The Jan. 7 edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance has a wonderful introduction from hostess Mrs. Micah at Finance for a Freelance Life:

There are two basic rules of to get ahead financially:
Spend less.
Earn more.
The rest is details. And the details are very important. We have to figure out how, in our unique financial and life situations, we’re going to spend less and/or earn more. Personal finance blogging is part of that quest to figure it out.

It’s very, very difficult right now for those of us who live in southeast Michigan to figure out how to earn more.

But we can make plans and preparations on how to earn more when the opportunities are available … and in the meantime, we can figure out how to spend less.

And with those remarks, here are Monroe on a budget’s picks from this week’s carnival:

• The Honest Dollar presents In Defense of Personal Finance Bloggers. Here is what I see as the main point: “personal finance blogs can inspire other people to do the right thing and tell them how to do the right thing with tips on saving, investing, and spending smartly.”
• Green Panda Treehouse presents Getting The Most Financial Aid. If you live in Monroe County, Mich., I have some resources listed on my college planning focus page that you may find helpful.
• Consumerism Commentary presents More Children are Budding Philanthropists. Charitable giving and volunteerism is a value that the Monroe County community has historically taken great pride in. If you want to read about what local kids are doing for good causes, watch the Classroom page that runs every Thursday in the print and e-editions of The Monroe Evening News.