I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

Here’s Your Team for The Superbowl of Personal Finance! (Carnival #138)

Welcome to I’ve Paid For This Twice Already, the heart of the snowflaking empire, where frugal living and putting your money to work for you a penny at a time abounds. I’ve been working at getting out of debt and on the path to true financial freedom, and I’m delighted you’ve joined me, be it your first visit or your thousandth. This past weekend was the Superbowl, the championship of American Football. So this week, I’m excited to bring you one half of another epic showdown - the Carnival of Personal Finance vs The Festival of Frugality! I’ve conspired with Lynnae at Being Frugal (this week’s host of the Festival of Frugality) to bring you a showdown between the two finance carnival heavyweights. We’ve got our own version of football, where the ball is your finances and the goal is financial freedom.

I’m paidtwice, your coach this week for the Ultimate Personal Finance Team, made up of your submissions this week to the Carnival of Personal Finance. I’ve got some MVPs leading the pack (editor’s picks) and then our offense - the ways you’ll achieve your goal, and the defense - ways that the goal of financial freedom will be thwarted. And keep your eye out for the special teams contributions! Sometimes that makes all the difference.

On Wednesday after both teams have been revealed we’ll each run a poll with all of our MVP picks head to head - which entry, and which team, will win the ultimate finance showdown? You decide!

Here’s the CoPF team MVP selections (Editor’s Picks) :

Our Offensive MVPs include:

Our MVP Running Back, My Dollar Plan presents Investment Snowflaking. This is a great adaptation of the snowflaking philosophy to investments. Watch your money grow as small steps add up to huge changes!

Our MVP Offensive Lineman is Quest for Four Pillars, who finds it hard to say no, but manages to eventually even when it has cascading life effects in Saying No Is Hard To Do. Protect the assets at all costs!

Our MVP Wide Receiver is Plan Your Escape, with 8 reasons Why Small Houses Are Better Than Big Ones. Minimizing your housing expenses makes a huge difference in your bottom line, in obvious and not so obvious ways alike.

Our Defensive MVP is:

Our Defensive Line MVP is Smart Easy Money, who tells a story of a clogged drain and just accepting the default in A Clogged Drain and Living By Default. A really thoughtful story about how if we just accept what we’re given we never get anywhere.

And finally, our Special Teams MVP:

Our MVP Kick Returner is Consumerism Commentary with The New Emergency Fund: Five Components of an Emergency Plan. Diversifying our fund keeps you prepared for all true emergencies and here is great tips on how.

And the rest of our lineup!

Our Offense!

The Quarterback, the brains of the operation:

• Lazy Man and Money has Your Personal Finance Football Team - a great post that draws analogies between football positions and personal finance - be your own coach!
• Queercents shares 5 Tips For Getting Started Tackling Your Finances. have no idea where to start? This is a great guide.
• The Honest Dollar gives a clever analogy in Personal Finance is Like Learning To Ride a Bike. They are more similar than I ever thought!
• Moolanomy shares What is Debt to Income Ratio and Why Does It Matter. Understanding this concept really is one of the keys to understanding your financial health.
• The Simple Nickle asks us What Does It Mean to Be Financially Secure? And then tells us 6 principles to follow to understand true financial security.
• Feminist Finances discusses her Money Mind Freaks - ways she tricks her brain into doing the best for her finances.
• Not The Jet Set gives those of us with irregular income a plan with How To Handle Irregular Income.
• Dividend Money lays it all out in Understanding Mortgages. Knowledge is power and this is an easy, step by step guide to what a mortgage means and what you can do with one.
• Millionaire Mommy Next Door created a budget sheet for success with Craft a Budget That Fits Your Needs AND Wants.

Offensive Line - Keep the Defense From Stopping Your Plays! :

• Two Wise Acres tells us how to use our brain to avoid foreclosure with Avoid Foreclosure By Thinking Like An Investor.
• Funny About Money gives us step by step advice on How To Build An Emergency Fund - from experience!
• Handling Finances gives taxes a run for their money with Diversification Part I — Taxes. Knowing when to pay taxes now and when to pay them later when putting money away for retirement can really add up!
• Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of the Time I Know You? provides Auto Insurance 101 Part 2: Ten Tips For Shopping Smart. Read this for essential tips on how to shop for auto insurance, most of which I didn’t know.
• Mortgage Blog shares Tips For Selling Your House in a Buyers Market. Don’t let the downturn in housing values leave you holding the bag if you need to sell your house.
• Quest For A Million discusses The Paradox of Thrift. Don’t let the idea that if we all save money, the world is doomed keep you from saving your money. It’s your money, after all.
• Millionaire Money Habits tells us How To Play The Market During A Stock Market Crash. Can you ignore the market? Can you ride it out? Should you? Find out!
• Millionaire Neumes does the research for you and comes up with The Top Online Brokerages and Picks The Best Brokerage House For Us.

