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.

If you are trying to sell your home and it has been on the market for a while, you may want to consider how your home smells. Strange odors in the home may discourage potential buyers from bidding on your house. Though your house might be perfect for their budget, a smelly home will quickly make them think twice before placing a bid.

Pet odors are a common scent that may hang around where they are not wanted. If you have a dog or cat in your house, you can combat animal odors by thoroughly shampooing your carpets.

You can either shampoo them yourself or hire a professional to do so. After the carpet dries, invite a friend over to smell the results. If she can still smell the scent of Fido or Miss Kitty, you may have to use a deodorizing treatment.

If the deodorizing treatment does not work, you can always replace the carpet and padding in your house. Before installing the new carpet, scrub the floorboards with a product that removes odors.

Mildew odors in the house will also discourage potential buyers from choosing your home. It grows in bathtubs, showers and sinks. Mildew also takes up residence on walls and on furniture.

The result is a musty smell that immediately assaults your nose. A mixture of 25 percent bleach and water can help combat mildew smells in the home.

You can also purchase products that help remove mildew from furniture, bathroom fixtures and walls.

While your family may enjoy the scent of your home cooking, potential buyers may not be too crazy about that curry dish you cooked last night. People on the hunt for a new home want to envision themselves living there.

It is difficult for them to do so if they have a negative reaction to the odors in the house. When cooking meals, consider using the kitchen’s exhaust vent to eliminate cooking odors.

You can also spray odor eliminators on the carpets or replace the air filters in your home. For a temporary solution, you may wish to burn pleasantly scented candles in order to mask any cooking smells.

Smoking odors are a definite turnoff when non-smoking people enter a home for sale. In order to eliminate cigarette smells, it may be necessary to thoroughly clean the carpets, upholstery, curtains and bedding.

Cigarette smoke gets trapped in fabric and can offend the noses of non-smokers who are interested in buying a new home.

If you want to sell your home in a struggling market, make sure that your home does not contain any objectionable odors. Ask your real estate agent to take a whiff of the home and give an honest opinion.

Invite a close friend to your home and ask him to describe any smells he may sense. When opening your home so that potential buyers can view it, make sure your rooms are uncluttered. Store some pieces of unnecessary furniture in a storage unit so that the rooms appear more spacious and airy.

A mortgage calculator is a tool that potential home buyers use to help them select a new home. Although potential buyers consult a mortgage calculator when deciding what type of house they can buy, they will also consider the overall impression of a home before deciding to place a bid. Keep your home competitive in a struggling housing market by ensuring that it smells clean and appears spacious and comfortable.

Everyone knows that carrying a few too many pounds can be bad for your health, with more than 112,000 Americans dying each year from obesity-related problems.

However, not so many people stop to think about the effect that their weight has on their wealth, but when all factors are taken into account, the overall impact is considerable.

Setting aside the higher grocery bill that anyone eating calorific or excessive amounts of food must fork out for, there are a number of other additional expenses that those with a more streamlined physique do not have to face.

Individuals caught in a yo-yo cycle of dieting often attempt a number of different methods to trim down and pay out for diet pills as well as alternative methods such as patches, hypnotherapy or in extreme cases, even surgery.

Needless to say, these costs can quickly eat into money that has been set aside for a rainy day.

Individuals with a particularly large frame may find they also are unable to squeeze into a single airline or cinema seat and have to purchase two tickets in order to fit.

Medical insurance also comes at a much greater cost for those who are obese, with a sliding scale of charges that increase as the BMI goes up.

Some insurers will refuse to provide any coverage for individuals who are morbidly obese, who rather ironically, are the very people that need the insurance the most as the probability of falling ill is much greater.

Another strategy some health care providers adopt is to exclude pre-existing conditions, meaning that anyone whose weight was at the wrong end of the scales when joining up could find themselves having to pay for their own bills if weight played a factor in the illness.

If you are overweight, it is therefore more important than ever to keep a reasonably sized financial buffer in the bank and to make the most of your money it is recommended that you look around the market to see where you could find the best rates.

Comparison websites can help take the pain out of researching; checking out savings at moneysupermarket would be a good place to start.

Even more worrying for those with a larger physique are the results of recent academic studies in to the impact that being overweight has on earning power.

