http://www.soundmoneymatters.com How to Manage Money More Easily Fri, 16 May 2008 21:16:19 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en We're back in full carnival swing this week! We have three carnivals to review. We'll kick things off with the Carnival of Personal Finance #152, hosted by Money Under 30. This one included my post on car insurance. If you liked that bit of car advice, you might as like ... http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/blog-carnivals-16/ Peter Walsh is the organization expert on TLC's Clean Sweep and Oprah. Rather than writing another book that lists various organizational methods for different types of stuff, It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Rich Life gets into the psychology of stuff so you can part with ... http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/its-all-too-much-peter-walsh/ I've seen many personal finance blogs and books rail against the evils of credit cards. Dave Ramsey, for example, has a very negative view of credit cards. I've always been in the "credit cards are good" camp, if you use them wisely. However, there's a very good reason NOT to ... http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/credit-card-purchase-protection/ Now that you know more about the shelf life of makeup, you may be regretting that $20 lipstick that came with a free gift. Odds are good that the lipstick is barely used and the free gift is just more clutter. Next time you hit the makeup, remember these suggestions ... http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/save-spend-makeup/ A few years ago I was watching Clean Sweep when I made a horrifying discovery: makeup lasts a maximum of three years. Most products don't last nearly as long as that. Shortly after that, I started to clean out my makeup case. Some of my products had been there for ... http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/makeup-shelf-life/ Gas is officially over $4 at some L.A. gas stations. I've also noticed some stations holding the line at $3.99 for regular, while prices continue to shoot up for the two higher grades. My station hasn't yet reached that point, but I can feel it coming. Since I can't afford ... http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/save-money-on-gas/ This week I was only in one carnival, with a friendly link from another. BlogCarnival.com was down on Friday, and I forgot to submit the rest of the weekend! I was planning to submit to four, so boy am I mad at myself. What does that all mean? We have a ... http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/blog-carnivals-15/ If you don't have health insurance through your employer, or your spouse's employer, you can either buy an individual health insurance plan, a family plan, or a group plan through a trade group or credit union to which you belong. The costs will be higher, but the cost of not ... http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/individual-health-insurance/ Most of my friends who rent don't have renter's insurance, for one of three mistaken reasons: They think it's too expensive They think their landlord's policy covers them They think their stuff isn't worth much. If you rent, then ... http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/renters-insurance/ Like car insurance, a homeowners insurance policy is a necessity for every owner. Not only will it protect you in the event of theft, fire, or other disaster, but it offers protection if someone is injured on your property. Unfortunately, many people discover too late that they're underinsured. Use my ... http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/homeowners-insurance-policy/