It's far from impossible to save enough for a comfortable retirement. But these blunders could come between you and your financial security.
A comfortable retirement is definitely achievable. Yet, many people face tremendous retirement challenges because they spend years neglecting simple measures that would make having enough money in their golden years a certainty.
Here are some common ways people blow their chances of having a comfortable retirement:
Not saving enough for a rainy day. Everyone needs to have an emergency fund. But while that's a good start, you need much more than just 12 months of expenses stashed somewhere safe. People get laid off, have their salaries decreased, or their businesses shut down because of changing business climates all the time. (Are you saving enough for retirement? Use MSN Money's calculator to find out.)
Assuming your current salary will continue. It might be overly optimistic to believe that if you save 5% of your paychecks every year for the next 30 years you'll have enough to retire comfortably. You might not be making the same level of income or get regular raises for three decades in a row. That's why you can't really be saving too much unless you've already hit your ultimate retirement goal.
Failing to factor in inflation. You might think you're playing it safe by putting your nest egg in a bank account that is FDIC-insured. But earning next to nothing in interest each year can be dangerous, because inflation will erode the purchasing power of your money. It's important to select some investments that are likely to keep up with inflation in retirement and maintain diversification in your portfolio.
Not looking far enough into the future. Some people get interested in stock investing while they are young, spending hours every day trying to pick a winning investment. But when you are young, your nest egg is small, so you should spend your time trying to maximize your earnings potential instead.
As your assets grow, it is prudent to start spending more time on your investments simply because there is more to lose. There is no shame in finding an investment adviser to help you manage your money, but you should still be very much involved. You are responsible for growing and protecting your own nest egg. (Use MSN Money's 401k calculator to see if yours is likely to provide enough.)
Allowing lifestyle inflation. It's easy to inflate your lifestyle as you earn more. Just one more night out, more frequent updates to your possessions and a few upgrades will exponentially increase your expenses.
Though there are a few ways to buy a bit of happiness, too many people make the mistake of thinking that spending more money will create lasting joy. In reality, it's having the ability to spend whenever you want that will truly make you happy. Learn to control your spending, and a comfortable retirement is really just a byproduct.
View the original article here
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
The big business of 401k plans
Investors could be in for some unpleasant discoveries when a pending regulatory change brings more transparency to fund fees.
America's conversion to the 401k plan has certainly created a new world for future retirees, who have been discovering just how tricky it is to prepare for retirement in their spare time. But one party hasn't been complaining: the financial-services industry.
Though most Americans know them primarily as brokers or banks, the Fidelitys, Merrill Lynches and INGs of the world also dominate the 401k packaging business. That allows those companies to introduce millions of workers -- and $4.3 trillion of their savings -- to the packagers' own hand-picked rosters of mutual funds. In total, financial firms take home somewhere around 1% of those assets a year, and few workers understand how that money flows. (One confusing concept: "revenue sharing." More on that in a bit.) But in coming months, the shroud of mystery may be lifted a bit, as the government is expected to implement regulations for disclosing fund fees.
Lori Lucas, a defined-contribution-plan specialist at consulting firm Callan Associates, says the new rules "will improve transparency and put additional pressure on plan vendors to make fees reasonable."
What investors see once that transparency arrives might be quite eye-opening. By rough estimates, 401k fees add up to anywhere from $30 billion to $60 billion a year. Do the math and that comes to as much as $164 million every day. The companies say they more than earn that impressive income stream, given the complexities of record-keeping and accounting for tens of millions of accounts -- not to mention investing the money. In testimony to regulators, fund companies have said their 401k charges compare favorably to the costs of getting the same services outside the plan.
There's just one problem: Most employees don't or can't comparison shop. In one recent study by AARP, seven in 10 workers said they didn't realize they were paying any 401k fees at all.
"There are enormous dollar amounts involved," says former plan consultant Frank Cirullo. "Employees are getting ripped off."
