What started as an effort by a small group of Personal Finance bloggers to help each other increase their Alexa ratings has evolved into a 100+ strong network. And now a new challenge has emerged and it is this: to use the collective power of the Yakezie Network to selflessly help others though our services, expertise and by monetary means such as scholarships. The second challenge commenced on August 16th with the launch of Yakezie.com. Over the coming weeks Yakezie.com will be showcasing the awesome bloggers that make up this network, so head on over and check it out. And come back often to watch the challenge take shape!

In the meantime, I have the privilege of hosting this week’s Yakezie Carnival. Check out some of the best in personal finance this week.

Millionaire’s Need Love To! @FinancialSamurai

How to Avoid Paying Your Credit Card Bill @SweatingTheBigStuff

Banks or Money in the Sock Drawer @FinanciallyDigital

If this is true then the US (and the UK for that matter) is doomed @RetirementInvestingToday

5 Tips On How to Negotiate A Car Loan @MoneyCrashers

What Is A Secured Credit Card? @FreeFromBroke

How I Almost Got Scammed: Lessons Learned from Trouble in “Paradise” @InvestItWisely

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card – Is the 25k Point Bonus Worth It? @NerdWallet

Ticketmaster’s New Blog (And Why I Hate Them Even More Now.) @LenPenzodotCom

Beware: Realtors Do Better for Themselves than Their Clients @DarwinsMoney

Gold: Is It Time To Buy or Time To Sell? @TheMillionaireNurse

Living With Your Parents While Being Young, Successful And Married @MoneyReasons

How to Get Your Money’s Worth at an All You Can Eat Buffet @youngandthrifty

Deal or No Deal or Which Deal: Our Timeshare @FrugalConfessions

How to Successfully Budget For an Irregular Income @PersonalFinanceByTheBook

Being Judged Cheap and Wasteful At the SAME TIME @ BudgetingintheFunStuff

Baby Costs: Saving Up for a Newborn @RainyDaySaver

CVS Shopping for the Week of 8.15.10 – Saved $180, Spent $2, and Made $65! @KNSFinancial

Should You Eat Your Eggs? @Bucksome Boomer

Responsibility and Your Finances @jondegroff

Freshman Finances: Getting the best student checking account @WealthInformatics

Is extreme frugality for you @RoshawnWatson

Too Much Financial Advice? [Devotion] @OneMoneyDesign

NEED EXTRA MONEY?: Do Not Do This! @BarbaraFriedbergPersonalFinance

Perform Your Own Home Energy Audit To Help Save Money on Your Utility Expenses @FamilyBalanceSheet

The One Asset You’ll Always Have @FinanciallyPoor

Budget Like a Dictator (Review and Giveaway) @FrugalZeitgeist

How to Make Your First Budget @MoneyHelpForChristians

What Factors Affect Your Credit Score? @NotMadeOfMoney

8 Exceptions to the 10% Penalty for an Early IRA Withdrawal @RedeemingRiches

Don’t Let the Naysayers Get You Down @MoneyCrush

8 Painless Ways to Save Money @LiveRealNow

I’m a new blogger and I really enjoy it. I like the challenge of writing articles that I hope will be useful and interesting and I enjoy the interaction with my readers and other bloggers. But I’ve also found blogging is very hard work. It takes a lot of time and dedication to build a blog. I think that’s why I’m so impressed with the Personal Finance blogging community. It’s a cool and diverse group of people from all over the world that are:

• Extremely hard working
• Dedicated to helping others
• Motivated to constantly improve themselves and their situation, inspiring others by their example

That’s why I’m joining the Yakezie Challenge!

What is the Yakezie Challenge?

The brainchild of Financial Samurai, the Yakezie Challenge is a group effort to help fellow Personal Finance bloggers build relationships, increase their exposure to new readers and improve their rankings in Alexa. It really embodies the spirit of this community and I’m very happy I can participate.

What does this mean for you?

There are a lot of great bloggers in this group that don’t necessarily get the exposure they deserve. So each week I’m going to highlight members of the Yakezie Challenge and what I think is cool about their sites. Together we’re going to get to know some really interesting people and how they’re trying to help others live a more abundant life.

I’m ready to get my Yakezie on!