The Carnival of Personal Finance editors are encouraged to be creative in their weekly blog presentations. For today’s showcase, The Financial Blogger came up with The Prison Break Edition. Why? Because, as the introduction says, “most people feel handcuffed by their personal finance.”

The Carnival of Personal Finance is one of the busiest financial blog showcases on the net, with dozens of entries in every edition. Here are Monroe on a Budget’s picks of the week:

• The Digerati Life presents What Price Are You Paying to Have it All? The Supermom Myth: “I actually don’t believe we can have a life that just constantly expands to accommodate anything that we bring into it. It’s more like an enclosure that can only hold so much, such that by adding one more thing into it, something else needs to go.” (My mother earned a “supermom” title in a 1983 story from her hometown newspaper by working full-time, graduating from college and raising seven children all at the same time. My dad worked full-time and contributed to housekeeping. Nothing would be considered unusual about those family circumstances today, except for the number of children. Why and when did “you can have it all” turn into “you must do it all?”)
• My Two Dollars presents You Are Not Your Stuff, Your Stuff is Not You: “Ad agencies get paid the big bucks to make you think you need a new TV, a new car, new clothes, etc – consume and then consume some more – go on, it will make you happy!” (This is very wise advice to remember just before and after those tax refunds arrive. Do you really need another TV set this spring? Given the economic realities in southeast Michigan, it makes more financial sense for a lot of local families to pay off or pay down other expenses first. Trust me, there will be many more TV sales before digital conversion.)
• Cheap Canuck presents Your Favorite Stuff on Sale? Load Up!: “If the item in question is non-perishable, or freezeable, and it something that we eat on a regular basis, then buying a “schwack” of it isn’t costing us money at all. It’s saving us money, and a great deal of it!” (You’ve heard this theme often at Monroe on a Budget! This tactic has really helped out my family during the weeks when we’ve got to focus on other expenses.)
• My Family’s Money presents Calculating a Pay Check for a New Pay Schedule: “One of my assumptions in calculating my new paycheck is was that my tax rate would stay relatively untouched.” (I did set up a spreadsheet with re-calculating payroll, taxes and deductions when I last changed jobs. That number-crunching let me know how we were going to make it all work, given that some expenses would significantly increase with the household move. Such a review is also critical for those of you who are facing a pay cut because of layoffs, early retirement or downsizing.)
• Finance Blog presents Top 10 Financial Products to Avoid: “Some of these products are blatantly bad value; but, others have their charges cleverly hidden.” (I know, you need things now, and you need them on a budget. Well, let’s figure out other ways to get stuff on a budget. You may feel like you live in a garage sale while you take on one project or expense at a time. But it’s better to get more stuff your family needs with your paycheck than see hard-earned cash go down the drain.)