Indeed, even though advisers always stress the importance of keeping investing expenses down, many 401k plans don't do so. At a midsize company, annual fees can run less than 0.3% of assets for a no-frill plan that emphasizes inexpensive index funds. The fact that the average plan member pays three times that much suggests that cost efficiency isn't high on the agenda.
Oddly enough, employers don't always know what the bill for their 401k plan adds up to. When you ask them, says Glenn Jensen, managing director of New England Retirement Consultants, "you get a deer-in-the-headlights look."
Some of the problem, according to critics, comes down to that practice known as revenue sharing. In many plans, the packager charges the employer little or nothing. But the packager maintains leeway over which investment choices get included. And it makes up its costs by steering plan investors toward mutual funds -- usually more expensive, actively managed ones -- that route a slice of their fees back to the packager. On some funds, those revenue-sharing fees alone can cost an average of $33 a year per $10,000 invested, according to human resources consultants Aon Hewitt, enough to put a serious dent in an employee's investment performance.
Critics like Ryan Alfred, co-founder and president of financial research firm BrightScope, say this arrangement effectively discourages packagers from offering lower-cost index funds, because they can't pull in as many fees. The result: Plan members pay much higher fund-management fees, yet another factor that can eat into their returns.
Fidelity declined to discuss the relative costs of its plans, but says that in some cases, employers get to decide whether they want to use a revenue-sharing system. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and ING declined to discuss costs or revenue sharing, although -- irony alert -- both companies said they were in favor of transparency on fees. (Employers and workers "should fully understand costs and get real value," Merrill said in a statement.)
Some consumer advocates are optimistic that the new fund-disclosure rules will untangle some of this mess and bring costs down. Still, problems are likely to persist. As currently proposed, the rules require packagers to disclose revenue-sharing fees to employers, but not directly to plan members, who will have to dig through regulatory filings to get them. And employees still lack straightforward ways to pressure their employers to cut costs.
View the original article here
America's conversion to the 401k plan has certainly created a new world for future retirees, who have been discovering just how tricky it is to prepare for retirement in their spare time. But one party hasn't been complaining: the financial-services industry.
Though most Americans know them primarily as brokers or banks, the Fidelitys, Merrill Lynches and INGs of the world also dominate the 401k packaging business. That allows those companies to introduce millions of workers -- and $4.3 trillion of their savings -- to the packagers' own hand-picked rosters of mutual funds. In total, financial firms take home somewhere around 1% of those assets a year, and few workers understand how that money flows. (One confusing concept: "revenue sharing." More on that in a bit.) But in coming months, the shroud of mystery may be lifted a bit, as the government is expected to implement regulations for disclosing fund fees.
Lori Lucas, a defined-contribution-plan specialist at consulting firm Callan Associates, says the new rules "will improve transparency and put additional pressure on plan vendors to make fees reasonable."
What investors see once that transparency arrives might be quite eye-opening. By rough estimates, 401k fees add up to anywhere from $30 billion to $60 billion a year. Do the math and that comes to as much as $164 million every day. The companies say they more than earn that impressive income stream, given the complexities of record-keeping and accounting for tens of millions of accounts -- not to mention investing the money. In testimony to regulators, fund companies have said their 401k charges compare favorably to the costs of getting the same services outside the plan.
There's just one problem: Most employees don't or can't comparison shop. In one recent study by AARP, seven in 10 workers said they didn't realize they were paying any 401k fees at all.
"There are enormous dollar amounts involved," says former plan consultant Frank Cirullo. "Employees are getting ripped off."
Indeed, even though advisers always stress the importance of keeping investing expenses down, many 401k plans don't do so. At a midsize company, annual fees can run less than 0.3% of assets for a no-frill plan that emphasizes inexpensive index funds. The fact that the average plan member pays three times that much suggests that cost efficiency isn't high on the agenda.
Oddly enough, employers don't always know what the bill for their 401k plan adds up to. When you ask them, says Glenn Jensen, managing director of New England Retirement Consultants, "you get a deer-in-the-headlights look."
