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Young people get a bad reputation in society these days. Actually, the concept of blaming ills on younger adults is nothing new. Certainly the non-conformist generation of the 1960’s got their fair share of bashing in their day. Nowadays, young adults contend with many stereotypes, some imagined, others that are real and are completely unique to their generation. One of the preconceptions is that they are not responsible with money. In a lot of cases, that notion is true.

Most college graduates leave school with an average of $20,000 worth of school loans saddled to them. Couple that figure with several more thousand from the numerous credit cards they’ve accepted and possibly even a car loan, and some college graduates can feel as though they’ve lost before they’ve even begun. Irresponsibility and indebtedness is common within younger generations, yet that fact doesn’t make the challenges that debt presents easier to deal with. There are, however, some very real ways to manage debt and to prevent falling back into it.

If young adults are already in debt, then the ship has already sailed on preventing themselves from getting into that trap. It is never too late, however to right the ship. Even though a person may be starting in a harder position, they can always learn from their experiences and add those experiences to their money management-personal finance knowledge.

It’s important to note that debt is necessary for most people and that not all debt is bad. For instance, lenders look upon student loans and mortgages favorably as positive debt if the account is in good standing. Credit cards, though useful at times, are the things that get most young people into trouble. Many credit card companies approach people as young as eighteen with credit card offers, often times on college campuses. If a parent or another guardian hasn’t properly taught a young person of the pitfalls of credit card debt, ignorance and irresponsibility could very well be causes that makes a young person indebted. There is no such thing as a free anything!

To prevent young adults from falling into poor money management habits, it’s important to give them money management-personal finance responsibilities early. In addition, an overall financial education is vital to a responsible view of how money flows through our global economy and how it affects their bank account. For instance, opening a low balance checking account, requiring them to get a job and budget and save income can be key learning tools and a good foundation for young people. Fiscal responsibility is essential to understand how money functions as a tool in our society.

Once they’ve reached adulthood, encouraging young adults to continue to educate themselves about money management – personal finance becomes even more important. The doors that open to further indebtedness are just as vast as the doors that open to financial freedom. An understanding of money as a tool and a respect for it will help to make smarter, more financially savvy adults. It’s also important to review that how you see money and wealth is a choice. What will happen is that financially savvy adults teach their children to be financially savvy, and it becomes a domino effect. Think of the doors that would open to so many more people if they chose financial freedom versus indebtedness.

Young adults can learn proper money management-personal finance techniques if they are taught early on in life and stay committed to those principles. Once a young person becomes independent, it’s easy for that newfound freedom to turn into irresponsible spending habits. Young people, with help and the proper money management strategies, can become responsible adult consumers and investors.

By: Jeri Atleson

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Most people start to understand they have a need to change their attitude towards money when they start to get into debt. They begin to realize their personal finance knowledge is not all it could be. Their money is being mishandled and they realize their lives will be a whole lot easier and their stress levels will decrease if they simply changed their attitude towards their own money.

Are you one of these people? Do you understand that by preparing a budget you will see clearly where your money is being spent? You will learn, possible for the first time, where your money is being wasted. Once you come that that realization, you are well on the way to improving your personal finance knowledge.

If you know where your money is being wasted you now have an opportunity to do something about it. You will also be able to understand how you can change your methods to get the same results while spending less money.

Try and consider exactly what you can do with all that ‘lost’ money you are about to find. With your budget prepared and with this additional money coming in you will be better off financially almost at a stroke.

Think about what you spend your money on now. How much do you spend on minor expenses such as daily coffee or takeaway food or anything else like those? You will be able to quantify that with your budget. Then you will know, not guess, how much you can save without reducing your quality of life. Work out how what you can do with that money if you save it for a year. You will be amazed.

You must be aware that, at best, spending money will alleviate your emotional problems temporarily. If you do spend for emotional reasons you will find yourself spending more and more without getting any lasting benefit. You also run the risk of increasing your debt which will increase your emotional problems. I am sure you do not want to go down that route.

You are in charge of your own finances. So it is in your interest to start increasing your knowledge about all aspects of your personal finance. The first thing to do is to prepare your budget. Then start setting yourself financial goals, both short term and long term. Make your goals realistic because no-one wants you to be unhappy then set about making your goals a reality.

The common saying is ‘money cannot buy happiness’ and it is true. But it does not tell the whole story. A lack of money can definitely promote unhappiness. If you follow these steps and increase your personal finance knowledge you will be able to take control of your own finances. Then you will be financially better off than the majority of people, especially in the long term.

