Welcome to the 28th Carnival of Money Stories II – Winter in Arizona Edition. Thank you to everyone who submitted a personal money story or money experience. This edition includes some pictures of the Arizona desert, in the winter. We rarely get snow in the low desert, but we get some gorgeous sunsets and the cacti don’t seem to mind the colder temperatures.
One quick announcement: The Carnival of Money Stories is looking for hosts in the coming weeks. Check out the hosting requirements and use this contact form to volunteer your blog and your time. Now on with the carnival!
Editor’s Picks:
- Len shares Why “Coke Rewards” Are For Suckers posted at Len Penzo.com. I laughed out loud as I read this one, and had to share it with Mr. A who also enjoyed Len’s sense of humor.
- The Financial Blogger presents My Wife’s Look At My Company posted at The Financial Blogger. I liked hearing how The Financial Blogger’s wife has come around to liking his new Internet company.
- David Carlson presents Buying an Engagement Ring posted at Dual Income No Kids. Pretty darned romantic, David Carlson!
- Lakita Humber shares what she believes is The DUMBEST (Financial) Move I’ve Ever Made posted at Paneh Praise Dance Ministry & Mime Ministry. Buying a new car and then getting into an accident is a real bummer!
Business
Khan from Higher Education and Career Blog says, “Sales isn’t the field of choice for most new grads, yet it can be an excellent way to start your career. Here’s a recent graduate’s inside view of life as a ‘marketing consultant.'” Great reflection on one day in Kahn’s life as he shares Diary of a Salesman’s Secrets to Success.
Shopping
GeekMBA360 shares his experience with Amazon Fresh, getting down to the nitty-gritty details like minimum purchase requirements, deadlines for ordering and subsequent shipping and how much time he’s saving. I was curious about how the prices compare for sales shoppers, though. He’s pretty happy with it and says he estimates three hours a week is saved by not having to shop in person: Is Amazon Fresh the future of grocery shopping and more? posted at GeekMBA360.
Austin shares with us the breakdown of how much an iPhone cost his girlfriend in rural Japan. He takes a look at why it’s so cheap in Japan and how much it will cost month to month over the next year in Cost of the iPhone 3G in Rural Japan posted at Foreigner’s Finances.
Darwin’s family needs a new coffee pot so he breaks down the incremental value analysis for us in Why Do People Pay More Money for the Top of the Line Model? Incremental Value Analysis posted at Darwin’s Finance.
Dorian Wales loves New York City and says it is his favorite destination in the world. Today he shares an experience with two places, a restaurant and TKTS where you can get tickets at discount. But Dorian also shares that discounted tickets can be had at other places without having to stand in long lines. A Temple Restaurant and a Clearing House for Tickets – Two Observations of New York City posted at The Personal Financier.
Kevin shares what he does to keep his credit cards safe in How to Keep Your Credit Card Information Safe When Buying Online posted at CreditShout.
Investing
Curt shares his money experience with how he doubled his money twice last year, and how he plans to double it twice next year in: How I Plan to Double My Money Twice Next Year posted at PennyJobs.com.
Silicon Valley Blogger decides to try the envelope system, and shares some thoughts of why it may or may not work in: Create A Home Budget, Use The Envelope Budgeting System posted at The Digerati Life.
Jeff Rose shares about some experiences he’s had being employed in the securities industry in What is a Penny Stock? posted at Good Financial Sense.
Debt
Andrew ho shares his experience with credit card debt in Starting Out posted at zero255zero.
Housing
GLBL shares how the financial chores are shared in his household in Lucy, you got some [financial] ’splainin’ to do! posted at Gather Little by Little.
McFarlane tells us a story about a credit card with 79.9% interest rate in Someone should do something about how much money I spend posted at Control Your Cash.
Net Worth
Mike ponders the time he has to work to buy material possessions and wonders if it is worth the time away from his toddler son in Discouragement posted at Minting Pennies – Personal Finance, Investing, and Microfinance.
MBB shares a few areas of money experience in Net Worth Report and Stock Market Loss posted at Money Blue Book Blog.
Other
Christian Finance presents a personal story from one lady who gave and what she learned from her giving in No Such Thing As a Free Lunch.
Bucksome tells us how California is taking an extra 10% income tax in California State Tax Shenanigans posted at Buck$ome Boomer’s Journey to Retirement.
Sarah shares with us everything she’s done to save money on her honeymoon in How to: Save over $10,000 on Your Honeymoon posted at The One!.
Next week the carnival travels to Mighty Bargain Hunter. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Money Stories II using this convenient form. Thank you also for considering hosting the CoMS, click here to learn more about hosting.
Yours Truly,
Thanks for hosting. My grandparents live in Tucson and it’s my favorite place to visit in all of the United States. It’s so unreal to see the snow in the desert. Do you live in ‘Zona?
Thanks again!
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Mrs. Accountability Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Hi Austin, yes I live in Arizona! Thanks for stopping by!
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Thanks for hosting! I’m honored to be listed as one of the editor’s picks. Yes purchasing a new car and then getting into an accident was indeed a real bummer! The pictures are gorgeous…I’ve never been to Arizona…thanks for sharing.
Lakita
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Hi, Mrs. Accountability:
Thanks for including my post in this carnival. Regarding the price of Amazon Fresh items, on average they’re 5-10% above regular grocery stores (e.g. Fred Meyer’s, Safeway, etc.).
However, Amazon Fresh does offer a feature called “automatic repeated orders” — e.g. you can set up recurring order for items such as milk, diapers, etc. Repeated orders gets an additional 15% off, which makes the Amazon Fresh price more competitive.
GeekMBA360
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Thanks for featuring our post. Sending the link out via Twitter & LinkedIn.
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Mrs. A,
Thanks for hosting such a great carnival! I’ve always thought Arizona is a very beautiful state – and your pictures are proof positive of that. 🙂
All the best,
Len
Len Penzo dot Com
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Thank you for including me. The photos are beautiful!
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Great carnival! Thanks for including me!
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Mrs. Accountability Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 5:36 am
Digerati, you’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
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Thanks for hosting and for including our post. The pictures are amazing. Reminds me of Joshua Tree!
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Mrs. Accountability Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 5:38 am
Mike, you’re welcome and thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I just went and looked for “Joshua Tree” and I see you are talking about someplace in California. Never heard of it, thanks for mentioning it because now I have. And the pictures from Google of Joshua Tree, CA. do look much like Arizona! Thanks!
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Mike Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 11:35 am
@Mrs. Accountability, No problem. Sorry I assumed that everyone knows about Joshua Tree. but come to think of it, i only really every mention it to people who rock climb so of course they’re familiar with it. :0 Definitely have to make it out to Arizona sometime!
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