Carnival of Money Stories 2 Bob Gibson 1968 Season Edition

Welcome to the February 22, 2010 edition of Carnival of Money Stories 2.  Thank you for all of your great writing!

After the severe winter most of you have experienced, it is nice to realize that baseball season will soon be upon us.  Major leaguers are already in spring training, and, as a baseball nut, I am starting to get the fever.   If you don’t know or care who Bob Gibson is, I understand.  But the baseball aficionados among us might just appreciate some of the details of Gibson’s historic 1968 season.

Gibson’s numbers make the case for one of the greatest seasons ever produced by a starting pitcher. His 1.12 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals ranks as the lowest figure in a season not played in the Deadball era. At a time when complete games were dwindling, Gibson completed 28 of his 34 starts, 13 of them for shutouts.

OK.  Here we go with your Carnival of Money Stories:

Editor’s Picks

Jason @ Redeeming Riches presents How You Can Control Your Money: The Lesson of the $100 Bill posted at Redeeming Riches.  This guest post, written by Brent Ropelato fromPersonalFinanceManagementSoftware.com,  is indeed a story from about 30 years ago.  ”What”, you may ask, “could have happened 30 years ago that is still memorable today?”  This lesson of the $100 bill is not only memorable, it is useful.

DR presents Are Discount Health Plans a Scam? posted at The Dough Roller.  DR tells us to make sure you know what you are buying, and with some discount health plans, it is hard to tell.

Debt Hawk presents It’s Not About Me – It’s About God – The Purpose Driven Life Day 1 posted at The Debt Hawk saying “Do you often ask yourself what you want out of life? What are your life goals? What career you want to pursue? I know I ask myself these questions all the time. Well, the first day of The Purpose Driven Life turns these questions on their head.”

Jeff Rose presents Warning Signs You Need to Fire Your Financial Advisor posted at Jeff Rose.   Does your Financial Advisor explain clearly how he is paid?  Does he put it in writing?  This may be a warning sign.  Jeff gives several other tips of exactly what you should expect from your advisor and why you might need to fire him.

Kristia presents When Snowpocalypse Causes Water Damage, Are You Prepared? posted at Family Balance Sheet saying, “Mother Nature can be so cruel, but Thank Goodness for Emergency Funds”.  Kristia is a great story teller…she hooked me with her title and opening line.

“It was just so hard to beat him,” recalled Cubs slugger and fellow Hall of Famer Billy Williams. “One year, Roberto Clemente hit a line drive that hit him right in the shin. He pitched another five, six innings to finish the game, then it turned out he had a broken leg.

Credit

jim presents How to Dispute a Credit Card Charge posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Julie Sherrier presents The credit card fraud detection conundrum posted at Taking Charge.

FIRE Finance presents Annual Fee Introduced for Citi Cash Returns Credit Card posted at FIRE Finance, saying “As the credit market tightens due to new regulations, we feel more banks might follow Citibank’s act of adding annual fees to erstwhile free cards. More so for “deadbeat” customers like us who pay off their balance every month”.

MDP presents New Credit Card Laws to Protect Consumers Begin posted at My Dollar Plan.

From June 2 through July 30, 1968, Gibson put on the greatest two-month display of pitching in baseball history. In a stretch of 99 innings, he gave up just TWO RUNS. One scored on a wild pitch and the other on a bloop double which was fair by inches. Those were the only things standing between Gibby and ten straight shutouts.

Housing

Peak Personal Finance presents 3 Things to Ask Yourself When You Refinance posted at Peak Personal Finance, saying “Remember these tips if you are thinking of refinancing”.

Super Saver presents Why We Chose a 30 Year Mortgage posted at My Wealth Builder.

With a 1.12 ERA, one wonders how Gibson managed to lose 9 games that year.  Five of those losses were 1-0 scores, one of which was a no-hitter by Gaylord Perry.

Investing

Craig Ford presents 5 Steps To Retirement Planning For Young Adults posted at Money Help For Christians saying, “This post gives some practical suggestions to young adults on how to plan for a distant retirement. Enjoy!”

The Financial Blogger presents Getting Ready for Another Purchase! posted at The Financial Blogger, saying,  ”I should compare buying websites to buying a property. Some do it because they fell in love with the prospect, we try to buy the best valued property at the right price. You need to look at everything under the roof and aviod getting impressed by some fancy decorations!”

Intelligent Speculator presents Closing 2 trades and a look back on the two remaining live ones posted at Intelligent Speculator saying “It is now time to close 2 trades, one that went badly and the other which went better than I could have hoped. I will start with the good one!”.

Jim presents  Introduction to Budgeting Personal Finance posted at Budgeting Personal Finance.

Austin Morgan presents How to Avoid My 3 Novice Investment Mistakes posted at Foreigner’s Finances, saying “What I learned from my first investing experience including 3 mistakes I made and how you can avoid them in your investing life.

The Investor presents Financial advisers: Swindlers and leeches posted at Monevator, saying “A friend of mine asked me to check over the financial advice he’d received from a professional. To say I was shocked by the plan he’d been advised is an understatement”.

Gibson was never knocked out of the box during the season, completing 28 of 34 starts and being pinch-hit for late in the other six, as he averaged 8.96 innings per start.

Other

Peak Personal Finance presents Don’t Forget These Home Office Tax Deductions posted at Peak Personal Finance, saying “Be sure to take as many of these as you can!”

MatthewPaulson presents How to Comparison Shop and Save posted at Fine Tuned Finances.

PT presents Fun, Frugal, Family and Friends Outings posted at PT Money.

FMF presents FMF Reader Asks for a Discount and Saves $1,200 a Year! posted at Free Money Finance saying, “A story from a readr about how she saved money simply by asking for a discount.”

Billeater presents Foreclosure: Should you walk away from your home? posted at Billeater.

The Smarter Wallet presents Don’t Get Ripped Off! Watch Out For These Consumer Dangers posted at The Smarter Wallet saying “Watch out for scams! I share my stories on dealing with scams.”

Bucksome presents Close Encounters of the Pothole Kind posted at Buck$omeboomer’s Financial Path to Retirement, saying “The importance of sinking and emergency funds are brought home in what started out as a routine trip to the grocery store.”

Gibson’s 1968 season was so successful that his performance is widely cited in Major League Baseball’s decision to lower the pitcher’s mound by five inches in 1969 from 15 inches to 10 inches. The change had only a slight effect on him; he went 20-13 that year, with a 2.18 ERA, 4 shutouts and 28 complete games.

Shopping

BWL presents Updating Your Wardrobe On A Budget posted at Christian Personal Finance saying “These are some tips and tricks for updating your budget when you don’t have much cash to spend!”

Mrs. Accountability presents Happy Valentine’s Day posted at Out of Debt Again, saying “My hubby may or may not have been kicked out of a jewelry store for being a cheapskate. You decide”.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Bed, Bath and Beyond Coupons Never Expire! posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Here’s my personal experience with dealing with Bed Bath and Beyond coupons.”

Nicole presents New Laptop: Paid for in Cash, Of Course posted at Rainy-Day Saver saying, “Article is about my experience in buying a laptop, and debating whether a warranty is a necessary purchase when buying electronics. Thanks for your consideration!”