Have you guys heard of blippy.com. If not, it’s a website that allows individuals to share their purchases with everyone. I’m not sure what purpose this will serve or if its even a good idea, but people seems to be using it. I guess the Internet is not such a scary place any more and publicizing your personal financial information has become the thing to do. Maybe I’m just old school, but I don’t want anyone to even think they have a clue about what and when I buy anything.

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.

When planning for retirement, you will have a lot to take into consideration. One of the best and most involved resources you have is your 401(k). It is hands down the most generous retirement invest out there, but all the benefits it has to offers will only pay off if you are proactive and make smart investments. Unlike pensions or social security, where you just have to show up to work to reap the benefits, 401(k) retirement plans give you more control and more responsibilities.

Making the right investments is the key to getting a generous return from your 401(k)retirement plan when it is time for you to retire. While you might think the best thing to do is to pour your investments in the company you work for, but most experts advise against it. In fact, investing a large part your funds in any single company is never an good idea. Any good long term investment portfolio is spread out across many stable companies in different industries. That way if one company or an entire industry fails you only lose a fraction of your investments and as the recent recession made clear, it’s not impossible for any company to fail.

As far as what companies you should invest in, that is left completely up to you. Not even the company you work for will tell you where you should invest your money. If you don’t have time to learn how to invest in your 401(k), the best thing you can do is hire a personal financial planner. They can help you to chose the right type of investments to make, help you track , and make adjustments to reach your retirement goals. If you do have the time and want to learn, I recommend you read 401(K) Take Charge Of Your Future by Eric Schurenberg it is a good book to get you started. It is impossible for me to cover all your options in this article, but I will be writing many articles covering retirement planning, check the investing section of this site for more information.

Many companies now offer 401(K) as the primary retirement plan. Which is a great thing if you know how to make it work for you. But how can you tell if the 401(K) plan a company is offering is top notch or bottom shelf. Well, I will list 6 of the features you should look for when considering joining a companies retirement plan. Please note that even if the plan does not have most of these features, 401k is still the best retirement plan you will come across any time soon.

1. The company match 70 cents to every dollar you put invest. There are only a few companies that do not offer to match a percentage of what you contribute, these are usually small companies. Large companies that are looking to get and keep talented employees are willing to match at least half of what you invest. Some companies will even match you dollar of dollar and a few rear companies will one up you.

2. If you can contribute up to 14% of your salary. Obviously the more you save the faster you will reach you goal, but not all 401k retirement plans allow you to invest such a large part of your salary.

3. The plan allows you to take a loan or allow withdrawal for hardship. Taking money out of your retirement plan is never a good idea, but sometimes it is unavoidable. Many companies will allow you to use some of your investment when you are in a financial crisis, but you will have to prove that it is your last hope and you will have to the pay taxes.

4. If you get updates and the ability to transfer money among funds daily. One of the best features of any 401(K) plan, is that you are in control of your investment. Having these features give you great flexibility to put you money where you see fit.

5. Speaking of flexibility, a top notch plan should have at least 10 investment options. Most companies offer at least 6, but the more options you have the better.

   These are 5 features that some of the best 401(K) plans offer. Your company might not offer all of them, but even a few is better than none.

Have you ever locked your self out of your car? How about lose the keys to your house? If you have, then you know how much of an inconvenience it can be, not to mention how much money it can cost. With a little preparation you can save yourself the headache and a few bucks. Having spare keys is simple, inexpensive and should only make sense.

I learned this the hard way a few years ago when I lost all my keys. I was out shopping when it happened and could not get into my car, house, and a few other private places I needed keys to open. The taxi ride home, a locksmith to open my house, and taxi ride back was over $100 and I still had to buy spare keys to replace to ones I lost. Needless to say it was not a good day. I have since learned my lesson and am ready if this was to every happen again.

A little safety advice: Don’t hide your spare key above the door frame or in one of those fake rocks as this is one of the first places a thief would look. Instead trade keys with your spouse, family or trusted friend. I keep the spare key to my car wrapped in plastic and taped to a metal rod under my car and it has come in handy more than a few times. You would really have to be searching for it to find it. I am sure you can come up with better places to keep your spare.

It is not just about having spare keys, but how being prepared can save you money in many aspects of your life. I guess the lesson here is to try and be ready for life’s little hurdles.