Your attitude towards money and debt has a huge bearing on the quality of your lifestyle.

By: Barry Wilkinson

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In this article I would like to conduct a personal finance software review of the Quicken product offerings designed for personal use. There are several personal finance software products on the market that do wonderful jobs of helping families manage their finances, but I am most familiar with Quicken as I have been a user of its products for over eight years. I have been completely satisfied with the features Quicken provides and would like to review and compare the benefits that its product offerings deliver.

Quicken Starter Edition

Formerly known as Quicken Basic, the Quicken Starter Edition is an excellent solution for individuals who will be using personal finance software for the first time. The three main features the Quicken Starter Edition delivers are: (1) balancing of your checkbook electronically, (2) tracking how you spend your money by being able to categorize purchases, and (3) monitoring and updating all your investment and banking accounts in one place. It basically provides a “one-stop shop” for all of your personal finance concerns.

Quicken Deluxe

Although the Quicken Starter Edition is a fantastic product, I believe the average family considering a personal finance software product should start with Quicken Deluxe. The reason is that, in addition to offering all of the features of the Quicken Starter Edition, Quicken Deluxe provides the capability to download banking and investment account transactions automatically. This makes reconciling your checking account, as well as your other accounts, extremely simple. In addition, Quicken Deluxe allows you to create savings goals and track their progress, store statements and records electronically, and plan for a new home, a baby, or retirement. For most families, this is the best place to start.

Quicken Premier

For those families who manage their own investments and require additional tools to monitor and measure their progress, Quicken Premier is the perfect solution. Quicken Premier offers all of the wonderful features from Quicken Deluxe plus several others, including: (1) generating various investment performance reports, (2) analyzing and optimizing your portfolio with special tools, (3) generating Schedule A, B, and D tax reports, and (4) setting investment alerts to notify you when certain conditions are in place. A truly remarkable tool for the do-it-yourself investor!

Quicken Home & Business

The three software solutions above are all excellent choices, but if you own your own business, none of these will be sufficient for the additional monitoring and record keeping required of you. Enter Quicken Home and Business. Though not as powerful a solution as Intuit’s QuickBooks products, it is the perfect choice if you have a small business with no payroll requirements, or especially for a part time business. In addition to providing all of the wonderful features of Quicken Premier, Quicken Home and Business allows: (1) tracking and categorizing of both business and personal expenses, (2) creating customized estimates and invoices, (3) generating profit and loss reports, (4) tracking vehicle mileage and other Schedule C items, and (5) monitoring upcoming bills and unpaid invoices. If you are considering a small part-time business, this solution is perfect to get you started.

In conclusion, Quicken offers a wonderful lineup of products that are designed to meet the varying needs that different families require. This personal finance software review has aimed to provide you with a basic overview of each product to help you decide which solution would be most appropriate for your family. Hopefully this discussion convinces you of the incredible value personal finance software delivers to its users. I can only speak from personal experience.

By: Charles Hebert

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All forms of educated people, intelligent individuals from all walks of life in professional occupations are often the authors of these complaints. They have managed to come to grips with law, the working of the medical professions or indeed the law of the land but when it comes to tackling the policy documents of a mortgage protection insurance plan, they tend to be totally bewildered.

I am not surprised. For far too many years the financial service industry has smothered itself in complete jargon, essentially to bewilder the consumer and conceal poor value for money . Successive UK governments have not helped, making some areas of personal finance such as pension or tax related issues impenetrable to understand, to some of the finest brains in Britain. Indeed, on such occasion they have been instrumental in causing some of the biggest problems to impact up personal finance world. A good example is mortgages interest rates.

It is against this existing backdrop that I will undertake to write a series of articles related to personal finance. Wherever possible, I will try compare personal finance views and then seek to cut the verbiage and highlight complex financial areas in simple, good old plain English. And I don’t suspect that this will be no easy task. Indeed, I will spend many a Friday or even Saturday night burning the midnight oil and banging my head against the study wall in attempt to penetrate the deepest bowels of the current personal finance world.

This article on personal finance will not actively solve your personal finance worries – that is completely down to you. But if it helps to expand your knowledge or indeed understanding of the personal finance world, or if provides you with just one tip to go out and improve your knowledge of personal finance, these articles may indeed proved a worthy aim.

