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How To Find Money Management Success – Create a Dashboard

May 17, 2015 by Average Joe Leave a Comment

I just answered a question on Facebook about a recent podcast interview featuring some bill pay app creators. My interviewees had discussed just how difficult it can be to quickly and efficiently pay bills. “I don’t understand the problem these guys are presenting,” the poster said (I’m paraphrasing….). “I just go to my bank and use their bill pay app every other week. No problem.”

I wish it were that easy for everyone.

Let’s face it. Most of us have one big problem with our financial profile: we’re disorganized. After 16 years in the financial trenches, I’ve seen it far too often to think it’s anything other than a widespread problem. Most of us pay bills on sixteen different sites and have two old 401k plans with former employers, our current job’s plan AND different 529 plans for each child. It’s impossible to manage everything. I’d ask people with all of these different investments and bill paying problems how they juggle everything, and the answer I most often heard was, “I manage it very poorly.”

Yet moving investments to a single provider is a scary proposition. We’ve all heard of Bernie Madoff and don’t want to trust one person with our money. We also have all heard of diversification. Having different plans ensures that I won’t have all of my eggs in one basket.
So we have two problems: safety and diversification….and the fact that by having your assets spread out it’s impossible to track. How do we reconcile these two ideas?

It’s easier than you think.

dashboard

Could you drive a car with three different dashboards?

Think About Driving A Car

When you drive a car, do you have one set of gauges or several? Of course, you only have one set of gauges. It’d be impossible to drive if you had five different dashboards. Imagine! Yet, when you think about your car, it’s a diversified collection of inputs, all working independently. However, when you put it all together, these gauges make your car easier to drive. You get the right data at the appropriate time.
That’s what we’re looking for with money management success….we don’t want to get rid of diversification. Our goal is to create a single dashboard.

In Your Personal Life

There are three areas you should look at with your money:

– Budget and bill tracking. Budgets fail when you’re making decisions about spending without knowing where your money goes each month. Items like a mortgage or rent payment and grocery bills are easy to track, but how much do you spend each week on entertainment? If you don’t track your expenses, it’s difficult to project the future or find any money management success. The gauge you’re looking for to help with daily money management is an app like Mint or Yodlee, that will automatically track your expenses so when you’re planning next week’s expenses you know how you’ve spent money in the past.

For budgets, Mint will allow you to set up alerts so that you’re notified when going over budget categories. YNAB (paid subscription) will help you think differently about your budget and keeping every area in check. People who like the old-fashioned envelope system may be attracted to MVelopes, an automatic way of instituting envelope budgets so you don’t have cash sitting around your home.

– Investments. Many apps will help you track your investment life. In particular, Mint can create a pie chart of your overall diversification so you can easily make investment decisions. Companies like Jemstep allow investors to input their goals and then recommends investment shifts. FeeX will look at all of your investments across platforms and tell you how much you’re paying in fees….an important gauge to see when investing. Zillow has a cool app that will track any real estate properties you own. NVestly is a social media site that not only helps you see results across your whole portfolio, but also makes investing social (you can see others investment pies…but not the amounts of money they have in any investment). While each of these is different, using a couple of these apps can help you make better investment decisions without worrying about having too much money at a single brokerage account.

That said, brokerage houses all offer a diversified collection of investments through different companies. Just because your portfolio is housed as Fidelity, for example, doesn’t mean you have to have all Fidelity investments. They work with a wide range of providers….and you only have to visit one brokerage site to see everything. One dashboard but still diversification!

– Big Picture. You should be able to see how your net worth is growing at a glance. Mint and Yodlee, among others, will give you that quick at-a-glance overall picture.

With Your Business or Side Gig

If you’re self employed, you’re even more crunched for time. You have your personal books AND business metrics to track. As a fan of the excellent management book The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It, I know that the keys to business success are in systems and data. How much data you have and how quickly you can use that data to your advantage are important. That means three things:

– Platform. If your business or side-gig project isn’t build on a solid footing, you’re hurting. A web presence built by experts like 1and1.com means that you won’t have to worry about the “bones” of your business being difficult for customers or employees to navigate.

