The Quicken Blog
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Because of the real world, I take steps after I set my goals to help me combat the bombardment of messages that seem to demand that I spend, spend, spend. I set up a lot of noisy reminders so that my brain is forced to pay as much attention to my goals and limits as it does to opportunities to spend.
My bank offers free e-mail and text message and I take full advantage of those. If my balance sinks below a threshold I set, I get a text message. (This helps me avoid overdraft fees and reminds me that money is finite.) I also get weekly balance notices. And anytime a large transaction clears, I get an email and a text message.
I also use the text alerts at Quicken Online, which is where I set up my budget. If I’m approaching the limits I set up in my budget for groceries, sporting goods, or in restaurants, I get a text to my phone so I know it’s time to reign it in. This works well with my family, too, since the messages come out of the ether. My 10-year old will argue with me till she wears me down but a text message? How can you argue with that?
But the thing that really keeps me focused on my goals is less tangible than text messages and budgets. It was easy to stay in a budget when I was younger and living paycheck to paycheck. I didn’t have any choice; I couldn’t spend money I didn’t have. Now, though, I have what might be an endless amount of credit and a bit a of a cash cushion. Not blowing it all on vacations and cars requires that I make smart choices every day. And smart choices require mental discipline. But even with that, I let technology help me. I immerse myself - daily - in dogma that focuses on frugal living. There are lots of terrific
blogs that dispense this message along with tips, advice, information, and strategies. Check out Get Rich Slowly, Bargaineering, Festival of Frugality, The Frugal Yankees, or even my own Frugal Fridays at
GeekGirlfriends.com. As well as being a sort of functional reminder system that helps me to keep an eye on how much money I have, these tools are like my own little ad campaign for fiscal responsibility. The advertising I see in the real world, and the whining I hear from my kids and my own desires for new shoes create a fantasy that all will be well if I spend, spend, spend. Feeding the opposite message to myself helps focus me on reality.
Did I buy my daughter that bike? You bet I did. I also spent a little money on the garden. But I also skipped the movie and dinner my husband thought we deserved, started most of my garden from seed, and took a brown bag lunch to work to stay inside my budget.
Christina Tynan-Wood is a freelance writer in North Carolina. She blogs at GeekGirlfriends.com [RSS]and on Fridays, writes about frugality.
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this blog are those of the bloggers, and not necessarily those of Intuit. This blog does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice.
Tags: credit card fees, credit card bill of rights, high cost credit cards, secret credit card fees, credit card ripoffs
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Often, these charges are warranted. (There's really no excuse for being 60 days late
with a payment, is there?) But late fees aren't the only fees that creditors charge.
Sometimes, they'll impose a new fee just to boost income.
For example, one of the nation's major credit card issuers recently imposed - wait
for it - a $10 per month fee to some accounts. Outrageous, you say? So do I, and so
did many. So virulent was the blowback that the card issuer has since agreed to
refund $4.4 million in fees it had collected.
For Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com and
author of The Credit Card Guidebook, the reversal was encouraging. "Issuers have the
right to change rates and terms for any time and any reason, but cardholders still
have the right to complain," Hardekopf says.
It's good advice. Credit card companies make the most when we carry debt.
Transferring a balance, for them, means transferring revenue. Use that as a weapon in
negotiating with your company, advises Hardekopf.
"If your rates have been increased for no apparent reason, contact your issuer and
ask them to restore your original rate. Remind them you have every right to change
credit card companies if they don't change your rate," Hardekopf says.
He also suggests that consumers contact their Congressional representatives to weigh
in on legislation that would give consumers more rights in dealing
with creditors.
Activism may or may not be a good idea here because there's no consensus for what
Congress will devise in further regulating creditors. Besides, why would you want to
wait for Washington? Often, a phone and a little preparation will get you a better
deal.
Start by looking at your records. If you are tracking your credit card payments with a free service like Quicken Online -- you can easily calculate your effective
interest rate and compare it to the advertised rates that your issuer offers. The
math is easy. Simply divide your total interest paid by your average balance over the
past year.
Not sure how to calculate your average balance? No problem, let's assume April 1,
2009 as the end of your 12-month period. Revisit your card statements. Take the
closing balance for the statement dated closest to April 1, 2008 and add it to the
closing balance for your last statement. Divide by two. That's your average balance.
