Lifestyle Carnival

Tushar @ Finance TUBE writes Why It Makes Sense to Convert Annuities into Cash? – Today I will be talking about why it makes sense to convert annuities into lump sum of cash. The easiest way to understand an annuity is to think of insurance in reverse.

CAPI @ Creating a Passive Income writes Passive Income: So, You’ve Won the Lottery?! – If you win the lottery, you need to know what to do with it. Poor financial planning has ruined many previous winners, so don’t let this happen to you.

TDB @ Tax Deduction Blog writes Master the Tax Credit Maze: A Short Primer on Child Tax Credits – What is a qualifying child in terms of the child tax credit? How do you figure out if your child qualifies? The answer is surprisingly simple.

TRAVEL

Pauline @ Reach Financial Independence writes Little house in Guatemala, week 8-9 and costs recap – Update on how much it costs to build a house, fix another one and live in Guatemala

Christopher @ This That and the MBA writes How To Sell on Craigslist and Do It Successfully – These tips will help you receive high bids and top dollars for the items that you sell on craigslist.

Buck Inspire @ Buck Inspire writes LA Travel and Adventure Show Tips – If you love to travel, make sure you visit the LA Travel & Adventure Show with these helpful tips!

FASHION

Shondell @ Call Me What You Want, Even Cheap writes How Much Do You Pay To Look Good? – There is so much pressure to look a certain way in society that we pay a huge price to keep up our appearance, especially us ladies. Between getting our hair done, make up, nails, eyebrows, tanning, waxing, a tuck here a nip there, buying clothes, shoes, purses, and accessories. I mean it’s crazy what we’ll go through to look good. I am guilty of doing things that I don’t necessarily need to do, but I enjoy looking nice, so some of the things are worth it. I was sitting in the hairdress

HEALTH

Jon @ Dad is Learning writes Treadmill Desk (or) How Computer Nerds Live Long and Prosper – Tired of sitting at a desk all day, I built a treadmill desk from a Craigslist treadmill and lumber. And my adventure of walking while I work began.

Mandy @ Money Master Mom writes Better Sleep just got XXX-citing – Wish you could improve your sleep without sleeping pills. Perhaps a little loving is just what the Dr. orders!

Penny Thots @ Penny Thots writes How to Prevent Cancer Naturally – It is time we took responsibility for our own health and well-being by making some lifestyle changes that will help us prevent cancer naturally. Prevention is usually better than a cure; in the case of cancer, this couldn’t be more true. Here are some of the major strategies that you can incorporate into your life, to keep you and your family healthy.

Kay Lynn Akers @ Weight Chronicles writes 31 Days to Better Health: Exercise Regularly – Learn five health benefits from regular exercise.

Lazy Man @ Lazy Man and Money writes How to Be Successful in the New Year – With many people looking to have their best year ever, here’s my best attempt at constructing a plan of attack.

ENTERTAINMENT

David Bar @ Bar Whiz Blog writes Top Ten Ways To Tell Who’s The Designated Driver – A somewhat humorous take on the designated driver.

John @ Fearless Men writes Lincoln | 13th Amendment – It’s not a surprise that we revere a man like Lincoln. We cling to and follow his strength of character. We admire his accomplishments. And in the movie “Lincoln” we see close up how much he put into it and endured to get it done. It almost feels like we were there.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes 6 Tips for Setting Better Goals – Whether you are setting goals for the new year, or whether you just want to continue to improve yourself, here are 6 tips for setting better goals:

Jason @ Live Real Now writes My Favorite Present – My favorite Christmas present this year was the one I gave to my 13 year old son. Allow me to walk you through his evening….

Girl Meets Debt @ Girl Meets Debt writes Cheap Date Ideas – The ideas that I am going to suggest are not going to be new, earth-shaking creative, but I can promise that they are all going to be fun and might even impress your significant other for suggesting something that is easy on his (or her) pocket.

Ashwin Kumar .R @ Blogger writes The Christmas Gift – It is a story of the relationship between a dad and son. While the kid aspires his poor dad is left stranded to make the ends meet. He decides to give this boy a present for Christmas which he can use for the rest of his life. What is it?

