0 Spend

but my parents have been managing mine for the last few years that I’ve been working full time. My mother is a manipulating money hungry control freak and won’t even let me have my own bank account.

I just want to get a survey here to understand how hard it is to manage one’s finance so my heart can prepare for what to come. This is really scary for me.

Managing your own finances isn’t hard as long as you are cautious and don’t do something really really stupid. First I would find the best bank in your area and when you go and talk to them about an account then tell them your situation. If you explain that this is your first time doing this yourself, then they may be able to give you advice, pamplets, etc. Utilize online banking if they offer it and check it often as well as keeping track of where every dollar goes in either a personal steno pad or your checkbook. I personally keep an Excel spreadsheet with my finances. The something stupid I mentioned is don’t get taken by creditors. If you have to get a credit card then get ONE. And only use it during emergencies, etc. As one who is recovering from debt, you do not want to be in it. If you have a credit card, set it up on automatic payments so you know you will always be current. If you get a store card (Macy’s, Victorias Secret, etc.) just know that their APRs can be 20-29% a year depending on the card. That is crappy, if you must have one (coupons, etc.) then pay off the balances as soon or as quickly as possible. Also try to plan out your finances. You probably know roundabout how much you make per pay period so then you can figure out what needs paid when and how much you may need to save, etc. This is pretty much making a budget. Try to have targets for your different types of spending: 200/mo. for food, 200/mo. for gas, 100/mo for credit cards, 100/mo for savings, get the idea? Then once you know that, you can curtail different categories if the money is needed for something else.

It probably was confusing but I hope I helped a little bit. Also the only emotional part of it I could see would be starting out, getting everything settled, and then of course if you run into hard times. Other than that it isn’t bad.

If you could have any application on your IPhone to help you with your personal finances what would it be? I’ve had issues keeping my finances straight despite trying checkbook apps and various budget apps. I’m wondering what works for other people.

I wouldnt use ANY finacial app on a cell phone or PDA of any type.

Seeing how easy they are to lose or get stolen, why subject yourself to having your personal information compromised???

I need this to to do my personal finance as well as manage my checkbook over my phone. COuld you guys help with any suggestions?

Try Quicken Online

http://quicken.intuit.com/online-banking-finances.jsp

The application and your data are online. There is also phone / PDA access.

checkbook plus download my banking and credit card information to that will automatically create a picture of how much money i am spending each month verses savings and categorize my expenses easily. i was hoping this would help me to include my wife in on our personal finances by printing a report on a monthly basis to show where we are spending our money and how much, if any, we saved. whats the easiest software for this?

There are a number of financial software programs that will service your needs, ie. Quicken, Quickbooks, MS Money, etc., the main thing is you need to find one that is compatible with your financial institution…not all of them are. My advice is to contact your institution and find out if any of these programs are compatible with their Internet banking system. Good luck with this, good to see someone who likes to monitor their spending habits, my bet is you won’t be going bankrupt any time soon.

Personal finance software helps you balance your checkbook and manange your finances. What is the name of a popular personal finance program?

what is wrong with a pen and paper works real great if the electric goes off!!!

I am searching for a personal finance manager software. nothing complicated .. i only need to track my money, where it comes in where it goes, debt etc.

Hi – I’m an accountant. Steven is correct – you may already have Excel on your PC and if so then you’re all set. Just set up a spreadsheet like a check register. There are also lots of free templates that you can find online (including the Microsoft website) for Excel to track your money and budgets, etc.

But, if you want to purchase something a little more sophisticated then I would suggest Quicken. The basic version is fine for tracking your expenses, budget, and balancing your checkbook. You can set it up to automatically download transactions from your bank account too. Microsoft Money is another similar program but I don’t care for it as much.

What is your least favorite personal finance task? Is it creating and maintaining a budget, paying bills, analyzing your monthly spending, managing your health care expenses, keeping your financial documents organized, balancing your checkbook, or something else?

Which (if any) of these tasks would you consider outsourcing to a financial professional if you had the opportunity?

I generally love personal finance tasks, so this is like "what is your least favorite ice cream?" Here are my least favorites:

1. Budgeting – I don’t do it, my savings are automatically deducted and I spend the rest (I usually do have a lot left over, though).

2. Portfolio choices – Seeing those negative signs on your investments is tough.

I wouldn’t outsource anything to a financial planner; I know more about finances than most, though.

Setting a personal budget is a great way to start getting out of debt and saving money. Get personal budget tips with help from host Alexis Guerreros in this free video clip.

Expert: Alexis Guerreros
Contact: www.alexisguerreros.com
Bio: Alexis Guerreros graduated college with two degrees in business, and worked his way up to management in a Fortune 500 company.
Filmmaker: Victor Varnado

Series Description: Finance is a term that describes a lot more than just putting away a few dollars each paycheck. Get tips and answers for all your financial queries with help from host Alexis Guerreros in this free video series.

Duration : 0:1:32

Read more…

any tips or tricks to writing a budget for personal finance.?
any samples of budgets out there?
any suggestions?comments?analysis?advice?
It will be my first budget ever…lol

well first you got to get organized. Get your bills, Rent, and paycheck stubs. Ok. You got all that. You take your net income frome each week and you add them together. Not the gross. Thats before taxes. Just the Net Income. Okay so that is the estimate amount you got to work with. Each month can change. You subtract your rent. so whats leftover is for bills and other expenses. you just divide your money til its gone through your bills. and whats leftover if any is for fun entertainment or put into savings or checking. So some expenses is electric,phone,internet,cable,hairdresser,car insurance,car payment, loans, mortgage the list can go on and on. It depends on what you need to pay each month. So you make a list of what you got to pay. You can make a spreadsheet. basically label each expense in a collumn in another column balance it like a checkbook and subtract each expense. Pay important stuff first like rent and bills. Then food and other non important afterwards. Yet Food could be important but you got to figure how much you really can afford. well hope this helps you alittle.

I need a software program that I can use to budget all my expenses, look at where my money is going, keep all my bills paid on time, etc.

I am going to be a stay at home mom on a budget so I need a good program to help us build our savings. I also want one that isn’t too expensive?

Are Quicken Basic 2007 or Money Deluxe 2007 any good? What do you recommend?

Having used both programs, I would definitely recommend MS Money over Quicken any day of the week. Both are very similar in features, they will both allow you to create budgets, make charts of what you spent money on vs. income, checkbook regisers, online capabilities, etc. But, MSM streamlines it together much more efficiently and is much easier to use and navigate thru than Quicken. MS Money is the only piece of software that Microsoft ever did right. I use Quicken now b/c it came free with my computer, and while it isn’t terrible, its not quite as user-friendly as MSM and I do have semi-frequent problems with Quicken locking up and crashing. If you have a lot of accounts, stocks, investments, etc. etc. Quicken may be better as it has a ton of options suited for the power banker, but for the average home banker’s needs, MSM is simple, powerful, more reliable and a bit cheaper too.

Both companies offer free trials, links are below.

Hope this helps.