Next, use a service like AnnualCreditReport.com to get your
credit score. If yours is good - 700 or better, usually - your creditor will be more
likely to offer you a deal.
All you need to do is ask for one. There's the phone.
Check out this related post about checking your credit card to safeguard your identity by @bargainr.
This post was written by Tim Beyers, a regular contributor to The Motley Fool who
also blogs at The Social Writer. Find him on Twitter as @milehighfool.
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this blog are those of the bloggers, and not necessarily those of Intuit. This blog does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice.
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The tax deadline is April 15. Yes, you have just two days to file your taxes. We'll call today Tax Day Eve Eve. And, despite the fact that I work for TurboTax, I still haven't filed my taxes yet. If you're like me and procrastinate on well, pretty much everything, you're not alone. According to the IRS, 40 million people wait until the last two weeks to
file - that’s about 20% of all taxpayers.
So all you procrastinators - don't worry. Here are some tips to help you get your taxes done and your refund (the IRS says average refund is up to $2,900 this year) back quickly.
- Even as a procrastinator you have things you can do to save money on your taxes. You have up until the April 15 deadline to contribute to an IRA.
- Don't forget the charitable contributions you made in 2008. Even mileage to and from volunteering is deductible.
- Go online. You can go online to prepare and e-file your taxes up to the 11th hour - it's fast, easy and convenient. Plus, if you have a pretty straightforward tax situation like me, you can even prepare your federal taxes online for free - every dollar counts right now.
- E-file. You can avoid the long lines at the post office and can get a refund back in as little as 8 days with direct deposit. Hint: most online sites let you e-file your taxes for free.
- Not going to make the April 15 deadline? File for an extension. You will get an extra 6 months to file (to Oct. 15, 2009). But remember - an extension to file is NOT an extension to pay taxes. If you owe money, you will need to pay your tax bill by April 15, or face penalties. Some of the big online tax preparation sites even let you prepare and e-file your extension online for free.
On a fun note, here is a list of the Top 10 most Tax Procrastinating Cities from TurboTax (my excuse for why I still haven't filed - I live in San Diego):
- 1. San Francisco
2. Houston
3. New York
4. Chicago
5. San Diego
6. Phoenix
7. Seattle
8. Los Angeles
9. Dallas
10. Las Vegas
This post is by Ashley Kirkendall, TurboTax employee and tax procrastinator extraordinaire.
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Sell Some Personal Items
Most people have a lot of stuff that just collects dust in the garage or the basement that is no longer being used. While we always think we'll have a need for that old guitar or nostalgic video game system, they are probably just taking up space. Think about the things you have sitting around that are no longer being used. Consider having a yard sale or even place items for sale on eBay or on Craigslist to make some extra money. While selling just one or two items for $20 won't work miracles on your debt, selling a few dozen items for $20 will. Not only can you find some extra cash to apply towards your debt, but you'll also remove some clutter from your house or garage.
Sell Non-retirement Investments
If you have some investments in regular taxable accounts, these may be good candidates for some extra cash. Some common investments are savings bonds that may be earning very little interest, CDs, or even a few shares of stock that were given as a gift. While any gains on these investments are taxable, compare the total amount of tax you’ll pay compared to the
amount you'll save by reducing the debt. Before selling any investments, make sure you understand the tax implications. In addition, if your investments are tied to the market and are now worth even less than when you bought them, weigh the pros and cons. Taking a big loss only to pay down some debt may not make sense right now, but if the market recovers and you regain some of the value, it might make sense to sell down the road.
Cancel Subscriptions
The monthly subscription is a serious drain on anyone's budget. Each subscription itself seems small and very affordable. $5 per month here, $20 per month there, that's no big deal. While any one subscription may not seem like much, when you have ten or more of these subscriptions each month, it can literally cost you a few hundred dollars a month. Canceling or even just downgrading a handful of your monthly subscriptions can free up a nice chunk of change each month that could be applied to your debt. Are you paying $60 each month for an 800 minute mobile phone plan when you never go over 500 minutes? Are you
receiving the weekly edition of the newspaper when you really only have time to read it on the weekends? Are you receiving magazines that do little more than collect dust before hitting the recycle bin? These are all items you can downgrade or eliminate and free up money to apply towards debt. Take a few minutes and write down all of your monthly subscriptions such as cable, internet, phone, publications, gym memberships, and so on. Then add up how much you’re spending each month on everything and see where you might be able to make some changes.
