5 iPhone Apps to Help Manage Your Spending

Image via CrunchBaseDigital technology has changed the way people think about their finances. Instead of paper and coins, money is now little more than a number, a running tally that can't reach zero. Unfortunately, this fundamental shift in personal finances has led many individuals into greater debt and even bankruptcy. There are, however, ways to keep track of your spending on the go. These five iPhone apps will help you manage your budget and organize your finances like never before.

Ace Budget 2
The sequel to the popular budgeting application is packed with brand new features and a more intuitive user interface. Ace Budget 2 is a sleek and powerful all-around financial tool. It allows you to set your budget for anything from one day to one year. Then, Ace Budget 2 keeps track of your expenditures and organizes the information into a variety of printable graphs that present your spending habits in an easy-to-understand format.

Grocery Gadget
Nearly everyone overspends at the grocery store. No matter how determined a person is to stick to a list and come in under budget, there's always something extra thrown in or, even worse, something forgotten. Grocery Gadget seeks to make shopping a less stressful experience. Users create shopping lists, which can be shared with others, and are then able to note prices and locations for future reference. After a few trips to the store, Grocery Gadget makes it possible to predict your final cost down to the dollar.

My Weekly Budget
Sometimes it's easiest to focus on your income one week at a time. My Weekly Budget is the simplest app on this list, but it is nevertheless a powerful tool. My Weekly Budget lets its user set a goal, and then keeps a running tally throughout the week. Its uncomplicated layout makes keeping up with recording purchases easier than more intimidating applications, and it may be all that the average person needs.

HomeBudget
HomeBudget consolidates all of a household's finances into one application. Like Ace Budget 2, it factors in monthly bills, income and expenses to present a clear picture of a family's overall monetary health. The paid version has a sync feature that updates the application almost instantly. This means that multiple people can edit the same household at once to present more accurate and comprehensive information.

Mint
Mint is a popular website that has translated its most important services over to a mobile app. Mint securely connects to your bank accounts to provide up-to-date numbers no matter how far you are from a computer. It shows recent withdrawals and deposits, monitors budgets and even tracks stocks. All information gathered on your iPhone appears on the desktop version, making this an easy way to accurately check and update the powerful online service.

Dan is a financial blogger who has recently learned how to make an iPhone app to help him manage his money more efficiently.

8 Major Financial Mistakes Retirees Make

 (Photo credit: epSos.de)Ah, there’s nothing greater than walking out of your office for the last time of your working life. While many of you may have already experienced this situation, there are millions of us that have to wait months or even years. As we all know by now, money is king in retirement. Without it, how are you going to survive? To make sure that this money lasts until your last day on earth, here are some mistakes that you will want to avoid:

1. Retiring on age instead of your money

If you think about your retirement plan, do you want to retire on your birthday or do you want to retire with a certain amount of money? Sadly, many potential retirees want to retire at a certain age rather than have a certain amount of money. As we already mentioned above, money is KING. If you don’t have enough, you won’t enjoy retirement. Focus on a money number, and when the time comes, its then time to retire.

2. Watching your risk

As you grow older, do you really want to invest in stocks or bonds that are deemed risky? Sure, you can take the risk while your 20s or even in your 30s. Why? You have years ahead of you to make up for the losses (if they occurred.) As you grow older into your 50s or 60s, you will want to make sure that your portfolio is relatively safe. Whether you’re investing in dividend stocks, popular company stocks or CDs, it’s best to make sure that your money grows rather than go down the toilet.

3. Retiring with debt

When it’s time to walk out your office for the last time, you don’t want to have any debt. The problem with many retirees is that most have house payments, $10,000 on their credit card and two car payments. While you may be caught up in a spending frenzy, it’s extremely important that you have as little debt as possible. That way, if emergencies do pop up, you will have the money set aside to cover them. If you have a load of debt, it can be hard to do.

4. Avoiding the professionals

Yes, a lot of money professionals out there get a bad reputation but not all of them are bad. To make sure that you’re on the right path to a great retirement, make sure that you talk with a financial advisor at least once. No, you don’t have to have them invest your money for you, it’s just nice to get a view from the outside to make sure that you’re on the right path.

5. Managing your income stream

Once the paychecks stop coming in, it’s now time to tap into your retirement accounts. Whether you want to live off interest, dip into the principal or a little of both, it’s important to have a plan laid out. That way, you know exactly where you should be at the end of each year. If you start spending too much, you could exhaust your savings relatively fast. It’s important to have goals in mind and be sure to stick to them so that the money lasts.

