Emily Starbuck Gerson of Taking Charge has done an amazing job hosting this 14th Carnival of Pecuniary Delights, the “I Forgot Day” edition. To show you just how much work she’s put into this carnival, here is an excerpt of her editor’s picks.

Even this editor is guilty of financial forgetfulness, such as the time I forgot to pay off my credit card balance before leaving the country and came home to a frustrating interest charge. Or the time I forgot to give my gym my new credit card information and phone number and received a letter from a collection agency.

So don’t worry, we all forget things. I guess that’s what Post-It notes are for. Until then, here are some posts that will help all of us remember to take better care of our finances.

1. I am notorious for opening up bills, setting them on the breakfast table and forgetting about them. Things pile on top of each other, and on more than one occasion, I have forgotten to pay a bill on time. That’s why I love this post from Christian Personal Finance, which offers several different tips for effectively managing and paying your bills.
2. We would all like to be financially independent. Frugal Dad offers a simple formula that can help you determine how much you need to save in order to generate enough income to pay for an item. This can also help you figure out how much it will affect you in the future. He discovered, for example, that in the big picture, his family’s Netflix membership puts them $3,600 further away from financial independence. Yikes!
3. The Happy Rock discusses studies that have found consumers are highly likely to spend more when paying with credit cards than with cash and wonders how much more we are paying for this “credit card premium.” When you are making a purchase, don’t forget that money on a credit card should be treated just like cash.
4. Fiscal Fizzle highlights an important and controversial debate: Is it better to spend more money for insurance, or to save that money instead? I sometimes ponder this question. I spend money on renter’s insurance every year — just in case. Because I’ve never used it, I don’t know if it is really worth it or if it would be better to just save money instead. On the other hand, I’m sure the moment I really need it, I’ll be glad I paid for it.

The rest of the carnival is formatted similarly with personal commentary for each category and included post as well as amusing pictures. Please visit Taking Charge to see the rest of this great carnival!

Tags: blog carnival, taking charge