Carnival of Investing #12

Welcome to the 12th edition of the Carnival of Investing! This week's edition covers topics ranging from portfolio rebalancing to trailing stop orders.

Hope you enjoy this week's collection, and don't forget to spread the word about the Carnival of Investing!

Editor's Picks

Dividend Growth Investor @ Dividend Growth Investor writes Why am I obsessed with dividend growth stocks? - I have an obsession with dividend stocks. I log-on to my brokerage accounts every morning, in order to check the amount, timing and source of any dividends deposited. On certain days, such as the 15th of some months, the amount of dividends received is much higher than my salary. To me dividends represent financial freedom from a 9 to 5 (or typically later) job.

Michael @ Financial Ramblings writes Why Rebalance Your Portfolio? - Simply stated, rebalancing your portfolio helps you to reduce tracking error and keep your risk in check. Nothing more, nothing less. Sure, you can "let your winners run" in hopes of capturing higher returns, but that comes (potentially significantly) increased risk.

Ken Faulkenberry @ Arbor Investment Planner writes Preservation of Capital and Asset Allocation Investing - Preservation of capital should be the highest priority goal of asset allocation investing. Of course you must take risk, but here is how to optimize asset allocation.

J.P. @ Novel Investor writes What Is A Trailing Stop Order? - The type of orders you use is just as important as what you buy and sell. A trailing stop order allows you to limit your losses without sacrificing gains.

Jacob @ My Personal Finance Journey @ My Personal Finance Journey writes I Don’t Need to Save for Retirement Yet, Right? - This post addresses the question of whether or not one should start saving for their retirement as early as their 20s and 30s and discusses why it’s important to start as early as possible to invest and save for the future.

More great posts to check out

Rohit @ The Money Mail writes Roth Income Limits and Contribution Limits - Importance of Roth IRA. Updates for 2013 contribution and income limits for Roth IRA and a reminder for funding 2012 account.

Lance @ Money Life and More writes What Would You Do?: Should I Refinance My Mortgage? - I reached out to a mortgage banker I have dealt with in the past and asked for a quote. Inside are the details of my mortgage situation along with the quotes I received. Do you think I should refinance my mortgage based on these circumstances?

Bryan @ The Insurance Expert writes How To Save With Cheap Car Insurance Quotes And Get The Best Policy Coverage - Helps consumers save on car insurance by discussing the discounts to look for, the factors that affect insurance rates, as well as the average premiums per state and type of policy.

Weasel @ Wealthy Weasel writes What is Yield on Cost? - Yield on cost can be used for dividend stocks, bonds, real estate and more. Calculating the yield on cost is an important part of investigating investments.

Derek Knight @ Freeat33 writes From $33,151.00 to $636,140.00 in Seven Years. Our Net Worth Explosion - Year by Year break down of how we managed to increase our net worth over 19 TIMES in seven years!

Rich @ Growing Money Smart writes Optimal Wealth Is A Narrow Range - Like all things in live, Optimal Wealth Is A Narrow Range! This means that you need the right formula and mixture of income, saving, debt and spending to live optimally.

Derek Knight @ Freeat33 writes From $33,151.00 to $636,140.00 in Seven Years. Our Net Worth Explosion - How we increased our Net Worth over 19 Times in 7 years. Check out the year to year break down here. Are you doing what you can to improve yours?

MR @ Money Reasons writes Getting Your Ideas Implemented - Over time here are the methods I've discovered on getting your ideas implemented at work or any place really. Some of the same techniques work to get issues resolved too.

Rachael @ rVoice writes Three Years. Two Funds. One Family - We have created a Facebook timeline showing the difference that choosing a well-performing fund could make to a family compared to a badly performing fund in the same sector. Our aim is to show how investments can have a substantial impact on your lifestyle depending on the choices you make.

Mr. Money @ Smart on Money writes Keeping Sight of Your Retirement Goals - If you want to reach your goal of a successful retirement, you need to remember the long-term, and spend some time focusing on the big picture things.

Infinite Banker @ Becoming Your Own Bank writes How to Get the Highest Rate of Return in Your Qualified Plan - Learn how you can get the highest rate of return out of your qualified plan.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Social Security, Pensions, and Other Bubble Bursters - So guess who gets the short end of the stick with Social Security? Gen Xers through the Millenial generation and then some. And I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as the “short end” for the under 40 crowd. There’s still plenty of time to beef up individual retirement accounts. It’s just that we will have to take more responsibility for our income during our retirement years while still contributing to the Social Security fund in the meantime.

