The Carnival of Personal Finance for Sept. 1 was hosted by One Caveman’s Financial Journey. Here are some of the posts you’ll find on all things financial:

• Bible Money Matters presents Finances and personal responsibility: “People are buying into the lie that there is always someone else to blame (and someone else to depend on) and as a result find themselves paralyzed when it comes time to make wise financial decisions on their own. They feel powerless.” The biggest hurdle I see for middle-class families who are in financial crisis situations is anger and resentment that “I make too much money for assistance.” I’ve been there. Those of you who are long-time readers know some of my stories. The reality is that middle-class families need to be their own case managers during tight financial situations. There will NOT be a one-size-fits-all solution. That’s why I post tips and links for families who are in a variety of life circumstances, and always with a focus on what’s practical and possible for southeast Michigan residents.
• Single Guy Money presents The Small Amounts Really Do Add Up: “It looks like I am going to be eating rice and beans for the rest of the month. I just updated my budget for the month and out of the $4000 I’ve budgeted for expenses, I only have about $54 left to last me for the rest of the month.” This story is an example of how little decisions will affect your goal of making it to the next payday, and the next, and the next.
  
• Searchlight Crusade presents What if you cannot refinance later?: “Being temporarily “upside down” on your mortgage or having insufficient equity to refinance well under current guidelines is not a big deal if your loan is a fixed rate fully amortized loan, or even a medium term hybrid ARM. The loan is in place, on terms that you can handle. You keep on making those payments, your lender is happy, your pocketbook can handle it, your loan balance decreases, and prices will come back…” My husband and I signed a 30-year fixed rate mortgage in 2004 when adjustable mortgages were very popular. We wanted the security of refinancing when it was convenient for us, not forced into a refinance on an arbitrary schedule that could be a disaster. Given what has happened to the real estate market in southeast Michigan since that time, our choice of loans was one of the smartest financial decisions we ever made.

The Festival of Frugality for Sept. 2 was hosted by Almost Frugal. Here are some of the posts you’ll find on frugal living concepts:

• My Two Dollars presents How to frugally decorate your house on a very tight budget: “Over the years we have bought used tables and lamps at consignment shops and garage sales, saving ourselves a ton of money in the process.” The Monroe on a Budget approach included purchasing new hardware and switchplates piece by piece, and it took almost two years to convert the house to the “designer look”.
• The Family Wallet presents Feeding the hungry hordes: how to save money when your child’s friends come to eat. “Kids sometimes need help with the idea of portion control. When snack time strikes at your house, being on hand to divvy out the munchies will ensure that the kids eating what you intended for them to eat.” A trick that works well at my parents’ home is “snack basket.” Young visitors are invited to pick from a selection of goodies that are in the designated snack basket.
• The Happy Rock presents Reader stories – doing what it takes: “I make practically everything-from my own buns, to my own chicken noodle soup.” Homemaking skills should not be left to the domain of stay-at-home moms. Why should those of us who bring home a paycheck waste our hard-earned funds on “time saving” conveniences such as take-out dinners? Cut up, boil, bake, freeze or prep food on your days off so you have dinner ingredients ready to go on work days.

The Money Hacks Carnival for Sept. 3 was hosted by Saving to Invest. Now, I don’t usually tag this carnival, but his theme, “The financial print media edition,” deserves some link love from a newspaper reporter, even though my print edition duties are on the social page!

• Free Money Finance presents Tricks of the trade: an insider’s look at saving money at grocery stores: “If you find a store you like, keep going there. You’ll learn prices for your commonly purchased items and be able to tell when one is really on sale.” Did you notice when the sale tag on bread was priced 25 cents higher than the usual sale price? I did. I blogged about it too.
• Until Debt Do Us Part presents How long could you survive if you lost your job? “After about three months most of the people were still struggling to find work and by this stage they had spent their redundancy packages on day to day living expenses.” My husband and I could survive on one stable paycheck in such a situation – we’ve been in those circumstances. But that did require  drastic lifestyle and spending changes.
• Watson Inc presents Signs that you are living beyond your means: “Living beyond one’s means can derail the finances of even some of the highest earners. Just ask many of the countless celebrities and athletes who have filed for bankruptcy or have been foreclosed on.” Example: a household budget will never work if you’ve got too much percentage-wise tied up in house + car payments. My husband and I noticed a big difference in monthly finances during the short time we had two car payments every month vs. when we had only one car payment to make.