The Best Budgeting Tools You Need To Be Using

A budget is more than just another headache that eats up your spare time. Budgets help you to live within your means, save for the future, and pay down your debt. Of course, building a budget isn’t always easy. If math and organization aren’t your strong suits, here are 4 budgeting tools you need to be using.

Automatic Savings Deposits

Automatic deposits into your savings account can go a long way toward helping you stay on budget. If the money goes directly into savings, it limits the temptation to view it as disposable income. Most banks provide you with options to designate a fixed amount or percentage of direct deposits to be diverted into savings. If you don’t get direct deposits, you can typically set up a transfer from checking into savings for a fixed amount on a fixed day. 

Credit Card Repayment Calculators

Credit cards make it easy to buy now and fret later. The more credit cards you have, the more fretting you’re likely to do in the long run. Abakhan & Associates Inc., a company that assists with debt consolidation in Vernon, recommends consolidating credit card debt from higher interest cards onto lower interest cards. A repayment calculator shows you how long it will take to pay off the consolidated debt, but you can also use them to compare how much you’ll pay if you leave balances on the higher interest cards. 

Mint.com

Mint.com is a very useful tool for those who go bleary eyed at a page full of numbers. It’s free, online budgeting tool provided by the makers of Quickbooks. It’s visually based, defaulting to charts, and brings most of your financial information together in a single place. In additional to allowing you to track your available money over time, it also lets you set up reminders about bills, track investments and set goals for future purchases. 

BillCutterz

Billcutterz is a money management tool that helps you save money. What you do is send them your monthly bills and they will contact your providers and negotiate a large discount without you having to sacrifice your service or switching providers potentially saving you hundreds a year. 

Wave

If you are looking for an app designed for small businesses and freelancers but also has a personal fiance section Wave may be the answer. They also have an accounting portion that works great if you want details about your finances. Wave connects your online accounts such as mint and manilla and downloads your transactions. The app will learn your habits and automatically categorize your transactions so you don't have to. 

BudgetPulse

BudgetPulse doesn't make you give them your banking account information for tracking, they let users manually enter or import banking data from their files. Using social media they let you post your financial goals and have friends and family help you meet those goals through Paypal. 

Software

If the idea of linking all of your financial data to a web-based application makes you nervous, you can also invest in budgeting software to use at home. Some of the best paid software options are Quicken Starter Edition and AceMoney. If paid software isn’t feasible, free software options include Buddi and AceMoney Lite. Free software often comes with limited features, but is far preferable to having no budgeting tools.

As with other tools, budgeting tools take some work to set up initially. For example, you need to link accounts, enter transactions, or set up categories. Over the long haul, however, they simplify your life and help you to take control of your finances.

Items Your Car Insurance May Cover That Saves You Money

Car insurance is more than just a requirement, it is also a financial product that can save you quite of bit of money when you have the right coverage. As you are comparing auto insurance quotes, it is important to compare all of the coverage options so that you build a policy that does more than just satisfy state requirements. If you are a wise consumer, you can build a policy that saves you money in several different areas of car ownership. Here are five ways that you can save with a comprehensive policy: 

Rental Car Costs

If you are involved in an accident and your vehicle is disabled for 1 or more days, the cost of renting a car while your vehicle is being repaired can break the bank. Insurers offer loss of use, otherwise known as rental car cover, which will pay for a rental up to a specified amount per day. This can save you quite a bit when you need a replacement vehicle to commute or run errands. 

Windshield Repairs and Replacements

Windshields are made of glass, and from time to time glass will break or crack. Because a crack is an obstruction that can affect visibility, insurers will cover the cost to replace windshields minus the policy's comprehensive deductible. As long as you get repairs done through an approved glass company, you can have the claims payment sent directly to the glass company. For example, All-West Glass Ltd., a company offering windshield repair in Edmonton, will file glass claims for their customers to make the process as easy as possible. 

Body Damage Repair

There is nothing worse than being at-fault for a fender bender and not having collision coverage. If you have collision coverage, you will have peace of mind in knowing that the cost to replace body parts and repaint your vehicle will be covered. You may have to pay a deductible, but this is a far cry from having to pay for the entire bill. 