– Reporting. Using your bank’s application to track inflows and outflows (as well as setting up a Mint or Yodlee account for your business) can help you stay on top of business expenditures and inflows. Ask your accountant about great business tracking apps and software that they recommend.

Overall

Staying diversified doesn’t mean having money scattered all over. By focusing on systems, building a dashboard, and reliable business help, you’ll find that you’re able to more quickly make financial decisions that move the needle. That’s how you build long-term wealth!

Photo: Steve Jurvetson

Filed Under: Featured, Investing, Planning, successful investing, Uncategorized Tagged With: apps, Budget, cash, finance, Money

5 Ways to Prevent Identity Theft from Happening to You

May 15, 2015 by Kathleen Celmins Leave a Comment

Padlock and stack of credit cards on top of laptop

Padlock and stack of credit cards on top of laptop

It’s a sad but true reality: you are still not so safe when it comes to identity theft. In fact, identity theft tops the list of consumer complaints that are reported to the FTC every year.

But what can you do to protect yourself?

Well, actually, you can do a lot of things. They have an awesome list of what to do if it happens to you (don’t panic), but follow this list below to protect yourself from having your identity stolen in the first place:

1. Use a Password Manager

Do not use the same password for everything! Stop doing that! Instead, use a password manager (we like Dashlane), which lets you create a master password, then once you use that, the system will generate very strong passwords for every new account you create. It’s the same (to you) as using the same password everywhere, but it’s far more secure. Hey, at this point, I don’t even know the password to my Twitter account. And that’s the way I like it.

2. Watch Your Mailbox

This is tough, because you’re going to watch your mailbox to see if anything is missing. Are any of your bills going missing? Make sure you sign up for paperless billing for as many places as possible, but keep an eye out on your mailbox, especially if it’s close to the road. Identity thieves can take credit card preapprovals and sign up as you.

3. Closely Monitor Your Bank Activity

Every day, log in to your bank account, and make sure you (or the person who shares your bank account) can identify every charge. The credit card companies are likely to pick up incongruencies like ordering pizza from a city you’ve never been to, but they’re less likely to notice charges made in your own town. The best identity thieves will add small payments here and there, and see if you notice, before going on a shopping spree.

4. Consider A More Secure Way to Pay Online

Instead of your credit card, use something like paysafecard when shopping online. Paysafecard is a reloadable gift card that comes in various denominations, and when  you use it to pay online, you don’t have to enter any personal details. It’s like paying cash online, except without the purse snatchers.

5. Check Your Credit Every Year

Even when you slip in your diligence, you should set a calendar reminder to check your credit once a year. Or, better yet, sign up for a free CreditSesame account, which will check your credit, and monitor it monthly, for free.

Getting your identity stolen is a stressful and painful situation that is fun for absolutely nobody (except, of course, the person who stole your identity to eat pizza in Las Vegas at the Bellagio). An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, right?

Filed Under: Featured, Planning, Uncategorized

How to afford an investment when you can’t

September 22, 2014 by The Other Guy 2 Comments

Many Australians are finding that investment property is a great way to become financially independent, and they weren’t wealthy when they started to invest. That’s because it is possible for people from all walks of life to purchase investment property in today’s market.

Begin to Think Differently

You may think that you can’t afford to invest because you are looking for properties outside of your price range. To find properties you can afford, stop looking in the more expensive areas. Instead, concentrate on houses in a lower price range. In some areas, purchase prices are close to $1 million dollars, but you can find homes that will only cost $250,000 or less. You only need to expand your search, and you will be able to find a house that you can afford.

Start Saving Today

Buying investment property requires that you make a deposit. If you don’t currently have this amount of money, it’s time to begin saving now. Saving starts with knowing where your money is going each month. If it is important to you to purchase investment property, you will be able to make the commitment to stop spending on the things you don’t need. Then, you can send that money into a savings account instead. Remember to deposit this money into your savings account the day you receive your paycheck to ensure that it goes where you want it to go and not toward frivolous expenses.

