The 69th Carnival of Money Stories

Welcome! I’m Kelly and I’m thrilled to be hosting the 69th Carnival of Money Stories. Maybe thrilled is too strong a word… nope, actually it’s not! Although I’m American, I’ve lived in France for eight years, so I thought we’d take a tour of some of my favorite regions in France while reading the great stories on hand today.

I’ve never lived anywhere else in France; I find this city suits me well. You could think of Grenoble as the heart of France’s Silicon Valley. It’s a medium-size university town at the foot of the French Alps. There aren’t a lot of tourists here, but it’s a very outdoorsy place. One of the most popular sports is mountain-climbing. What a surprise, huh?

Editor’s Picks

Ashley at Wide Open Wallet shares her personal finance history as part of the PF Bloggers Group Writing Project.

Blueprint for Financial Prosperity talks about shopping at farmers’ markets. There are farmers’ markets every day of the week in most cities in France; they’re great ways to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Our local Wednesday market has a baker, a butcher and a cheese maker as well (a candlestick maker would have been too good, non?).

Living Almost Large also shares a personal finance story, about growing up with a single mom and not overspending.

I took this picture from the top of Mont St Michel in August 2006. The regions of Brittany and Normandy are some of the most beautiful and unspoiled in France. They’re also cold- even in August we had to wear warm sweaters.

Free Money Finance is approaching buying a house calmly and coolly… which is apparently rather out of the ordinary!

The Digerati Life talks about trimming gas costs and how she managed to save $5,500 a year.

Not the Jet Set turns lemons into lemonade… or rather peach sherbet.

Curt at PennyJobs feels that sometimes it’s better to be poor. At least you can’t lose more than you have- if you’re smart about it.

Amanda at Value For Your Life gives an update on when career plans change.

PT at Prime Time Money has paid off their SUV loan. Well done!

This is a picture of Bonifacio, a city in Corsica. Part of my husband’s family is from this region, and they are very proud of it. Think of how Italian-Americans feel about Italy and you will have an idea of what Corsicans now living on the mainland feel about La Corse.

Money Ning talks about why it’s important to budget, even if you have plenty of money and live beneath your means.

Connie Brooks at Money Smart Life talks about what the Kung Fu Panda can teach you about being a millionaire.

Ray at Money Blue Book tells how he got a free roller coaster photo at an amusement park.

Kevin at NoDebt Plan explains how Goody’s bankruptcy was ‘Goody’ for him.

Broke Grad Student asks if you should take a break before grad school?

Frederic Premji at BlogMotivation explains how he paid off $25,000 in 18 months. Talk about having a goal and a purpose!

This is a picture of a typical village in Alsace. The Alsace-Lorraine region is one of those border areas that’s been the focus of a multi-century tug-of-war between two countries, in this case France and Germany. You can see the Germanic influence in the characteristic house design in this picture. One of the funny things about this region, is that depending on where you are, you can walk to three different countries, France, Germany and Switzerland. As someone from a huge country, I get a kick out of that.

Eranda from AntharJalay presents how he set up an online tee-shirt business without any capital.

John Szram made some money by accident, just by getting distracted while emailing.

Tanesha Morgan discovers that cars are not boats at Personal Finance Analyst, and that it’s always a good idea to read the fine print in an insurance contract.

KC Lau’s Money Tips shows us an average Malaysian family’s income and what they spend it on.

Ryan from Uncommon Cents discusses the ethics of the mortgage bailout situation.

This is, what else?, Paris. While many foreigners make this beautiful city their first, or perhaps only, stop in France, French people are fond of saying that there are two Frances: Paris and everything else.

In the post The Smith Manoeuvre Affects Your Beacon Score, The Financial Blogger explains how a leverage strategy with a Home Equity Line of Credit hurt his/her credit score.

Can I Get Rich On A Salary presents a financial success story. As one of the commenters points out, it’s likely that we’ll earn more than a million dollars over our lifetime, the question is whether or not we can hang on to it.

The Prince of Thrift updates us on his 401k and debt reduction progress.

Be This Way’s father was almost charged for transporting a car that no longer exists!

Finally, Cash Money Life shows why it’s important not to underestimate the little things- even the nickels and dimes.

If you’ve enjoyed this carnival, why not enter next week’s edition? It will be hosted at Stop the Ride on July 29th. And to continue reading about my journey towards frugality in France, subscribe now!

Learning about frugality? Subscribe to my feed by RSS or by email to receive more frugal content, delivered every time I publish.