Towing and Roadside Assistance

You do not have to sign up for the CAA just to be safe when stranded on the side of the road. If you need a tire changes, gas delivered or a tow, having Roadside Assistance cover on your policy is a blessing. By calling a designated number, you will have a covered service call that will not cost you a pretty penny. 

Personal Injury

Personal Injury Protection or PIP, is something you can add to your car insurance that covers medical expenses and many times, lost wages. Having Personal Injury Protection insurance helps you receive maximum benefits whether or not the accident was your fault. Personal Injury Protection can also cover medical transportation. 13 states in the US make it mandatory to have Personal Injury Protection insurance: The District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Utah. 

Help Pay Your Loan/Lease

If you have financed or leased a car and the amount you owe is greater then its worth, Loan/Lease Pay-Off coverage will help pay the difference if you car is totaled. This makes it easier for you to buy a new car and have more money in your pocket.

Insurance may be an expense in some ways, but it also an investment in peace of mind. If you ever need to file a claim, you will be happy that you made the choice to carry optional cover that keeps your long-term expenses low.

The FAQs of Currency Trading

Exchange Money Conversion to Foreign Currency (Photo credit: epSos.de)

Trading currency in the foreign exchange market is literally a trillion dollar business. And it used to be only large financial institutions and very wealthy people could take part in the trade. Now, with the advent of the internet, the average person can trade on the market with the click of a button. If you’re interested in getting started in trading currency, here are some frequently asked questions that might help you get going.

What is the Forex?

“Forex” is a moniker for the foreign exchange market. You may also see FX.

What is a liquid market?

You will often hear the Forex referred to as the most liquid market in the world. A liquid market is one filled with liquid assets, or assets that can be sold instantly with almost no loss in value. You car, for example, is not a very liquid asset. Although you could probably sell it very quickly, you would have to lower the price. In order to find a suitable buyer willing to pay a suitable price, you’d likely have to wait a while.

In the Forex, because currency is such a massive asset, it can be traded almost instantly. The sheer size of the Forex (it’s a worldwide market) also means that no key players or institutions, no matter how large, can control the price of currency. This makes the Forex the most stable market in the world.

Who trades in the foreign exchange market?

Like I said, it used to be mostly large financial institutions, central banks, hedge funds, international corporations, and massively wealthy people who traded on the Forex. Now more and more individual people are able to take part. 

How is money traded on the market? Is physical money traded?

No. Most often money is simply traded virtually. In fact, there is no centralized market in the Forex. Trades take place between traders all over the world through the internet. The Forex is open 24 hours a day, five days a week (closed on the weekends), across all time zones. This means that as the market closes in the U.S., it’s opening somewhere else in the world, so the market is active at every point in the day.

How do you make money in the Forex?

Currencies are usually traded in pairs on the Forex. To make money, you basically have to correctly predict which currencies will gain and lose value. For instance, one popular pair of currencies is the U.S. dollar and the euro. Currently, the exchange rate between the dollar and the euro is .73 dollars to one euro. That means it takes about 1.3 dollars to equal one euro. In order to make money in the Forex, you would have to predict when the dollar would reevaluate or when the euro would devaluate, and buy currency accordingly.

What currencies are traded on the market?

Although some retail traders deal in less-known currencies, the most popular currency pairs are:

• EUR/USD (euro/dollar)
• USD/JPY (dollar/Japanese yen)
• GBP/USD (British pound/dollar)
• USD/CHF (dollar/Swiss franc)

As well as the three “commodity pairs.” The commodity pairs are so called because they are from countries that include a large amount of commodities. That means these pairs are highly correlated to changes in commodity prices. They are:

• AUD/USD (Australian dollar/U.S. dollar
• USD/CAD (U.S. dollar/Canadian dollar)
• NZD/USD (New Zealand dollar/U.S. dollar)
• 
  

What is “leverage” in the Forex?

Leverage is using borrowed capital to get a higher return on your investment. Let me unpack that phrase for you. Basically, leverage is borrowing money in order to trade more than you have. If you have a mortgage on your home, you are already leveraged.