Don't Stop Here - Get Creative
These are just a few suggestions to get you thinking about where you can free up a few dollars in your life. It isn't easy and money is tight for everyone these days, just being able to find ten ways to save $10 each month can cut your debt repayment plan by months or even a few years, and save you hundreds or thousands in interest over the long run.
So, where can you find extra money to pay off your credit card debt?
This post is by Jeremy Vohwinkle, a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, founder of Generation X Finance [RSS] and the financial planning writer at About.com.
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this blog are those of the bloggers, and not necessarily those of Intuit. This blog does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice.
The 2009 Webware 100 Awards voting starts on March 31, 2009 at noon PST and will end at noon PST on April 30, 2009. On May 19, CNET will announce the winners. If you think Quicken Online makes your money life more productive, please vote for us!
Here is a list of previous winners.
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Several years ago, one of my employers did a routine background check that included pulling my credit report from one of the three bureaus. They were confirming that the details on my resume matched the details on my credit report, which is common for companies in that industry. They discovered that in addition to living in Pittsburgh, PA for college, I spent some time living in rural Pennsylvania a hundred miles away from Pittsburgh. The only problem was I didn't live in rural Pennsylvania. Ever.
I joined the many millions of Americans who had errors on their credit reports. I was very fortunate because I wasn't apply for a loan. Even if I were applying for a loan, the erroneous information wasn't negative. My identity wasn't stolen, I didn't have mysterious lines of credit, and the appearance of an unknown address, while inconvenient, didn't hurt me in anyway. Getting it removed was a pain though and took about a month of calls, faxes, and emails because I had to prove I didn't live at that address.
CC Image Courtesy of Jeff Keen
This underscores the critical importance of checking your credit report every year. I was diligent about keeping my identity safe (for good tips on that, check out the government's ID Theft site). I was smart about who I gave my information out to and it shows, I haven't had any problems with ID theft. The one thing I couldn't control were the weaknesses in the voluntary credit reporting system companies rely on for credit information. That's why you should check your credit report every year.
Always use AnnualCreditReport.com. It's the website set up by the government to help you get your credit report from the three bureaus. Don't go anywhere else to get your report.
Stagger your requests. There are three bureaus, so I make a request to one of the three bureaus every four months . In January, I request one from Experian. In May, I request one from Transunion. In September, I request one from Equifax. When January rolls around again, I request another one from Experian because the once a year clock has reset. This means that I'm only three months away from having a fresh copy of my report. Each bureau keeps their own copy of your report but this gives you the best chance at seeing the errors as quickly as possible.
You won't get a credit score. The bureaus will not give you a credit score associated with your report because they aren't required to, for that you'll have to buy it from them or go through a third party service. There are sites that give you free credit score estimates and the accuracy of the free credit score estimates is decent, so I'd use the estimates unless you are getting a loan and want to know for sure.
If you haven't requested your report lately, I recommend you do that today so you can catch the errors as early as possible (it's estimated that 70% of credit reports contain at least one error!).
This post is by Jim Wang, personal finance guru behind the Bargaineering blog [RSS].
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this blog are those of the bloggers, and not necessarily those of Intuit. This blog does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice.
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Do you have a budget? If you do, why do you budget? If you don't, then why not? When talking about living on a budget, people sometimes mistakenly equate it with living cheaply. Living on a budget instead means your spending is organized and planned. For those who live paycheck to paycheck, a budget is the tool that will prioritize spending and, thus, help them get a handle on finances. It will help them cut costs, prepare for the unexpected, gain control of spending, start to save and, eventually, build a safety net for the future. Budgeting itself seems to be a tedious job, but the long-term benefits are far more rewarding over than the short-term inconveniences creating a budget might cause.
What You Need to Know Before Creating Your First Budget
Before creating your very first budget, there are a few things you need to do.
- First, understand where you are today so you can plan for where you want to be tomorrow.
- Second, examine your current spending habits so you know where your money went.
How to Create a Budget
A budget consists of three parts: monthly income, monthly expenses, and whatever is left at the end of the month. In case you are not up to the task of creating your family budget from scratch, you can easily find many ready-to-use tools to get you started quickly, some of which are free. But before you invest in financial software, make sure you check out free tools first to see if any of them can meet your needs.
