Author Archive

Mike, my co-blogger here at Lending Club, wrote about the process that he follows with each bill. Mine is a bit different – it’s more of a “2.0” version of the process. Here is how I handle each bill:

Using services

This is similar to Mike’s. You have to utilize some service for a bill to be generated.

Bill not physically delivered

Whenever I can, and with almost every service it is possible, I cancel my paper delivery as soon as I set up the service and instead opt-in to email notifications. Most banks and other financial institutions are great at this and will send you email notifications whenever new bills are ready.

Set up automatic payments

Usually I will submit my credit card as my payment method, and whenever I can, I set up automatic billing. This way, I will never forget to pay a bill and incur late fees.

Pay/Checkup on 5th and 20th

For those companies that do not let me set up automatic billing or if it’s a bill on an irregular schedule, I make a note on my calendar to manually review these items twice a month.

Setup a dedicated email/folder

I have set up a different email account that only contains my bills and other financial notifications. This makes it really easy to manage; if the email is unread or unmarked, then the item still needs to be addressed. Otherwise, I know everything is handled properly.

Filing/records

I no longer keep copies of bills. Most companies have sites that you can now easily access and print all of your previous bills and statements. This makes keeping local hard copies of the bills a waste of paper and space.

Quarterly review

Every three months, I scan all of my bills and statements for irregularities and oddities. So far, there have been none.

Alerts

Most banks and credit cards will allow you to set up alerts for different types of activities. I have my accounts set to send me an email whenever a charge over $100 is made, so the potential for large fraud is minimized.

The idea is to spend as little time and resources as possible handling bills, and this process helps me achieve this. The next step would be to outsource the process altogether.

There are many occasions for giving gifts, especially to children. And one of the biggest occasions is coming up: Christmas. You might give clothes that the children can wear or some toys that will keep their attention, or you can gift them some shares of stock.

Buying them shares of stock might set a different course for their financial lives and get them interested in investing and personal finance at a young age. If presented as a fun game, kids will usually enjoy the experience and will want to learn more. You can even download software for them to track their stocks or you can use a simple spreadsheet.

There are different ways to accomplish this. If you already use a brokerage house, there might be offerings available to help you, so check that out first. You can also use a service like OneShare to buy one share and have a certificate framed and sent to you. OneShare might not be the best option if you plan on adding more shares. The last option is to open a guardian account with a low-cost broker. This would also allow the children to log in and track their investments in all kinds of graphs and get them accustomed to online investing.

Once they have their shares, you can also introduce the children to fantasy stock markets where they have an imaginary amount of money to trade and compete with other children. There are many benefits to having children learn stock investing. A good place to begin might be Young Money, where they can start with an imaginary $10,000 in fantasy money.

If you wish to give something more hands-on, consider Cash Flow for Kids, or the regular Cash Flow game if the children are older. Cash Flow makes it real and offers a fun way to learn the basics of personal finance.

Whichever gift you decide to give, make sure it’ll be something more than just a temporary moment of excitement and continue to pay dividends for a long time.

Is 2008 turning out to be the year you expected? Or has it been a total surprise? After making an end of year review, you can make 2009 a better year by listing your goals, making a plan and starting on that plan now.

Why plan now?

1. You have better perspective. Plans should be made ahead of time. You cannot plan while in the heat of battle. You need the outside perspective that comes with planning ahead of time. This also allows you to visualize different scenarios and better plan for alternatives.
2. There will be no time during the holidays. Many people think that they will have time off during the holidays that they can use to plan. Only the most disciplined people accomplish this. The rest allow the time to slip and end up with no plans at all. Put it on your calendar now to make goals and plan them out for 2009.
3. You can plan for alternatives. Plans will not always turn out as you envision them. Especially when you are relying on external factors. So it is beneficial to think of alternatives when you find that your initial plans will no longer work. If you are able to think of alternatives now, they might end up costing you less and be more effective. You don’t want to have to pay the high price of convenience.
4. Keep yourself accountable. Make your plans ahead of time, print them out and put them somewhere where you will see them every day. If you haven’t made your plans yet, put a blank piece of paper or an empty binder on your desk. The physical presence of your plans will remind you every day that you have plans and that you should be working on them. You can also review details and mileposts to make sure that you are on track and nothing is being missed.

