Web Sites
A Financial Plan for Everyone
Monday, August 9th, 2010
Do you think that having a professional financial advisor develop a financial plan for you would be cost prohibitive? The Wall Street Journal recently focused on a possible solution: online financial planning. The article mentioned two companies, Veritat Advisors and People’s Financial Advisor, that offer relatively inexpensive plans along with meetings with an advisor either ... [Read more]
The Complaint Department is Open
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
Got a complaint about something you bought? Or are you thinking about buying something but wondering how well the product worked for previous buyers? There are numerous complaint Web sites. However, as with the items criticized on the sites, some of the sites are better than others. According to a report by the Consumer Federation ... [Read more]
Trying to Catch Up in the Retirement Race
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Over half of all employed American adults feel “a little” or “far” behind in their financial preparations for retirement, according to a new survey from TD Ameritrade. The most common explanation? Respondents said they simply have no money left to save after meeting their regular expenses or they started saving too late. Many parents also ... [Read more]
The Money Saving Triple Dip
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
The recession has turned us into a nation of coupon clippers and deal seekers. Today, there are so many deals to be had it’s hard to think of anything that can’t be purchased at a discount. And with relatively little effort, you can even score multiple discounts on what you buy. My favorite way to ... [Read more]
The Great Cyberspace Marketplace
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
Looking to buy or sell something online? There are more sites to consider than just eBay or Craigslist. Mainstreet.com recently highlighted 14 niche marketplace sites. Bonanzle is for buyers and sellers of “Everything but the ordinary,” including vintage toys, artwork, and more. To buy or sell homemade jewelry, handbags, or other crafts, try Etsy. Glyde ... [Read more]
Retirement Realities Sinking In
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
American workers are becoming more realistic about their prospects for retirement. The latest annual Retirement Confidence Survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that nearly 25 percent of all of today’s workers expect to retire at age 70 or older, the highest number expecting such a late retirement since the EBRI started its ... [Read more]
The Easiest Step Toward Becoming Debt-Free
Monday, March 8th, 2010
The personal finance press is filled with articles on getting out of debt. Here’s the latest example. The article has some helpful advice. However, like most I’ve read on the topic, it misses the single easiest step toward ditching the debt, which is to fix your payments. Here’s what I mean. Let’s say you have ... [Read more]
The Good That Credit Cards Can Do
Friday, March 5th, 2010
Some say that no one should have a credit card. They argue that charging purchases puts people on the path to financial ruin. To be sure, there are people who would be better off without credit cards. However, just because some people get into car accidents doesn’t mean no one should own a car. Used ... [Read more]
A Mint.com Update
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
After putting several free online personal financial management (PFM) tools to the test last year, I became a regular user of Mint.com. I found that it provided the best package of features with the greatest ease of use. Recently I had a chance to talk with Mint founder Aaron Patzer to get an update on ... [Read more]
Protecting Yourself Online
Monday, February 8th, 2010
Walletpop recently put together an excellent list of resources for educating yourself and your kids about safe surfing on the Internet. The piece recommended a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) web site geared toward adults and a site for parents from an organization called Common Sense Media that offers guidance based on their child’s age. The ... [Read more]
Extreme Makeover: Budget Edition
Friday, December 11th, 2009
Can you think of any financial tool that is more universally disdained than a budget? Just mention the word and people conjure up images of a ball and chain. They talk about it as something one goes on like a diet. “Poor John and Sue; they’re on a budget.” Budgets even seem to be a ... [Read more]
Rethinking the Net Worth Statement
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.” – Proverbs 27:23 I’m going to go way out on a limb and guess that you may not have any sheep or cattle to look after. But you probably do have investments, a home, a car, and other stuff. All ... [Read more]
One-Stop Deal Shopping
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
An ever-expanding number of web sites offer coupons, coupons codes, and other ways to get the best deals. Now, the company behind the Ask.com search engine has rolled out a deal aggregator called Ask Deals. The one-stop shop for deal seekers taps 40 coupon sites, online promotions, store circulars, message boards, blogs, and more. To ... [Read more]
Lots of People Just Getting By
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
According to a new national survey by CareerBuilder, over 60 percent of today’s workers always or usually live paycheck to paycheck. As reported on the MSN Smart Spending blog, that’s up from 49 percent last year and 43 percent the year before. Even 30 percent of workers earning $100,000 or more say they’re living paycheck ... [Read more]
