It's hosted by Amazon and it's filled with hundreds of personal finance books from authors like Jim Cramer, Andrew Tobias, George Soros, Peter Lynch, and Jim Rogers.

Check it out. There's still time to order before Christmas (I can say that, right)!

The Investor presents Young people are already rich posted at Monevator.com, saying, "If you have teenagers or kids at college who waste their money on frivolous purchases, this link is a must read – and a must forward!"

Finance Tips 101 presents Saving Cash With Coupons ? Three Tips To Keep More of Your Money posted at Finance Tips 101.

Daniel Drew presents Unsecured Small Business Loan posted at My Business is doing well should I choose an SBA Loan?, saying, ""Lines of credit are generally paid off by opting for a permanent source of financing. In case of commercial property line of credit, the sale of the old property may help repay the line of credit""

Jack Schmidt presents The High Cost of Deep Fried Coke posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, "SectorMatic.com – Personal Finance | Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget. Now you can live like a fat cat, even if you're on a money diet. Laugh all the way to the bank with Jack Schmidt and SectorMatic. It's for you!"

KCLau presents The only financial company who knows the power of social media posted at KCLau's Money Tips, saying, "there are always many methods to get free traffic and leads to your website. Beside search traffic, another major source of traffic is social media. There is one company who knows how to make use of social media – ROCKWILLS"

Tom DeRosa presents Math in the Real World: Erasing Debt Activity posted at I Want to Teach Forever, saying, "How to turn those debt consolidation and credit loan applications into a simple life (and math) lesson for your kids"

Kevin Fleming presents Easy Ways To Save Money on Satellite TV and Cable. posted at Satellite TV Guru.

Tom Peper presents Financing a Small Business | freebusinessmembership.com posted at How To Start Your Own Business, saying, "Free Business Membership offers information on how to start a business, home based business, franchise, SBA loans, promoting a business, LLC"

Chris McClelland presents How social networking sites can also help you save some money posted at Lucrative Investing.

jim presents Best CD (Certificate of Deposit) Rates posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Ben Dinsmore presents Reduce Your Hot Water Bill with this One Simple Tip! posted at Trees Full of Money, saying, "While washing oatmeal off my 10 month old's face this morning, I came across an effective way to save on hundreds of gallons of hot water each year!"

Billeater presents Ten Ways to Save Money During Pregnancy posted at Billeater.

Stingy Student presents Best Amazon.com Discount Sale – 90% off for Back To School Shopping posted at Stingy Students, saying, "Get up to 90% off at Amazon.com for back to school shopping!"

Silicon Valley Blogger presents How To Improve Your Credit Score: A 6 Step Plan posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "Teach kids about maintaining a good credit score!"

The Smarter Wallet presents How To Consolidate Debt: Ways To Reduce Your Debt Load posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, "Teach your kids about how to manage debt."

Ray @ Financial Highway presents Canadian Discount Brokerage Review and Comparison for TFSA and RRSP posted at Financial Highway, saying, "Discount Brokers"

Banker Saver presents Sneaky Bank Fees: How To Avoid Those Extra Charges posted at Banker Saver, saying, "Let's teach our kids how to avoid sneaky bank fees that eke away at our savings."

Investing Toolkit presents Dollar Cost Averaging Basics posted at Investing Toolkit, saying, "We explain dollar cost averaging, an important investment principle that everyone should know."

Summer presents Teaching Your Kids to be Energy Efficient posted at Wired For Noise.

Daoud presents 15 Fun Things To Do For Under $1 posted at Practicing Parents.

Jenny presents Strict Spending posted at Stop Spending Money, saying, "It is not too difficult to learn how to budget and still be happy."

Ella Moss presents MY KINDER UNIVERSE « Zodiac Times posted at Zodiac Times, saying, "child-care summer-time blues"

Daniel Drew presents Small Business Loans posted at My Business is doing well should I choose an SBA Loan?, saying, "Many companies in the US are ready to help businesspersons when they need financial assistance. The lending companies have a team of experts who can guide you about matters pertaining to unsecured loans, so that you can make a smart financial decision."