Use Your Expertise to Earn Extra Money

You may believe that it’s not possible to cut back on your expenses at this time. You can still save for the deposit if you look into the many ways that you can earn extra cash. For example, if you are interested in painting, you could sell your wares in a little home-based business. If you have a skill like bookkeeping, you can perform this task for small businesses in your area. When you begin earning extra money from your new venture, be sure to place every cent into your savings account.

Don’t Avoid Properties that Need Repairs

Properties that have several problems remain on the market for a long time. This creates an opportunity for you. In a lot of cases, these types of homes are overpriced, so you can make the owners a much lower offer than the one they are asking. You may even be able to convince them to waive the interest on the property.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Arm Yourself with Research Before You Shop for a Car

September 8, 2014 by Average Joe Leave a Comment

Thinking about getting a new vehicle? American car companies are eager to make deals following the recession, which saw sales drop and the age of the average car on US roads rise to 11.4 years according to Edmonds. com. But overall car sales have recovered, according to Zacks.com, up 8 percent from 2012 to 2013. Financing requirements have eased as well.

If you feel ready to update your ’04 ride for a ’14 or ’15, this is probably as good a time to do it. The sales force is certainly ready for you, so it’s best you prepare to speak with them.

man standing next to a shiny new car on The Free Financial Advisor

Buying a Vehicle Requires Research

Even if you only intend to look during your first visit to a showroom, it pays to do a little research up front. Edmunds.com advises buyers to read up on negotiation skills, pricing, rebates, and car reviews.

Look at sites with broad outlooks on vehicles, such as DriveTime, CarTalk, and Edmonds. These sites aren’t affiliated with any particular car company and can afford to take a long view. Check out their Facebook pages where you can also see articles discussing various aspects of car buying, maintenance, driving advice, and more.

Finally, get a good idea of your creditworthiness if you need to finance your vehicle. Get a copy of your credit report to make sure it’s accurate. Go over your budget and compare where a new vehicle will save you money on gas, repairs, etc. Keep in mind your insurance will probably go up with a newer car. Know what you can comfortably spend.

Brush Up Your Negotiation and Geniality Skills

Edmunds strongly urges potential car shoppers to adopt a non-confrontational approach when working with car salespeople. “Part of the car-shopping process is finding the right salespeople and working with them, not against them,” Edmunds advises. Car salespeople are so universally despised that the larger culture seems to think that mistreating them is acceptable behavior. Most people, however, really don’t have the stomach for this, so go with your natural good nature.

If possible, strengthen your negotiating position with a pre-approved loan. Credit unions often provide a better overall package, according to Consumer Reports. Dealerships will usually offer either a rebate or a low or interest-free loan, but with an outside loan, you can often get both.

Another advantage of outside financing is that it will almost certainly lower your stress level because you have already taken care of the most taxing part of any major purchase. Low stress contributes to more successful negotiation.

Keep in Mind that You’re the Driver Here!

It’s easy to let the salesperson lead the conversation, but don’t let him dominate it. Here are some ideas from MSN Auto that will let you negotiate from a position of strength:

  • Settle on a price up front. Don’t talk financing or trade-in or be swayed by rebates or promises of low interest rates.
  • If you’re open to trading in your car, keep this information to yourself. A trade-in should lower the cost of a price you’ve already agreed upon, and not become part of the negotiating mix. Just be sure you know your vehicle’s value.
  • Don’t say how much you have to spend. The cars you are looking at already indicate what you are willing to spend.
  • Don’t be swayed by extended warranties. Instead, put money in an account dedicated to car maintenance or shop around for a warranty from a third party.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

How Much Will I Need To Retire?

February 18, 2014 by Average Joe 1 Comment

Ah, the age-old question.

Today I’m at American Debt Project chatting about that very topic.

Join me?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Need Cash For the Holidays? 2 Guys and Your Money Podcast 056

November 27, 2013 by Average Joe 1 Comment

Short on funds this holiday season? We’ve got you covered today with a podcast full of tips. First, we’ll help you reframe the problem. Second, we’ll help you find some ways to score enough funds to get you through the season. Third, we’ll make sure that you have a plan for next year so you aren’t strapped twelve months from now.