By: Elizabeth Mathers Stankovic

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Taking a vacation can be an important part of your yearly routine… after all, it’s been shown in medical studies that individuals who go on vacation at least once per year not only tend to live happier lives but also may have longer lives as well.

Unfortunately, vacations aren’t free; it can sometimes be all that a person can do to scrape together the money to go on their vacation and the person generally comes back to face their various financial problems without the money that they need to repay them. With a little bit of effort throughout the year, however, it is entirely possible to build up a vacation fund without breaking the bank. Below you’ll find some suggestions about how you can save up the extra money that you need while keeping the rest of your finances in check.

Yearly savings

One of the easiest ways to save money for a vacation is to do it a little at a time over the course of a year. Find a large container and designate it as the “change” jar, filling it with loose pocket change and the occasional loose bill at the end of every day. Though it may seem like a small amount, after the end of a year you’ll find that you’ve managed to set aside a pretty significant amount of money. Depending upon how much change you have, you might even have to empty the jar once or twice before the year is up!

Make it a family affair

To help make saving for a vacation more enjoyable, get the entire family in on it and make it somewhat of a game. Set up a small savings account to be used for vacation money, and make a note each time a family member sets aside some money to go into the vacation fund. At the end of the year, you might have whoever had put in the most money have a larger say in where you’re going for the vacation or perhaps they’ll have more spending money allocated to them on a shopping trip.

It’s important to make it fun for any children who might be wanting to participate, and make sure that they have a little bit of extra change or other money to put in from time to time so as to give them an above-average chance of winning the grand prize.

Borrowing for a vacation

Though many people might think it to be an unnecessary expense, taking out a loan to pay for vacation expenses is actually a common occurrence. The loan is often a smaller amount and should only be used to subsidize the money that you’ve saved in other ventures. Taking out a loan can mean the difference between an okay vacation and one that’s truly great, so as long as you can afford to repay the loan later you should at least consider looking for a good loan rate.

Reducing vacation expenses

You might also want to consider ways to make your vacation a bit more friendly on your wallet. Plan visits to certain attractions outside of the peak season, or go on theme vacations that involve a lot of sightseeing or camping in order to have a good time without spending a lot of money. Take the time to plan out your vacation in advance, estimating your expenses and cutting unnecessary expenses where possible. Remember that it’s a vacation, however, and don’t sacrifice a good time for the sake of saving just a little bit of money.

By: Jerry Warner

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It has been said that nearly 61% of businesses are launched with either private capital or capital that is invested into their business by family and friends but investment doesn’t have to stop with merely just your family and friends, which is why equity finance exists.

Equity finance is cash that is invested into your business in return for a share of your business. These investments of cash never have to be repaid and don’t have interest attached to them. Equity finance is true risk capital as there is no guarantee that the investor will get their money back at all and these investments are not tied to assets that can be removed from your business should it fail.

The way in which investors get a profit from their investment is the fact they have a share in your business. This share means that investors either get money that is generated either through a sale of the shares once the company has grown or through dividends, a discretionary payout to shareholders if the business does well.

There are several types of equity finance such as business angels and venture capitalists. Each type of equity finance varies in the amount of money that is available for investment and the process of completing the deal.

If your business can support a growth rate of a least 20% you are more likely to be able to get equity finance. If you can’t generate a growth rate of at least 20% in your business then you are unlikely to be able to gain equity finance. It is the idea of control and the prospect of higher returns if your business is successful that attracts people to invest in your business

Sadly however many people are still highly reluctant to seek the help of equity finance as they see the idea of it as ‘relinquishing control’ of their business. Many small businesses are especially reluctant if their business is growing fast. As a business owner you should ask yourself the following questions below making any decisions about choosing to use equity finance:

o Are you prepared to give up a share of your business as well as some of its control?

o Are you and your management team confident in the business and the products and services that are on offer?

o Does your business have a unique selling point?

o Do you have drive to grow your business?

o What industry experience and knowledge does your management team have?

You should also consider the following when it comes to obtaining equity finance:

o How much funding do you need?

o How much control are you hoping to retain?

o How long do you need your funds for?

Each business should investigate the options that are open to them when it comes to finance. Equity finance is medium to long term finance and is the perfect type of finance that is open to small businesses, especially if you are an entrepreneurial business. Entrepreneurial businesses are what private equity investors are mainly interested in. This is because they have aspirations and a high potential for growth.

If you are interested in the use of equity finance it is important that you speak to a financial team who can put you in touch with people who will be able to put you in touch with the right investors.