Research conducted by both Cornell University and Ohio University demonstrated that wealth and weight were irrevocably connected, with heavier individuals lighter in the bank than their more slimline colleagues.

Figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics used in the Ohio publication showed that for every increase of 1 point in the BMI ratio, the net worth of the person dropped by $1000.

In the other piece of research carried out by John H. Cawley at Cornell, salary was found to go down as weight went up. Women who were 64 pounds heavier than the average had a wage that was 9% lower – a significant drop.

Whilst no-one can irrevocably prove that the drop in value is due to weight, other studies have reproduced the same results, leaving only one conclusion; that being obese is as bad for your wealth as it is for your health.

The idea of becoming a property developer yourself is not as crazy as it may sound. There are many small-time property developers who are making money from the development of housing blocks and hotels. You don’t need to be a billionaire, but you do need to do a little learning and take your new ‘small business’ and career very seriously.

There can never be any emotion involved when you are considering property development. In this article, we will look at some of the ways to get started, and look at how others have built a small fortune in a rather short time. You might not be working within a few years, and those rental checks will keep rolling in.

• Start-Up Funds. Obviously, some of your own savings are going to be necessary. With a good business plan based on your knowledge, getting finance might not be as difficult as you think. Banks love real estate, and they know they can get it back off you if you make a mess of things.

• Real Estate Learning the ins and outs of property and real estate will be essential. This does not have to be difficult either. To become a licensed real estate agent, you only need to do a short course. You will want to learn how to use property valuation software and real estate development software. These applications will make your life a lot easier.

• Location. Some will tell you that location is everything. In fact, some of the wealthiest property developers buy in the worst locations and make huge profits. Knowing how to spot the appropriate locations, and how to develop them is a skill you are going to have to learn.

• Making Money. Most people assume they make money when they sell their property after development. This is the wrong way to look at the situation. You make money when you buy. The lower you get the property for, is more money in your bank account. You should focus on getting the lowest possible price, and not focus on what you think you are going to make from it.

• Avoid Common Mistakes. Everyone will tend to make the same common mistake when they get involved in real estate. They will buy emotionally, they will buy risking the odds, and there is a list as long as your arm more. Study these common mistakes before you do anything, avoiding them will get you half way to success before you even start.

• Contractors. Having the right contractors you can rely on to do the job you want, at the pace they should, will be crucial to your success as a developer. You cannot build those new homes on your subdivision yourself. You need the support of the right team.

• Market Watching. Getting to know the market is essential. The market is more than just going up and down, there are many elements inside a market. You need to understand the market, and yet, you need to see individual sellers and buyers outside of the market. If you buy and sell high when the market is high, there is little profit to be made. You need to take a steady, controlled and strategic approach.

Real estate development could put you into a life of poverty and debt, and it could also make you very wealthy and comfortable in a very short time. If you are considering this new ‘hobby’ soon to become business, take your time and start your research now.

Owners of an investment property have been popularly characterised as retirees, the filthy rich or the overseas mogul. However, Australian property market trends have revealed a new player in the acquisition of investment realty – the techno-savvy, multi-taskers of Gen Y.

What we shall explore are some of the reasons why young people are choosing to invest in property and some of the market trends they are establishing. Also, to help those interested in investing in real estate, five very important investment tips shall be discussed.

Why Young Australians Choose to Invest in Property

In the past, young people were seen to be more concerned with saving money for overseas trips, buying a new car and moving out of home into a shared rental facility. Young people today, however, are choosing to stay at home longer (where they rarely have to pay rent) and pour a large portion of their wages into an investment property.

Young people (in remaining at home) are seeing this arrangement as a viable way to simultaneously save money and reap the rewards of rental income and capital growth on their investment property. Already parents around the country are crying to bring back that feeling of an empty nest!

According to many property analysts, the high rental returns and the affordability of houses in certain market hot spots has meant that real estate has become a profitable way to financially grow one’s wealth. Furthermore, many other forms of investment, like shares and bank term deposits, have performed worse since the Global Financial Crisis. The young, therefore, are cashing in on this current property market climate.

Worrying Trends for Young Investors

There are some worrying trends emerging in the property market, concerning young investors and the way they are managing their investment properties. Every year 25% of investors sell their investment properties within a year of buying it and this figure mainly consists of those in the Gen Y age bracket. It seems young people are selling their investment properties prematurely and missing out on a lot of potential capital growth and profits.