You can create a budget manually, or use free tools to automate categorization of your spending if you’re already using online banking:
- Manual budgeting:
While it's much easier to figure the exact monthly income from all sources, knowing where your money went isn't going to be easy, especially if you have never tracked your spending before. A good place to start the process is your file cabinet where you keep your monthly credit card bills, bank statements and all the other bills. By examining a few months of history, you can gain a sense of how much you typically spend on each category so that an achievable, realistic budget can be built accordingly. If you are savvy enough, you can create the simplest budget with a spreadsheet. To make things easier, Google and Zoho offer free spreadsheet templates. You'll have to take a few preliminary steps to manually create a budget in a spreadsheet. Collect the files from your financial bills, statements, and begin categorizing all of your expenses (such as utilities, groceries, insurance, clothes, dining out and entertainment) to figure out where and how you spent your money. Next, group spending into broader categories like obligations, necessities, and allowances.
- Automated budgeting:
Free finance services like Quicken Online (here's a brief review of Quicken Online if you are not familiar) are excellent tools for creating, analyzing, and managing your budget easily. Selecting a tool is the first part, but making sure you use it to reach your money goals is the most important step. You can buy the most powerful budgeting software out there, but it will just be a waste of money if you can't make it work for you. If you’re at the beginning of your financial journey, free services are a great place to get started with the basics.
Evaluate Your Budget and Stick to It
Setting up your budgeting and entering the numbers you want to see in it aren't the end of the road. In fact, it's just the beginning of a long journey to financial freedom. What you have just finished is an easy job. Following your budget month after month, year after year is the hard part.
Many people blame the negative attitude they take towards their budget for their failure because tracking down every penny sent isn't an exciting job. Not seeing quick results is discouraging. It could even make you wonder whether a budget can really help you meet the goals you set for yourself. Unfortunately, there's no other way around it. If you want to see the results (the vacation you want to take or the new car you want to buy), then the best course of action you can take is sticking to your plan and constantly evaluating your progress. Compare a full month’s spending against your projections and identify areas where you can improve and revise your budget. That's the process of balancing your budget and it's also not an easy task because it may require cutting back on things that are not necessary. Through budget balancing, you make sure that your spending doesn't go over your income while your savings goals are still adequately funded.
A good budget is both a process and a product. Budgeting doesn't have to be stressful. To the contrary, it will be financially rewarding in the long-term. Be creative and innovative in allocating where your money should go. Once you reach a goal through careful budgeting, treat yourself to a small celebration. If the goal is a special dinner for two you've long-planned for, go ahead and take it because you have earned it.
This post is by Sun, personal finance commentator behind the Sun's Financial Diary [RSS].
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this blog are those of the bloggers, and not necessarily those of Intuit. This blog does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice.
I'm getting grossed out just thinking about it. But it's also made think about the value of the penny and saving in general. I recall super investor Warren Buffett offering his perspective on saving and frugalness once. He said if finds a penny, he still picks it up.
That sounds downright folksy and goes right along with Buffett's personality, if you know anything about him. But, of course, the idea of a nearly-eighty-year-old billionaire picking up loose change on the sidewalk sounds completely ludicrous.
Or is it? Because in the end, saving money is really about attitude. It starts with that first penny, or that first dollar, and with confidence that you can add to it and make it grow a little more each month and each year. Heck, start with $100 today. Add $100 every month for 50 years at 8% interest (actually a little below-average return for stocks if you don’t count the current mess we're in) and you end up with a stash of nearly $800,000. Parents, take notes for your kids!
That's a lot of pennies. And it starts with picking one up and putting it in your pocket, saving it, and making the commitment to keep doing it year after year. You don’t need a lot of money, you just need perseverance. Think about that the next time you drop some loose change in the "give a penny-take a penny" cup at 7-Eleven.
CC Image by snoflaAccording to a recent MetLife survey, 50% of Americans are one month away from financial instability. Bottom line: if half of americans were to lose their jobs tomorrow, they'd have less than a month's wages saved to carry them through unemployment. Yes, it's St. Patty's Day, and we just wanna have fun but we can't keep living like sudden unemployment is impossible any longer. It's happening at an increasing speed. Luckily, being prepared can be broken down into two simple categories:
- 1. Knowing what you have
2. Knowing what you've got coming
Knowing what you have If you're living paycheck to paycheck (or close to it) you need to take inventory of your net worth and cash on hand. If you're spending more than you're making, or not allowing for some padding in your savings account, it's time to reassess. Ask yourself: what if the car broke down, or the roof collapsed, or worse, a sudden medical expense comes up? It's these large expenses that can land us in a personal finance pit that just gets harder to dig out of as time goes on.
