The days are getting longer and the sun is burning hotter – a sure sign that summer has arrived. Have you heard of the story of the grasshopper and the ant? The grasshopper plays during the lovely summertime while the ant judiciously saves for the lean winter months. Here, some personal finance bloggers show us how to be the ant and not the grasshopper.

Editor’s Picks:

Big Cajun Man from The Canadian Personal Finance Blog presents Why I am Not Rich (financially), and says, “I am not lamenting lost money, only opportunities that I have missed, but it is only money at the end of it all.”

ElizabethG (Modern Gal) from Modern Gal presents Coping with Chronic Underemployment

Annabelle Foster from The Year of Shopping Detox presents Day 154: The Glasses Thing, and says, “Ranking the relative frugality of glasses, contacts, laser eye surgery, or just squinting and getting headaches.”

Tom Drake from Canadian Finance Blog presents Caution: Lifestyle Inflation Ahead, and says, “Whether we admit it or not, lifestyle inflation starts to creep into most of our lives as we get older and our salaries increase.”

Bob from Christian Personal Finance presents Google Wallet: Is it in your pocket?, and says, “Once again, Google is changing the way people do business. Google recently announced its newest innovation called Google Wallet. It’s a way for shoppers to use their cell phones as a method of payment.”

Nicole from Nicole and Maggie: Grumpy Rumblings presents Wasting food is a sin*, and says, “Nicole and Maggie discuss how not to waste food and good uses for rescuing leftovers such as stale bread. Also a small rant on whether or not we should invoke morality when talking about food.”

Ants save for retirement and other goals

Ben from Money Smart Life presents Investment Asset Allocation 101, and says, “A basic look at how to keep asset allocation in mind when choosing your investments.”

Ramsay from Moneyedup presents Max out your 401k, and says, “One of the essentials of financial freedom is preparing for the future. One way you can do this is by opening a tax-advantaged retirement account.”

DSO from Dividend Stocks presents Mobile Dividend Stocks, and says, “This stock valuation model takes a look at divided growth and uses it to help you decide whether or not the investment is a good buy.”

Outlaw from Outlaw Finance: Investing Blog presents Online Stock Broker Comparison for Do-It-Yourself Investing, and says, “It doesn’t have to be expensive to get started in investing. You can do-it-yourself and invest with a discount online stock broker. This is my review of the top brokers available today.”

Sean Smarty from Grow Money presents Smart Investing Strategies Start With Financial Planning

IS from Intelligent Speculator presents One Major Benefit To A Passive Income Portfolio, and says, “Do you have a passive income portfolio?”

Div Guy from The Dividend Guy Blog presents Dividend Investing eBook ? How To build a Never Ending Cash Distributor, and says, “A very free and informative ebook.”

Mike from Experiglot presents Asset Allocation for Retirement, and says, “How’s your asset allocation for retirement working out?

Jim Yih from Retire Happy Blog presents What is your retirement sweet spot?, and says, “Creating tax efficient income in retirement is really important. It starts by understanding the marginal tax brackets and the retirement sweet spot.”

Ants have good credit!

Sun from The Sun’s Financial Diary presents Is Credit Sesame Safe?

Kim from CardHub.com presents Best Gas Credit Cards, and says, “Hey I hope all is well! I think your readers will enjoy my submission this week because I explain a few ways people can save on gas this summer and enjoy that big road trip they’ve been planning without having to worry so much about money.”

Jason from One Money Design presents Pros and Cons of Credit Monitoring, and says, “Consider these pros and cons of credit monitoring before signing up…”

Tim Chen from NerdWallet Credit Card Blog presents California Credit Cards: Searching Beyond The Megabanks, and says, “Californians have the luxury of choosing from many different types of credit cards. In addition to cards issued by large national banks with high name recognition, a large number of regional banks and local credit unions available only to California residents give highly favorable terms.”

Junior Boomer from Consumer Boomer presents Credit Reporting Rules, and says, “There are rules regarding our credit reports and how items are reported, how often you can check your report, and how to get wrongful items removed. Here is some important information you don’t want to miss.”

