Digizaar

This is a site that connect folks looking for almost any type of service with local service providers. If you are in need of a photographer, mover, dog walker, or whatever this site is a must. You simple sign up for a free account and post what you need with a description and pictures and providers will send there best offers to you email. It is very private and other users do not see the bids you get from service providers nor do service providers see you contact information. Once you have an offer you like you can contact them and have what you need done. Digizaar is a good site to help you save time and money.
Gas Buddy

Gasbuddy is a site the helps you find the cheapest gas stations in your area. Other members report the prices of the gas they see to earn points and win prizes. You simple go to your city and find the gas station with the lowest price. The site tells you exactly when the price was reported, have directions to the gas stations, let you know if the price went up or down, and show you prices all over the US. Win prizes and save money on gas, what else could you ask for.

Rentometer

Ever wonder if you were paying too much for rent, well now you can find out with rentometer. Simply input your address, zipcode and your monthly rent payments. Rentometer will let know how good of a deal your getting or how much you are over paying. You can even pay your rent, find a new apartment and compare prices. The site is very easy to use and can save my a bunch of money on your rent.

Here is how it works: The method requires you to take out a low interest loan which usually stretches out your payments for longer than your current payments. You use this low interest loan and pay all your current debts and now you only have one low monthly payment.

Here is what you should know: The universal first rule of becoming debt free is to stop acquiring more debt. The new loan you just took out with its low interest, just broke to first rule. Interest is the sole reason your debts take so long to pay off. The longer it takes to pay off any loan the more you pay in interest. If you owe $10,000 on all your debts combined and it would take you 5 years to pay off at your current rate of payment. Getting a loan for $10,000 at an interest rate even half your current interest rate will cost you more and take longer to pay off. On top of all this you will not gain the knowledge required to stay out of debt once you do get out.

Here is what you should do: Take the time to learn real debt eliminating methods such as the debt snowball method and building up an emergency account. These techniques will not only get you out of debt faster and completely, it is more likely you will stay out of debt forever. Non profit debt consolidation companies have there place, but 90% of people in debt do not need them.

In many cases when you borrow money you sign a contract agreeing to settle your debt through debt arbitration instead of through the court system. This is much cheaper because court fees and attorney fees can be avoided for both you and the lender. You may still find yourself in court depending on your situation, but still have the option of arbitration if the judge sees fit. You will need significant proof that you have been making payments on your debt and both you and the creditor has to agree on this as a solution.

Over the years debt arbitration has gained popularity among creditors, even though its main goal is to help debtors. The reason for this is because creditors usually recover more of their money than other debt collection methods. This does not mean it is not a great solution for you, actually it works great for all parties. Debt negotiators already have relationships with creditors making it easier for them to negotiate a lower percentage on your debt, you end up paying much less on a debt you want to pay off while avoiding filing for bankruptcy and creditors get to collect on the debt without all the expenses. If you have a huge outstanding debt and is on the edge of bankruptcy credit card debt arbitration may be the solution you need. Consult a debt negotiator and find out what help he/she can provide.

Well, first you have to ask yourself where do you want to be a 5 to 10 years. A financial planning consultant will not make your goals for you, they are there to create a clear plan to help you reach your long and short term goals as fast as possible. If your goal is to expend your family, you might need a bigger house or more income. Your consultant will help you with your questions about mortgage, investing for your child’s future and when and how to start a college fund. If your goal is to get out of debt, they will work with you to find a plan the fits you. Help you set up payment plans with your creditors and show you ways to stay on track while paying off your debt.

People that need financial consulting are those that live busy lives or find it hard to manage their money. If you find it challenging to put together a retirement plan or to choose the type on investments to fit your goals, then you may need the help of a financial consultant. When you are ready to hire an advisor, look for one that is both professional and easy to get along with. You will have to spend a lot of time both in person and on the phone, so it would be best if you work well together. Also make sure you check their credentials before you decide to hire them. You don’t want someone with little experience giving you advice abut your financial future.

You will need pen and paper, a text editor or Microsoft excel if you have it. For the sake of this article I will show you how to make your wedding budget spreadsheet using a text editor, simply because every computer has one.

1. Create a new document and name it “Wedding spreadsheet.”
2. On the first line, type Vendors, Estimated cost, Actual cost, Phone number and Completed.
3. Skip the second line an move to the third. Under vendors type every service you plan to use to put your wedding together such as transportation, printer, flowers, entertainment and so on. Try to keep your list organized so you will be able to easily scan an find what you need.
4. Next to each vendor on your list put the prices your were quoted when you call and their phone numbers, when you go and actually make your payments, put the amount you under the “Actual cost.” Once everything is delivered and approved by you, mark it off as completed.

It is that simple to make a wedding budget spreadsheet. Try not to forget to put anything new that comes up later on your spreadsheet. This one will be tailored to your wedding, but you can find some already made if you do a search in Google. Congratulations and do not forget to practice you vows.

HOW IT WORKS.

First you should save a little backup just in case you hit a bump down the road you can continue making your payments on time. About 2 months of all you minimum payments combined and the current bill you are working on.

Make a list of all your bills and depending on which method you chose place them in lowest amount owed first or highest interest first. Start paying all the minimum payments on all you debts except the first one on you list. Take all the money you have from paying only the minimum payments on the rest of your bills and any extra you can come up with every month and pay off the first bill. After the first debt is paid move on to the next one on your list. Add all the money you use to pay on the first bill to the minimum payment you are paying on this bill until it is paid off. Continue the process until all your debts are paid in full.