Running Backs - The small moves matter! Small positive steps add up:

• No Credit Needed shares how he is Rebuilding His Non-Retirement Savings - January Update. Small steps add up to a big avalanche.
• Destroy Debt gives us ways to save money on energy and positively impact our world with 20 Ways To Save on Your Utility Bills.
• Bible Money Matters shares the free movie rental strategy they developed for their family in Free Movie Rentals for life at Redbox.
• So Sick of Debt is about to get their Car Debt Under $10,000. Bravo!
• Money and Credit explains how to determine How Many Allowances Should You Claim on Your W-4?
• Free Money Finance shares a reader’s strategy to get 3% Cash Back From Your Credit Cards - you decide, is the multiple card strategy worth the hassle? Small steps do add up…
• College of Cash shares her New Grocery Budget. She completely decimates mine.
• Cash Money Life reminds us There is Still Time to Fund Your 2007 IRA. Don’t delay! Take advantage of your tax breaks!
• Sound Money Matters appeals to the frugal romantic in all of us with Five Ways to Save Money on Valentine’s Day.
• My Family’s Money asks What Would You Do With A Penny - and says in a state where cans are cash - pick up the cans!
• American Consumer News shares 20 Free Things You can Do To Put Money In Your Pocket - little things really add up!
• Single Guy Money has some Suggestions For Your Tax Refund! I would like a tax refund…
• Christian PF gives us 16 Ways To save Money By Not Being Normal. Don’t be like everyone else. Save.
• One Snarky Chica With Issues asks Have You Ever Tried The Envelope System? I never have but a lot of people I know have had major success with this type of budgeting.
• Prime Time Money gives 3 Steps to Stress-Free Rebates. Step one… don’t do rebates.
• Money Smart Life shares that sometimes, you have to break through your own mental barriers in The Power of Trying Something New.

Wide Receivers - The Big Plays That Make a Difference:

• One Million and Beyond shares his Alternative Income Streams and how to develop them, a key to financial freedom.
• Rocket Finance is on the right track! We Are Heading In The Right Direction - they started the year for the first time with a balanced budget.
• Five Cent Nickel shares 12 Commonly Missed Tax Deductions. These can add up to a whole lot of cash!
• Being Frugal shares a step by step guide to investing in Practical Investing Guide for Beginners.
• Schaefer’s Blog gives us timeless advice with 3 Investment Principles Every Young Person Should Know: #2 Pay Yourself First. Great common sense advice to make that financial freedom goal.
• GRACEful Retirement asks Do You Know About This Deduction? It might only affect a small percent of people, but it can send a lot of money your way if you qualify.

Tight Ends - they block, they catch, they can do anything! A mixed bag of entries:

• Chief Family Officer shares that her All Cash Spending Experiment is About to Begin. Will she spend less money this month? We’ll have to keep tabs on her to find out!
• The Personal Financier explains The 80/20 Rule - Let Pareto Do Most of the Work. Know where your effort will give you the most benefit.
• Dividends4Life tells us a story with Passing the Torch - Part 1 of 2. Do your kids eyes glaze over when you start talking about investing? Try a story!
• Create Increasing Passive Income With Dividend Paying Stocks provides his current investment picks in My Current Watchlist.
• Physician Entrepreneur brings us Jumbo Mortgage - Stimulus Package May Save You Money details how the stimulus package may also change the definition of jumbo mortgages.
• American Small Business News gives you the keys to what your team might be missing in Essential Team Building for Small Business Success.
• Bad Credit Advisor explains the difference between Vantage Score and FICO Score.
• Gather Little by Little knows that you can’t be vigilant 24/7 or you might drive yourself mad. He explains how to avoid this in Gazelle Intensity Vacations to Avoid Burnout.
• FIRE Finance knows you want to know How To File Multiple State Returns Electronically, and they have the answer!
• Money and Values has an online banking suggestion with Test-Drive Shorebank’s socially/eco-conscious Bank Account.
• InsureBlog has the HSA Update - don’t miss this if you have an HSA account!
• Tight Fisted Miser figures out how to Take Social Security Early and Still Receive Full Benefit - but there’s a catch so make sure you read the article!
• The Dividend Guy Blog shares Investment Ideas From My Fridge - what he stocks his fridge with relates to where he puts his money.
• Searchlight Crusade answers the question Should I Refinance? Consider Overall Cost of Money, Not Payment.
• My Wealth Builder lays out the options in Options For Our Tax Rebate - Reduce Debt or Save. Spending? Not on their watch!
• Platinum Years Network also shares Can You Untake Social Security - and their answer is also yes, you can.
• Credit Card Addict says Pay Your Taxes With a Reward Credit Card. Would you?
• Oh My Aching Debts turns reflective with The Beauty of Silver or 25 Things I Used To Take For Granted. I don’t have silver in my hair but I don’t think I would mind it too much.
• Adfecto Abundantia - Aspire to Wealth asks if Social Security is a Big Ripoff and decides it isn’t as bad as he thought it might be… but still not great.

