Welcome to the 195th edition of the Carnival of Debt Reduction! The theme of this carnival is building something solid. As I mentioned yesterday, finances, like construction involves putting time and energy together to make a success.

Having the right tools can make all the difference.

Lots of wonderful posts about building your finances up, so let’s check them out!

Editor’s Choice

• Man Vs. Debt submitted a wonderful post on “Pay Off Debt” iPhone App Review. BTW, Baker is traveling to Australia so I hope his family has a safe trip!
• Looking for ways to gather some money to pay down debt?  Coupon Tip – Making Sure It’s Always Available has advice from Money Ning.
• Free Money Finance has some practical tips with Seven Ways to Wreck Your Credit.

Actionable Debt Reduction Plans

• Debt Free Adventure wrote a great post on Simple & Strategic Plan for Debt Repayment and Emergency Fund Savings.
• Wealth Pilgrim submitted a post called, My Kid Starts College in September & My Savings are Gone. Now What?
• How to Develop a Plan to Repay your Credit Card Debt is detailed step by step at AmericanConsumerNews.

Planning ahead can save you time and money.

Setting Yourself Up for Success

• 5 Great Reasons to Have Less Debt is explained at Prime Time Money.
• Money Help For Christians shares a plan for a Debt-Free Christmas in 2009.
• Automatic Finances points out some of The Best News Coming Out of the Recession.
• Credit crunch means talking about money and the lack of it is a conversation started by Money Saving Tips.
• My Journey to Payoff half a million in debt is chronicled at Money Stance.
• SuccessHound asks if you are Having Trouble Trying To Pay Down Debt?

Credit Card Debt Reduction

Seeking the help of others can give you a leg up.

• Raag Vamdatt shows us How to use a credit card the financially prudent way.
• Looking to pay down debt without having a lot of interest? 0% APR Balance Transfer for 12 Months has a list from The Dough Roller.
• PF Credit Cards also has Zero Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers listed.
• The Digerati Life offers very helpful infromation with Prevent Identity Theft: Some Credit Report Monitoring Services and Options.

Reviews and Questions on Debt Reduction

• Christian Debt Help did a book review of the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting out of Debt.
• The Smarter Wallet answers the question. Should You Use Credit Cards To Reduce Your Mortgage?
• Ask Mr Credit Card interviewed Broke Ass Student – A Debt Reduction Story .

Follow guidelines, not hard and fast rules. One size does not fit all.

Misc.

Wonderful posts that defied a category, so they got their own!

• Debt Freedom Fighter presents Increase Your Savings with 5 Simple Tips.
• Savings Toolbox asks, Are you Saving For a Job Loss or Job Change?

Photo Credit: wools, billjacobus1, jphilipg, and Todd Ehlers

Structured settlements are a common way for insurance companies and workers’ compensation departments to offer payment for injuries, damages or other types of cases. Instead of a lump sum payment, a plaintiff’s damages are paid by regular periodic installments. This can sometimes be a good thing, but in some cases it can prove to be inconvenient. A structured settlement company can buy future settlement payments in exchange for a lump sum of cash now.

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• Weekly Round-up: Socking Money Away I received my second paycheck from the temporary job.  The goal is dump as much as we can into savings to build up our emergency fund. After taxes were taken out, I received $719.17 for take home pay. Out of this paycheck, 76% or $550 will be go towards savings.  I just......
• Where Do I Start with Finances?! Everyone wants you to do everything it seems: invest in the market, pay down all your debts, save up for your house, make sure your kids have money for college, etc. It can be overwhelming, I know. I had a hard time figuring out where to begin a couple of years......

• Debt reduction tip: Emergency! Emergency! Throwing extra money against your consumer debt is a very good thing to do.  (The credit card companies hope that you don't do this, because it allows them to charge you interest for a really long period of time, sometimes over a decade.) So if throwing extra money at your......
• Evil Credit Cards We are in the midst of a backlash, people going from using their credit card recklessly to rejecting card use completely. Often, Dave Ramsey and his quote "there is no responsible use of credit cards" is cited as a source of inspiration to this cause. This week, in an insightful......