Carnival of Cashflow Consciousness #2 – “80’s Yuppies” Edition: I Just Can’t Get Enough

At long last, the second carnival of cashflow consciousness!  I have to apologize for some of the technical turbulence as I’ve still been learning how to properly use the Blog Carnival submission engine, which is not  all very intuitive.  I also need to apologize for my lack of photoshopping ability with these images – I don’t have image editing software on my machine right now!

The next edition of the carnival will be held at Passive Family Income.  You can submit your articles here by June 9.  The carnival will go up on June 11.  Hopefully the third one will be even smoother than the first two!  Also you might want to take another look at the first edition to see if your post was included (I think I’m supposed to send out individual emails or figure out how it’s automated through Blog Carnival!).  I’m also looking for a host for future editions, so let me know if you’re interested.

Without further ado, I present the “80’s yuppies” edition.  Listening to some old 80’s tracks after a recommendation from The Happy Rock on Twitter got me thinking about 80’s excess and comparing it to some of what we went through post-2001 with the Hummers, guzzlers, triple-mortgage McMansions and more.  I’m not sure which period was worse economically!  Maybe there are clues in the music they produced… let’s see.

Editor’s Top Cashflow and Passive Income Picks!

Passive Family Income tells us how to Create Easy Passive Income by Saving Money.

In his eleventh money videocast, Jim from Bargaineering explains the benefits of Drawing Your CashflowChart.

Green Panda Treehouse – Start A Side Business While Looking For A Job – “here are two routes on getting side income: finding a part-time job to supplement your income and freelancing your skills and talents.This post is focusing on the second method of increasing your income: freelancing.”

Moolanomy shares his massive List of 1,001 Money-Saving Tips and Ideas.  As he puts it, “lowering your expenses is another side  of the cash flow equation. Here is a list of money saving tips that covers general ideas and specific ones for home, car, utilities, phone, medical, vacation, etc.”

Thanks to you all for these massively useful articles!  Everyone must make sure especially to read up on Moolanomy’s massive compendium of frugal tips and resources.  It’s the best of the best available on the web.

“Dreaming, Dreaming is Free – I Don’t Want to Live on Charity” (Blondie: Oct. 1979)

I was too young to remember living while this song was popular in the charts, but the message here is definitely that we need to plan ahead if we’re going to have any hope of getting what we want.  You don’t want to be living in your parents’ basement and you don’t want to have to still be relying on others to bail you out when you’re 40 and older!  (A lot of U.S. corporations are obviously still stuck at this stage!)

Lucrative Investing shares some thoughts on The Best Places To Starve In America.  It’s all about which locations have been hit hardest by the economy and real estate debacles.  But if that’s too depressing, take a look at The Most Financially Productive Areas To Live instead.

KCLau asks Do You Need To Pawn? and gives useful tips on the difference between pawnbrokers and pawnshops.  Great original article here.

Jim at Bargaineering gives a very thorough answer to the question “What is a Good Credit Score?” You might be surprised by a few things here concerning your number.  He also explains How To Build Your Credit History With Tradelines.  Very important tips to know, be sure to read it.

Chris at Home I Own tells you 7 Things you Can Do to Help the Agent Sell Your House.

Nickel from Five Cent Nickel discusses another perennial problem, “Pay Off Mortgage Early? Or Invest?” This article got a lot of discussion, worth checking out.  “Should you pay off your mortgage early and generate near term cash flow, or should you work on building your nest egg for the future?”

“And I Just Can’t Get Enough, I Just Can’t Get Enough” (Depeche Mode: Sept. 1981)

This song sums up the 80’s money-hungry feeling as I know it… it may be wise investment advice to “be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful,” but make sure you do keep your greed in check.  It might be useful for brainstorming more ways to make money like these examples above, but you need to make sure it’s going to lead to continued success.

Donald at LifeOptimizer talks about our perennial favorite, How to Make More Money.  A very thorough post well-worth checking out.

Let’s Be Curious - Have you used paid surveys yet as an option for increasing some side cashflow?  This is a very thorough article you must read on Paid Surveys: Your Opinions Are Your Extra Money.

Apply 4 Credit warns us about Credit Card Skimming on the Rise.

CreditCardAssist explains The Best Balance Transfer Card Strategy.

MonkeyProfit shares some advice on increasing website traffic with the articles Driving Traffic With Article Marketing and Microsoft Money Machine.

Nickel from Five Cent Nickel talks about asset allocation in his article Risk Tolerance vs. Risk Capacity.

“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (Eurythmics: Jan. 1983)

I think I probably went roller skating to this song at some point for a birthday party or two… this song is also about thinking big.  We need to do the dreaming before we can be at the planning stage.  But as they sing, “everybody’s looking for something/ Some of them want to use you…” You gotta watch out in this stage, because your dreams are subject to others’ scams and profit-taking plans if you’re not careful.  Don’t let the latest get-rich-quick scheme get the best of you.  At the same time, protect your dreams.  Don’t let anyone tell you you’re naive or that your dreams don’t fit!