As you can see, it is like a snow ball rolling down a hill. The best part of the debt snowball is that you can see your progress as you finish paying of a debt. This will help to keep you motivated through out the entire process.

It has been less than 7 years since people were terrified to use their credit cards to make purchases online. Now people are divulging there credit card information for the fun it. While I can see the benefit in sharing your information with sites like mint and yodlee which helps many people, I can not see any good in sharing your sensitive information with site like these. I will be the first to say that sharing personal financial information will shape up to be a dangerous trend if more sites like this start to pop up. I am sure that they are doing their best to protect your information, but why take the risk? Credit is not something you can clear up over night, it take years to fix even the smallest mistakes.

The world wide web only have a handful of original sites and the other umpteen billion are just copies, so I am sure there will be at least a few more sites like this in the future. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for technology, but it has to have a purpose. As far as I can tell, this site is just for you to show off to your friends and complete strangers. Well, I hope that I am wrong about this trend thing, but only time can tell.

I try to give the best advice on debt and managing your money on this site and your financial information should be kept on a need to know basis. Identity theft is a real problem and destroys lives on a daily basis. The risk is far too great, just be giving out such sensitive financial information willy-nilly (Always wanted to use that in a article). That is my opinion anyway, maybe you guys see it in a different light.

The Internet has changed our financial lives in many ways. There are many things we are able to do now that was not possible just a few short years ago. This is just a quick list of things that comes to mind, but I am sure there are many more.

1. We can now bank online and never have to see a teller or even step foot into a bank again. All the things we use to have to do in a branch is now available right there on you computer screen. Some things that took hours now takes seconds, like seeing your balance or up to the second changes in your account.

2. We can track our spending without lifting a finger with personal finance managers like mint. Tracking spending is just the tip of the iceberg of features these sites provide, the list is extensive and you have to experience it for yourselves to understand the magnitude.

3. Investing has become much more accessible to the average person. Sites like fedility and Etrade provide all the tools to help anyone build a trading portfolio. Every trading market you want to get into, is there for the taking and most will let you trade with play money before you invest real money.

4. Financial information if readily available on thousand of sites in almost any area in finance you can think of. From how much your favorite company profited last quarter to which bank has the best interest rate and its all it the tip of your fingers.

5. Internet marketing gives anyone the ability to start their own small business on a level playing field. The making money online market is growing larger and larger everyday thanks to the minimal cost of starting a website and make it grow.

6. With sites like Paypal we can easily share funds with family and friends. These sites make it super cheap to help your family when they are too far to reach and in need of some financial help.

I am sure there are more ways the internet has changed our lives, but those are the ones I can think of right now. Feel feel to add your 2 cent in the comments.

I know one of the hardest part of starting anything is knowing where to start. I’ve laid out some steps to show you what your financial plans should look like and where is the best place to start. I am making the assumption that you already know how much debt you have, your current credit score and all your other information. If you do not then you should read how to set-up a budget.

OK! here we go:
1)If you have credit card debt, do not charge anything else on your cards and continue making the minimum monthly payments. Your credit score is very important and should be maintained as best you can. Without a good score you will not be able to acquire loans for a car, home or other big ticket items. Paying all your bills on time will ensure your score does not take unnecessary hits.
2)Start writing down everything you spend money on. This will make it easy to track your spending and make cut backs where needed. Remember not to cut out entertainment completely, we are human and we need to have fun.
3)If you have not started an emergency fund as of yet, call your bank and set that up now. Before you pay off any outstanding debts, save at least 3 months worth of living expenses. Before anyone else get there money make sure you have yours. If you start paying off your debts and lose your job, your debts will start increasing again and you will be left without anything type of protection.
4)Once you have 3 months of emergency fund saved, you can start paying off your debts. Take ¾ of the money you were putting into your emergency fund and put towards your lowest debt first and keep putting the other ¼ in your emergency fund. Once that is paid in full go to the net one up and so on…
5)After your debts are paid, start on your retirement fund. Your emergency fund should be close to 6 months or already at 6 months. Put as much as you can in long term savings account such as Roth I.R.A, CD’s or your companies 401K. If you have a company match 401K max that out before you start on the others.
6)By now you should have 6 months of emergency funds saved, your debts paid, and started saving for your retirement. Now you can start saving for big ticket items such as a better car or a home.

As I said before, this is to give you an idea of what your personal finance plan should look like. This is not set in stone and you should use your common sense to make adjustments where you feel they are needed. Take this as a simple guide to get you started. Good luck!

Remember when personal finance planners were note pads with a calenders and a calculator? Well, they have come a long way since those days. We have seen them transform into desktop software and now full blown websites that does most of the work for you. Take mint.com for example, this is a personal finance planner on steroids. Mint is only one of the many personal finance managers on the web, but I have to say it is one of the best.

Lets say you have no idea how to invest, budget, or just anything about personal money management period. You basically have three choices when it comes to learning. 1) Just throw your money in a bank and hope you are getting the best rates and hopefully one day you will have enough to retire with. 2) Hire a personal finance manager to guide you in what they think is best for your money. 3) Take the bull by the horn and learn to choose your own savings accounts, make your own investments, manage your own retirement fund and have something to pass on to your children. I don’t know about you, but number 3 has been a life saver for me and financial planners/managers like Mint has been making it easier by the day. It’s like hiring a financial planner that you never have to pay.

You can track your spending, find the best savings and checking accounts for your lifestyle, set up and maintain a budget, follow your investments, get alerts and more, all in one place. It is a one stop financial manager with everything you could possible need to get you started getting your financial life in order. Yes, personal finance planners have come a long way from the days of the note pad with a calculator, now its as easy as clicking a few buttons.