6. Collecting social security

The future of social security is up in the air, but when the time comes, it should be here. The worst case scenario is either your benefits are cut in half or it’s intended for people that truly need it. Regardless of what the situation is, make sure that you know when the best time is to collect from the government. As of 2012, you’re eligible to collect at the age of 62, but if you wait until you’re 70, you can collect the biggest paycheck. In fact, by waiting nine years years, your check can almost be double compared to collecting at 62. Be sure to do the math to make the most out of your social security.

7. Watch inflation

While we may not see it in front of our eyes, inflation does exist! Over the past 30 years, inflation has grown at a steadily 3%. Be sure to factor in this with your prices because as time goes on, your dollar is going to be worth less and less. While your dollar won’t be worthless tomorrow, time will fly right by and before you know it, your spending power won’t be as strong.

8. Diversify

Don’t just set all of your money into a lousy CD collecting less than 2%. Instead, try to get into other markets that can make you some money. For example, dividend stocks can pay as much as 5%+ annually and many can be deemed relatively safe. By studying investments and investing in more than one thing, this can give you more eggs in your basket.

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This was a post written by Hannah M. She is the co-founder of www.howmuchisit.org, a website that researches the price on everything ranging from home goods to surgeries.

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Online Education Balances Work and Masters Degree Pursuits

Distance education (Photo credit: mccoy) With three children in college the subject of graduation and the completion of the process is often a topic of conversation. It's quite possible and we are crossing our fingers because by next summer we could be attending 3 graduations. Our three in college are working hard on completing their education and soon we will be seeing a nursing, psychology and criminology degree. We are looking forward to their graduation and the landing of their first jobs. Of course this is our plan but our future graduates tell us in today's workplace a Masters degree is helpful in a very competitive job marketplace. We made a deal with our children that we would help and support them while they pursued their Bachelor degrees but any further education would come out of their own pocket.

I agree it would be a good idea to get a masters degree in their field of study. But holding a job and going to a university would be difficult to do because of time constraints. I recommended that attending an online university would be a good way to accomplish the continuing education they want. 

There is also the possibility that they take a slightly different path when earning their masters degrees, choosing to focus on something that is a little more specialized. The Master of Public Administration and Policy program, for example, accepts students with all different types of undergraduate degrees and prepares students for careers with government agencies or within private sector organizations that provide services for the public. By taking a specialized masters degree program online, I am confident that my children can fully take advantage of their education and find excellent jobs in the future.

What makes an online education more interesting than attending a conventional college is you are not restricted to a certain geographical location. You can really attend a school that is anywhere in the country. Your options are broadened because now you can attend online a university on the other side of the country or the world. All that while going to work everyday.

When you are attending an online college the classroom dynamic changes from one teacher to a possible 100 students to a one on one learning experience. It will be like your the only student in the classroom. This more personal interaction, enriches your education. With course material accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week students have the ability to read and re read lectures, discussions, explanations and comments. Often spoken material in the classroom passes students by due to a number of distractions, missed classes, tiredness or boredom.

Participating online is much more encouraging than in a classroom. All students play on a level playing field undisturbed by physical impediments. Using online chat rooms as part of a courses requirements allow students to no longer feel any uneasiness because of the pressure of a class room situation. You have more time to form your comments and questions in a more methodical way. Professors are more approachable through online chats, email and in new discussions, without waiting for office hours that may not be convenient. This option for communication provides enhanced contact between instructors and students.

Online classrooms also help group learning by providing chat rooms for meetings and group work. This solves the problems of mismatched schedules, finding a meeting location and distributing work for review between meetings.

Students often say that online education lets them attend class when fully awake and attend in increments of convenient time blocks, rather than rigid 2 or 4 hour stretches once or twice a week.

Because there are no geographic barriers to online education, students can find a broad array of course material that may not be available to them where they live or work. This is true for professional training such as medical billing training or purchasing training and for students in remote rural areas that cannot support college or vocational training centers.

It will be great to see our college graduates out in the world pursuing there masters programs in nursing, information assurance training, and psychology all while they work at their job.

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How to Balance College Saving and Retirement Saving - Infographic

In the United States, only half of the population have anything saved for retirement. When saving for our children's college expenses, we do an even worse job. What's the problem? If you ask the average person they will complain that their income is so meager that just making ends meet, takes all their effort.

Saving for college and retirement expenses is quite an effort for most people but the key is to start early. If you put away an amount of money, month by month and year by year, it will help you accomplish your goals.

Ask yourself, over the years how much money you have wasted on frills and fads. Add up all that wasted money and imagine what you could of done with it. It's not to late to turn it around. Start today, budget your money, live below your means, and save all you can.


Check out this great infographic about saving for college vs. saving for retirement. 

Thanks to Caxton FX Currency Exchange for this great graphic.