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I am the payee on my father’s SSI benefit account. He may be charged with fraud for, unknowingly, failing to inform the office that he, on occasion, will work for tips at a bar. We went to the office, and they have already started an investigation, but he did sign a statement regarding the very small income from the bar. Can I be held legally responsible as an accessory to his fraudulent behaviors? I don’t know when, what, or where he does outside of the house.

No, you won’t be responsible because you didn’t know he was working. And if he didn’t know any better, I don’t see where he would either, but he could have to pay back some of his benefits. Maybe earning a few dollars won’t cause him to loose his benefits. To the other poster, there are some cases where a person needs someone to be in charge of their money because they are not responsible enough to handle their finances. A family member or close friend can receive the check (it will be made out like to Jane Doe for John Doe) and use it for the persons expenses, like rent, food and utilities or ever how they see fit. I am payee for my nephew that we have custody of and he gets a small check every month off his mom cause she is on disability. I have a checking account that I deposit the check in and then I will give him some money for his personal use, the rest is spent on stuff like clothes, school supplies and other necessities.

My sixteen year old son has a job that pays about $80/week and a savings account with about $1,500 and a Roth IRA with a few hundred dollars. How would you teach him effective money management skills – credit/debt traps, budgeting, retirement, investing, etc.

Take him to the bank and have the banker explain how a checking account works. Depending on how trustworthy and dependable he is, he could get a debit card. Otherwise, start him with an ATM card and be sure he keeps track, then progress to the debit card. I would also suggest a monthy investment in the roth IRA. I am a banker and cannot tell you how often a kid goes off to college, then gets his first checking account and ends up hundreds of dollars in the hole. Guess who ends up paying for it. By the time they’re out of college, there’s credit card debt, student loans and still no financial savvy. A little experience now will go a long way when he’s on his own!

In a very general sense, it’s about intelligently handling your money. It involves understanding how a checking account works, how credit cards and charge cards work, how to understand different types of loans, income taxes, basics of investing, budgeting and being a smart shopper – and of course other things also.

It is extremely important! People who don’t have a grasp of these concepts get screwed when they get a mortgage, buy a car, get insurance, spend their money, and many other things. It’s impossible to get through life without earning and spending money – and nobody is going to care about your finances as much as you are, so the smart thing to do is learn about it so you can protect yourself from scammers, bad investments and rip-off artists.

Here’s an example: years ago, my parents once took out a loan to get new windows. It was a 5-year loan for $3,000. After making payments for 3 years, they wanted to pay off the loan early to save on interest cost. The amount they still owed was almost $2,000. How could that be? They had made way more than half the payments but still owed almost the entire amount they borrowed! It was because the loan was set up in such a way to penalize anyone who wanted to pay it off early (hint: it was a "rule of 78’s" loan). They got screwed because they didn’t understand the loan documents, and just assumed if they paid it off early they would save some money.

People want to be financially secure, and unless you are lucky enough to have a massive income, the way to be financially secure is to intelligently manage your money.

I’ve been using Microsoft Money and it has been discontinued – I have a new computer and need something newer. Just basic accounting, to help track and manage our personal finances.

Hi, if you have MS Excel on your new pc you can use that and setup a worksheet to run similar to a checking account balance book.

If you do not have MS Office on your pc, you may have MS Works. In MS Works, open Works Spreadsheet and either select Blank Spreadsheet or Financial Worksheets. The program is very similar to Excel.

If you need more help please feel free to email me.

It seems like every dollar I make, I have an urge to spend. Most things I buy are things I really don’t need. I just find myself browsing amazon or iTunes and watch my checking account drain. I don’t have a real job, I just mow my neighbor’s yard once a week, but that really doesn’t pay much. But I’m focusing on school this year, so I don’t have time for a job. Any tips on some money management, and how to not spend so much would be appreciated.

Just think about how the economy is sinking 🙂

Tips please!
I’m always in the red by the end of the month and I just don’t know where all my money goes.
It would be nice to have a little bit at the end of the month to save up.

Here a some ideas, in no particular order:

1) Save first! Take money off the top for savings, treating it like you would another important bill, like rent/mortgage or your electric bill.

2) Try making a budget. Remember that many budgets don’t work out 100% the first month, so don’t give up. Keep tweaking your budget. If doing it on paper doesn’t work for you, try using Excel, Quicken, or an online budgeting tool like Mint.com.