Some of the problem, according to critics, comes down to that practice known as revenue sharing. In many plans, the packager charges the employer little or nothing. But the packager maintains leeway over which investment choices get included. And it makes up its costs by steering plan investors toward mutual funds -- usually more expensive, actively managed ones -- that route a slice of their fees back to the packager. On some funds, those revenue-sharing fees alone can cost an average of $33 a year per $10,000 invested, according to human resources consultants Aon Hewitt, enough to put a serious dent in an employee's investment performance.
Critics like Ryan Alfred, co-founder and president of financial research firm BrightScope, say this arrangement effectively discourages packagers from offering lower-cost index funds, because they can't pull in as many fees. The result: Plan members pay much higher fund-management fees, yet another factor that can eat into their returns.
Fidelity declined to discuss the relative costs of its plans, but says that in some cases, employers get to decide whether they want to use a revenue-sharing system. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and ING declined to discuss costs or revenue sharing, although -- irony alert -- both companies said they were in favor of transparency on fees. (Employers and workers "should fully understand costs and get real value," Merrill said in a statement.)
Some consumer advocates are optimistic that the new fund-disclosure rules will untangle some of this mess and bring costs down. Still, problems are likely to persist. As currently proposed, the rules require packagers to disclose revenue-sharing fees to employers, but not directly to plan members, who will have to dig through regulatory filings to get them. And employees still lack straightforward ways to pressure their employers to cut costs.
View the original article here
Monday, April 23, 2012
Texting and stock investing don't mix
It was just one line, with more information promised on the website vipstockpicks.mobi. Another text came two hours later, saying TRON "is already up 20%+ today. Get in now before the BIG news comes this week!"
With about 20 minutes left in the day's trading, a third message arrived: The stock was up 41%. The text again urged me to get in before big news came this week. About 48 hours later, there was another text, suggesting that it was not too late to act on Toron.
The truth, however, is that anyone buying stock on the basis of a text message from a service about which they know virtually nothing is making a mistake, which is why Toron is the Stupid Investment of the Week.
In fact, Toron's pick is less about the company than about the way investors found out about it; it's hard to believe any stock being pumped via text message would be a good idea for average investors.
The interesting thing, of course, is that somebody would actually trade on advice from an anonymous text, from an anonymous website, where the information amounts to "Buy now!' without any real knowledge of the company.
Michael Whitehead, Toron's president, said the company was unaware it was the subject of the text messages and has no idea who is behind the push. It's not the first time in the company's short history, however, that it was used this way; Whitehead's wife once received a spam email touting the stock.
"We want to attract investors, but not this way," Whitehead said in a telephone interview late last week. "I believe we can attract investors by moving the company forward and having some success, which would attract investors who want to be part of this for the long-term, and not somebody who is going to buy today and sell tomorrow."
Anyone who followed up on the text by going to the VIPStockPicks website didn't exactly get any real information. The reason to invest in Toron was summed up by the site: "We all know it's the big announcements that make these small gems move."
But it would be news to Toron's president if the company had a big announcement to make.
"Whoever is behind (the texts) is making that up," Whitehead said. "There is no big announcement coming right now."
Toron was organized in 2008 and according to its own filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission was "engaged in the marketing, sales and re-sales via the Internet of web domain names."
Last summer, however, the company made the completely logical decision to move from that business into "identifying and pursuing options regarding the acquisition of mineral exploration properties." At that point, it effectively went from a shell company to an operating company, although you can't tell it by the company's revenues because there have never been any, through its latest quarterly report, dated Oct. 31, 2011.
When it made the change, the company acquired "an undivided 100% interest" in 62 mineral claims in Canada. The company then underwent a 32-for-one stock split, increasing its float to 185 million shares.
View the original article here
With about 20 minutes left in the day's trading, a third message arrived: The stock was up 41%. The text again urged me to get in before big news came this week. About 48 hours later, there was another text, suggesting that it was not too late to act on Toron.
