The Internet is making personal money management easier. I recently wrote a guest post for U.S. News & World Report, looking at the pros and cons of various online budget tools. I’m using Mint.com and enjoying it for the most part, but I plan to switch to Yodlee next year because it offers a few […]
Archive | Budgeting/Planning
Getting Started With a Budget
Using a budget is one of the smartest money management moves you could make. For guidance on using a paper & pencil system, read the Budget Quick Start Guide and make use of the Cash Flow Plan, Cash Flow Tracker, and Recommended Spending Guidelines, all found in the Resources section. For help using the online tool Mint.com, watch my tutorials here, here, and here. And for help with the Envelope system, read this article.
Remember, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” – Proverbs 21:5
Who’s On Your Board of Directors?
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” – Proverbs 15:22 My friend, Brad, calls it their annual “Dixie Fraley talk.” Once a year, he and his wife, Nancy, meet with their personal board of directors, which includes their CPA, attorney, and financial planner. Brad and Nancy reveal their balance sheet, […]
Moving Forward by Backing Up
How’s this for a subtle reminder of the importance of backing up the data on our computers? “You have a 100% chance of the data on your hard drive becoming corrupting, degrading, or disappearing.” That wake up call comes courtesy of the Suburban Dollar blog. I bought an external hard drive a couple of years […]
Your Own Financial Stress Test
With the nation’s banks now having to submit to stress tests to determine their financial health, CNNand Money magazine decided to create a free online personal financial stress test. By working through a handful of mostly easy-to-answer questions, you can get a quick read on the strength of your household’s finances. While I like the […]
Home Improvement
By Matt Bell on May 1, 2009 in Faith & Finances, Budgeting/Planning, Generosity, Saving, Credit/Debt
“I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” – Psalm 119:16 In the mid 1990s, Kevin Bauman began photographing abandoned houses in his hometown of Detroit. It was a creative outlet, a way to express his amazement and concern that “a once great city could find itself in such great distress.” Viewing […]
New Retirement Realities
Our economy has left very few people feeling confident about retirement. Just 13 percent of current workers say they are “very confident” about having enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement years, according to the latest annual retirement study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). That’s the lowest level since the organization began […]
Be Prepared
News of the devastating earthquake in Italy prompted Consumer Reports to remind readers about the importance of having and safeguarding certain financial documents. It put together a helpful list showing where to keep various documents. A comprehensive, easily accessible list of emergency phone numbers should be part of every household’s emergency preparedness plan as well. […]
Online Budget Tools Put to the Test
Last month I mentioned that I was planning to switch from a traditional version of Quicken to one of the newer free online “financial aggregators.” The traditional software version ties you to one computer, whereas the online tools provide access via any computer. While I’m not done with my evaluation, here are a few things […]
Calculate Your Financial Comeback
If you’re like most people, your investment accounts took a beating in 2008. Wondering when you might recover from those losses? The New York Times has a free online calculator that’ll help you estimate an answer to that question. Of course, no one knows what future market returns will be. And a wise person once […]
What’s On Your “To-Be” List?
“My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” – Proverbs 7:1-3 The start of a new year always gets me thinking of […]