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Solving the Spending Mystery
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Knowing what you spend is great when it comes to budgeting. But, how do you know if what you spend is within reason? A budget calculator may be able to help you solve the mystery. There are a variety of calculators that will help you along with your budget tasks. Some provide minimal calculations, while others calculate every aspect of personal finance budgets.
A good budgeting calculator will, based on your individual data, perform the following tasks.
- Identify how much you are spending on individual expenses
- Arrive at a net income amount
- Calculate budget amounts to figure income to expense ratios
- Break down annual payments into monthly amounts
- Compare expenditures with national averages
- Help prioritize expenses according to necessity
- Set spending and savings goals
Regular monthly payments for household expenses, bills, and debt can be set up using an online bill pay service. Setting up a bill pay account will help keep your finances organized and bill payments on time. This saves money on postage expenses and late payment fees. A bill pay account could be available through your banking institution although, they may charge an additional fee for this service. Fees may be minimal compared to the money you'll save in the long run. However, before making a decision, it may worth the effort and money to review other online bill pay programs that could offer comparable pricing and include other services as well. One such service might include online personal budgeting software that incorporates bill paying into it's financial services.
Finally, you can make payments directly to most creditors using payment options available within their individual internet websites. Most credit card, banking institutions, and some department stores offer this online payment option. One time payments or automatic recurring payment options are usually available. This is a great option if you have only one or two creditors. Centralizing payments, as in the bill pay option above, is a better choice if you have numerous payments due each month. Creditors can be included in your bill pay service along with your other monthly bills.
Making payments online is a growing trend that benefits both the payee and payer. Both parties involved save time and money, and reduce (or eliminate) paperwork. The benefits of this growing trend can't be denied. So, save money, save time, and make your payments online!
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Financial News
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Successful Retirement Ranks High Among Financial Goals for Hispanic Americans Two-thirds of middle-class Hispanic Americans have savings earmarked for retirement, that's according to a new survey on the financial attitudes and behaviors of Hispanic Americans released today by Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) (PRWeb May 7, 2008)
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/05/prweb925394.htm
April 2008 Foreclosure Report Issued by Propertyshark.Com: Los Angeles, Miami, and Seattle Foreclosures Again Reach New Highs Foreclosures reached new record highs in Los Angeles, Miami, and Seattle: Scheduled foreclosure auctions rocketed higher in Los Angeles by 467% compared to April 2007, while in Miami they surged by 160%, and in Seattle by 30%, to reach two-year highs in each region. (PRWeb May 7, 2008)
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/LosAngeles/Foreclosures/prweb925574.htm
Financial Engines Issues National 401(k) Evaluation: How Well Are Americans Handling Their 401(k)s? -- Study of Nearly One Million 401(k) Portfolios Shows Lower Paid,Older Employees Making the Most Costly Mistakes Financial Engines, a leading provider of independent investment advice and managed accounts, today released The Financial Engines National 401(k) Evaluation, a new report that assesses nearly one million 401(k) participant portfolios (964,118) to determine how well Americans are handling their 401(k) plans. The report also estimates the costs associated with common investing mistakes. According to the National 401(k) Evaluation, 69 percent of participants in the study have 401(k) portfolios with inappropriate risk and/or diversification, 36 percent hold high concentrations of company stock, and 33 percent fail to contribute enough to receive the full company match. While groups of participants are taking full advantage of their 401(k) plans, participants with lower salaries, lower plan balances, and those closer to retirement tend to make the most costly mistakes. (PRWeb May 12, 2008)
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/percent/participant/prweb935514.htm
Americas Watchdog Is Offering Free Advice To All Consumers Who Were Taken In The $320 Billion Dollar Auction Rate Securities Scam Americas Watchdog is offering to help all victims of the auction rate securities scandal. The group has termed the auction rate securities debacle, "the single worst case of fraud in US history". Why is this the biggest case of fraud in US history? Over 100,000 US citizens were told by their name brand US bank, a high profile Wall Street stock brokerage firm, or a financial institution that individual investors there was no risk in something called an auction rate security, they were liquid, they were just like cash". On February 14th 2008, the auctions failed, and now over 100,000 US investors are wondering if they will ever see their money again. In this case its $320 billion dollars. This represents the life savings of most victims. Victims can call Americas Watchdog anytime at 866-714-6466 (PRWeb May 12, 2008)
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/05/prweb933324.htm
Filipinos: Cut Up Your Calling Cards -- Rebtel Is In The House Rebtel slashes rates on calls to the Philippines to just 12 cents per minute to landlines, 14 cents per minute to mobile phones (PRWeb May 12, 2008)
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/05/prweb934694.htm
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Online Personal Budgeting |
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| Mvelopes® Personal will help you easily create an online home budget, track all your spending, and always know exactly how much you have left to spend in every category. |
With Mvelopes you can:
- Access your home budget anytime, anywhere
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Free eCourse
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Let us give you a free gift! We have created a 5-Day Spending Management E-Course called Money for Life - Financial Fitness University. This powerful new e-course will help you understand your spending and achieve financial success!
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