The truth, however, is that anyone buying stock on the basis of a text message from a service about which they know virtually nothing is making a mistake, which is why Toron is the Stupid Investment of the Week.
In fact, Toron's pick is less about the company than about the way investors found out about it; it's hard to believe any stock being pumped via text message would be a good idea for average investors.
The interesting thing, of course, is that somebody would actually trade on advice from an anonymous text, from an anonymous website, where the information amounts to "Buy now!' without any real knowledge of the company.
Michael Whitehead, Toron's president, said the company was unaware it was the subject of the text messages and has no idea who is behind the push. It's not the first time in the company's short history, however, that it was used this way; Whitehead's wife once received a spam email touting the stock.
"We want to attract investors, but not this way," Whitehead said in a telephone interview late last week. "I believe we can attract investors by moving the company forward and having some success, which would attract investors who want to be part of this for the long-term, and not somebody who is going to buy today and sell tomorrow."
Anyone who followed up on the text by going to the VIPStockPicks website didn't exactly get any real information. The reason to invest in Toron was summed up by the site: "We all know it's the big announcements that make these small gems move."
But it would be news to Toron's president if the company had a big announcement to make.
"Whoever is behind (the texts) is making that up," Whitehead said. "There is no big announcement coming right now."
Toron was organized in 2008 and according to its own filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission was "engaged in the marketing, sales and re-sales via the Internet of web domain names."
Last summer, however, the company made the completely logical decision to move from that business into "identifying and pursuing options regarding the acquisition of mineral exploration properties." At that point, it effectively went from a shell company to an operating company, although you can't tell it by the company's revenues because there have never been any, through its latest quarterly report, dated Oct. 31, 2011.
When it made the change, the company acquired "an undivided 100% interest" in 62 mineral claims in Canada. The company then underwent a 32-for-one stock split, increasing its float to 185 million shares.
View the original article here
Friday, April 20, 2012
What Does Trade Volume Mean?
At Money Runners Group, we pride ourselves on educating our clients – and the general public – on the ins and outs of successfully investing in stocks, whether you are interested in purchasing one share of Berkshire Hathaway, or investing in the hottest penny stocks. Our penny stock advice is pretty simple: Principals of sound investing transcend all markets. If you apply time-honored methodologies, educate yourself, and utilize common sense, you could turn a profit no matter what type of stocks you invest in. With that in mind, we would like to talk a little bit about trade volume, specifically, what does trade volume mean?
Here is a simple definition: Trade volume is the amount of shares traded among parties in a certain period of time. In many cases, the time frame is a single day, but it also can be much longer, like a week or month. It is a term that is commonly used when talking about the stock market or other financial markets, and for traders it may not seem an important statistic on the surface. But do not be fooled by the simplicity of the definition, as trade volume plays a vital role in the stock market and how it operates. How so? Because it takes into consideration securities that are bought and sold, meaning trade volume paints a picture not only for the overall market on a particular day, but for an individual stock.
Trading volume is important because it tells you how significant a price shift is, and gives clues as to how legitimate those shifts may be. Here is an example: Company A and Company B is both worth $12, but suddenly gain $5 in one day and close at $17. If the volume of Company A was 1,000,000 shares whereas the volume of Company B was only 10,000 shares, there is a much bigger shift in Company A. This could mean that the stock for Company A caused a much greater increase in investor confidence. A key here is to keep your eyes open and sniff for a pattern. If the same scenario with the same two penny stocks continues to play out, or Company B peters out a bit, then stock in Company A may be worth than a passing glance. As trading volume increases, so does the amount of investor interest – many of whom may decide to get involved, continuing to drive the price up even further. At this point, you have to ask yourself: Should I get involved now? And if I invest, am I confident this pattern will continue, making my investment worthwhile enough to sell?
Here are some other penny stock tips to consider.
As trade volume rises, so does the liquidity for traders. Remember, liquidity refers to the degree to which a stock can be bought or sold without affecting its price. If the volume is light, it may be problematic to find another party to trade against at an attractive price. Translation? You may have to buy at a price higher than you expected to originally. Again, look for patterns.