In the Forex, there are often many high leverage opportunities, sometimes up to a 100:1 ratio. That means if you had a dollar in the Forex, you’d be able to leverage that dollar to trade one hundred dollars. If you have a thousand dollars, that amount goes up to one hundred thousand. This high leveraging makes it easier to trade large amounts of currency and keep the market moving.

What is carry trading?

To understand carry trading, you have to understand that each central bank determines the interest rate on currencies. Carry trading is all about funding the purchase of a currency with a high interest rate with a currency with a low interest rate.

For example, in 2005, many people bought New Zealand dollars (whose interest rate was 7.25%) with the Japanese yen (whose interest rate was 0%). In this interaction, because there was such a huge difference in the interest rates between the two currencies, carry traders were making money in the trade alone, without having to wait for the money to gain value. 

What does “long” and “short” mean in foreign exchange?

Because currencies are traded in pairs in the Forex, you are often “long” one currency and “short” another. For instance, if a person traded 100,000 dollars for yen, she would be “short” the dollars she just traded, but “long” the yen she received.

This is just the beginning of the Forex! It’s a very complex, but exciting market. If you’re interested in learning more about the trade, I’d visit Investopedia, as they have a lot of great resources about the fundamentals of the Forex.

Mary Kremer writes content for Dinar Daddy, the number one source of information for trading the Iraqi dinar.

7 Items You Don't Need Anymore That You Can Turn Into Some Extra Cash

In a financial crunch, most people will take money from anywhere they can find it. Before going into debt, consider using some of the assets you already own. Chances are, there are things you own and no longer have a use for that do have some value. Below is a list of seven such items.

Scrap Metal

If you have owned motor vehicles and a garage for a period of years, chances are you have amassed some scrap metal. Instead of taking it to the dump, sell it to a scrap yard. This is a quick way to get some cash instantly. Consider letting family and neighbors know that you are taking a trip and offer to get the scrap metal off their hands for even more cash.

Jewelry

While jewelry may look nice, it isn't always a necessity or in style all the time. Authentic jewelry holds monetary value that you may not even be aware of. For example, old jewelry that was handed down to you by family members are often worth much more than you think. You can get money from the gold in unwanted jewelry, no matter how out of style it is. If you need money fast, one great idea is to take some of the jewelry you own to pawn shops in DC. Pawn shops will typically buy old jewelry for a great price. 

Collectibles

In the past, you may have collected things like baseball cards, figurines or comic books. Whatever the case, these items don’t have a lot of extended use. Most people, for example, only read a comic book once. Consider selling these items on online auction websites to convert them into their cash value. Chances are, someone will find them valuable and be willing to pay a good price for your collectibles. Ebay is a great place to sell your collectibles and get the most money out of it, since people can bid however much they want, and you get to choose the starting bid. 

Old Computers

One thing that must be constantly replaced is your computer. However, what you may not know is that even computers from the 90’s or 80’s are still valuable today. There are many collectors out there as well as stores that allow you trade in older models for part of the price of new ones. You can even sell certain parts of your computer for quick cash. People are always looking for specialized parts to finish their projects or build a new computer.

Sporting Equipment

Most people go through stages where they try out new sports they quickly abandon. They may have spent a lot of money on things like skis, tennis rackets or golf clubs. If this is a case, turn these items into cash. Many people are looking for lightly used sports equipment to find better deals, and you can sell them for a decent price. 

CDs

If you have a computer with a CD drive, you have the ability to back up all the CDs you have on your hard-drive. After doing so, sell these CDs to a music store or through an online retailer. While they may seem outdated, you can still get some extra cash from them. 

Baby Items

After your children grow up, chances are you’ll no longer have a need for things like cribs and baby toys. Instead of letting these take up room in your home, trade them for other things you may need with couples that have or are expecting children. You could also sell them online for a quick and easy way to make extra money on the items you don't need anymore.

Overall, there is no reason to take on a loan you won’t be able to pay off if you haven’t made true use of the assets you already own. There are likely to be many valuable items in your home that you no longer use. Get creative and find ways to turn your unwanted items into quick cash. You should also consider selling old items at a yard sale or online.