The reasons for young people not staying in the property market long enough can be anything from overstretching themselves financially to just sheer inexperience. This is why it’s important for young investors to get in touch with the right professionals who can provide them with legitimate property investment advice.

5 Tips for Young Investors

To help educate young investors, here are five important tips when thinking of getting involved in an investment property:

1. Seek expert advice from a range of professionals on property investment. Also, it never hurts to do your own research as this may help ensure that you are getting the right advice and not falling for a sales spin.

2. Develop an investment strategy or plan before you invest in a property. This will make managing your property easier and will give you a greater understanding of what you can afford (which leads to the next point).

3. Make sure you can afford it. Don’t overstretch yourself too much financially as you may need to initially support your investment property with your own cash.

4. Make sure your job is secure. As with the previous point, you need to have a steady cash flow to ensure you can support any short term losses on your investment property.

5. Try to stay in for the long haul. If you sell too early, you could be undercutting your potential profits.

Running a successful business can be a very difficult challenge. The many responsibilities and varied challenges that face a start-up business can be overwhelming, but there are ways in which you can prepare yourself and be ready for the challenges you will face. This 5 part guide will demonstrate ways in which you can ease the burden of running a successful business.

1. Taxes

One of the hardest elements of running a business is keeping track of all of the taxes that need paying. The tax system is a labyrinth which changes year upon year and is very confusing to manage. Most Sydney Siders choose to use accountants in Sydney to help them deal with the extra burdens imposed by taxes. This is often a wise decision because of the complicated nature of accounting.

Some individuals carrying out personal tax returns may be better off filling out their own returns because they are still ultimately responsible for it. However, the complexity of small business accounting means that it is usually wise to seek assistance when unsure because failure to get it right could lead to not only the loss of your business, but also your assets and personal savings.

2. Education

When running a business it is always important to keep educating yourself on the developments in the business world. This will allow you to prepare for any coming changes well in advance and will also allow you to adapt to make the most of any shift in buying patterns. Make sure you educate your staff too. The best way to retain a member of staff is to keep training them for better positions so that they may progress in their career through your company.

3. Use your own money

One of the key elements to running a successful business is the way in which it is set up. Using your own money when setting up a business will enable you to avoid the heavy burden of mortgage repayments. Making substantial monthly repayments can be crippling to a small business which can take months or years to begin to make a profit.

4. Protect yourself

When setting up a business it is essential to protect yourself should anything terrible happen. If your company collapses and you are not protected from liability then you could find yourself personally liable for the losses and forced to repay debtors from your personal savings, or even with your house. When setting up a company consider the business structure and how safe you will be should the business collapse. By setting up a limited company or a limited liability company you will be able to avoid becoming obligated to make repayments in the worst case scenario.

5. Be conservative

One of the biggest dangers to a new company is the wish to expand too fast. All successful businessmen dream of quick riches but it takes a long time to develop the system and create the safety nets needed for expansion. Secure yourself steady revenue in one area before considering moving to another with your business. Make sure you have staff capable of running all branches you wish to open because you will not have time to whilst managing more than one. Try not to borrow money for expansion because it will just mean the profit you make is eaten up by debts.

Most people appreciate the importance of having an emergency fund that is instantly available should a crisis occur, but once a buffer has been built up, what are the options for the rest of your savings?

Fixed rate bonds are one option that may be suitable for those who want to keep their capital safe but earn a decent rate of interest.

Fixed rate bonds are issued by banks and building societies and are a more rigid type of savings account that typically lasts between six months and five years.

Once the term of the bond has been selected, the interest rate will not budge between the bond being opened and expiry, regardless of what the Bank of England rates do.

Normally, no withdrawals are allowed without financial penalty so the funds must be essentially forgotten about for the duration of the term.

If for any reason the money must be withdrawn before the expiry of the term, there will usually be a loss of interest for anything up to around three months.

Having the money in an account that offers no automatic access means that it can be far easier to save and removes the temptation to dip into the funds for non-urgent spending.

Because the account needs little attention once up and running, it is a low maintenance way to save, with no need to constantly monitor markets and switch funds.