This is something else to watch for with trade volume. In many cases, trade volume for large companies may spike up to four times each year, coinciding with quarterly earnings reports. If these reports, and related announcements about the health of the company, are positive, a price increase will follow.
Finally, remember that penny stock trading does not occur in a vacuum. Trade volume and other tools at your disposal, such as the relative strength index, can be important in investing success. Do not dismiss anything that can give you an advantage.
View the original article here
Here is a simple definition: Trade volume is the amount of shares traded among parties in a certain period of time. In many cases, the time frame is a single day, but it also can be much longer, like a week or month. It is a term that is commonly used when talking about the stock market or other financial markets, and for traders it may not seem an important statistic on the surface. But do not be fooled by the simplicity of the definition, as trade volume plays a vital role in the stock market and how it operates. How so? Because it takes into consideration securities that are bought and sold, meaning trade volume paints a picture not only for the overall market on a particular day, but for an individual stock.
Trading volume is important because it tells you how significant a price shift is, and gives clues as to how legitimate those shifts may be. Here is an example: Company A and Company B is both worth $12, but suddenly gain $5 in one day and close at $17. If the volume of Company A was 1,000,000 shares whereas the volume of Company B was only 10,000 shares, there is a much bigger shift in Company A. This could mean that the stock for Company A caused a much greater increase in investor confidence. A key here is to keep your eyes open and sniff for a pattern. If the same scenario with the same two penny stocks continues to play out, or Company B peters out a bit, then stock in Company A may be worth than a passing glance. As trading volume increases, so does the amount of investor interest – many of whom may decide to get involved, continuing to drive the price up even further. At this point, you have to ask yourself: Should I get involved now? And if I invest, am I confident this pattern will continue, making my investment worthwhile enough to sell?
Here are some other penny stock tips to consider.
As trade volume rises, so does the liquidity for traders. Remember, liquidity refers to the degree to which a stock can be bought or sold without affecting its price. If the volume is light, it may be problematic to find another party to trade against at an attractive price. Translation? You may have to buy at a price higher than you expected to originally. Again, look for patterns.
This is something else to watch for with trade volume. In many cases, trade volume for large companies may spike up to four times each year, coinciding with quarterly earnings reports. If these reports, and related announcements about the health of the company, are positive, a price increase will follow.
Finally, remember that penny stock trading does not occur in a vacuum. Trade volume and other tools at your disposal, such as the relative strength index, can be important in investing success. Do not dismiss anything that can give you an advantage.
View the original article here
Monday, April 16, 2012
Selecting A Mortgage Plan
The luxurious homes have become the basic need of the modern era. Mortgaging a house is an attractive option for buyers from all walks of life to own a luxurious house. Selecting a mortgage plan remains a critical aspect in owning a house because the mortgage rates vary from plan to plan.
Since the houses are an important need, they are an attractive option for the investors to invest. House mortgages are in fact a kind of loan for the houses but it works in a different manner.
In mortgage, you get a house and you are required to pay a monthly installment of your mortgage as per your mortgage plans. These mortgages also play as a guarantee for getting any additional loans from companies.
The advent of technology has also affected the mortgage field. Now you do not have to run from office to office searching for a suitable mortgage plan. Instead all the necessary data is now just a click away. By using different websites that host a collection of mortgage plans, one can simply select the plan that suits him. All the data is sorted and sifted in an orderly manner and you are truly just a click away from your dream house.
Like all other commodities, the rates of mortgages also vary from company to company. The mortgage plans include a down payment followed by the monthly installments plan. Obviously the mortgages involve a particular rate of interest and furthermore, the interest rates may increase due to defaults and late payments.
However now one does not have to worry about the varying mortgages plan as the entire details of such deals are available online and one can easily access his choice plan.
