Welcome to the Best of Money Carnival #77

It’s my pleasure to host the 77th Best of Money Carnival here at Northern Cheapskate.  The Best of Money Carnival shares the 10 best personal finance blog posts of the week, as judged by each week’s host.

I’m not going to kid you.  With 74 submissions, it was really tough to narrow it down to the top ten. I was amazed at the diversity and depth of the posts.

I’m pleased to announce my picks for the Best of Money Carnival:

10.  Do You Use Your College Degree? at Budgets Are Sexy.  In a past life, I was an academic advisor at a community college and taught a course called “Choosing a Major.”  What I learned from that experience is that it doesn’t matter what you major in during college so long as you develop the skills to adapt to an ever-changing world.  The key thing is to just get a degree.

9. The Emotional Impact of the Economy: Case Study at Suddenly Downsized.  We hear so many stories about unemployment on the news, but unless we’ve personally experienced a job loss, it may be hard to relate.  This post offers insight into the emotional side of a job loss with great tips on how to handle the stress of the situation.

8. Prevent Running Out of Money in Retirement at Canadian Finance Blog.  Running out of money in retirement is a major concern for new retirees.  Heck, it’s a major concern for me, and I’m only in my mid-30′s.  This post has some great advice to make sure the worst doesn’t happen.

7. Real-Life Case Study: How to Take Early Semi-Retirement, Part 1 at Free Money Finance.  A great Q&A about easing your way out of the workforce from someone who’s done it.  Make sure to click through to Part 2.

6. How to Help Your Spouse See You as a Financial Equal at Momvesting. Solid advice for helping you talk about money with your significant other.

5. What Happens When the Glass is Too Big? at Balance Junkie.  A great analogy for the state of the economy.  Scaling back isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

4. How to 86 your 401(k) at Personal Finance By the Book.  I’ve seen people make ridiculous arguments for why they need to tap their 401(k) accounts. Here are some good reasons why you need to leave that 401(k) alone.

3. Don’t Assume That Rich People Never Made/Make/Will Make Mistakes at Richly Reasonable.  Don’t put the wealthy on a pedestal.  You know that saying, “pride cometh before a fall.”

2. Getting that Home-Stretch Feeling at Debt Kid.  When life knocks you off course, know how to get back on track.  It will push you toward the finish line.

And the winner is….

1. Don’t Become a Slave to the Rat Race at MoneyNing.  What you do for a living has a great deal to do with your happiness.  If you’re only chasing a dollar to pay for stuff, you’re on the fast track to financial servitude.

Thanks to everyone who submitted posts for the Best of Money Carnival. If you’d like to be considered for next week’s carnival at Magical Penny, please submit your post.

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