Another advantage is that the rate of interest is clear from the outset and will not change, making it easy to budget exactly for the amount that will become available upon maturity.

As a general rule, the longer the money is left invested the higher the rate of interest being offered is likely to be, but it is necessary to be absolutely clear that leaving your money tied up for the required length of time is possible before proceeding.

In the US, the equivalent fixed rate savings bond is the I Bond Treasury note, although it is also possible to purchase these types of bonds in a variable rate version too.

The fixed rate version is tied to an interest rate for the duration of the investment. The interest rate is announced in May and November annually and any bond taken out in that period is issued based upon that interest rate for the duration of its term.

Regardless of the term of the bond, the investment can be cancelled after 12 months but if the money is withdrawn before five years expires, there will be a forfeit of several months’ interest, usually around three months.

On an I Bond, interest begins to accumulate from the moment it is issued, with the money being added to the bond each month and payable when the bond is redeemed.

It is possible to purchase I bonds in $25 denominations with a maximum set at $5,000 per year and they are available not just in paper forms from banks but can also be purchased in electronic forms over the Internet.

Fixed rate bonds are a very safe investment and an easy way to protect you without risking any of the capital.

PC World, one of the world’s most respected consumer based IT magazines and online magazines, predicted the doom of the Chromebook one month before it was launched (Tom Hadley, PCWorld, May 15, 2011). It seems soon after launch, the respected magazine and online magazine has a lot of hat eating to do. Google’s Chromebooks were already in the top 10 selling laptops on Amazon in their first month, and in the top 5 selling laptops on Amazon in July 2011, as reported by CNET. Google is extremely pleased with their sales, and there are some reasons why they will continue to sell more. It is not like they have any issues of online marketing. We will see Chromebooks take a chunk out of the personal computing market. Here is a look at what is happening, why, and what to expect in the future.

Business

It is not surprising that business has not adopted the Chromebook in its early days. The business market is a little more complicated than the general consumer market, and it is heavily entrenched with Windows and a whole range of complicated issues, going back to the days of the 1970s and the launch of mainframes by IBM. There is no time to go into all of that in this article, but suffice to say, business will probably not be a big user of the Chromebook for some time to come.

The General Consumer

The average laptop consumer and average internet surfers are tired of fixing their laptop’s problems. They are tired of viruses, and they are extremely tired of paying for expensive software. They are even more tired of having to update their computer all the time. They are even more tired of having to constantly download software. They are fed up with it all. They want to turn on their laptop, get on the internet, do their email, and surf the internet. This is what the Chromebook is designed to do.

There is nothing else to using one. Apart from that, it will improve as Google improves the applications running on Chrome OS (Chromium) and the browser-based operating system will improve. If you are using Chrome to surf the internet on your Apple or Windows machine now, you will not want to bother with other browsers again. It is super-fast. It feels like your internet speed has been doubled. On top of that, it is super-safe. It doesn’t need constant updating, and it is very sturdy.

Cost

Google is offering the sale of their machines in a very attractive and intelligent way. For a monthly subscription fee (a low 28USD) over three years, you can get your machine sent directly to you in the mail. That is a total cost of 1008 dollars. That includes all the software and operating system (including all updates, which is unavoidable anyway because all of those items are online). Included is a monthly 100MB wireless 3G connection. That is cheaper than many mobile phone plans. Compare that with the cost of buying an Apple or newer PC with Windows, and the total costs are going to be less than one third. Your Apple and PC laptop will be junk in 2 years anyway.

Schools

Chrome is also offering special discount deals for students, and offering even better deals for schools or organisations with high numbers of subscribers at a single time. They have openly said they are ready to negotiate. Schools and educational institutions all need laptops for their students. We are even seeing children as young as 3-years old starting to use laptops as a part of their pre-school education.

Laptops in elementary schools have been common for some time. Forget all the Facebook/Twitter marketing, or anti-marketing of websites, which seem to be getting paid for their opinions, just like the Google Books project, Google is doing the world, and particularly schools, a favour with the Chromebook. I don’t work for Google, or have any association with them, but I am surprised at the negativity of some so-called professionals in the IT industry.

You would probably prefer not to be in a situation where you have to consider a loan. Being debt-free is something to strive for. Life, however, treats us differently at times.