HELP OTHERS FINANCIALLY BY SPREADING THE WORD!:

]]> http://www.jinij.com/spare-keys-can-save-you-money-or-being-prepared-for-lifes-hurdles/feed/ 0 http://www.jinij.com/book-on-my-own-two-feet/ http://www.jinij.com/book-on-my-own-two-feet/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:22:13 +0000 J.Scott http://www.jinij.com/?p=674

Well, it is time to write another book review. Since I just finished reading On My Own Two Feet by Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar, it only make sense that this book is the subject of my review. Yes, I am aware that it was written for the fairer sex, but I wanted to take a quick look into how women think about finance. What better way than to read a book written by females for females?

This book is a quick, smart read and that is important because it is geared towards women with careers and social lives. It gives them a fast informative look at how to make their money work best for them. The message is super clear and to the point. Amazingly the duo covers all the basics of saving, investing, retiring, understanding and using credit wisely, budgeting, and still find room to give a life strategy in less than 200 pages. I like the chapter on prioritizing your financial plan, where they lay out their seven step process to reaching your financial goals. Their seven steps are all great gems that are cut to perfection. I know I am giving this book a lot of praise, but it is really a good book.

On My Own Two Feet is another 5 star financial book in my opinion. It is a must read for ever one, not just women. Get it at Amazon

Most of us have more than one credit card in our wallets and use them on a daily basis, but have no idea how they work. We just swipe the card, sign the receipt and grab our bags and go. Credit cards do make out lives a bit easier and when used responsibly are the best source to build up credit scores. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes after you swipe and I will try to explain. Hopefully you will have an understanding of how your money is distributed.

Merchant:

First you have the store, gas station, website, or anywhere you swipe or input your card number. We all know these places too well, so I won’t go into more details about them.

Acquirer:

Next you have what is called the acquirer or merchant credit card processing services, such as paypal.

Issuer:

The acquirer then send your information to the the issuing bank. This is the bank that you see printed on your card or the bank that you applied to for the card. The bank is the one lending you the money to buy your item.

The bank checks your account and make sure you have enough to cover your purchase. This information is the sent back to the credit card processing service and before they send it back to the merchant they take a small cut, which is split between them and Visa, Master card, Discover etc. The merchant get the green light and hands you a receipt and your item. The merchant takes there cut and use the rest to replace the item for the next customer.

All this takes place in a matter of seconds and is way more complicated then I make it sound, but these companies do there best to keep it as simple as possible for the cardholders. So, that is it, what happens after you swipe your credit card.

When planning for retirement you will have a lot to take into consideration. One of the best and most involved resources you have is your 401(k). It is hands down the most generous retirement investment out there, but all the benefits it has to offers will only pay off if you are proactive and make smart investments. Unlike pensions or social security, where you just have to show up to work to reap the benefits, 401(k) gives you more control and more responsibilities.

Making the right investment is the key to getting a generous return from your 401(k) when you retire. While you might think the best thing to do is reinvest in the company you work for, most experts advise against it. In fact, investing all your funds in any single company is never an good idea. Any good long term investment portfolio is spread out across many stable companies in different industries. That way if one company or an entire industry fails you only lose a fraction of your investments and as the recent recession made clear, it’s not impossible for any company to fail.

As far as what company you should invest in, that is left completely up to you. Not even the company you work for will tell you where you should invest your money. If you don’t have time to learn how to invest in your 401(k), the best thing you can do is hire a personal financial planner. They can help you to chose the right type of investments to make and help you track it to reach your retirement goals. If you do have the time and want to learn I recommend you read 401(K) Take Charge Of Your Future by Eric Schurenberg it is a good book to get you started. It is impossible for me to cover all your options in this article, but I will be writing many articles covering retirement, check the investing section of this site for updates.

HELP OTHERS FINANCIALLY BY SPREADING THE WORD!:

]]> http://www.jinij.com/diversify-your-401k-retirement-plan/feed/ 0 http://www.jinij.com/a-basic-financial-life-plan-for-young-adults/ http://www.jinij.com/a-basic-financial-life-plan-for-young-adults/#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:31:54 +0000 J.Scott http://www.jinij.com/?p=653 We all know it takes more than just wanting something to make it materialize. You can want almost anything, but without taking steps to get it, a want is all that it will ever be. Financial freedom is something most of us want and in order to make it a reality we have to do some personal finance planning. Without a plan, it is very likely you will not get close to those “big” wants in life.

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!