Best of Money Carnival #61: Leaders of the Pack

Today, I host the Best of Money Carnival, a Top 10 submitted article. Given the fun we see at the Tour De France, these articles are not part of the Peloton. They are part of the breakaway leaders (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

This Carnival is run weekly and highlights articles submitted by their authors. They are judged by the editor (me) to be included in this top 10 list.

The Contenders!

They may not be climbing the Alps or tearing down the Champs Elysees, but the spirit of the tour lives on.

Honourable mentions to my post: The Semantics of Money, discussing how people rationalize not spending, as actually saving, Paul Williams’ Raising a Cow for Beef: Month 11 that is a wild idea dude, and Money Beagle’s It Was November of 1943 which is an interesting homage to his Grandmother (and anybody who posts about the Me-Ma, is OK by me).

1. FMF presents 11 Smart Ways to Help Get Out of Debt posted at Free Money Finance.If you want to get out of debt, these 11 tips will help you do so!!!! My only question is, why are there so darn many easy ways to get into debt? Useful for those who think there is no way out of the pit of debt.
2. Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents Do You Know Where Your Bills Are? posted at Canadian Finance Blog. Taking a look at monthly bills to ensure that we are not being overcharged, and what to do if we are. I know where my bills are most of the times, but automating this is a useful way to get things done in personal finance
3. 2 Cents presents The Culture of More: 5 Socioeconomic Bubbles Ready to Pop posted at Balance Junkie. A number of bubbles have been inflating over the past couple of decades, each of which could have a profound effect on your money and your life. Here’s a look at 5 of them. Bursting bubbles are always a scarey thing, and just how many of these bubbles are there?
4. Bucksome presents Does Frugality Lead to Happiness? posted at Buck$ome Boomer’s Journey to Retirement. Ultra-frugal people are purported to be happier than spendthrifts. Adopting some of their habits may increase your happiness. I don’t know about happiness, but Frugality is now the Little Black Dress of Personal Finance (for now).
5. Control your Cash presents Stick a Pin in it, It’s Done. posted at Control Your Cash – Making Money Make Sense. Can you even call holding cash “investing”? Does it fit the definition of using money to generate potential profitable returns? I don’t know, but having cash is good, but holding debt is silly.
6. Ray @ Financial Highway presents How A Good Credit Score Can Help You [Infographic] posted at Financial Highway. Credit reports have become our reports cards and is used not only by financial institutions, but also employers, insurance companies, landlords and so on. This Infographic summarizes how a good credit score can save you money. It can “save” you money, but only if you plan on spending money, which is the interesting problem here isn’t it?
7. Jason presents 5 Life Altering Lessons I Learned From My Debt | Live Real, Now posted at Live Real, Now. Cathartic discussions and epiphanies about debt are stories I always enjoy.
8. Wise Bread presents How To Create Barriers To Your Savings posted at Wise Bread. A lot of people poo-poo the idea of hiding money you want to save (from yourself), I think this is a brilliant idea, especially for those of us who know our limitations
9. Craig Ford presents Can You Afford Your Car Payments? Can You Afford the House? posted at Money Help For Christians.A helpful reference for those dealing with high car payments and house payments. Not putting yourself too far into debt with your house or your car is a good idea. Don’t go out and buy a Bugatti for instance.

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The Yellow Jersey Winner

The yellow jersey goes to the writer with what I think is the best story submitted this week, which is:

Kristina presents It's OK to Talk about Money posted at DINKS Finance. 3 reasons why it's OK to talk about money.

Certainly in my parents' day and even when I was younger, money was a subject that was about as Taboo as Sex, but both are now spoken about freely an openly, well Sex is at least, why money isn't is beyond me.