Welcome to the 93rd edition of The Carnival of Money Stories! My name is Adam and I am pleased to be your host this week. This carnival is one of my favorites. I love reading the great personal stories every week and it’s even better hosting the carnival as I get to choose my picks as the best for the week.

Last week Florida was able to beat Oklahoma 24-14 in the College Football BCS Championship. That game (and the BCS in general) gave me an idea for a great theme this week. This week we are holding the BCS of Money Stories. In other words, the Blog Championship Series of Money Stories. I am going to mention my 2 favorite entries for this week and you can decide on your own who the champion should be. There are also different “bowl games” in which other great stories are mentioned. All I have for the winner is a picture of this amazing trophy seen above. Cherish it as best you can as you will never receive anything of its kind again in your life! Anyway, let the games begin!

BCS Championship Game

These two stories made it to the championship game. There was a unique selection process in order to earn a bid to this game. First, I added all of the numbers of the date that it was submitted with the time of day it was submitted. I then subtracted 100 because I can. I then compared their strength of schedule against those who made it to this weeks Carnival of Personal Finance.  Simple process, right? Without further ado, here are my two picks:

Curt at PennyJobs.com wants to know which pays better, popular investing or staying in front of the crowd? I think I agree with Curt on his conclusion. When people are greedy, I am afraid. When people are afraid, I am greedy.

Papa Boomer at Consumer Boomer tells his tale about almost getting hosed by Terminix and the importance of doing research before buying. I just picture the poor old ladies in my mind that the Terminix guy has already ripped off.

Shopping Bowl

The Shopping Bowl includes posts talking about shopping experiences, customer service, etc.

FMF at Free Money Finance hates getting gift cards from Macy’s (and Macy’s shopping in general). Unfortunately, someone decided to get him a card for Christmas and he let’s us know how much Macy’s rip you off!

Jim at Blueprint For Financial Prosperity is heading to Walt Disney World! A day after he booked, his wife received a better offer in an email from them. Much to his surprise, they matched the offer!

Coupon Artist over at Art of the Coupon talks about their quest to spend $0 on groceries this year. A little unrealistic, but definitely some great ways to at least try! They will spend way less than me, I can tell you that!

VH at Funny About Money went shopping for shoes that don’t hurt. Sometimes you need to spend money for quality things. They will definitely last longer!

Single Guy Money got a new car and best of all, it was free! Well, at least it was free for him.

Abby at I Pick Up Pennies gives her personal opinion on warranties and their usefulness. Personally, we bought one on my fiances laptop. Mostly because it covers accidents and spills.

Investing Bowl

The Investing Bowl shares personal experiences with investing.

Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life talks about her experience with college savings plan rewards like Upromise. I have Upromise to help pay off my loans but I have not made $4,000!

Jeff at Good Financial Cents shares a story about a man who did not utilize the match on his 401(k). A 401(k) match is one of the only things in investing where you can get a guaranteed rate of return. Make sure you are utilizing yours!

Sun at The Sun’s Financial Diary shares with you their passive income for 2009.

Mr ToughMoneyLove from Tough Money Love presents to you his year end financial performance review. He definitely made out better in the market than most!

Billy at Beginner Investing shares his story about keeping emotions out of investing.

Ryan at Uncommon Cents had a GREAT investment in 2008. Want to know what the investment was? Click to find out!

Housing Bowl

The Housing Bowl has a wide variety of posts on renovations, mortgages, etc.

LAL at Living Almost Large has basically rented his house over the past few years even though he owned it. I can imagine that there are MANY individuals in this position. Hopefully prices will rebound in the coming months.

Miss M at M is for Money needs $153,000 and your help. Miss M is in the same position as many Americans these days: upside down on her home.

Cathy at Money to Spare lets you know that one expense no homeowner should never forget. Ah, the joys of home ownership!

The Financial Blogger gives you his final thoughts on his home renovation.

Credit and Debt Bowl

The Credit and Debt Bowl showcases stories on credit and debt stories.

Mr CC from Ask Mr Credit Card was asked by his credit card company if he wanted higher rewards. His response was certainly positive!

PFR from Personal Finance Reviews shares some tips on what to do when your credit cards are closed due to inactivity. They called up the companies and to my surprise, the company actually listened!

Len from Len Penzo shows you why paying off your mortgage is a no-brainer.

Random Bowl

The Random Bowl is for those posts that just could not be placed in one of the previous bowl games. Do not let them fool you though. There are some great stories! DON’T STOP READING!

J Money from Budgets are Sexy won the lottery! Well, he isn’t the next Bill Gates, but getting closer to that cool million!

Grace from GRACEful Retirement was born without a silver spoon in her mouth. Be sure to check out this post as there is some great discussion going on!

Patrick from Cash Money Life shares with you his 2009 personal finance goals. Just the way I like them: short and sweet. It makes them much more attainable!

DD at The Happy Rock goes over their December monthly expenses. Let’s just say it was a rough month!

The Smarter Wallet gives some great tips on saving time and money with quality cookware.

Vilkri from Our Personal Finances shares with you his own personal finance story.

Z Petals shares with your her financial past.

Pete at Bible Money Matters shares a guest post from Jason at Forward Habit. Jason shares his story of how he went through a $100,000 inheritance in 6 years.

Well there you have it! Thanks for visiting my site and be sure to poke around for just a little bit. You know you want to!