Personal Money Management

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

7 Tools That Help You Stop Wasting Money

by Sean P. Aune

January 7, 2008

Mashable blog

I came across this blog entry and it is so useful, I am posting the greater part below. (btw - If anyone is interested in the business side of Internet companies and investments, Mashable is a great source of information.) I have not included the images of the programs, so if you want to see them, go to the link above.

Finfo.com - Being offered a job in a new city can be exciting, but do you know how much that city's cost of living will take out of your paycheck? What about the college your daughter wants to go to; how much is that going to run you? Finfo will let you enter all the information you have and add it up for you to show you exactly what your getting for your money, and how much it might cost you.

LendingTree.com - If you ever need a loan, then you need to do research, and you might as well do it all in one place. LendingTree will let you submit your info and get replies from multiple lenders so that you can compare the quotes. Let them work against each other to get your business.

Mint.com - Mint is a great financial tool that helps you get a handle on your finances. Are you living with roommates? Split up the bills so you know who owes exactly what. See where all of your money is going, and get automatic suggestions on alternate services you could tryso you can pay less. Also has an educational section to help you learn more about controlling your funds.

PiggyBankINC.com - It's never too early to start learning how money works, and what the true value of it is. PiggyBankINC.com lets you set up a virtual bank account for your kids; show them how to deposit money when they do a chore, withdraw it when they buy something, even give them a weekly interest rate if they save up some of their allowance. And for those forgetful parents, receive an email reminding you to give up the weekly allowance… because, your kid will NEVER remind you of their own accord… uh-huh.

Stockpickr.com - There are over 6,000 publicly traded companies, but how many of them do you know? How many investment opportunities are you missing out on because the big stock sites and television shows don't discuss them? That's the basic concept behind Stockpickr, letting people come together and discuss just about every company. There's still money to be made in the market, you just need to know where to look.

TurboTax - With the ever more complicated United States tax code, it's almost insane to try to do your taxes without some form of assistance. Sure, you can go to a tax preparer, but if you're brave enough to go it on your own, then you should at least use some form of software to help you with the forms. Companies like TurboTax, from the makers of Quicken, may be the solution for you, an with solutions tarting as low as $14.95, can you really risk not using it?

I hope readers can get good use out of this information. I know I am going to check some of this out.

Michael