As I fearlessly create this carnival, I hope that you enjoy it.  Unlike the original carnival host, I picked this carnival up and saved it from the scrap heap!  I hope you enjoy my late but fearless act in saving these great articles!!!

And now it starts…

Harry Campbell @ Your PF Pro writes A Review of the Big Short by Michael Lewis – Before I read The Big Short by Michael Lewis, I had no idea what credit default swaps and collateralalized debt obligations(CDO’s) were. But Lewis does a great job explaining what went on during the years leading up to the subprime mortgage crisis and where it all went wrong. I always knew that the economy got royally f’d by the housing market in 2007-2008 but I never really knew why until reading this book. I was in college during 2004-2009 and the economy was really the least of my worries!

Mike @ Personal Finance Journey writes Landlords Insurance and why it is the Smart Financial Move – How taking out the right insurance can be important as an investor in tenanted properties.

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes IRS Issues: How to Deal With Being Audited – Each year, more find themselves facing an IRS audit for back tax returns. Just about everyone is subject to being audited at one point or another.

Tony @ We Only Do This Once writes What’s My Credit Score Calculator – If you want to know your credit score, but you don’t want to pay for it, you can use a credit score calculator or estimator.

Mrs. Accountability @ Out of Debt Again writes Do This One Thing First Before You Get Into Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) – This is a True Confessions post, one wherein I bare my soul and most embarrassing financial moments.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes How You Can Budget With A Credit Card – My wife and I budget a little differently than most families. We budget with a credit card. We use a credit card for most of our purchases instead of cash and monitor our family’s monthly spending.

SavingMentor @ How To Save Money writes Babies Are Free??!! – When I asked a friend how much I should save for a baby’s first year, her answer took me by surprise. She said her baby was essentially free. Free??!! The Globe And Mail estimates that we need approximately $8,000 for the first year alone, which is a much higher amount than “free”. Free in terms of the cost of a new baby is just impossible.

Crystal @ Married (with Debt) writes Credit Score Curiousity – I monitor my credit score 3 times a year. You can access your free credit report from 3 bureaus once per year, so simply check one every 4 months.

Lauren @ L Bee and the Money Tree writes 4 Financial Mistakes that Weren’t….. – We all make mistakes. We also all make financial mistakes. Trust me, I read a lot of personal finance blogs and have met some of the titans in the industry, and no one is perfect. With my birthday (March 10th!) just around the corner, I have been in a very reflective mood of late.

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes Class Trips: Fundraising Ideas for Your Child’s International Adventure – Class trips these days are to places like London and Costa Rica instead of the local beach. Here are a few fundraising suggestions to raise money for these one-in-a-lifetime adventures.

JP @ My Family Finances writes Saving Money in the Kitchen – Here are a few homemade tips for saving money in the kitchen.

Ted Jenkin @ Your Smart Money Moves writes Is It Worth Going To Conferences? – When you work for a large corporation, you don’t have much of a choice about whether or not you go to the company conference.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes Net Worth Update: March 2014 – A guide to my personal finance at the start of March 2014, listing my investments, savings, and debts, as well as notes on my personal situation.

Dominique Brown @ YourFinancesSimplified writes Oops, They Did it Again, Mortgage Servicing Companies Gone Wild! – Should we have seen this one coming all along? Perhaps, but even so the size of this growing problem is starting to look like scenes from the movie Wolf on Wall Street. What the…? Here is what’s going on.

Brent @ PersonalFinance-Tips writes How to Avoid Continuous Scrutiny from the IRS – One thing that can certainly spell hard times for any business is an audit from the IRS. Thankfully, with some hard work and due diligence, your business can comply with the law without any problems. Below are some ways you can allow your business to avoid continuous scrutiny from the IRS.

Maria @ The Money Principle writes Making Money for My Life: Ideas will Become Plans – Most personal finance is about spending less money; the fact is that sometimes people earn so little that the only way up is to start making money.

Don @ Money Reasons writes Why You Should Not Own Bitcoins And I Never Will – As a computer guy, there are the reasons why you should not own bitcoins and I never will.

Jacob @ AllPersonalFinance writes Tips for Keeping Track of Your Investment Earnings – There are a wide-range of investment opportunities out there. You can invest in cattle farms in Kansas, tech companies in China, a retail outlet in Germany, and a gold mine in Peru. Even with so many different investments, every investor is looking for a return on their investment.

SBB @ Simple Budget Blog writes I Do…the Budget: How to Save for a Wedding – Weddings can be very expensive. Here’s how you and your future spouse can budget the funds for a memorable wedding.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes 4 Basics to Consider When Investing in a Rental Property – Are you interested in investing in rental property? If you are just getting started with rental properties, then you need to know what to look for when

IMB @ Investing Money writes Investing in Agriculture Stocks – Thinking of investing in agriculture? There are several basic reasons why investing in agriculture stocks is sound investment. Read here for information.