Alex Conde @ Searching for Happy writes How to Have Good Luck – How I got to be so lucky, and how you can get more luck as well!

WEALTH AND RETIREMENT

Dividend Growth Investor @ Dividend Growth Investor writes Is Intel Corporation the Ultimate Value Trap for Investors? – Currently Intel is trading at 8.80 times earnings, yields 4.50% and has a sustainable distribution. Despite the ultra-low valuation, I am hesitant to pull the trigger on this one, due to my inability to determine whether Intel will be able to keep innovating and maintain profitability in the long run. Because of my inability to gauge whether tectonic shifts in technologies will impact the long-term picture for Intel, I will maintain a hold opinion on the stock.

Tony @ You Only Do This Once writes If You Must Make A Resolution… – If we really must make a resolution (and I will post my official resolutions for all to see soon), let’s make it darn good. I say start with your finances once and for all.

Bob @ ChristianPF writes A New Baby Checklist: Everything You’ll Need For the First Months – Are you welcoming a new baby to your family? If you are, there are a few things you’re going to need, and it’s best that you get as many of them before the baby arrives as you can…

MMD @ My Money Design writes My Stocks with High Dividends Income Report – December 2012 – Stocks with high dividends are a great way to create passive income, lower tax payments, and retire early. Here is my 2012 Quarter 4 performance report.

Tony @ You Only Do This Once writes Having Enough (and then some) in the New Year – How to find “enough”in your life in order to be goal oriented as to what is really important, both financially and personally

Grand Per Month @ Grand Per Month writes Most Popular Posts on Making Extra Money – Whatever your motivation or particular needs, having more money than month is a good thing which is the first step to financial freedom. So let’s take a look at the most popular posts from the blog for the year.

Matt @ Living in Financial Excellence writes After Christmas Deals: Better than Black Friday – One of my favorite times to shop is the few days before and after Christmas. If you’re patient enough to wait until the last minute (or the minutes after), you can find some incredible deals.

Andrew @ 101 Centavos writes The Good Life In 1958 (or not) – To quote Will Rogers, things ain’t what they used to be and probably never was. According to the American Enterprise Institute’s blog (AEIdeas) in the good old days of 1958, workers had to toil and slog for months to be able to afford spiffy consumer goods like toasters and TVs that today are available for a mere pittance.

Jason @ Frugal Rules writes A New Year, a New Opportunity – With the New Year soon upon us it’s a great time to reflect on the past year and use it as a guide post for the next year. What things would you like to accomplish? What stretch goals do you have?

Investor Junkie @ Investor Junkie writes Have You Created Your Financial Goals Yet? – The question I have for you – have you created your financial goals? You see it’s been shown time and time again that setting goals is critical to get to where you want to go. It’s almost something magical, or perhaps your subconscious takes over when you make your goals conscious.

Deacon @ Well Kept Wallet writes Top 10 New Years Resolutions for 2013 – According to a study by the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychology, 34% of people make New Year’s resolutions that are money related. In fact, this is a 4% increase from the previous year. Learning how to manage money well seems to be a trend and I hope to help people with that. However, money is not the only subject on people’s minds. Here is a list of the top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for 2013.

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Cutting Recurring Costs to Save Money – Recurring monthly costs can add up quickly without you noticing. They can chip in to your income, leaving you with less to squirrel away for a rainy day!

HOBBIES

Mrs. PoP @ Planting Our Pennies writes Easy DIY – Get Rid of Fluorescent Lighting – Check out how the PoPs updated their solidly 1980′s kitchen and brought it into the 21st century for less than $150!

Lisa @ Happy Girl Collectibles writes Thrift Store Shopping Tips – I love finding treasure both for home and for resale at the Thrift Stores! Here are a few helpful tips to ensure your success at the Thrift Store.

GOOD EATS

NoTrustFund @ Where’s My Trust Fund writes Nutmeg Cookie Logs – Nutmeg cookies

Mrs. PoP @ Planting Our Pennies writes TVP Chili – A Recipe For Your Health and Wealth – Looking to trim the fat on your waist and your budget this year? Check out this recipe for TVP chili to start the new year off right.