Jamie @ Financial Footsteps writes Student Loans Should Not Have Pre-Payment Fees - Pre-payment fees can make loans more expensive than they should be. See why you should get a loan without pre-payment fees when possible.

Roger Wohlner @ The Chicago Financial Planner writes Mutual Funds – B Shares are a Dumb Ox - I’ve been in this business a long time and I can’t see any reason to have put a client into a B share except greed. As always, be sure that you understand ALL expenses and fees that you will be paying when working with a financial advisor. What you don’t know can really reduce your investment returns.

Lazy Man @ Lazy Man and Money writes Stop It: Exaggerating Compound Interest Claims - Compound interest is powerful enough without having to pitch the most extreme case and ignore the realities of inflation. Personal finance writers exaggerating the effect of compound interest... Stop it!

Penny Thots @ Penny Thots writes How Financial Advisors Get Paid - I previously wrote about What to Look For in a Financial Advisor. In that post I briefly talked about how the advisor gets paid. I want to expand on that topic today. Overall, there are three main ways an advisor is compensated. Commission-Based Fee-Based Fee-Only

Beating Broke @ Beating Broke writes Lending Club Reaches $1 Billion in Loans - Despite having to use Lending Club’s secondary market to buy my notes, I’ve still managed to make over 14% in returns. I’m continuing to invest with them, and have reached a point where the principle and interest payments each month are enough to allow me to make one $25 investment each month without adding anything more to the account.

harry campbell @ Your Personal Finance Pro writes Annual Enrollment Time: How Much Can a HSA Save You? - Ok it’s annual enrollment time again for those of us in traditional workplaces and I’m here to tell you exactly how much a HSA can benefit you. Most large companies are starting to offer HSA’s to their employees for one main reason: it saves them a ton of money. Although employees generally pay a premium per paycheck for their healthcare, there is also a larger portion paid by your employer. To find out the exact portion, you’ll need to review your total compensation packet that shoul

Everything Finance @ Everything Finance Blog writes Retirement Income Tax Diversification Strategies - Tax sheltered retirement plans are one of the very best investment vehicles ever conceived—maybe even the best. People of modest means can accumulate great amounts of wealth, and not the least of which because of the tax deferral status they have.

Bryan @ Gajizmo.com writes American Politics, The Fiscal Cliff, QE3 & The Gold Market - Do you know how the "fiscal cliff", "QE3", the dollar, and Eurozone crisis might be affecting the equities and commodities markets? Learn about the uncertainty ahead in 2013, as well as safe investment options like gold bullion and silver as hedges against the inflationary effects of the Federal Reserve's liquidity plan, market volatility and a potential recession.

Bryan @ Gajizmo.com writes Best Home Insurance Companies - Everyone is always talking about the "best" insurance companies, but which carriers really are the best and in what categories? As provided by the Insurance Information Institute, JD Powers, and AM Best, we've assembled a complete list of the top 10 home insurance companies in terms of policy offerings, customer service, premiums, and billing/payment options.

Robert @ Entrepreneurship Life writes Engage in the Startup Community - Sometimes, starting your own business can feel lonely. Getting involved in a startup community can help you find peer and friends to relate to as you build your business.

Robert @ Entrepreneurship Life writes Overcoming Founder Dependence - One of the hardest things to do is let go of control. Whatever the reason, here are some steps to help your business overcome founder dependence.

Robert @ My Multiple Income writes The Most Comprehensive Affiliate Marketing Program List - The most common way to monetize a website is to join an affiliate network, which gives you access to advertisers that you can post on your site. This is an easy way to get access to a bunch of different advertisers, and most networks make it easy to ad the necessary code to your website.

Gen Y @ Gen Y Finance Journey writes Is the World Ending? - With the election and the impending fiscal cliff, it seems like all I'm reading about is how the world is ending and you should pull all your money out of the stock market and stash it in your mattress. I think we should be more optimistic than that!

Joe Morgan @ Simple Debt-Free Finance writes Dollar Cost Averaging or Lump Sum Investment – Which is Better in an IRA? - Experts of finance bloggers alike espouse Dollar-Cost Averaging as the best way to invest, but is it really? A new study shows that many times, lump-sum investing wins in the end but you have to do it right. Here's how.

John Schmoll @ Frugal Rules writes Are Large Companies Immune to the Fiscal Cliff? - Unless you’re living under a rock you’ve heard of the Fiscal Cliff. We all know how it could possibly affect individuals, but how would it affect companies? Many companies will have to make decisions about what they’re going to do with their cash after the Fiscal Cliff meets its outcome.

Nick @ Making It in Today's Economy writes Credit Unions vs. Banks - How does a credit union differ from a bank? 

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