Mortgages for houses have numerous benefits. They are ideal for the people with small income but they are equally popular amongst the rich people. Due to the varying interest rates, the investors also like to invest in the housing industry as it promises easy and befitting returns for their money. Since the houses remain one of the basic needs, there is no getting away and the business of mortgaging houses continues to flourish. Also the competing companies have played a major part in reducing the rates of mortgages for houses.
View the original article here
Since the houses are an important need, they are an attractive option for the investors to invest. House mortgages are in fact a kind of loan for the houses but it works in a different manner.
In mortgage, you get a house and you are required to pay a monthly installment of your mortgage as per your mortgage plans. These mortgages also play as a guarantee for getting any additional loans from companies.
The advent of technology has also affected the mortgage field. Now you do not have to run from office to office searching for a suitable mortgage plan. Instead all the necessary data is now just a click away. By using different websites that host a collection of mortgage plans, one can simply select the plan that suits him. All the data is sorted and sifted in an orderly manner and you are truly just a click away from your dream house.
Like all other commodities, the rates of mortgages also vary from company to company. The mortgage plans include a down payment followed by the monthly installments plan. Obviously the mortgages involve a particular rate of interest and furthermore, the interest rates may increase due to defaults and late payments.
However now one does not have to worry about the varying mortgages plan as the entire details of such deals are available online and one can easily access his choice plan.
Mortgages for houses have numerous benefits. They are ideal for the people with small income but they are equally popular amongst the rich people. Due to the varying interest rates, the investors also like to invest in the housing industry as it promises easy and befitting returns for their money. Since the houses remain one of the basic needs, there is no getting away and the business of mortgaging houses continues to flourish. Also the competing companies have played a major part in reducing the rates of mortgages for houses.
View the original article here
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Home Equity Loan
Equity Loan allows people to borrow money by pledging their house as a guarantee. The loan money is free of tax because it is not an income. The person pledging their property can receive the loan in a single payment, or is offered a check book to borrow money against the pledged property. The interest to be paid on an equity loan is much lesser than other loans because the person before receiving equity loan has pledged his/her house.
An equity loan allows a borrower to borrow money by involving collateral. The money borrowed can be paid off when the property is sold or whenever the borrower can afford to pay it back. There is no stern schedule to follow when it comes to paying back the loan. Some banks also lend money against an equity loan to facilitate the borrower.
There is no specific time slot mentioned at the time of lending the loan, as to when the person has to pay back the equity loan.
The amount can be paid off whenever the borrower has money, or once the house is sold.
The interest rate charged on an equity loan is considerably low than other loans e.g. credit card debt; because equity loan includes collateral and the other one does not.
Equity loans are easy to get as the property that is pledges can easily cover the amount of the loan being borrowed. These loans have lower interest rates, and they can be used to get whatever the loan borrower desires. The amount received on such a loan is tax deductible because it does not qualify as an income.
Another favorable point about equity loans is that a person can be eligible for the loan even if they have a poor credit score, unlike other financing loans where the person with a good credit score is considered more likely to be given the loan. A person applying for an equity loan can get fairly higher amount of money as a loan.
The most common usage of such a loan is paying for school tuition, college, and funds or paying for a holiday. In the past borrowing an equity loan was considered to be the best available option to pay for children’s education because of the interest rates being so high, but not anymore, now loans for educational purposes are a better option to pay for a child’s tuition.
Equity loans have some disadvantages as well, if a person has invested the money in a child’s college or school tuition, and they fail to pay it according to the time slot planned, the child’s future will be in jeopardy along with your home. Another factor to really think about is that now there are a lot of scams going around, where the lenders trick the borrower into pledging their house and offer very attractive deals, and when the borrowers fails to pay up, they end up losing their home.
View the original article here
An equity loan allows a borrower to borrow money by involving collateral. The money borrowed can be paid off when the property is sold or whenever the borrower can afford to pay it back. There is no stern schedule to follow when it comes to paying back the loan. Some banks also lend money against an equity loan to facilitate the borrower.
There is no specific time slot mentioned at the time of lending the loan, as to when the person has to pay back the equity loan.