Janet from Credit, Eh presents 5 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score…While Naked!, and says, “Technology makes it possible for your to do any number of things while naked. We share 5 ways you can improve your credit score, in the privacy of your own home, wearing nothing but your skin.”

Jeri Ford from Help Me Travel Cheap presents The Best Way to Get A Free Credit Score – Credit Sesame, and says, “In order to get a general gauge of your credit score, use Credit Sesame.”

Andrew from CreditDonkey presents Credit Cards Giving Relief to Joplin Victims, and says, “Relief organizations say help is desperately needed in the Joplin area and are asking people across the country to use their credit cards and cell phones to assist the victims of the Joplin Tornado.”

Ants prepare for the winter (aka: not-so-good days)

Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents presents Afraid of Losing Your Job? Consider Mortgage Unemployment Insurance, and says, “With the uncertainty the job market has brought to many over the last several years, mortgage unemployment protection insurance has become more popular.”

Diva from Diva In Debt presents What Every Single Girl Needs: Disability Insurance, and says, “Diva in Debt shares why single women most of all need disability insurance.”

Personal Cents from Personal Cents presents The Current state of umemployment.

Len Penzo from Len Penzo dot Com presents The High Cost of Being Poor (and How to Vanquish It)

Craig Ford from Money Help for Christians presents How a High School Graduate Can Save $20,000, and says, “Most teens who graduated this year will go out and get stuff they can’t afford and borrow money to fund their impatience. ”

Ants spend consciously

Trent Green from Money for Regular People presents How Consumer Reports Saved me $130 on a GPS Unit, and says, “Recently I bought a GPS (for driving) that I’m happy with, that goes wherever I go, and that cost me $130 less than what I thought I was going to have to spend. As nice as that savings was, I realized that it went far beyond GPS units.”

Glen from Parenting Family Money presents Take Advantage of Free 2011 Reading Programs During the Summer, and says, “There are a good number of free summer reading programs you can take advantage of to keep your child occupied and ahead of the learning curve.”

Barbara Friedberg from Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance presents Don’t Fall for Money Mind Tricks (Part 3), and says, “I love behavioral finance. This article explores how choice impacts decision making. Find out how our money decisions are strongly influenced by psychology.”

Tushar from Everything Finance presents 4 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Daily Deals, and says, “By now, you’ve probably heard about daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social. There are a number of other daily deal sites out there that provide discounts on items, and offer you the chance to get coupons for a great price.”

Erica from SittingAround Blog presents Biggest Threat to Family Finances? It’s Childcare.

Clint from Accumulating Money presents Helpful Budgeting Tips For Young Adults, and says, “For most young adults, when the time comes to face the facts with finances they are not prepared. If they don’t learn how to manage their money now they may be faced with crippling financial crises in the future.”

Ants are smart about debt

Danielle Liss from Kitten a Go-Go presents Ten Ways that I Paid off $30,000 of Credit Card Debt in Two Years.

Jacob @ My Personal Finance Journey from My Personal Finance Journey presents Find Out Your Credit Score For Free With CreditKarma And An Analysis of My Results, and says, “There’s quite a bit of “buzz” in the personal finance community about Credit Karma. This article dissects my experiences with this relatively new site in an effort to help readers determine if it would be beneficial to them.”

Teacher Man from My University Money presents Investing Series – Saving, and says, “We go over basic saving tips and options targeted for any Canadians weather they be young or old.”

Mike from Do Not Wait presents Debt Management Solutions: Debt Transfer Credit Card, Good or Bad?, and says, “Have you thought about this credit card idea?”

Justin from Money Is The Root presents 5 Reasons You Should Stop Paying Down Your Debt, and says, “5 reasons you should stop accelerating your debt payments.”

Echo from Boomer & Echo presents Is Debt Derailing Your Retirement Plans?, and says, “You should consider the long-term effects of debt. One of the surest ways to derail your retirement plans is to have debt.”