Kate Hopkins presents 100 Money-Saving Lessons from Poor College Kids posted at Online College Degree.org.

Jack Schmidt presents Albert Einstein and Your Personal Economy posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, "SectorMatic Money Site – Personal Finance | Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget. Now you can live like a fat cat, even if you're on a money diet. Laugh all the way to the bank with Jack Schmidt and SectorMatic. It's for you!"

Barry presents Managing Surplus Money In The Short Term posted at Associate Money.

Cindy S presents Top 10 Things I’d Like To Teach My Children About Money posted at Oh My Aching Debts, saying, "Do you watch your grown children making the same mistakes that you made? Here are some of the things that I wished I had taught mine."

CindyS presents Top 10 Things I’d Like To Teach My Children About Money posted at Oh My Aching Debts, saying, "Some of the things that I would like to teach my kids about money."

Chris McClelland presents Credit card perks that you might be missing out on posted at Lucrative Investing.

INO.com News – Senator: Use of faulty insurance data ‘pervasive’

(AP:WASHINGTON) Congressional investigators said Wednesday two-thirds of the U.S. health insurance industry used a faulty database that overcharged patients for seeing doctors outside their insurance network, costing Americans billions of dollars in inflated medical bills.

The next story is interesting for a number of reasons. First, I love Milton Friedman. Not only was he a great economic thinker, but he loved freedom and wrote at length about it in several books (Capitalism and Freedom and Free to Choose, which I’m currently reading). Second, what he writes is usually very interesting and well-thought out. Thirdly, this one is truer today than it was when it was written.

I found the essay below at A Disgruntled Republican.

Hoover Institution – Hoover Digest – How to Cure Health Care

The revival of the company store for medicine has less to do with logic than pure chance. It is a wonderful example of how one bad government policy leads to another. During World War II, the government financed much wartime spending by printing money while, at the same time, imposing wage and price controls. The resulting repressed inflation produced shortages of many goods and services, including labor. Firms competing to acquire labor at government-controlled wages started to offer medical care as a fringe benefit. That benefit proved particularly attractive to workers and spread rapidly.

Initially, employers did not report the value of the fringe benefit to the Internal Revenue Service as part of their workers’ wages. It took some time before the IRS realized what was going on. When it did, it issued regulations requiring employers to include the value of medical care as part of reported employees’ wages. By this time, workers had become accustomed to the tax exemption of that particular fringe benefit and made a big fuss. Congress responded by legislating that medical care provided by employers should be tax-exempt.

Interesting! Make sure you read the entire piece. You may not agree, especially at first, with the policy outcome, but it’s hard to argue against the merits of the logic Friedman used to arrive at his conclusions.

I’ve often wondered why it was so that health insurance — if not fully-mandated by the government — seemed to be a birthright, when all it is is insurance. Nobody makes you get car insurance (if you meet certain requirements, you don’t have to pay) or earthquake insurance (though the “Big One” is sure to come), yet health insurance is almost (not yet, at least) unavoidable. It should be like in the old days:

You insured what you couldn’t afford to pay out of pocket (like cancer treatment, but not a doctor visit). The “third-party” payer (the insurance company) has us all by the (pick a sensitive part of your body) and has very powerful lobbyists.

As Friedman says in the article, nobody can spend YOUR money as wisely as YOU. In effect, you are paying the insurance company to do your bidding for you, the doctors hate the insurance company, you hate both, and your insurance company really only works for itself. Follow the money…

Guess where it’s going?

Technorati Tags: health care, health insurance, Milton Friedman

Cash Tree presents Baby Clothes – Why Organic Is Better For Your Baby posted at Organic Baby Wearhouse, saying, “”Many of us know of the ecological impact of producing non organic cotton baby clothes (where cotton crops account for 25% of the worlds pesticides and 10% of the worlds insecticides each year). The question we hear often is are there really any actual health benefits for buying organic baby clothes. And the answer is Yes, organic baby clothes are better for your baby!”"

Daniel Drew presents My business is doing well, should I choose an SBA Loan? posted at My Business is doing well should I choose an SBA Loan?, saying, “The reasons for getting an SBA Loan and how to get one. Also visit http://www.unsecuredbizloan.com to pre-qualify for an SBA Loan!”