The amount can be paid off whenever the borrower has money, or once the house is sold.
The interest rate charged on an equity loan is considerably low than other loans e.g. credit card debt; because equity loan includes collateral and the other one does not.
Equity loans are easy to get as the property that is pledges can easily cover the amount of the loan being borrowed. These loans have lower interest rates, and they can be used to get whatever the loan borrower desires. The amount received on such a loan is tax deductible because it does not qualify as an income.
Another favorable point about equity loans is that a person can be eligible for the loan even if they have a poor credit score, unlike other financing loans where the person with a good credit score is considered more likely to be given the loan. A person applying for an equity loan can get fairly higher amount of money as a loan.
The most common usage of such a loan is paying for school tuition, college, and funds or paying for a holiday. In the past borrowing an equity loan was considered to be the best available option to pay for children’s education because of the interest rates being so high, but not anymore, now loans for educational purposes are a better option to pay for a child’s tuition.
Equity loans have some disadvantages as well, if a person has invested the money in a child’s college or school tuition, and they fail to pay it according to the time slot planned, the child’s future will be in jeopardy along with your home. Another factor to really think about is that now there are a lot of scams going around, where the lenders trick the borrower into pledging their house and offer very attractive deals, and when the borrowers fails to pay up, they end up losing their home.
View the original article here
Monday, April 9, 2012
Set and Manage Your Budget Online Free
Having a budget and tracking expenses vs income is important for small business survival. If you are just starting out, have a one-person home business and want to save some money, here's a helpful free resource you can use.
Mint is a free online tool that you can use to manage your money. Designed mainly for personal use, there's no reason why you can't use it to help you set and track a simple budget for your small or home-based business.
Mint lets you connect your Mint account with your bank and credit card accounts, so that you can easily track your business income and expenditures and compare them with your budget goals - without wasting a lot of time.
View the original article here
Mint is a free online tool that you can use to manage your money. Designed mainly for personal use, there's no reason why you can't use it to help you set and track a simple budget for your small or home-based business.
Mint lets you connect your Mint account with your bank and credit card accounts, so that you can easily track your business income and expenditures and compare them with your budget goals - without wasting a lot of time.
View the original article here
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Best Way to Become a Money Saving Expert
One of the best ways you can turn yourself into a money-saving expert is through cutting down the cost to spend on your bills. You may not realize, if not checked, bills can really be large monsters. Having a record on your billing expenses will allow you to checked if it will dig more into your pocket. And can apply strategies how to lessen it without hurting your necessities.
How to save money on electricity bills
Electricity bills come first in line because we largely rely on electric-powered appliances. We use a lot of electric appliances every single day in our homes. These things consume a lot of energy, which is best reflected on our monthly electric costs.
With the cost of energy rising seemingly constantly, it’s worth to find ways to curb the use of electricity. Simple but often neglected energy-saving tips are a big help in lowering electricity use most especially in households. You can use time –tested formula and other creative ideas you can find. And depending on your situation, this can be accomplished without making any major sacrifices.
Here are simple ways you can apply to become more energy-efficient and save money on electricity bill:
Some appliances known to use up a lot of electricity during summer include air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers, electric fans, water pumps and entertainment appliances like TV’s and computers among other appliances.
For further ways of reducing your electricity bill, visit Meralco website and find money-saving ideas and help.
How to save money on groceries
There many things you can cut down expenses on grocery shopping. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to compromise the quality of the products that you’re going to buy. Instead, you just need to take note of certain techniques that will help you save money on groceries.
Ways to save money when grocery shopping:
How to save money on phone bills
The telephone is an essential tool inside the house as this allows you to communicate with family and friends.
Here are some tips to reduce your phone bills:
View the original article here
How to save money on electricity bills
Electricity bills come first in line because we largely rely on electric-powered appliances. We use a lot of electric appliances every single day in our homes. These things consume a lot of energy, which is best reflected on our monthly electric costs.