Money Thinker from Money Thinking presents Is There Really Such a Thing as “Good Debt”, and says, “Money Thinker speculates on the concept of “good debt” in our current economy.”

Tom from Stupid Cents presents Borrowing Against a 401k, and says, “I you are considering borrowing against your 401k plan, please be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of that choice.”

Eric from Narrow Bridge Finance presents Mint.com Alternative – Adaptu: The Showdown of Mint vs. Adaptu, and says, “An in depth review comparing popular finance site Mint.com to the newer Adaptu.”

Ants work hard

Ashley Sherer from Legacy Geeks presents Six Things To Ask Yourself Before Becoming A Full-Time Freelance Programmer, and says, “This is an article I wrote to help computer programmers make the decision on whether or not to undertake freelance programming as a career.”

Mike from The Financial Blogger presents Why I Will Not Quit My Day Job, and says, “Why I don’t plan on leaving my work.”

Mike from Green Panda Treehouse presents The Financial Milestones in Our Lives, and says, “A fun look at our milestones.”

Lahesha Williams from Career Help for Christians presents Using Social Media to Market your Small Business Effectively, and says, “Marketing is an essential element of every business and can be the key to the success or failure of the business.”

FMF from Free Money Finance presents Monetize Your Message: Turn Your Presentations into Additional Income, and says, “What if you could extend your income stream as a paid speaker? What if you could have a thriving business that reaches more people, offers more products and services, and provides you more income?”

Ken from Spruce Up Your Finances presents Home Business Start-up: Tax Payment Issues, and says, “As a business owner, you also need to be aware of the types of taxes that you have to pay. Discussed are the most common tax payments that you have to make depending on your form of business, if you have employees, and if you are selling a product.”

Ants learn about investment options

D4L from Dividend Growth Stocks presents 5 Dividend Stocks In Need Of A Market Correction, and says, “We have all heard that trees don’t grow to the sky, but that seems to be what is happening in this bull market that started back in early 2009. When investors see their portfolio dramatically increase in value, it leaves them with a sense of accomplishment. However, if you are an investor in dividend growth stocks, a higher portfolio may not be in your best interest. Consider the following…”

Adam from Rabbit Funds presents REVIEW: Money Magazine’s 7 Secrets to a Richer Retirement, and says, “The lead article in the October 2010 issue of Money magazine is titled 7 Secrets to a Richer Retirement. After reading through the article, I thought it would be worth reviewing and sharing some of the valuable points.”

Betty Kincaid from Control Your Cash presents LinkedIn chart is already a bell curve., and says, “The LinkedIn IPO runs counter to everything we preach in our obscenely cheap new ebook, The Unglamorous Secret To Riches. We tell you to look at a company’s financial statements to find value. LinkedIn, seeing as it’s a brand new public company, has no usable financial statements to speak of. ”

RJ Weiss from Gen Y Wealth presents Video: Personal Finance Advice for College Students and Recent Graduates, and says, “A 25 minute talk on “What I Wish I Knew About Personal Finance in College” that I have to students of Northwestern University. ”

Jason from Live Real, Now presents Unlicense Health Insurance, and says, “Health care “discounters” tend to be frauds capitalizing on the high costs of health insurance.”

Sustainable PF from Sustainable Personal Finance presents Sustainable Business? Is this a Practical Concept?, and says, “A look at whether sustainable business is a practical concept given rules about economics and a market driven economy.”

Financial Uproar from Financial Uproar presents Why Is A Car Payment An Acceptable Part Of Personal Finance, and says, “It seems everywhere I read, people are resigned to having a monthly car payment. Why don’t more people pay cash?”

Dividend Growth Investor from Dividend Growth Investor presents Dividend Investing in a Low Interest Rate Environment, and says, “Investors putting cash in any short-term fixed income instruments are not earning an adequate return on their investment and are also losing purchasing power of their savings because of inflation. As a result many savers have started taking on additional risk and getting into dividend paying stocks.”

Philip from PT Money: Personal Finance presents Donating Your Body to Science, and says, “Help the medical community and save money on funeral costs by donating your body to science.”