From the category archives:

saving

Now is the perfect time to regain control over your life if you have been having financial difficulties. The financial world is extremely complicated. However, it is no longer necessary to get an economics degree in order to understand it.

Free financial tools are sprouting up all over the internet. Instead of using difficult math problems or graphing calculators to figure out interest rates or plan budgets, programs exist that can do it for you.

Consider using some of these financial tools next time you’re sorting out your finances. Chances are, they will help you save time and money.

Mortgage Repayment Calculators

One of the best internet financial tools you can utilize is the mortgage repayment calculator. Calculating mortgage interest by hand requires advanced calculus formulas.

However, mortgage repayment calculators allow users to type in the loan amount, the rate and the duration of the term.

After clicking a button, the calculator will show the user how much their monthly payments will be as well as their total interest.

If you are considering purchasing a new home, find a couple of houses for sale that you love, one or two that you could live with and then a few in the middle.

Using a mortgage repayment calculator, enter in the cost of the houses. Compare the monthly payments to your monthly income and figure out what you can afford.

This will make your search for the perfect home go much more smoothly and you will have a lesser need for a real estate agent or financial adviser.

Financial Product Comparison Charts

Modern technology has also provided us with the ability to compare financial product rates across several different companies.

Prior to computers, people had to shop around for car loans or insurance rates in person. Doing this can be very time-consuming and awkward, especially since salespeople are constantly trying to convince shoppers to choose their deal.

Comparison charts completely eliminate this problem. Instead of sitting through an uncomfortable sales pitch, you can compare all of the numbers that you need in one place.

You can do calculations, pull up your budget spreadsheet and look up information about what you are getting into. You can make an informed decision without hurting someone’s feelings by turning them down.

Budget Planners

Prior to smart phones and computers, people had to hold on to receipts and physical bills to keep up with their expenses.

Now, there are programs that allow you to enter in your expenses directly on your phone. Many banks also offer free apps that update a list of your expenses automatically every time you use your ATM or credit card.

There are also programs and apps available that will automatically sort your expenses into categories such as dining, bills, or entertainment.

These programs often allow users to create a pie graph out of the sorted information. This makes it extremely easy to figure out where you need to cut back on spending.

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Urban Legends About Money

Thumbnail image for Urban Legends About Money

If you have ears or eyes, it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ve heard or read an urban legend. It’s the kind of thing which usually starts with “a friend of a friend told me that…” and goes on to describe some cool-sounding life hack or shocking fact which raises your eyebrows and intrigues you. Rather than [...]

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ISAs Explained – A Guide to Tax Free Savings

This is a guest post from Louise Tillotson: In the UK, each adult is allowed to save a maximum of £10,200 per year in an Individual Savings Account, or ISA. An ISA works in a similar fashion to a regular savings account, with a couple of exceptions. The first is that you can only deposit [...]

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Comparing Traditional and Roth IRA’s: Which Is Better

Retirement planning education can cover a large variety of topics such as Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), Self Employment Plans (SEPs), Roth IRAs and IRA rollovers just to name a few. Deciding on which investment vehicle is better for you overall can be a daunting task.  Below we’ll compare the Traditional and Roth IRAs since these [...]

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