SHOW NOTES

<> Open

<> Jemstep.com – Try a free month of Jemstep.com when you use the offer code STACK while signing up.

<> How to Find Money for the Holidays

 

 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

7 Steps to Quickly Sell Your House – 2 Guys and Your Money Podcast

November 13, 2013 by Average Joe 1 Comment

Can’t get up for reading our awesome post on selling your house? Well, non-readers, here’s our podcast version of that story….

 

Today OG &  tackle the biggest single transaction most people will ever have in their life: selling a house! What are some of the biggest mistakes people make? Should you hire a realtor? How should you price your property?

We answer those questions and more this week.

SHOW NOTES

<> Open

<> Amazon.com – Use our neat Amazon.com link before purchasing your holiday toys and you’ll also help the podcast at the same time! Here’s the link to Amazon.com that includes our affiliate link.

<> 7 Steps to Sell Your Home Quickly

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Insurance & The Paranormal: What’s Insurable?

October 13, 2013 by The Other Guy 5 Comments

Vampires bites, zombie attacks, and alien abductions – believe it, or not, all of these things and weirder have been insured before by the infamous specialty insurance market, Lloyd’s of London. In fact, Lloyd’s covers a vast array of paranormal oddities in 200 different countries – quite a few of which originated right here in the United States. You can get your own life insurance quote with the help of GIO and their online help system.

As of yet, I’ve yet to hear about any claims actually getting turned in as a result of a loved one getting bitten by a vampire, or attacked by a werewolf, but it’s always good to be prepared right?! Right!

This ideology is what Lloyd’s has made their millions on and the true believers will gladly cover their paranormal bases – and in some cases, their legs, taste buds, and their… buckteeth? Just keep reading!

Vampires, Werewolves, & Poltergeists… Oh My!

At the Royal Falcon Hotel in Lowestoft, England, there’s apparently all kinds of paranormal menace afoot! Why else would the hotel take out insurance covering both their staff and guests should bump-in-the-night horrors come knocking? We’re not talking a small – make some headlines and gain some publicity – coverage, either. One doesn’t purchase $1.5 million in coverage for just a bit of novelty fun!

What could possibly be going on over there? They seem to have everything covered accept alien abductions – not to worry, though, there’s plenty of individuals hitting up Lloyd’s for that!

Close Encounters of the Insured Kind

Lloyd’s proudly claims to have sold over 40,000 insurance policies to individuals who either claim to have been abducted by aliens, or feel as though they’ll be taken any day. It sounds a bit crazy, but if you think about it, it’s actually kind of thoughtful – these dear souls don’t want their families left financially stranded should they get sucked up into the sky via a beam of bright light.

It’s sweet, and oddly responsible.  My question was: how exactly does one file a claim and actually prove that an abduction took place?

Well, apparently, Lloyd’s has quite the sophisticated screening and investigative process set in place before any claims will be paid. This includes a lie detector test and video documentation of the abduction and/or witnesses, who I’m sure are questioned and subjected to lie detector tests, as well.

Those Precious, Precious… Taste Buds?

I’m not sure why I put a question mark at the end of that – I consider my own taste buds very precious indeed, I’m just not sure I would go so far as to insure them! However, I’ve also never been world-famous food critic like Egon Ronay.

Back in the 1950’s, Ronay wrote the Egon Ray Guide to British Eateries and it’s still wildly popular even today – he was an authority on all things delicious and restaurants fell at his feet for a good review. With this being his entire livelihood, Ronay decided to insure his interests with Lloyd’s of London, taking out a $400,000 insurance policy on those little taste buds of his.

Honestly, I’m not even sure I know what could happen to your taste buds!

Million Dollar Legs… Literally!

In the 1940’s, Betty Grable’s legs were the envy of every woman in the world and the desire of every man; due to this, they were also a major source of revenue for 20th Century Fox. In fact, Betty Grable brought in such a substantial amount for Fox, they went to Lloyd’s to have those legs insured for a million dollars EACH!

