex Martin, who spent only $20 on clothes last year!

Eric Stanley presents Too Broke to Budget? posted at Personal Finance Blog Articles. Budgets are for people with predictable income, fairly predictable expenses, and the former larger than the latter, right? What good will a budget do if you dont have enough money to go around, and you never know when more is coming in?

Kevin Surbaugh presents 33 Ideas for Dating Frugally posted at Becoming & Staying Debt Free. You’ve made a love connection, but now you’re weary of the wooing process because you’re on a tight budget. But don’t worry, because dating without much cash is possible and it can allow you to be creative while showing your date a good time.

FIRE Finance presents Fly Now - Northwest Airlines Offers Low Price Flight Change posted at FIRE Finance. Northwest Airlines’ FlyNow option allows customers to confirm an alternate, qualifying domestic flight operating anytime during the day of departure for $25.

That concludes the 5th edition of the Carnival of Budgeting. Keep submitting your posts to the future editions of this carnival. Thank you for your continued support.