Lindy @ Minting Nickels writes Can LinkedIn Be Harming Your Job Search? Key Mistakes That LinkedIn Users Make – When you want to network in your field, where do you go? LinkedIn boasts over 200 million users with an impressive 35 percent of all users logging into the service. Read these mistakes that many make when using the LinkedIn service.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Renewing Our AAA Membership – Read my views on AAA membership and why I renew ours each year!

CAPI @ Creating a Passive Income writes Planning Ahead: My Financial Bucket List – If you don’t have a financial plan, now’s the time! There are important financial tasks to get done, and you won’t be getting younger. Read here for help.

Mario @ Adventures in Frugal writes An open letter to every university Alumni Affairs fundraiser from a recent graduate, regarding strategy – A tongue-in-cheek letter to alumni affairs fundraisers questioning the strategy of asking poor, recent alumni to contribute

Thomas @ Finance Inspired writes Finance Inspired – Tackling and breaking down all aspects of finance! | Finance Inspired

JC @ Passive-Income-Pursuit writes Valuation of PepsiCo Inc. – The Long Case Looks Strong – PepsiCo recently released their 4Q and full year 2013 earnings so what better time to update our valuation and come up with a price target?

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance writes It’s Nice When Money Can Fix Your Problems – I appreciate that money was able to fix a collossal mistake I made – instead of thinking of it as a stupid waste.

Richard Adams @ Frugality Magazine writes 14 Proven Ways To Pay Less Rent – Did you know that the average American spends 27.8% of their monthly income on housing? In the UK the figure is even worse – with Brits spending on average 43% of their income on rent. In other words, renting a property is expensive. Fortunately, though, there are solutions.

Adam @ Stop Worrying About Money writes Day 6 – Do 1% Better Today (And Every Day) – Today’s topic is a special one, because today’s topic is really the heart of this entire month-long project. Today’s task: Do 1% Better.

Charles @ Getting A Rich Life writes Why Try If The American Dream Is Dead? – For many the American Dream is dead, however it does not have to be that way. Working hard and determination is not enough to get ahead.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Do You Put Your Ideals Ahead of Your Pocketbook? – There are times when adhering to your ideals is cost-efficient. Not everything is like that, however. There are times when your ideals can cost you money.

Jason @ The Money Makers writes Selena Gomez: Can Child Stars Make It As Adults? – Selena Gomez is no longer the innocent yet rebellious Alex from Disney’s hit show Wizards of Waverly Place.

Alexa @ Defeat Our Debt writes How to Get Rid of Debt on Your Own – There is no easy way to get rid of debt. You have several options, each come with their own set of pros and cons. Here is how to get rid of debt on your own.

Natalie @ Debt and the Girl writes My Student Loan Debt Story – It is often discussed how much student loan debt a person has or carries. There are many tales of unfortunate circumstances where a hard working student is left with more debt than some people carry on their mortgage.

Monica @ Monica On Money writes 7 Better Ways To Spend Your Tax Refund – If you are getting a tax refund this year, it is time to make a plan on what to do with the extra money. Otherwise, without a plan, who knows where all that money will end up.

Aaron @ Aaron Hung writes Is it better to live Debt Free and pay the Mortgage with your 401(k)? – In the quest to become debt free people can sometimes make decisions that might negatively affect their future financial growth.

Marissa @ Finance Triggers writes Quirky tips for conserving cash – Here are a few quirky tips for saving some cash. Read on to find out how you do not have to turn your life inside out to gain control of your finances.

Sam @ The New Business Blog writes Basics about the new Home Office Deduction for 2014 – There is a new, simpler home office deduction this year that could very well save you a lot of time but, in most cases, it will not save you as much as money as the long form that everyone despises.

Katie @ IRA Basics writes The Secret of Saving for Your First Deposit – Are you ready to become a homeowner and do not fancy a no-deposit home loan? Then the biggest obstacle standing in your way is the first deposit or down payment.

Bob @ Dwindling Debt writes Protect your Tax Refund from Identity Thieves – What could be worse than having to file your taxes this year? How about having an identity thief steal your tax return check?

Lily @ Paying Debt Down writes A Few Reasons that Investors like ETFs – In recent years, ETFs have become much more popular and are actually gaining against some other, more mature mutual funds. The reasons for that gain in popularity are explained below.

Andrea @ So Over This writes Getting the Most Out of Your Children at Tax Time! – When it comes to school, grades and sports, all parents hope that their children will be a credit to their name. At tax time however, this can literally be the case.