Darwin presents Start an Investment Club: How To, Rules and Reality Checks posted at Darwin’s Finance, saying, “With an investment club being a beginner’s way into investing, this comprehensive ‘how-to’ and reality check investment clubs is a must-read for young investors.”

Jack Schmidt presents Blog Carnival – Submit an Article to a Carnival posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, “Personal Finance – Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget. Now you can live like a fat cat, even if you’re on a money diet. Laugh all the way to the bank with Jack Schmidt and SectorMatic. It’s for you!”

Chris McClelland presents Recent College Graduates, Prepare to Starve posted at Lucrative Investing.

Chris McClelland presents Some job markets for new grads posted at Lucrative Investing.

jim presents How to Build Your Credit History with Tradelines posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Jim DeSantis presents 3 Keys To Self-Control and Saving Money posted at On Line Tribune | Family Life, saying, “Lack of self-control when it comes to money is a common pitfall for most people. Often, when people come into an extra amount of money, they have this tendency to rush out and instantly satisfy the irresistible urge to splurge on anything they lay their eyes on. This is a very costly mistake from a number of aspects. Sometimes people fail to recognize the idea that the future has to be considered, too, whenever spending and saving enter the picture.”

Savings Toolbox presents Should You Switch to a Credit Union to Save? posted at Savings Toolbox.

costseg presents Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide | Society of Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide posted at Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide, saying, “How do Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guides work in real-estate this days and how can you save tax money with them.”

Leave Debt Behind presents Starting a Budget for Your Family posted at Leave Debt Behind.

Barry presents Saving Money At The Amusement Park posted at Associate Money.

Brad Chaffee presents Your Children Will Handle Money, The Way You Handle Money posted at Enemy of Debt, saying, “Thank You!”

Jack Schmidt presents Health Insurance Can Improve Your Love Life posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, “Personal Finance – Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget. Now you can live like a fat cat, even if you’re on a money diet. Laugh all the way to the bank wiht Jack Schmidt and SectorMatic. It’s for you!”

Madison presents How is your Lending Club Account Doing? posted at My Dollar Plan.

SpendingIt presents The Three Biggest Opportunities to Save Money posted at Spending It.

Christopher B Williams presents Business Loans posted at Dollars2wealth.

Christopher B Williams presents Credit Cards posted at Dollars2wealth.

KCLau presents Easy Pawn Shops – Do you need to Pawn? posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “Pros and cons of pawning”

marjorie presents BillMyParents: Your Kids Can Shop Online posted at Wealth Junkies, saying, “BillMyParents allows kids to shop online without having to use their parents’ credit card. When they find something they want, they can send a request through BillMyParents. Parents receive the requests and can decide from there whether to approve or deny the purchase.”

Verna Morris presents How to Build Your Own Ivy Endowment Portfolio Using ETFs posted at ETFdb.

Wealth-Ed presents Can American Banks Bounce Back posted at Wealth Education – Investment Ideas Personal Financial Advice.

jared presents General Growth Continues Restructuring Efforts posted at Wealth Education – Investment Ideas Personal Financial Advice.

Jack Schmidt presents What Does the Internet Mean to Your Wallet? posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, “Personal Finance – Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget. Now you can live like a fat cat, even if you’re on a money diet. Laugh all the way to the bank with Jack Schmidt and SectorMatic. It’s for you!”

Jack Schmidt presents Diversity Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, “Personal Finance – Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget. Now you can live like a fat cat, even if you’re on a money diet. Laugh all the way to the bank with Jack Schmidt and SectorMatic. It’s for you!”

Dan presents Flushing Toys Down the Toilet – Punishment Time posted at My Dad Blog, saying, “This article highlights the joys of children flushing objects down toilets and how to administer the consequences of a costly plumbing bill.”

jim presents Request & Check Your Specialty Reports Annually posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Billeater presents Summer Entertainment for Families on a Budget posted at Billeater.

Chris McClelland presents Could painting your roof be the key to reversing climate change? posted at Lucrative Investing.

Chris McClelland presents Touch Not the Retirement Fund, Thus Sayeth the Experts posted at Lucrative Investing, saying, “Please email me if you need anything.”

