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Thursday, August 30, 2007

Cool Tool: Free Personal Finance Manager

I found this tool in a magazine and thought I'd mention it. Expensr is a free online money management program that is very helpful and easy to use.


How to Sign Up: fill out a simple online form, it doesn't ask for home address or any other personal info just your name, an alias you would like to use, and a password.


Features:

Dashboard
The dashboard gives you a quick snapshot of how your finances have been faring for the last 30 days.






Widgets
The "Projected Spending Total" is a projection of what your total spending will be one year from today. Compare this figure with your yearly salary to see if you're saving enough money. Will you be able to buy that new car, or move to that better apartment?















Do you ever look at your bank account balance and wonder when you'll finally be worth $10K, or be worth $20K, or be broke? The "Milestone Countdown" lets you know when your net worth will reach a certain value.










Add Transactions Manually or Import Bank Files
Adding transactions into expensr is easy. If you want to record transactions on a day-by-day basis, we've made it straightforward for you to add them with our simple Add Transaction window. If you'd rather just grab your data from the bank, we also allow importing of bank files with our easy and secure uploader.









Auto-Categorize Transactions with Filters
Filters makes expensr even easier. You can specify that Safeway transactions should always be categorized as Groceries and Macy's transactions should always be Clothing. Now if you ever enter or import a transaction that has Safeway in it, it's automatically filed as Groceries for you.














Mix and Mash to your heart's content
You can view your transactions in almost any way you could possibly think. Filter by date range, accounts, and categories. Sort by Date, Name, Category, Account, and Amount. Quickly find what your largest expense this month was, or see what your food expenses were last month.


Category Pie Chart
The pie chart lets you compare the amount you've spent on each category. Check out which categories dominate your expenses so you can see where there's room to improve (this user is spending over half their money on Food, and might be able to save a bit by eating out less frequently). You can look at any number of interesting comparisons, like your spending on Groceries vs. your spending on Restaurants.


Timeline Bar Graph
The bar graph lets you see how your spending has changed over time. You can graph any combination of categories, allowing you to analyze your overall spending patterns or just your spending on Food. This user's trend is perfect - every month their expenses are going down!


Budgets Dashboard
You can set a budget for any of your categories. The dashboard lets you quickly check the status of all your budgets: see how much you've spent, how much money is left (or how much your over), and get a quick bar graph visual of how your budget is faring.


Budget Details Graph
For each budget you can see a detailed graph of that category's spending accumulation. This is very useful in cases where you exceeded your budget, since you can see the exact day that you went over. This user exceeded their Books budget early in the month - knowing this will help them decide how to budget (and spend) next month.

How To: Begin Funding your Financial Security

Here is a summary from a Yahoo personal finance how to guide. Click on summary to go to the whole article.

Summary:

  • Outstanding debt is one of the biggest obstacles to saving.
  • Disability insurance is a major safeguard against financial trouble if you're out of work for an extended period.
  • Most experts recommend saving at least three months' worth of living expenses in case income stops. An easy and painless way to fund an emergency cash account is through an automatic savings plan.
  • Money-market funds are a potentially higher-earning alternative to bank savings accounts. But money-market funds can technically lose money (though they have met their financial obligations), and yields will fluctuate, unlike savings accounts. Also, savings accounts are FDIC-insured.
  • Tax-advantaged retirement plans are a terrific way to help build long-term financial security

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Must See TV!

I don't know about you but every time I pick up a fashion magazine I wonder how they do it and about the business side of the fashion industry. I recently came across the Marie Claire Masthead video podcast. This podcast goes behind the scenes of the magazine and shows how its done. If you follow the link you can wathch all fifteen episodes on your computer.


August 2007: Financial Calendar


Financial Events:

August 1: Check on college insurance

August 2: Confirm vacation credit card use

August 4: Start back to school shopping

August 12: International Youth Day-Teach your kids to save

August 16: Seasonal Food buys

August 18: Start Christmas shopping

August 22: Reduce Auto insurance expense

August 28: Cut moving expenses



Monday, August 6, 2007

Buying a House: Useful Resources

Buying a House

Step 6: The offer to purchase and sale

Congratulations! if you've made it to step 6 you've jeust found your dream house but remember, the legal implications of buying a home are crucial. Before making your offer, make sure that you are fully aware and knowledgeable about the extent of the commitment.

