The Carnival of Personal Finance for Jan. 19 was hosted by Pecuniarities. Here are some of the posts you’ll find on all things financial.

• Coffee for One presents Paying the bills: “My husband and I spent a lot of money without thinking about it. Regrettably, we ripped through thousands of dollars a year. I’ve made some choices about spending that I probably wouldn’t have made while married.” When I was newly divorced, I realized one day that I was the only one deciding where the money went. While I had to deal with very tight finances both married and single for a few years, it was quite a stress reliever to be the only one spending the funds!
• Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck presents Lessons from Flight 1549:  “If you’re in a really bad situation through no fault of your own, that’s not the time to ask “Why?” Instead, ask “What can I do to get through this?” You can ask “Why?” later. For now, ask “What can I control?” Those of you who know me are familiar with my standard operating procedure during a crisis situation. It’s pretty similar to what Paycheck described. Sometimes you just have to get the job done first — you can emotionally fall apart later if you still feel like doing that.
• Living the Frugal Life presents What would you do if you lost your job today?: “If you assemble your own list of crisis management steps you’d take in a financial pinch, it’s worth asking yourself why you haven’t taken those steps already.” There are many things families can do to save money that involve learning new routines (think coupon shopping) or making an up-front investment into a new product or service (think CFL light bulbs). The time to apply those tactics are while you are still employed – and long before that last paycheck arrives.

The Festival of Frugality of Jan. 20 was hosted by Money Ning. Here are some of the posts you’ll find on frugal living:

• Cheap Healthy Good presents 65 cheap healthy one-dish meals with good leftover potential: “Needless to say, after hours of searching, we found a LOT of chilis and pasta dishes. They’re all listed below, along with various bakes, casseroles, rice dinners, meaty mains, full-on veggie deals, and quite a few bean-based meals.” Once you build up a pantry with common cooking ingredients, cooking from scratch works out to be way cheaper than frozen dinners and microwaveable containers.
  
• The Passive Dad presents Supermarket money saving tips for 2009: “If you are not sure if the 12 pack of Doll peaches is a good price at Costco, pull out your calculator. They usually have the price per ounce listed on the price tag.” I made a chart with common pricing techniques at the Monroe stores including 5 for $11 (yes, that is a currently advertised sales flier price) divided down to per-unit and taped the chart inside my coupon box. The chart helps me do the math when I’m in the grocery aisle, especially when I’ve got coupon values to calculate as well.
• Money Under 30 presents How to manage money when you’re unemployed: “Find any means possible to avoid using credit cards to keep you afloat. This is particularly important if you’re already in debt. Do not fall into the trap of paying down your credit card every month just so you can then use it to buy food, gas, etc. If your credit card company finds out that you’re in dire straights they can cut your credit line or close your account altogether at any time.” What unemployment means, even for those who expect to be back to work in a short time, is that you HAVE to cut back on expenses. If you need ideas beyond the “daily latte” cliche, go to my series The Downsized Budget: How and Where to Cut Back. The series is specifically intended for my local readers, but national readers can follow the outline and apply it to their circumstances.