My post on the Monte Carlo estimator for retirement planning was included in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance.  LAL is the host this week at LivingAlmostLarge and she did a great job compiling the list and included a line or two about every article.  Kudos to you, LAL, for going the extra mile.  Some of your comments are pretty on target, too.  I especially liked the comparison of credit to booze.  It’s true that some folks can’t help themselves and would be better off abstaining.

The carnival had a number of other intersting articles including:

• AskMrCreditCards’ article discussing Can Credit Card Companies Go After You If You Leave The Country?, including the legal, moral, and practical implications of leaving without paying.
• Rohit from eMoneyLog wrote a two part Complete guide to emergency funds, which in general is quite good.  I disagree, however with his statement that certificates of deposit aren’t a good place for Emergency Funds.  I think a CD is a great place to stash the cash, because it’s just hard enough to get money out that you won’t be tempted to spend it on that shiny new set of golf clubs you’ve been wanting.  And Ally bank offers a no-penalty CD with a pretty good rate.
• Mr. GoTo from GoToRetirement wrote on how to Create a Free Financial Plan, listing two online programs and two stand-alone software programs — all free.  I’ll be checking them out, and I’ll be reading more of his well-written blog, too.

Photo credit:  Robert C at Flickr.