Be aware of the extent of the commitment

The offer to purchase is a very important document that is legally binding on the parties. It is a contract in which one person offers to buy another's property under certain conditions. Never sign an offer to purchase too quickly. The offer to purchase includes all the details required to identify the property and the conditions of the transaction such as:

  • address and lot number
    amount of the deposit
    date of possession
    distribution of taxes
    length of time that the offer is valid (generally between 24 and 48 hours)
    what is included or excluded in the sale price (e.g., light fixtures, drapes, carpets, household appliances)
    approval of mortgage loan (amount, rate, term)
    satisfactory inspection of premises by an expert
    sale of your current house
    any other condition(s) deemed appropriate

What happens once the offer is made?

The seller can accept or refuse your offer to purchase. If he/she refuses a counter offer will be made which you can either accept or reject. If you refuse the counter offer, you may make another counter offer. Once an offer is accepted by the seller, it consitutes an agreement to sell.

Once an offer to purchase has been accepted, neither party can refuse to carry it out. Otherwise the seller or buyer can be sued for damages and the buyer can lose their deposit.

Upon completing the sale, make sure that your notary or lawyer has all the necessary documents on hand. Review with them the adjustment statement that details the amount that has to be signed over to the seller in order to conclude the sale. Your notary will pay the seller in your name with your funds.

Buying a House

Step 5: Home insurance

You want home insurance that will adequately protect your home and property and also includes public liability coverage.

Buying a House











Step 4: Choosing a Mortgage loan

Buying a House

Hi all, I know you've been waiting patiently for this third installment of buying a house - Your allies, so here it is.

It will become evident in your property search that you can't see or do everything yourself or with the help of friends or family.

Get the Support of a team of professionals

  • Your financial advisor:In addition to helping you choose the mortgage that best suits your borrowing needs, this professional will act in your best interest throughout the property acquisition process.
  • Building inspector: Before buying a house, make sure it passes an inspection. An engineer, building technician, architect or chartered appraiser can do the inspection and provide you with a written report. The inspector will (should) check the state of the foundations, roof, structural elements, windows, insulation and plumbing, as well as the electrical, heating and ventilation systems. A professional inspection provides you with an expert opinion on whether the asking price is reasonable regarding the quality and value of the propert, an evaluation of the cost of any repairs required and detection of hidden defects.
  • Surveyor: A surveyour prepares the certificate of location, a document required by most mortgage lenders and that contains; a description of the lot and building, any illegality or irregularity, servitudes and easments, specific bylaws or regulations that may restrict a property owner's rights.
  • Notary: The Notary ensures that the transaction is carried out in compliance with all the proper rules. The notary draws up the mortgage deed which specifies the mortgage conditions along with the rights and responsibilities of the borrower and financial institution. In addition, the notary draws up the deed of conveyance which is the document by which the seller transfers the propert title to the buyer.
  • Real Estate Agent, and Contractor

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Good Deal: Great food on a Budget



Dave lieberman shows people how to cook great food on a budget. You don't have to break the bank for fine dining.

Bank Rates' Debt Management Guide


Lucky 13 Emergency Saving Strategies

  1. Autopilot saving and bill payment
  2. After paying off debt, Keep paying yourself
  3. Enforce 24 hour rule on impulse buys
  4. Leave the Credit Cards at home
  5. Plan ahead, budget for fun
  6. Make things 'interest'ing
  7. Learn to save short-term splurges
  8. Reward yourself
  9. Remove the temptation
  10. Treat it like a friend
  11. Keep them seperated
  12. Enjoy compounding for a change
  13. Treat it like Taxes

Money Makeover

The Unnoppets( Nop and Sonya and baby Fin) have retirement accounts of $76,000, an emergency fund of $30,000 and $150,000 in real estate equity. The unnoppets currently have a combined income of $90,000. While they have great saving skills, there spending is haphazard, they don't keep a budget. They have $175,000 in medical school loans, carry two mortgages and owe $175,000 on a 7 yr. ARM. Right now Nop is only making $38,000 but when he opens his practice in 2009 he should be making $200,000/year. The couple is worried about how they will handle this increase in income. The couple will need to develop financial discipline now to be prepared for this increase in income. Generally, the more someone makes the more they tend to spend. The couple needs to cultivate good spending habits and save even more once they have a higher income. CNN Money magazine reccommended they take the following action:

  • Adopt an investment strategy - right now Sonya compares their investments to picking a horse at the Kuntucky derby ( I think a safer course is required)
  • Buy more life insurance - when Nop becomes the primary breadwinner he will need to increase his life insurance to ensure that his family will be taken care of should anything happen to him
  • Keep spending smart