Our Defense!

Defensive Line - We Attack You At Brain Level! Must destroy QB and all plans! :

• Mighty Bargain Hunter reacts to the idea that unmarried men are still boys and discusses On Child-Men, Growing Up, and Finances. Fight the stereotypes and don’t let other’s preconceptions rule yours.
• Start and Step details The Debit Card - Why I Can’t Use One. Instead of a tool of convenience, the debit card is a tool of disaster here.
• Alpha Consumer gives you a Financial Health Quiz. Are you in danger?
• Uncommon Cents explains why it is so hard to just spend less than we earn in Spending: It’s Behavior and Emotion.
• Money Blue Book reminds us that If You Truly Invest For the Long Term, Then Stop Checking Your Stock Prices All the Time. Truly. Stop checking and be happier.
• Accumulating Money explains the Top Ten Reasons People Spend More Than They Earn - another view on why people don’t internalize what they understand as good advice.

Secondary - The Big Plays That Throw Us Off Track:

• Plonkee Money gives the British perspective on the Subprime crisis in the US and asks American Subprime Crisis: Should The Rest of Us Care?
• Chance Favors explains Predatory Mortgage Lending and Subprime Loans and how this huge mess happened in the first place.
• Credit Withdrawal scares me into submission with Joe Sixpack and the Battle of the Soul Sucking Job. If your job is sucking out your soul - do something.
• Keeping Feet makes finance personal with The Housing Market Hits Home. A touching story about how the housing downturn put her spouse out of a job, but they’re moving forward and adjusting.
• My Two Dollars takes a critical look at the “mortgage crisis” in My Thoughts on the Mortgage Crisis and Why I Don’t Feel That Bad.
• Early Retirement Extreme explains The Problems With the Economic Stimulus Package and What To Do About It. You may think the world is saving because PF bloggers say they are but really…

Linebackers - They stop all the little positive plays from happening:

• Squawkfox tells us Stop Giving The Government an Interest-Free Loan! Adjust your withholding. A big tax refund is basically a loan for a year the government got.
• Mrs Micah - Finance For A Freelance Life laments the culture that keeps us buying expensive bridesmaid dresses in Bridesmaid Dresses - We Need a Solution. Weddings shouldn’t bankrupt us!
• A Penny Closer discusses how she intends to still save money when left to her own devices in On My Own (For A While).
• Rather Be Shopping gives a little humor in 5 Wise and 5 Stupid Things To Do With Your Tax Rebate.
• Money Myths does the math in The $42,000 Lunch - how bringing your lunch to work instead of going out once a week can really add up in the long run. is your lunch costing you $42,000?
• Money Management And You! brings us Why Being Frugal Sucks, In the Long-Run. He says “Controlling how much money you spend on purchases does not create wealth and will not have a large impact on when you retire or how much you save, it does not have a long term effect. ” and I could not disagree more - but then again, I am the queen of making small changes really matter.
• Money Ning shares his experiences in The Hidden Costs of Moving So Far. Budgeting only takes you so far when there are loads of completely unexpected expenses!
• Savvy Frugality is outraged that moving 15 miles threw up their auto rates in Your Zip Code Could Cost You Money.
• All About the Ben shares Bottled Water - I’d Rather Drink Gasoline, about how much bottled water really costs. Have you ever calculated the cost per gallon? Disturbing.
• My Retirement Blog shares a reason why you might Put Retirement Savings on Hold. Keep in mind the short and long term implications of this strategy.

Special Teams:

Kick returner and Punt returners - sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down:

• The Digerati Life shares How She’s Lost and Made Money in the Market. It is a fascinating read!

Thanks for visiting the Carnival and remember if you are a blogger to share some of your favorite articles with your readers! And be back Wednesday to vote for your favorite MVP!

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