Free Money Finance hosted the Carnival of Debt Reduction #21, and Personal Finance Advice’s post, which encouraged people to look for better rates on auto insurance, is the subject of this week’s Flashback.  When you’re paying down debt, it’s crucial to set aside as much as possible for the debt reduction without placing yourself at undue risk if an emergency happens.  Shopping around for better insurance rates or raising your deductible is one way to do this.  Auto insurance is just one periodic expense that may have some room to be reduced in order to allow more money to be thrown at the debt you want to pay down.  Look for other places that can be diverted toward your debt reduction, too.

• Flashback: Work toward debt freedom Wandering Indian Monk hosted Carnival of Debt Reduction #30, and this week's Flashback from that Carnival comes from Cakes and Ale: Freedom from debt.  How do you best use the money that you've set aside to pay down your debts? Don't just shuffle the debt around.  The balances have to......
• Blunt Money has posted the Carnival A big thank-you to Blunt Money for hosting this week's Carnival of Debt Reduction! This week's Carnival is a tribute to dear old Dad, fresh after Father's Day. Of the nineteen posts accepted for inclusion this week, one that caught my eye was Get Out Of Debt's posts on paying......

• Super Bowl Pick (and Personal Finance Links) The Super Bowl starts in some 45 minutes as I start to type this. When I was watching the Patriots beat the Cardinals by 40 points in week 16, I couldn't have imagined they'd make it this far. As a Patriots fan, I don't really have words to describe how......
• Using a Home Equity Loan for an Emergency Fund Most mainstream financial advisors will suggest that you should keep some money aside in a special savings account for emergencies. This seems to make sense, say if there’s something such as a car accident, an unexpected medical expense, or something goes wrong in the house, there’s money to take care......