Online Tool Reviews
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
The Internet is making personal money management easier. I recently wrote a guest post for U.S. News & World Report, looking at the pros and cons of various online budget tools. I’m using Mint.com and enjoying it for the most part, but I plan to switch to Yodlee next year because it offers a few ... [Read more]
New Retirement Realities
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
Our economy has left very few people feeling confident about retirement. Just 13 percent of current workers say they are “very confident” about having enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement years, according to the latest annual retirement study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). That’s the lowest level since the organization began ... [Read more]
Top Money Web Sites
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
The Internet is filled with lots of good web sites about money. But which ones are worth a visit? One of the web’s best personal finance journalists, MSN’s Liz Pulliam Weston, recently named her 100 favorites. That may sound overwhelming, but she has them organized by subject. Just in case 100 sites aren’t enough, here ... [Read more]
Let Your Mouse Do The Walking
Thursday, April 9th, 2009
The Internet is littered with electronic coupon sites, so which ones are best? MainStreet recently listed its five favorites: RetailMeNot.com (users submit coupon codes and feedback as to which ones work); CouponCabin.com (monitors over 1,200 online stores for new coupons); FatWallet.com (has over 800 merchant partners and a cash-back feature); CouponMom.com (offers helpful free instructions ... [Read more]
Thrift Stores Thriving
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
While numerous retail chains are closing stores or putting expansion plans on hold, second hand shop sales are booming. A Chicago Tribune article explained that the recession has turned fashionistas into frugalistas. Goodwill, whose sales of donated items help fund job training for homeless and disabled people, is working hard to capitalize on the trend ... [Read more]
Online Budget Tools Put to the Test
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
Last month I mentioned that I was planning to switch from a traditional version of Quicken to one of the newer free online “financial aggregators.” The traditional software version ties you to one computer, whereas the online tools provide access via any computer. While I’m not done with my evaluation, here are a few things ... [Read more]
Calculate Your Financial Comeback
Monday, January 12th, 2009
If you’re like most people, your investment accounts took a beating in 2008. Wondering when you might recover from those losses? The New York Times has a free online calculator that’ll help you estimate an answer to that question. Of course, no one knows what future market returns will be. And a wise person once ... [Read more]
More Gift Giving Tips
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008
If you have a child on your gift list this year, buy them something that doesn’t require batteries. Such gifts usually require more imagination on the child’s part and less ongoing cost for the child’s parents. Also, do as much of your shopping as possible online. Whenever I’m shopping online I open three Internet windows–one ... [Read more]
Couponing in a Hurry
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008
Everyone knows that coupons can save you money when shopping for groceries. But not everyone thinks they have the time for all that sorting and clipping. Syndicated columnist Gregory Karp highlighted some sites that make the job easier. CouponMom.com, which is free but requires registration, enables you to easily scroll through a chain’s weekly deals ... [Read more]
Competition for Craigslist
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008
Craigslist has enjoyed a virtual monopoly in the free online classified ad industry. However, Time magazine reports that there are now two competitors–Kijiji (the Swahili word for “village”) and Oodle. Both are trying to steal share from Craigslist by making their sites easier to navigate. Oodle puts a Google map next to each listing so ... [Read more]
Rebates Made Easy
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
Ever heard of Ebates? I found out about the web site from the blog Gather Little by Little. A quick online registration process gives you access to rebates from hundreds of merchants. The rebates are typically about two to five percent of the purchase price, but can go higher. For items you’re planning to buy ... [Read more]
Click and Give
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
Did you know that just by performing Internet searches you could help support your favorite charity? As reported in the Wall Street Journal, each search through Search Kindly or Good Search generates a charitable contribution of about a penny. That may not sound like a lot, but with lots of people doing lots of searches ... [Read more]
Your Number
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Financial services company ING is heavily promoting a new interactive web site designed to help you figure out “your number” – that is, how much money you’ll need to have saved by the time you retire. I took it for a test ride, and while it gets high marks for user friendliness, it doesn’t help ... [Read more]
