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Posted
Aug 03 2009, 05:24 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly.
Forbes recently published an article about all the ways your laziness is costing you. As a semi-reformed layabout (Kris would say I haven't reformed at all) I read the article with interest. I recognized some of my old money habits -- and some I still have.
Author Daniel Adler writes:
These days countless businesses make hay by taking advantage of our collective indolence -- everything from not bothering to spend 15 minutes surfing the Web for a better rate on a savings account to not taking half as much time to mail a $50 rebate on a new laptop computer.
Here are some of the ways Forbes says laziness can cost you money. (The bullet points are from Forbes, but the rest of the text is from me.)
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Posted
Jul 30 2009, 03:15 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Pity the poor people in Seattle and Portland (the one in Oregon), where excessive-heat warnings are in effect.
We know that MSN Money Living With Less columnist and occasional Smart Spending contributor Donna Freedman doesn't have air conditioning in her Seattle apartment. (Donna, break out those free movie passes even if you don't like what's being shown. It would be better than wilting at home.)
But some people are deciding not to turn the AC on, says "Madame X" at My Open Wallet. It's a matter of money.
She lives in New York City, where it's been unseasonably cool, "but somebody, somewhere is having to deal with blistering heat, and that somebody, somewhere might be choosing to save money by doing so without the aid of air conditioning," she writes.
How can you make that sacrifice less unpleasant?
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Posted
Jul 13 2009, 07:58 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from "vh" at Funny about Money.
If you're in debt, you're not alone. AARP recently published the results of a poll (.pdf file) in which respondents were asked what proportion of their monthly income their monthly debt obligation amounted to.
Nineteen percent of adults under 50 said they owed more than their monthly income. That's almost one in five Americans. We old buzzards weren't much better off: 14% of people 50 and older were in the same boat.
Among the younger set, 24% saw about three-fourths of their monthly income go to debt service, and 25% spent about half their income on debt. An incredible 26% of us dinosaurs said we spent 75% of our pay on debt.
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Posted
Jul 13 2009, 06:56 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly.
Beginning this month, Microsoft Money is no longer available for purchase. Microsoft has essentially conceded that there's no demand for the product. From the Web site:
With banks, brokerage firms and Web sites now providing a range of options for managing personal finances, the consumer need for Microsoft Money Plus has changed. After suspending annual updates of Money Plus in 2008, Microsoft is announcing today that we will no longer offer Microsoft Money Plus for purchase after June 30, 2009.
Now that Microsoft has thrown in the towel, where does that leave existing users of Money and Money Plus? Some of them are worried. I've received several e-mails about this recently, including this one from Lee G.: "Microsoft just left us in a lurch by killing Money. Any suggestions on finance software? I'm not really a fan of Quicken, but would entertain it."
First, it's important to note that Microsoft intends to support Money Plus at least through Jan. 31, 2011. Until then, you can still get stock quotes and use the software's bill-pay feature. After that time, the online functions may (read: "probably will") expire. If you're a Microsoft Money user, you still have 18 months to find a replacement. The Money FAQ offers this helpful advice to guide you (Microsoft publishes MSN Money):
A number of online personal finance management and planning tools are available, many for free, on the Web. Other software solutions may be for sale from companies other than Microsoft. For general account information and transactions, your bank Web site may provide the best solution.
It would have been nice if Microsoft had provided a list of these "personal finance management and planning tools." Since they didn't, I spent a couple of hours surveying the current options. Here are 16 powerful personal-finance programs to take the place of Microsoft Money:
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Posted
May 28 2009, 10:15 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
If you've read a personal-finance blog from time to time, you know about the great debt debate: Do you pay off the smallest debt first, à la Dave Ramsey's debt snowball, to get that psychological boost, or do you pay off the debt with the highest interest rate, which makes mathematical sense?
How about neither? Ack! we can hear both sides saying. (Proponents on each side feel very strongly about this.) Or, rather, how about incorporating the best of both?
Baker at Man vs. Debt introduces what he calls the debt tsunami, which draws on the strengths of the seemingly contradictory points of view.
But, first, you've got to have your own underwater volcanic eruption -- as he says, you've got to decide you hate debt -- to get the tsunami rolling.
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Posted
May 28 2009, 08:13 AM
by
Catherine Holahan
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
 The family dog is the latest casualty of rising foreclosures.
As more families are forced to sell their homes, an increasing number of pets are being left behind in shelters or, worse, empty houses. Though it is difficult to put an exact figure on the number of abandoned pets, shelters across the country say they are seeing double-digit percentage increases in the number of animals left in their care. The Humane Society estimates that more than 3 million animals will be euthanized this year.
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Posted
May 14 2009, 10:50 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from Mr. ToughMoneyLove at Tough Money Love.
Have you ever asked yourself: Is this as good as it gets? If not, maybe you should start thinking about that question now.
Some pundits are already calling the beginning of the end of the recession, including exhortations to aggressively buy into the current (sort-of) rally in the market. That may be good for investors willing to take on risk once again.
Wage growth may stagnate or decline
But what about those who depend more on employment income to maintain a sense of economic well-being? Maybe they are fortunate enough to have a job but are hopeful that better jobs and increased wages are in their future. Unfortunately, for some of them, this may be as good as it gets.
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Posted
May 01 2009, 01:41 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
It was the budget, with the spreadsheet, in the library -- that's what killed your finances.
The dictionary defines a budget as "an estimate, often itemized, of expected income and expense for a given period in the future." Budgeting, the quintessential money-management tool, should identify where we spend our money so that we can make better spending choices. While there is no one right way to budget, the purpose of any budget should be to give us the information we need to make smart spending decisions.
But what if it's your budget that's killing your finances. Imagine, you take the time and effort to prepare a budget in the first place, and the budget ends up causing more harm than good. Or at the very least, your budget doesn't get you the results it should.
To help you avoid this, and to maximize the benefit of your budget, here are seven budgeting pitfalls and how to fix them:
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Posted
Apr 21 2009, 05:23 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.
April is Financial Literacy Month and, as part of this month of financial education, I thought I'd go back to the basics with this edition of the Foundation Series. This post explains something I think everyone should integrate into their personal-finance routine -- budgeting.
Budgeting is one of those activities that sound like a hassle, even if you're a numbers person. But I guarantee that you will benefit tremendously from learning how and implementing your own budget.
What is a budget?
Merriam-Webster Online defines a budget as "the amount of money that is available for, required for, or assigned to a particular purpose." Whether you keep record of that money in a little notebook or in a complicated Excel spreadsheet, your budget is an allocation of your money to your monthly expenses.
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Posted
Apr 02 2009, 02:23 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Fast-food giant McDonald's may not have a "dollar" menu at its 1,200 restaurants in the United Kingdom, but it has something even better for the long-term unemployed -- jobs.
One in four vacancies at McDonald's in the UK are being set aside for people who've been out of work for more than six months. Mickey D's hopes to hire 6,000 such people in a partnership with the government's Local Employment Program.
How is this going over? After all, it's not the job many aspired to when they finished school. "Many a teenager has been warned that they'll ‘end up flipping burgers' if they don't do well in exams," The Huddersfield Daily Examiner observed.
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