KCLau shares one of The Most Common Habits of Rich People.

Brian Maxwell tells us How To Transform F.E.A.R. Into Success.

Potential 2 Success tells us how we can learn to Perform Under Pressure.

Roshawn from Watson Inc. tells an interesting story in Good Old Middle-Class, or Wealthy? You Decide.

Financial Health Guy gives Three Ways To Increase Your Retirement Income.  He says: “Retirement is seeming far away for more and more people. Here is a look at how you can increase your cashflow and not have to worry during retirement!”

Learn real estate success with Del Walmsley’s Three Rules of Investing over at Lifestyles Unlimited.

“Only Boys That Save Their Pennies Make My Rainy Day” (Madonna: Jan. 1985)

Madonna’s “Material Girl” image is probably one of the most recognized of the 80’s – and unfortunately, for her – since that song isn’t at all one of her best from this era.  Whether you can see the song as a critique of materialism or not, the fact is that it also points to the power of counting your pennies.  If you earned that penny, it’s important!  No matter how many dollars we earn, you won’t have a single dollar until you have all 100 pennies;)

Leave Debt Behind talks to us about Starting a Budget For Your Family.

ABCs of Investing tells us why Not All Index Funds and ETFs are Low Cost.

Nickel from Five Cent Nickel shares How To Find the Best Mortgage Rates, since “you can increase your cashflow by finding a killer mortgage rate and reducing your housing costs.”

Spending It shares The Three Biggest Opportunities For Saving Money.

Savings Toolbox considers whether Should You Switch to a Credit Union to Save?

Fine-Tuned Finances tells us what they think are the Top 5 Financial Resources You Need To Help Manage Debt.

Raag Vamdatt talks to us about How to Use a Credit Card the Financially Prudent Way.

SpendOnLife talks about the recent trend of Debit Cards Taking the Lead Over Credit Cards.  As a Canadian, I find it confusing enough that all the so-called “debit” cards in the U.S. need to have MC or VISA logos on them.  Many U.S. stores’ “debit” machines won’t even accept debit cards (like mine, from Canada’s largest bank!) that don’t have either of these logos, which I find to be completely ridiculous.  Talk about a monopoly.  Canada has actually been a longtime leader in debit card usage, so this article isn’t news north of the US border.

“I’ve got the brains, you’ve got the looks, Let’s make lots of money” (Pet Shop Boys: July 1985)

This is one song I don’t actually remember all that well.  I know the Pet Shop Boys more for their early 90’s work.  Regardless, the refrain sums up a good attitude to keep towards our investments: keep your head on and think smart about it.  Do your research.  With that in mind, check out the following articles:

Mike from MikesMillions explains some basics about Stocks, Investments and the Economy.

A good lesson from Investing School advises that we don’t check up on our stocks every other second of the day – Investor Mistakes – Constant Refresh: “It’s harder to be happy the more often you check your portfolio.”  Investing School also gives us Sharebuilder Review – StockBroker for Automatic Investing.

Manshu from OneMint explains how to recognize stock value traps.

Four Pillars helps Canucks like me out with a great review of BMO InvestorLine Discount Brokerage.

MoneyNing tells us all about the TradeKing brokerage in his TradeKing Review.  Hear more about it from Silicon ValleyBlogger, in her TradeKing Review: Low Cost Broker: “Develop cash flow and passive income from your investments. You can use a low cost broker like TradeKing, which I think has some of the best tools and investment materials around to help you learn more about investing.”

Thanks to everyone for your submissions! Let’s see how many articles on passive income we can get for next week’s carnival at Passive Family Income. I’ll leave you with some memorable lyrics from 1987, when this 80’s feeling, whatever it was, had already started to blow away.  Tell me if you know the song, artist and album!:)  I’d be surprised if you don’t:)

She’s got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see her face
She takes me away to that special place
And if I stared too long
I’d probably break down and cry

[fill in the chorus....]

She’s got eyes of the bluest skies
As if they thought of rain
I hate to look into those eyes
And see an ounce of pain
Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place
Where as a child I’d hide
And pray for the thunder and the rain
To quietly pass me by

[fill in the chorus...]

Where do we go
Where do we go now
Where do we go
Where do we go
Where do we go now…

Where do we go

• List of the Top 45 Highly Traded Canadian Companies Still Operating As Income Trusts
• Peter Schiff's New Book: (3) What You Need to Know About Invisible Inflation and The Stimulus Scandal
• Fière d'être Canadienne/ Proud to Be Canadian - Best Canadian Personal Finance Blogs Edition
• My Keys To Financial Success
• How Should You Spend Your Tax Refund?

• Money Hacks Carnival #67 at Man vs. Debt
• Money Hacks Carnival #97 - End Of 2009 Edition
• Money Hacks Carnival #76 at Moolanomy Personal Finance
• Money Hacks Carnival #26 at Our Fourpence Worth
• Save Time, Money and Space in Over 80 Ways

Tagged as: carnival, Carnival of Cashflow Consciousness