NetBiz presents Student Loans Without A Cosigner: College Loans For People With Little, Good Or Bad Credit posted at Your Finish Rich Plan, saying, “Finding the right student loan can be tricky depending on your personal financial circumstances”

Madison presents Best Bank for Kids posted at Kids and Money.

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents College Savings Plans: 529 vs. Coverdell ESA posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “Explaining the difference between the two most popular college savings programs.”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents How To Pay Off Credit Card Debt: A Success Story posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “I would share this story with my kids. It’s an important lesson on managing debt!”

The Smarter Wallet presents Should You Trade Stocks Online? posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Teach your child about the investing world.”

nickel presents Free Summer Movies for Kids – 2009 Edition posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Mike Pastore presents Teach Your Children Well – Financial Education Starts at Home posted at Mikes Millions.com.

Credit Shout presents Responsible Credit Card Use in College Students | CreditShout posted at CreditShout.

Raag Vamdatt presents Birth of a child – how should your financial planning change? :: RaagVamdatt.com :: Financial Planning demystified posted at RaagVamdatt.com.

Barry presents Tips To Set Up Children Savings Accounts posted at Associate Money.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of kids and money using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: kids and money, blog carnival.

However, it is startling to see a dollar figure associated with this. I know I don’t pay $34,000 in taxes, so somebody else is certainly shouldering his weight and part of mine.

Next time you want to lament, complain, or otherwise cry about taxes, think about that figure.

I am certain that the majority of us don’t pay anywhere near that amount in taxes. Part of this (most of this) is because the government doesn’t take in nearly that amount; hence, the deficit and growing debt.

Of course, it remains to be seen who will actually pay for this. Politicians like to say that it’s our children. Surely, they will pay. However, if our economy grows at a higher pace than our deficit/debt, then we will be okay, and the only people “paying” for our shortfall will be bondholders (who ultimately get paid back and then some in the form of future dollars – that will not be worth as much as they are today).

If only we could figure out how to raise our growth rate to beyond 2-4 percent…maybe we could all start working again? That might help!

WashingtonWatch.com – FY 2010, Budget of the United States Government

Plus, you gain more exposure, too! And that’s really why you’re here. To be heard (or read, as the case may be).

Christopher B Williams presents Getting the Bait on Good Home Loan Terms Despite Bad Credit Score posted at The Real Loan Solution.

Barry presents Tips To Curb Impulse Buying posted at Associate Money.

Lee McCoy presents Opportunity.com Review posted at The Secret Affiliate Society, saying, “Opportunity.com Review by a user of the system”

Chris McClelland presents 10 Reasons Your Bank Never Wanted You to Read This posted at Lucrative Investing.

Ted presents Saving Money: 50 Tips for College Students posted at CampusGrotto.

John Russell presents No-Fault Auto Insurance Basics posted at The Low Cost Auto Insurance Guru, saying, “If you live in a state with no-fault auto insurance, you need to understand what it does and doesn’t do.”

Dr. Alan Singer presents When Mom is on Your Daycare Payroll by Dr. Alan Singer posted at FamilyThinking.com, saying, “Imagine the effect of paying your Mom to be your live-in Nanny for your twin girls like Dave and Kelly did. There is a lesson for kids, in that it’s better care (for the same money) to have Nanna look after you both than to drop you at a Day Care center each day.”

I can totally relate to this one. We’re in the process of choosing (again!) another day care center. We want our children (almost 2 and almost 4) to get the socialization and structured (somewhat) learning that a “pre-K” school offers, but man o man, none of them are close to ideal.

Chris McClelland presents The Best Places in America to Starve posted at Lucrative Investing.

Chris McClelland presents College graduation: A diploma in one hand and a mountain of debt ahead. posted at Lucrative Investing.

While an education is a great differentiator, it’s not worth going into debt. Financial aide, scholarships, and very low-interest loans (as a last resort) are all viable means of funding a college education. Consider community colleges for a couple of years and finishing off at a state college or university. Live and eat at home. Commute.

Chris McClelland presents The Most Financially Productive Areas to Live posted at Lucrative Investing.

