Late Carnival

Welcome to the December 7, 2009 edition of twenty something finances.

Hank presents You Can Say Thank You With More Than Just Money posted at Own The Dollar, saying, "You can say thank you in more ways that by just giving someone money."

Craig Ford presents 5 Ways to Protect Yourself Against the Declining Value of the Dollar posted at Money Help For Christians, saying, "With the dollar losing value there are ways to protect your assets."

Darwin presents USDA Home Loan Program – The 0% Down Bonanza You’ve Never Heard About posted at Darwin's Finance, saying, "Get this - the USDA Home Loan Program – The 0% Down Bonanza You’ve Never Heard About...and the government's the one sponsoring it! You'd be surprised, you may actually qualify."

David presents 7 Things To Consider When Applying for a Credit Card posted at Credit Card Offers IQ, saying, "7 things to consider when applying for your next credit card."

Mr Credit Card presents Chase Sapphire Card Review posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

Madison presents 7 Tips to Avoid Holiday Spending Stress posted at My Dollar Plan.

Barbara Kratus presents Your $5 Savings Plan posted at Shitty-Chic, saying, "How to bank a little money for a mini splurge or for a rainy day....and not even realize it."

PT presents Take Real Savings Action: Start a Savings Goal with SmartyPig posted atPrime Time Money.

eemusings presents How to get the most out of mystery shopping posted at Musings of an Abstract Aucklander.

Austin Morgan presents Ramit Sethi Interview Part 1: Colleges & Money Management Courses posted at Foreigners Finances, saying, "My interview with New York times best-selling author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Ramit Sethi about the money problems of college students. We talk about how colleges can step in to fix the norm, what students can do to help themselves, and why money is such a difficult subject for young adults."

Manshu presents Amazon Gift Card Review posted at OneMint, saying, "A review of the Amazon gift card."

One Family presents Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) - Stock Analysis posted at One Family's Blog, saying, "An analysis and recommendation of Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) stock."

Brenda Pike presents To Save Energy, Use the Dishwasher? posted at Pragmatic Environmentalism.

Credit Shout presents Chase Sapphire Card Review posted at CreditShout.

Guffly presents Seven Eco Gifts Under $50 | Guffly posted at Guffly, saying, "Guffly is your source for stylish products and unique gifts that ease your shopping conscience by being eco friendly or fair trade. http://guffly.com/"

My Journey presents There were Never Good Ole Days When it Comes to Personal Finance posted at My Journey to Millions, saying, "I am sick of those who say it is us in the 20s that are causing the problems...The Good Ole Days weren't as good as everyone wants them to be"

Brandon Laughridge presents FHA Down Payment May Rise Soon posted at Mortgage Loan Place Blog, saying, "It could much harder for new home buyers to secure any sort of mortgage in 2010 with the recent shakeup in FHA financing options."

Darwin presents FICA Tax Rates 2009, 2010 – How They Work and Why They Matterposted at Darwin's Finance, saying, "The FICA Tax – What is it and why’s it matter? This article outlines FICA limits and how shifting income into or out of the current tax year could easily save you thousands of dollars in taxes."

Jeff Rose presents Preparing For, Taking and Passing the GMAT Exam posted at Jeff Rose.

April presents 5 Little-Known Websites That Will Save You Time and Money When Booking Airfare Online posted at Get Rich Slowly, saying, "In most cases, the cheapest fare will be found using a combination of sites depending on your specific travel plans. Here are some lesser-known websites you can add to your bag of tricks when searching for the lowest airfare available."

J. Savings presents iReview the iPhone...Because it saves me money! posted atBudgets are Sexy., saying, "You have the pros, you have the cons, and you have the apps. Is it all really worth it in the end?"

Anne Valens presents The Definitive Guide To Copper ETFs: Copper ETF Investing 101posted at ETFdb.

Ray @ Financial Highway presents Best Credit Card posted at Financial Highway, saying, "How to find the best credit card that fits your needs and helps you in your financial plan."

Billeater presents Credit Card Rates - Status of the Credit Card Act posted atBilleater.

Roshawn Watson presents Becoming A Financial Champion posted at Watson Inc, saying, "Last week, I was counseling a college student about building a firm financial foundation. Upon reflection, here are three nuggets that profoundly changed my financial life."

20smoney presents Retirement Saving In Your 20s posted at 20s Money, saying, "A few tidbits on starting your retirement savings during your 20s."

Jeremy Simon presents Your holiday guide to credit card innovations and gadgetsposted at blogs.creditcards.com.

Nate Kragness presents My Free Cash | Diversifying your Portfolio: Four Asset Classes Critical to Long-Term Success posted at My Free Cash | Your Guide to Money Management, saying, "By protecting your capital with diversification strategies, and maintaining each of these four asset classes, you ensure that your total portfolio continues to grow, even in spite of any individual losses or market conditions. Provides strategies and tips to balance and leverage various asset classes in order to minimize risk while maximizing rewards long-term."

Austin Morgan presents Ramit Sethi Interview Part 2: Who Can Fix the Money Problems of Young People? posted at Foreigners Finances, saying, "The 2nd part of my interview with New York Times best-selling author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Ramit Sethi. We discuss what college students need to do to set themselves up to be financially sound and how colleges are failing students by not offering money classes."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of twenty something finances using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: twenty something finances, blog carnival.

Always Thin Flexi-Style Liners (product review)

Hello Divas!

I love trying out new products, especially those specially created for women so I was happy to see that Always has come out with a new pantyliner, called the Thin Flexi-Style.

Now I know that you are wondering what in the world can be new about a pantyliner but just wait and see.