If you consider a loan and you have a credit card, you may use your credit card facility as a “loan”. The advantage of using credit cards, and even credit cards for bad credit, is that you will have access to a 56 day interest-free use of the credit, but should you not repay it in full during that time, you will pay the appropriate rates.

Factors that will impact on your eligibility for a loan or access to a facility that allows you to use credit cards for bad credit are being unemployed, having recently changed jobs, being self-employed or having a poor credit history.

You will easily be eligible for a loan if you own property. The loan will be in the form of a mortgage bond and your house will be used to secure the loan.

Shop around for the best deal before deciding which bond to go for. The interest rates vary from company to company and the length of the loan also impacts on the rate.

Make sure that you are fully aware of the terms and conditions of the loan. The lower the amount you want to borrow, the lower the interest rate.

Normally, the lender will look at the following situations when considering a loan for you: your personal circumstances, the equity of your property and your ability to repay the loan.

Unsecured loans, where there is no collateral in the form of property, are available but with higher interest rates. This would work well for small loans.

Having a bad credit history will not be in your favor when applying for a loan. The lender will suspect that you will not repay and you may not qualify for the loan.

If you have a permanent job, finding a loan will be easier. The lender will know that with a steady income, repayment of the loan will not fall away.

Payment Protection Insurance is available to cover a loan if you are worried that you may fail on repayments. This is an additional cost on your monthly budget but could be considered.

In the event that you have a partner who is also employed, it would mean that should you lose your job, there is still an income coming in to the household.

Repayment of a loan and doing so on time are of the utmost importance. This establishes trust and will improve your credit history if you had a bad one. Late payment charges can also be levied.

Payday loans are available for those who wish to borrow money on the short term only i.e. borrowing for an immediate financial difficulty. High interest rates apply.

They have no bearing on your credit rating, but to be eligible for this, you need a steady job. On the plus side, there is no need to discuss your financial situation with any lenders.

Many checking accounts have overdraft facilities, also with high interest rates. If you do not have any of these bank accounts, these avenues will not be open to you.

Commercial property investment is complex by definition, and the new market environment is making it a lot more complex. The New Economy is phasing out traditional commercial property types, and replacing it with the 21^st century version, which is a very different type of property investment issue. It’s an indicator of changing times in the property market that the big new types of business software are commercial real estate software, property valuation software and even real estate developer software.

The commercial property market, an overview

The nature of the commercial property market is changing, and not for the better for some investors. Commercial properties as investment are as far as risk goes definitely the highest risk investments in this environment. If you’ve seen any of the rundown retail centers and old shopping strips around the world, these are the primary symptoms of change. The old shopping methods are changing with online buying, which is basically more about warehousing sales than retail.

Simultaneously with this move, the New Economy businesses, which are much smaller than their Old Economy predecessors, the big corporations, are looking for commercial space. The problem is that they’re looking for these premises on their terms, not necessarily the market’s. These businesses are cost misers, and they can afford to be. Their business model reduces costs to bare minimums. They don’t own shops, they own warehouse space. They market their goods and services all over the world.

It’s a standard operational principle for New Economy businesses to reduce overheads, and that includes commercial accommodation for themselves. They don’t need big offices, penthouse suites, or the rest of the paraphernalia of the old corporate world. Quite the opposite, they need communications facilities more than they need furniture.

The good news for commercial property owners in the New Economy

The good news for commercial property owners is that these businesses are hyper-efficient and very profitable thanks to their ultra-cost-conscious ways. As tenants, if you want someone who will be able to pay their rent, these are the people you want in your building.

Another good bit of news is that since they require less space, occupancy rates can increase safely, and without the sort of reliance on one big occupant for revenue. New Economy businesses typically don’t even need IT sections, administration or other major space occupancy. They routinely outsource their IT and admin. So you can have a larger number of occupants, using less space, and paying good rates.

There’s one caveat here, but it’s an important one- New Economy business are mobile as well as cost-sensitive, and to keep them on the premises, the cost of occupancy has to be in their bandwidth.

The days of the big organizations in big buildings may have gone, but the New Economy businesses are starting to do business on the same scale. An office building full of New Economy businesses may seem more like a clinic than a place of business, but it generates a lot more business than the old offices ever did. Watch this market, because it will never get dull.