Track your expenses and find ways to save: PC World has collected some great tools to get finances in order, learn how to save, and find new jobs. Start networking: Your personal and business connections have value--join a site like LinkedIn and find others in your profession, or if you're job hunting, put the word out on your Facebook Page. Don't hesitate to drop an email to people from your past, asking for leads and updating reference requests. Starting this now will help you later - plus a promise to pay it forward never hurts (should they ever be in a job-hunting situation).
Create an emergency fund: Most experts say we should have three to six months of expenses saved-find out what this number is for you and start saving; you'll be thankful if you ever need it.
Knowing what you've got coming So, you walked into your manager's office, and walked out unemployed. Don't panic.
Severance Pay: Severance packages are usually offered if you've worked for your company for a certain length of time; these packages can include a few paychecks, and in some cases, unused vacation and sick days. Check with your company now to find out what you're entitled to. If you're lucky enough to get a severance package, make it last.
Unemployment Benefits: If you've been laid off, unemployment benefits can bolster you until you've found a new job. Check out the Department of Labor for broad information, search the Web for unemployment benefits in your state (eligibility may vary).
Referrals and References: Sure, you're upset, but when you get over the initial shock, be sure to ask your boss for a letter of reference or even a referral to another company in your industry. An extra push at the beginning of your job search may be enough to single you out amonst your collegues.
Medical Insurance: If you've lost your job, you've likely also lost your medical insurance. The easiest thing to do is to see about joining your spouse's insurance plan if you're married and they've got benefits. Otherwise, look into COBRA. COBRA can extend your health insurance coverage while you're unemployed. You'll have to cover the premiums yourself (your employer typically covers these) but the premiums are likely to be far less than a medical emergency without insurance.
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A CD ladder is a certificate of deposit ladder. A certificate of deposit is a type of account you have at the bank where the bank will agree to pay you a certain interest rate for an agreed period of time. Let's say you saw a 2.50% APY 12-month CD, that means the bank will pay you 2.50% APY for twelve months. It also means you don't have access to the money for twelve months. Unlike a savings account, you lose the flexibility of accessing your funds whenever you want and replace it with a guaranteed interest rate. With how quickly rates are falling these days, locking in a good rate is very important. In extraordinary circumstances, you can always close your CD and get your money back if you pay a small penalty, usually 3-6 months worth of interest.
Now that you know what a CD is, what is a CD Ladder? A CD ladder is where you open multiple CDs for different periods of time so that they end in different months. In a 12-month CD ladder, you would open 12 different CDs with 12 different periods - a 12 month CD, an 11 month CD, a 10 month CD, etc. After one month, the 1 month CD will end and you take the funds and put them into a 12 month CD, thus continuing the cycle. It's a ladder because each of the CDs is a rung on your ladder. The end result is that each month you have at least one CD maturing so that you can spend it if you are in an emergency. If you don't have an emergency, you simply reinvest in another CD.
Why would you do this? You get a higher guaranteed interest rate while maintaining access to your money. What's nice about having online banks is that many of them have very low minimums to open a CD. Walk into a regular bank and you might need $1,000 to open a CD. At some online banks, you only need $1! You could open a CD with as little as $12.
What's the catch? Many banks only offer 12 month and 6 month CDs, so in the beginning you'll have to do a little extra work to get the ladder build. In the first month, you'll want to buy a 12 month and a 6 month CD, keeping the rest of your money in the high yield savings account. In the second month, you'll want to buy another 12 month and 6 month CD because your first two CDs will now be an 11 month and a 6 month CD (since a month has passed). In the third month... I think you get the idea. When it's all said and done, you'll have the CDs and only have to buy a new 12 month CD each month.
I would avoid buying CDs at different banks because it'll become very difficult to manage the different accounts. I would pick the one with the best 12-month CD rate and work backwards from there. In the end, you will only get confused if you have a 12 month at Bank A, a 6 month at Bank B, etc.
This post is by Jim Wang, personal finance guru behind the Bargaineering blog [RSS].
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this blog are those of the bloggers, and not necessarily those of Intuit. This blog does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice.
 | March 2010 |