3) Look for personal finance websites that speak to you. One I’ve found recently is called "It’s Your Money" at http://www.mdmproofing.com/iym/

4) Keep a spending journal for a couple of weeks at least, to help you see where your money’s going, and where you can possibly cut back for more savings.

5) Have money automatically taken out of your paycheck or checking account and put in a savings account. It’s easier sometimes if the money doesn’t come to you, but gets put into savings for you. Or you might try getting a savings account at a different bank from your checking account, making it harder to withdraw from it.

6) Throw your change into a jar, and once a month deposit it into a savings account.

So, for my Business & Personal Finance class I have to do this assignment called Cruise the News where I find an article online about the current topic we’re working on and I write a summary about it. I turned to Yahoo Answers because I cannot find an article for the lifeeee of me. I’ve looked on all business sites like CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, etc. It’s awful that I can’t find anything. So I was wondering if anyone can help me find an article.
I’m basically looking for something with the topic of checking accounts and reconciliating them. That’s what we were working on most recently.
I was thinking of looking for an article that had something to do with checking account fraud, but I couldn’t find anything for it.
One thing I need to say…..the article has to have been written in the past year about Business stuff.
Thank you soo much! Whoever provides a decent article will get best answer! 🙂

the topic of checking accounts and reconciliating them.

This is more like personal finance, and not business news, so I am not surprised you are finding nothing on this. I read the business section of the NY Times, and get Money magazine, and have never seen an article on this. Kiplinger might have something. Or investopedia.com would probably have an article. But this is just for reference & not necessarily in the news.

Have you tried a google search??

1. Visit the website of a large national bank, regional bank, or credit union, and use the information you find there to answer the questions below. EXAMPLE: Some large banks you might consider include Bank of America®, JPMorgan Chase®, Wells Fargo®, Citibank®, and U.S. Bank®.

a. What is the name of the bank or credit union? (0.5 points)

b. List three facts about savings account options at the bank or credit union you chose. (3 sentences. 1.0 points)

c. List three facts about checking account options at the bank or credit union you chose. (3 sentences. 1.0 points)

d. Does this bank or credit union offer online banking? (0.5 points)

e. Would you be likely to choose this as your bank or credit union? Why or why not? List at least two reasons for or against choosing this bank or credit union. (3-6 sentences. 2.0 points)

2. Visit the website of a second large national bank, regional bank, or credit union, and use the information you find there to answer the questions below.

a. What is the name of the bank or credit union? (0.5 points)

b. List three differences you found between the accounts and features this bank or credit union offers and the bank from question 1 above. (1-3 sentences. 1.0 points)

c. Which of the two banks or credit unions that you researched would you be most likely to choose to open an account with? Why? (2-4 sentences. 2.5 points)

3. What type of bank risk would worry you the most as an account holder? How should the bank protect itself against that risk? (2-4 sentences. 1.0 points)

4. If you had a bank account, which two methods of completing transactions do you think you would use most frequently? Why? (2-4 sentences. 1.0 points)

5. In your Section_3 folder, navigate to and open the Example_Check_Register and Example_Bank_Statement, and then answer the questions below.

a. According to the bank statement, how many checks were written from this account during the statement period? (0.5 points)

b. There are two differences between the bank statement and the check register. Describe each of them. TIP: These are transactions that Jessie Robinson forgot to write down in the check register.

c. Do you think it is best to keep track of finances using a check register, a bank statement, or both? Why?

d. List at least two non-discretionary expenses listed on the bank statement or check register.

e. List at least one discretionary expense listed on the bank statement or check register.

f. Describe at least one challenge of keeping a check register.

This is your homework. Go to a Bank website and read about Checking Accounts. All the answers for your questions are printed there.

to be a good money manager of my personal finances?

Try to find a job paying more money or just spend your money on the things you need Temporary instead of what you want anyway Take Care and God Bless

I was looking into the mint.com personal finance tools that they offer online but wanted to know if anyone else has tried it? Is it safe? Dose it work good?

Mint.com is the one that has been around the longest and some rate it as the best.
If you found mint – and you try other sites you won’t be as satisfied.

Safe: Some people would never give their ID and password to a checking account to anyone. Including me. But.. if the site was running a scam, it would not have been around for at least 10 years now. Most people that use it do not have 10’s of thousands of dollars in a checking account.