Carnival of Personal Finance - week 12

Welcome to week 12 of the Carnival of Personal Finance! There were some really great submissions this week and I'm sure you will enjoy them. There were several articles submitted this week that deal with my favorite subject reducing household expenses and frugal living. Jonathan at MyMoneyBlog recently was able to save $138 on his cable bill and he’s willing to tell you how. FinancialFruition was also able to save over $100 on a recent eyeglass and contact lens purchase by shopping around. Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has a great article about the recently passed tax credits for energy saving home improvements as well as some energy saving tips. Dawn at FrugalForLife has a lively discussion going on about the rising costs of gas and utilities, and readers are sharing tips and tricks for coping with the steep price increases. Frank at Hello, Dollar! has submitted an editorial on his personal reasons for living frugally and spending wisely that is recommended reading for anyone new to the concept of living below your means or looking to renew their motivation. JLP at All Things Financial has a very informative article about using IRAs as an estate planning tool. I'm definitely going to be doing more research into this! Tick Marks has an interesting article for anyone looking at purchasing a vehicle in the near future and the impact of employee pricing on the new and used auto markets. There's a couple of articles submitted that I think could turn into very lively and informative discussions... Financial Reference has an article debunking the myth that people should have six months of living expenses in a safe and highly liquid form. I'm not sure I agree completely with the article, but that's what the Carnival is all about... learning from others and sharing our knowledge! The Real Returns has an intriguing article and chart about U.S. Median House Prices. Anyone interested in starting their own business should check out Building Wealth's contribution this week, Don't Ask the Riddler, which is about the value of those "free government money" commercials. Searchlight Crusade has a great article about asset rentals, what they are and what they mean to the mortgage and banking industries. InsureBlog has posted about HSA's and LTCi's and how they can be used to preserve and protect one's finances. Five Cent Nickel recently went shopping for term life insurance, and thought he's share his learnings. Great information from people who know what they are talking about! FreeMoneyFinance has done some research over the past couple months and has named a "Best Personal Finance Magazine". I won't give it away, but I do agree with their conclusion! Fat Pitch Financials writes about their recent opportunity to participate in a special situation investment, while MightyBargainHunter wrote about the different ways to purchase stocks and the associated commissions. Of course, it wouldn't be a proper Carnival without the Obligatory Gas Price Story, this week it's from Smart Money Daily. And last, but definitely not least, we have two articles dealing with disasters... the Happy Capitalist gives us a rundown of what financial documents we should have prepared in case of a disaster in our areas. On My Open Wallet, Madame X discusses the very personal topic of charitable contributions in the wake of tragedies like Hurricane Katrina.