With the cost of energy rising seemingly constantly, it’s worth to find ways to curb the use of electricity. Simple but often neglected energy-saving tips are a big help in lowering electricity use most especially in households. You can use time –tested formula and other creative ideas you can find. And depending on your situation, this can be accomplished without making any major sacrifices.
Here are simple ways you can apply to become more energy-efficient and save money on electricity bill:
- Try to use the new compact fluorescent light bulbs rather than traditional bulbs. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) can last up to 15 times longer than incandescent light bulbs and consume much less energy. By upgrading your lighting to CFLs, you can save 10 to 15 percent on your monthly energy bill.
- Unplug appliances when not in use,specifically those which have a stand-by mode function. Simply turning these appliances off is not enough because electrical appliances/devices still consume power while in stand-by mode.Give your air conditioner or heating devices an annual check up and cleaning. This is to make sure your cooling or heating systems are running at their highest efficiency.
- Replace your major appliances or air conditioners that more than 10 to 15 years old. They are definitely costing too much to run. Modern appliances that conform to energy-saving efficiency are 10 to 20 percent cheaper to operate than other products.
- At night, turn off refrigerator’s cooling control system at night but not unplugged. This will lessen around 10% power consumption.
- If it’s a sunny day, open the blinds rather than turning on lights.
- Turn lights off every single time you get out of your room.
- Do your ironing and laundry in bulk.
- Open refrigerators only when needed.
Some appliances known to use up a lot of electricity during summer include air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers, electric fans, water pumps and entertainment appliances like TV’s and computers among other appliances.
For further ways of reducing your electricity bill, visit Meralco website and find money-saving ideas and help.
How to save money on groceries
There many things you can cut down expenses on grocery shopping. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to compromise the quality of the products that you’re going to buy. Instead, you just need to take note of certain techniques that will help you save money on groceries.
Ways to save money when grocery shopping:
- Don’t waste money on prepared foods. Instead, prepare meals ahead of time and freeze them, or double a recipe when cooking, and freeze the second for a hectic day coming up.
- Take the farmer’s market approach: Buy produce that’s fresh, inexpensive and in season. With less middlemen involved, you get good buys and your family gets the freshest food.
- A grocery store’s main aisles, like the paths to milk and bread, are usually strewn with high-priced land mines. Avoiding those pricey areas will really help.
- Try to shop when you’re alone. Those little helpers can quickly boost your bill.
- Shop early in the day. You get through the store faster with your list and spend less.
- Avoid shopping for food when you’re hungry; you’ll buy more.
- Don’t grocery shop when you’re tired, you’ll buy more sweets, more high-carbohydrates. When you’re angry you go for crunch food, the junk food.
- Check your store for a small section where they discount products that aren’t as popular as the manufacturer had hoped. This area can be a gold mine for bargains.
- Shop with a calculator. That way, you can figure whether the unit price for a case lot is really cheaper than buying one of the same item.
- Check your receipts. No matter how careful you or the store staff might be, mistakes happen.
How to save money on phone bills
The telephone is an essential tool inside the house as this allows you to communicate with family and friends.
Here are some tips to reduce your phone bills:
- Use the same plan as friends and family. Many cellphone service providers offer free in-network calls or allow you to choose a small group of in-network friends and family that you can call for free. Bundle all services. There’s great benefit when you move all of your services – cellphone, cable/ satellite, Internet and home phone to one provider. You’ll likely be rewarded with a bundled service discount.
- Go prepaid. If you only use your cell phone for occasional calls, a prepaid plan may be the cheapest service option for you.Pick a Plan that matches your talk times. Do you make a lot of calls in the early evenings? On the weekends? Mid-day? Examine your phone habits; then, pick a plan that best matches them.
- Switch to unlimited texting. Text messages can cost Php 1.00 in the Philippines to send. If you do a lot of text messaging, a plan with unlimited text messages is definitely the way to go.
- Ask for a better deal. One thing you can be sure of: Your service provider doesn’t want to lose you to the competition. So, ask for a better deal, and you’ll probably get it.
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