Lenny @ Best Money Saving Blog writes How to Cope With Overspending – There are many reasons for overspending. Some people do it because they are insecure and use possessions as comfort objects. Others use acquiring new things as a quick pick-me-up if they are feeling a bit low.

Amy @ Money Mishaps writes Have a childhood savings bond? Here’s what you can do it – Although it was not always a welcome gift, many children got savings bonds for birthdays and other holidays. The goal behind them, in most cases, was to have something ready when it was time to pay for college.

Jack @ Money Saving Ethics writes Moving? Make sure you protect yourself, not just your furniture – Did you know that moving is consistently ranked as one of the top 5 biggest stressful events in a person’s adult life? It is true, but while moving is definitely bad enough, being scammed by your moving company is probably a bit worse.

Matt @ Budget Snob writes Should you consider refinancing a student loan? – One of the biggest debts that the average American has is their student loans from college. Recently there has been a lot of talk about refinancing a student loan. We look at a number of different factors that you should know about before making a decision on whether to do this.

Danielle @ Saving Without a Budget writes Most in US Have No Savings to Speak Of, Unfortunately – The average American continues to struggle when it comes to saving money due to problems like prolonged unemployment, underemployment and stagnant wages.

Oscar @ Money is the Root writes What Do Americans Really do with Their Tax Refunds? – Surprisingly the IRS has already issued over 31 million refunds in 2014 and the average refund so far is $3200. Despite their best intentions however, the average American finds it quite difficult to save that money.

Daniel @ Make Money Make Cents writes Where exactly IS the Best Place to Retire? – If retirement is approaching for you and you are planning on making a move to spend your golden years in an area of the world where you can stretch your budget, a new report says that you should be taking a good look at Europe.

PFC @ PF Carny writes Does Couponing Really Save Money? – Depending on how you do it and how into it you get, it can be either bad or good. Does couponing really save you money? It can, but it can also cost you money at the same time.

Jen Perkins @ Master the Art of Saving writes 10 Ways to Save More Money (Even If You Don’t Want To Be A Couponer) – Couponing for the last 5 or 6 years has taught me many things. Things I never really paid attention to before I started using coupons. Since not everyone is interested in learning about coupons or even extreme couponing, I thought I would share some of my enlightenment with you all.

Jen @ Prepping is Sexy writes Food Insurance: Keeping Your Family Fed – I can’t be the only one noticing the skyrocketing prices everywhere. Products, both food and non-food items just keep getting more expensive. So what can you do? How can you ensure that your family will be able to eat if this continues?

Jerry @ Mo Finance writes Which Used Cars are the Most Reliable? – In the market for a pre-owned car or truck? We look at which models are the most consistently reliable, once they’ve accrued a good bit of mileage.

Gretchen @ Retired by 40! writes How To Have a Frugal Eater – Plus Suggestions For Next Year – Excited for Easter, but have a little budget? Check out my suggestions!

Christopher @ This That and The MBA writes Repayment Option For the Borrower’s – Before taking a long term loan a person should find out which repayment facility is suiting him. For the repayment option banks have customized their terms as per the requirement of the clients. Let’s discuss the different type of repayment option a loan seeker can get.

Thomas @ Finance Inspired writes WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR PARTNER’S CREDIT WOES – Entering a new relationship can be wonderful and exciting. But it is one that comes with a huge responsibility as well, especially for two consenting adults. While it is easy to get blinded by love, it is oftentimes wise to first know more about your partner’s financial standing, especially if talks of marriage start floating in the air.

Simon @ strengthenyourshot writes Keep It Simple! Repair Your Credit With These Tips – Part 1 – There are a lot of ways to damage your credit score, from falling for a credit card scam to just being unlucky with the recent economy. Thankfully, there are methods in the below article that can help you mend this problem. If your credit is such that you cannot get a new card to help repair it, apply for a secured one. Most likely, a secured credit card will be easy for you to get, but you have to fund the credit account before you purchase so the bank knows that you won’t miss any payments.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Second Quarter Goals – With a new quarter on the horizon, I’ve set new goals! I had to give myself a pat on the back for smokin’ my first quarter goals.

Mr.CBB @ Canadian Budget Binder writes Finances are more like moon phases: Net Worth update Feb 2014 – Like moon phases, our finances including Net Worth is constantly changing and this month is no different. There will always be ebb and flow in everyone’s finances, sometimes purely by the choices we’ve made.

Mark Ross @ Money Saving Dude writes 11 Ways You Can Do To Save Money While Traveling – Want to know how you can save money while traveling? Check this article right here, and know the different things you can do to save money while you enjoy your vacation.

And there you there you have it!