You Ain’t Nothing Without those Buckteeth!

Said no one, ever, right? Wrong! From 1967 to 1992, Ken Dodd reigned the stage as a British comedian known for his incredibly hilarious buckteeth! He also broke the Guinness Record for telling 1,500 jokes within three and a half hours, but… who cares! It’s all about those teeth!

When Ken sold his 100 millionth record, he started to realize that his teeth were integral to his success, so he sought out Lloyd’s to insure those bad boys for an insane $7.4 million dollars!

That’s a wild story, but I just can’t help but think that there was a pretty huge open window for insurance fraud! Luckily, old Ken wasn’t in it for the money… but the funny!

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

5 Crucial Money Bridges to Cross Before You Get Married – 2GYM 048

October 2, 2013 by Average Joe Leave a Comment

It’s the 2 Guys and Your Money Podcast Day! Woo-hoo!

This week we tackle the biggest discussions you need to have with your future spouse BEFORE you tie the knot.

SHOW NOTES

<> Open

<> Hotels.com

<> 5 Crucial Money Bridges to Cross Before You Get Married

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Starting a Small Business in College? 4 Ways to Finance It

September 23, 2013 by The Other Guy 2 Comments

Most modern college students don’t think about careers until after they graduate, despite the fact that many successful businesses started in college dorms. Companies such as Google, Facebook and even Time Magazine are all businesses built by students still in college, and more are on the way. For example, GoCrossCampus is a multiplayer online game developed by students at Yale, and was one of the first “social gaming” apps. Inc.com claims notes that GoCrossCampus is played by more than 40,000 students around the world. While starting a business in college can be a fantastic start to a lifelong career, where can a college student find funding for what might be the next FedEx or Reddit?

Small Businesses Administration

The SBA, or Small Business Administration, can help startups and entrepreneurs by providing finacial aid. The SBA offers low, fixed-rate loans that can be used to fund a wide selection of businesses and are very flexible. Borrowers must apply for loans through lending bodies that are insured by the Small Business Administration, and these loans can be used to purchase stock, real estate or necessary equipment to run a small business. For starting and expanding businesses, the is an excellent source of information regarding both Basic 7(a) Loans and Microloans. While both 7(a) and Microloans are well-suited for a small college business, student entrepreneurs should avoid CDC 504 Loans, which are primarily used to finance large purchases for businesses, such as real estate and construction.

Commercial Lenders

Financing for small businesses is available through many commercial financial institutions. Small businesses and entrepreneurs can apply with either local lenders or national lenders. Commercial lenders calculate interest rates on loans based on credit score of borrowers. Zillow reports that a credit score of 850 is the best you can have, whereas a credit score of 619 or lower is considered very poor. Students seeking a commercial loan should create a business plan to present to the lender, outlining details of the business’ success and addressing questions of profit margins. By being organized, one can address the questions lenders have about the likelihood of a return on their loan.

Self-Financing

For a struggling college student, self-financing might not seem like an option, but there are many reasons to consider it. If you are employed, saving a percentage of your earning specifically to invest in your business shows you have faith in your business, which can bring hesitant lenders to your side. For college students who are the recipient of annuities or settlements, a reliable way to generate vast capital quickly is to sell off annuities for a lump sum. Settlement purchaser http://www.annuity.org reports that one of the biggest advantages to selling deferred annuities for immediate annuities is that the risk is transferred to an insurance company. Students often have more immediate resources available to them than they are aware of. By investing these resources in the early stages of a businesses development, you will find it easier to find capital from lenders and investors later.

Government Grants

Many governments, including the U.S. government, offer startups and small businesses government-funded grants in lieu of loans. Each grant has unique requirements, and as grants are funded by taxes, most requirements are quite stringent. The largest advantage to filing for grants is that they do not have to be re-paid, though many grants require that the grant recipient invest an amount of capital equal to the grant received. The website Grants.gov includes lists of grants available, as well as a grant tracking form that allows you to apply for grants and manage grant application statuses. For those looking to change the world with their college startup, grants are an extremely viable option.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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