These new flexi-style liners are great because they are:

• thin
• flexible
• light

They come in one size but the middle part is thinner than most liners. It also has wings but they are VERY thin and are really just to help you adjust to different sizes. What I love about these liners is that they can be worn with anything from boy shorts to thongs and everything in between!!!!

Here is what the box looks like.

I got these at Walmart to try out and I immediately fell in love. I no longer have to buy a box for thongs and a box for other panties. This liner customizes to fit all my underwear by simply adjusting the wings.

Here is what the liner looks like straight out of the box.

I am totally sold on this and will be buying only these liners from now on. The only thing I do not like is that I have not seen them in the individually wrapped packages so that you can take them on the go. If they do not come in individual packs then I still have a few like the Carefree shown below that I can stick in my purse.

Here is the Always Flexi-style next to a Carefree with Wings for size comparison.

As you can see the Carefree liner is so much larger and thicker than the Always. Plus the wings on the Carefree are so bulky....I always cut them off before using because they are so hard to take off when they are stuck.

The Always are also shorter..but if you REALLY need that much coverage then I guess you should be wearing a pad.

Nivea Moisture (Product Review)

Hello Divas!

A true Diva ALWAYS has soft,supple, well hydrated lips as a basic part of her wardrobe. I love lip balms and lip glosses but I wanted to try out this Nivea Kiss Of Moisture lip hydrator to see if it would deliver.

The first thing I noticed is that it contains SPF 4 and have talked before about using SPF to protect your skin so this was interesting to me. I actually get a rash when I use any product that contains SPF except for Oil Of Olay so I was a bit worried.

I decided to apply it at night and that way if I got a rash I could just hide at home the next day. I noticed when I put on the product that it felt MUCH lighter than other lip balms and not as waxy.

It felt like it was really moisturizing my lips while still providing long lasting barriers against wind and other drying agents. I woke up the next day and did not have any rash or discomfort so I guess that while SPF 4 is very low it is better than having nothing on my lips at all.

The lip balm is clear so I would need to find some way to add in color if I wanted that. It is also unscented which is good most of the time but sometimes I like a little color and flavor and scent in just one product without needing to do multiple steps.

I also noticed that unlike some of the other thicker balms, this tended to wear off quickly when eating so constant reapplication is necessary.

The one thing I must say I do not like about this is the way the cap fits!!!!!! In most other lip balms the white part, which is the smaller part, would be the cap so you just pull of the little cap and there is your product. With Nivea Kiss of Moisture the BLUE part is the cap....so you pull the balm out of this LONG tube like a tube of lipstick and STILL have to twist to get at the product. I hate the long cap because it makes it a little more difficult to to cover the balm in a hurry.

In general it is a good lip balm for the price but a tinted version would be nice.

So You Think You Can Dance

Hello Divas!

Beauty is not JUST about clothing and makeup but also about everything else that is pleasing to the eye. Dance is the ultimate expression of beautiful physical movement and that is why I love the show So You Think You Can Dance.

This season I must say that I totally LOVE Russell. He is the crumper who is surprising everyone by being able to handle all the other styles.

My second favorite male dancer is Legacy....again a surprising chameleon who is adapting to every style that the show throws at him.

I am not too thrilled with the female dancers and do not see what the judges see in Ashleigh at all. I like Karen and I am beginning to like Channing even though I did not like her at first.

The two dancers sent home this week are Peter and Pauline and I must agree with the judges' decision. I was not impressed by either of those two dancers and America got it RIGHT!!!!

My Hair Routine And Products

Hello Divas!

I have been asked what I do to take care of my hair and what products I use to keep it healthy. First off all my hair is texturized so that I can rock the curly look or I can flat iron it to have the sleek and straight look.

I wash my hair TWICE a week and no more because washing your hair too frequently dries it out. I wash my hair with Herbal Essences shampoo and then use Neutrogena hair mask to deep condition it. I put the deep conditioner in and cover the hair with a plastic cap and then go off to do things around the house...like writing this post.

After about 20 minutes of deep conditioning I rinse that off and use the Herbal Essences conditioner as directed. Then I let my hair air dry.

Yes...AIR DRY.

It is not good to use too much heat on the hair and since I am going to flat iron it then that is already one heat source.

After the hair is dry I use a flat iron to straighten it out if I want to wear it straight. Then I apply a conditioning treatment to my scalp and wrap the hair and tie it up.

That is my process in a few simple steps.....and I will give more detail on each of the products that I use in upcoming posts.

For The Love Of Ray J Season Premiere

Hello Divas!

I must say that the first episode of For The Love Of Ray J was very entertaining for me. I was glad that he sent that girl home because she was way too obvious in being a 'celebrity smasher' as they called it.

I liked Luscious for him. She reminds me a little bit of Mariah Carey with her little cute face. I think he needs to get rid of Exotica pronto....she seems a little bit scary crazy to me.

Other than that the girls seem like a fun bunch and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

I love on the promo that the show Danger is pregnant. WHAT?????

Loving Those Dating Shows

Hello Divas!

I just finished watching the finales of My Antonio and A Real Chance At Love 2. Those are celebrity dating shows where the guys were dating a bunch of women, trying to find true love.

Now I followed A Real Chance At Love 2 a little more closely than My Antonio so I was a bit surprised at the choices the guys made there.

I see that they are coming up with a new season of For The Love Of Ray J. For those who do not know, Ray J is Brandy's little brother and he already had a season of the show. I thought he made the wrong choice at the end...and it is obvious now since he is already on a second season of the show.

The previews show that there is a BIG surprise for the girls in the house and I cannot wait to waste time watching this show. It plays on VH1 so gear up your cable if you like those types of shows.

I have been watching and do not take those shows seriously...I just think they are really funny and the people who go on them are very entertaining.

Do you watch those shows? Which one is your favorite?