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| Let's be honest here. You're lazy. It's OK. We all are sometimes. The good news is that technology has made personal money management help easy – even for lazy people like you. |
| In this guide, you'll get two suggestions for a range of financial categories (Budgeting, Spending, Investing, Saving, and Debt Reduction). If you're really feeling ambitious, try the "advanced" option. For you real lazy bums, just stick to the "basic" option. |
| Acting financial advisor says “Listen Up!” |
| You still with me, as I offer a bit of investment advice and other tips for a moment? Drink some coffee if you need to! If you're alert enough to read this, you can follow these simple steps to improve your financial planning and health (we'll talk about your beer belly later). |
| Budgeting Money |
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| Basic: Google Docs Spreadsheet. List all of your expected bills in one column. List your actual expenses from last month in another. Categorize as needed (e.g. healthcare expenses, legal expenses, etc.). Reconcile and update often, and add new columns each month. Bam! You’ve got more than just an expense report. You’ve got a personal budget. |
| Advanced: Manage and analyze your bank accounts and credit card accounts with new startups Geezeo or Mint. Your transactions will be auto-tagged for easy budgeting. Understanding your budget will help you identify opportunities for saving and investing as well as potential borrowing needs. Zing! |
| Spending Money |
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| Basic: Don't use cash. To harness the power of online finance applications, you need to spend with a debit or credit card. Stick to 1 credit or debit card. Keep a $20 in your wallet for emergencies, but always use your card whenever possible. |
| Advanced: Stick to the basics on this one. |
| Saving and Investing Money |
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| Basic: Ask your employer to set up a direct deposit of a percentage of your paycheck into an online savings account. If you don't see it, you can't spend it. |
| Advanced: Become a lender on Lending Club. You'll earn great returns with just a few mouse clicks. And you don't even have to wear a cheesy banker hat. |
| Debt Consolidation + Debt Reduction = Debt Relief |
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| Basic: Spend less. Spend less. Spend less. Get it? |
| Advanced: Call your credit card companies and negotiate a low interest rate, something substantially lower than what you’re getting now. Just a few phone calls could save you hundreds each month. Your providers may currently offer a low-interest credit card option you don’t yet know about. When it comes to being smart about how to pay off credit cards, consider how many you really need in the long run. Additionally or alternatively, refinance your high-interest credit card debt with a personal loan from Lending Club. Debt be gone! |
| Wow. See, you made it to the end. I told you it was an easy guide! Congrats! |
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Posted by DebtKid :: January 8, 2008 @ 11:10 am
3 Comments
[...] Also, I have a post up today over at lending club about basic finance tips for lazy tech’s. [...]
You're telling me that I'm Lazy? I'm kidding with... great article.
I am trying the envelope method this year which limits most purchases to cash instead of a card.
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