Carnival of Debt Reduction #8

Welcome to the 8th edition of the Carnival of Debt Reduction, which is a weekly smorgasborg of the best debt reduction articles as submitted from bloggers. While I don’t talk about debt reduction very much, I would suggest that they key is first to find out where your money goes now. I dislike budgeting myself, but every month I track my spending and focus on certain target areas like Dining Out. What? You want more? Ok, ok, here:

You Can Beat Debt – FMF of FreeMoneyFinance recounts a MSN Moneycentral article which details the stories of four people who managed to tackle their huge credit card balances. Inspiration, people!

eBaying to a Cleaner House – Jane Dough of Boston Gal’s Open Wallet details the financial results of eBaying her way to a cleaner house. A good source of “found” money are the items that accumulate in your home. Selling them and applying the profit to pairing down your debt is the smart thing to do!

Secret to Debt Reduction – Jesse of You Need A Budget discusses different approaches to debt reduction, biblical prophesies, and the principle of intensity – with a bit of sarcasm.

A Note on Credit – Amanda of Young and Broke talks about balancing the desire to minimize debt with the practical need for a credit card, if only to help get a good credit score. I wonder if young and broke will always be synonymous.

Debt-Proof Principles – Dawn of FrugalForLife shares some good tips from Mary Hunt’s Debt-Proof Living book, and provides some of her additional insight. My favorite is ” It’s not how much you make, but what you do with it.”

Accelerating Mortgage Payment Schedule – Jim of Bargaineering talks about how his mortgage company was misapplying his extra mortgage payments, putting them towards future monthly payments instead
of against the principal. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, people manage to make reducing debt even harder.

Value of Waiting – I really like this post. NCNBlog tells us that our we-want-it-NOW society is contributing to our debt woes. Take a breather, and wait to see if you really need it. Cotton candy is even mentioned!

Classic Money Wasting Mistake – Jeffrey of Personal Finance Advice warns us that when you don’t check carefully for things you already have, you can end up wasting money by purchasing multiples that aren’t needed. While the individual purchases may not be much, this can add up to a lot of money over time. Ok, but multiples of seaweed spread?

Now that you’re all saturated with ideas, contribute your own to Dawn at FrugalForLife, who’s hosting next week’s carnival.

Wait, you still want more money-saving ideas? The Carnival of Personal Finance for this week is also up!