Continuing with our series on vacation planning on a budget, here are some great resources to help you plan and make the most of your trip.

Planning the Trip

• TravelMuse – Use the “Inspire” feature to generate trips and possible costs for associated trips.
• Lonely Planet – Research any destination you want to visit, including the countries and background information.
• State Department – Make sure that it’s safe to travel to your destination and see what “red tape” is involved for international travel.
• TripCart – Traveling across the US? Or do you wish to stay near your own state? Use TripCart to check out all kinds of different things to do and see that are closer to home.
• TripWiser – Want to see trips other people are taking? TripWiser features real people that traveled to different destinations who have provided reviews, plans and pictures.
• TripCalculator.org – Calculate how many miles you will travel and the cost of those miles. The calculator takes into consideration your average speed and vehicle fuel economy.

Putting the Trip Together

• Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia – These sites are staples that you should use before any trip. Sometimes one site will have specials that others will not, so it’s worth a quick check.
• TripAdvisor – This site is one of the largest review sites. Read what other people had to say about most hotels and see their ratings. This is a must-see if you’re traveling to a place you haven’t been to before.
• Kayak – This site offers fast searching for flights and hotels and allows for easy comparison with other sites, such as Travelocity and Expedia.
• TripIt – This site easily organizes your trip itinerary. TripIt is great if you’re flying, especially with multiple destinations. Just forward your emails that you receive from sites to TripIt and they put the entire trip together for you.

During the Trip

• FlightStats – Keep track of flights, and be notified if they are late or canceled. Mobile alerts are also available.
• Weather.com Mobile Alerts – Get updated on any changes that might occur while traveling.
• Traffic.com – Get updates on traffic conditions when traveling in major US cities.
• Travel Mate For Blackberry – From the publisher: "One application that helps you to track all your travel needs with a travel plan, expense tracker, check list, country fact sheets and currency converter."

Are there other sites that you use to help budget for and plan trips? Please share your favorites!

Having gone on many road trips, ranging from one-hour to 36-hour drives, I have picked up a few tips about road trips that might be useful to you on your next trip. Continuing with our vacation series, here are some suggestions:

• Rent a car instead of using your car. There are many reasons for renting a car instead of taking yours, especially if your car is older. One, you don’t have to worry about the maintenance of the car. And you don’t have to pay a mechanic for a tune-up if anything is wrong. If your car breaks down, which has never happened to me after many years of renting, the rental companies have roadside assistance and will provide a new car for you. Two, you won’t put too many miles on your own car; this will help when you want to resell your car. Three, because of the higher gas prices, the rental companies are dropping prices to attract renters.
• Fill up the car with four adults. With four adults, you can split the costs of the trip four ways and everybody still has a cheaper trip. You can also switch off on the driving and continue driving through the night. This will save on having to stop and reserve hotels until you arrive at your destination.
• Bring your own food and entertainment. On the way out of town, stop at Costco, Wal-Mart or similar stores and stock up on snacks and drinks. This way, you will not have to buy food at gas stations, which are usually overpriced, and you can also eat healthier. Also pack your iPod and laptop or DVD player. On longer trips this is a must for passengers. Make sure to bring an in-car power strip and headphones splitters so more than one person can listen to the same DVD or music.

Road trips are supposed to be fun, so from the beginning you should set the expectation that no matter what, everybody is going to have fun. If you get lost, need to take a detour or your car breaks down, it will not ruin the entire trip. Have you taken a good road trip lately, and if so do you have other tips to share?