Chris McClelland presents Income Streams for Life posted at Lucrative Investing.

Chris McClelland presents Signs a Stock is Going to Fall posted at Lucrative Investing.

Chris McClelland presents Can 18 wheelers be a sign of the economy? posted at Lucrative Investing.

KCLau presents The Most Common Habit of Rich People posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “About the common habits of the rich`”

jim presents How to Save on Primary Education posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Dan at Everydayfinance presents New Discover Current Card – Like Spying on Your Kids? posted at Everyday Finance, saying, “A new card out there allows parents to track their kids’ every move. This has mixed implications to consider.”

Donald Latumahina presents How to Make More Money posted at Life Optimizer.

Jack Schmidt presents How to Know When You Need A Vacation posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, “Personal Finance – Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget. Now you can live like a fat cat, even if you’re on a money diet. Laugh all the way to the bank with Jack Schmidt and SectorMatic. It’s for you!”

Bank Champ presents GMAC Bank Becomes Ally Bank posted at Bank Champ.

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Baby Coupons, Free Samples, and Discounts posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “Discounts, freebies, and coupons for baby items – including magazine subscriptions, diaper coupons, and more!”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents TradeKing Review: How Does TradeKing Measure Up? posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Where should you open a new investment account for your child? I would suggest this brokerage because it has a wealth of investment materials and free tools that you can use once you sign up. It provides an awesome resource for budding investors to learn from!”

I agree. TradeKing is simply awesome. Very low cost, good tools, great resources…

Ryan Suenaga presents Finding Three Dollars posted at Uncommon Cents.

nickel presents The Worst 529 Plans – 2009 Edition posted at fivecentnickel.com.

The Smarter Wallet presents Kids and Money: Answering Your Children’s Money Questions posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Thanks!”

freesoftware presents List of Best Free Software for New Computer posted at I Love Free Software, saying, “Here is a nice way to save some money in this economy – get all the software for free. This is the list of the best free software that you can install on your new computer. We searched all over the web, and compiled this list of best free software. Each one of these is best in its class, and still totally free. You are going to love these!”

Brian McKay presents Teen Drivers Are Hitting The Road posted at MonitorBankRates.com, saying, “In this country, cars kill more teenagers than cancer, gang violence, suicide, or drugs and alcohol. Hard to believe?”

Nope, not hard to believe at all. No doubt you, like me, know quite a few families devastated by this fact. Drinking and driving too fast are most often the culprits.

costseg presents cost segregation form 3115 | Society of Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide posted at Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide, saying, “read about form 3115 that is used in filling out segregation audits that are lately more and more popular on real estate market”

endowments presents Endowment Life Insurance Policy posted at Endowment Policy, saying, “What is endowment policy surrender value and how to make use of it to earn more money.”

Don presents Teaching Kids to Save, Start Early posted at Corvus Financial News Wire, saying, “I only wish someone would have taught me this habit”

No kidding! But you’re doing your part here. Let’s keep on passing along the “I wish I had known…” advice!

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Kids and Money using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: kids and money, blog carnival.

Things to note about this:

• Consider buying “forever” stamps. If you mail out a lot of stuff, these may be worthwhile. However,
• This is one more reason to automate your finances, most of which is done online, for FREE.

I use one stamp every 4-6 months, so the last roll I bought two years ago is still full. Bad move on my part.

Seriously, I don’t really use stamps at all. As an example of where I used to use a stamp but instead used my bank’s “bill pay” method, I “mailed” my friend a check for a fishing trip we’re going on; in the past, I would have filled out a check, rummaged through the house for an envelope, found a stamp, licked the envelope sealed and stamp onto the front, written out his address and mine on the envelope, gone to the post office and dropped it off.

Whew, I’m tired just thinking about it!

This time, however, I signed onto my bank, typed in my friend’s address (I only have to do this once), told my bank how much to write the check for, and hit “submit.”

Done.

My friend got my check in the same amount of time it would have taken me to send it by mail. I don’t know how the banks can afford to do this, but since they offer the service for free, why not take advantage of it?

Easy peasy.

New postage rates in effect – UPI.com