By: Helen Cox

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In the good old days, personal finance for most people meant simply balancing their checkbook once a week and making sure they had enough money in the bank to cover the monthly bills. Of course that was long before the days of multiple credit cards, electronic fund transfers, PayPal, and the dozens of other complicated financial transactions made by even the average person on a daily basis. These days, keeping track of person finances can be quite a chore and can often overwhelm you, leading to a less than perfect financial situation.

Modern life has created additional headaches in our daily lives, but fortunately it has also provided new tools to use to control them. Personal finance software is the best option for keeping one’s personal finances organized and up to date.

Personal finance software comes in many varieties, each offering a specific set of financial tools. The simplest forms simply keep track of multiple bank accounts, including credit card accounts. The most complete versions offer tax tracking, investment tracking, budget analysis, electronic banking and a long list of other features. How much you need depends on your situation and how closely you want to track your finances.

Most banks now offer free electronic banking to their customers. Make sure that whichever program you choose, it is capable of taking advantage of electronic banking. The vast majority of programs offer this feature as standard so you shouldn’t have to look hard. With electronic banking, you can easily check your balance, automatically download statements, transfer funds among accounts and have all your information seamlessly transferred into your electronic account register.

The two powerhouses of financial software are Quicken from Intuit Corporation and Microsoft Money. Both companies offer several versions of the program and generally offer the same features. The interfaces are slightly different and one’s preference will likely come down to which one appeals to you most. New editions are released each year to account for changes in banking and tax law and owners of the previous year’s edition will receive discounts to upgrade.

Another option that is growing in popularity is software that is kept entirely online. You never actually download a program to your computer and can access your information from any computer connected to the Internet, including SmartPhones. This is referred to as “cloud computing.” Some websites offer a low monthly fee to use the software and other sites are free and entirely advertising supported. Some people prefer this method for its convenience and other people stay away from these programs due to security fears.

Once you begin to use personal finance software you’ll wonder how you ever managed your finances without it. People become addicted to seeing the computer generated reports of exactly where their money goes each month. They often find this makes it easier to create a budget and stick to it. Even if you simply want to keep your basic checking account up to date, personal finance software is worth the small price.

By: Victor Kramb

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When talking about investment management firms, it is very important to understand profit maximization and wealth maximization. According to the objective of profit maximization, the ultimate goal of a business enterprise is to maximize its profits. All the efforts of the organization are to be directed to achieve this goal. The profit maximization objective is justified, as business is conducted for earning profit. When profit earning is the aim of the business, profit maximization should be the obvious objective. Profitability is an indicator of the efficiency with which the firm is managed. The higher the profit, the better the efficiency. For growth and expansion, profit is the main source of finance. To meet unforeseen contingencies reserves are necessary, which is possible only if there is enough profit.

However, the profit maximization objective is objected to on some grounds. The term profit is vague. It may assume different meaning in different contexts. It may be short-term or long-term. The concept of profit maximization generally ignores the time value of money. All profit gained in different time periods are taken together. The risk involved in any given project and the uncertainty of return are not at all considered. Accounting bias influences profit.

On the other hand, according to the objective of wealth maximization the ultimate goal of a business enterprise is to maximize the wealth of the shareholders, which is represented by the market value of the shares of the firm. Wealth is defined as the net present worth of the firm, i.e., the present value of all future returns.

Though the wealth maximization objective seems superior to the profit maximization objective, it is to be noted that the former is based upon the latter. The market price of shares, which is the indicator of the wealth of the firm, is based on the long-term returns of the firm. The returns that accrue to the investor would be a function of the earnings of the company. Thus it can be said that these objectives are not competing.

By: Thomas Morva

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The area of personal finance covers a broad variety of topics involving money which include areas such as budgeting, expenses, debt, saving, retirement and personal insurance among lots and lots of others. It can almost seem a little overwhelming for those of us without a good plan how to tackle it. Understanding how all of your incomes and expenses work together can lay the groundwork for a solid financial foundation for you and your family.

My advice if you feel that you’re a little over your head financially is create you own personal financial statement. A statement, done the right way, acts as financial roadmap; guiding you from where you are now to where we want to be tomorrow. A personal financial statement can also provide fixed points of reference when measuring progress over a period of time. They also help you make smart decisions about financial matters.

Here is how you can create you own personal financial report quickly, easily, and most important, correctly:

The first thing you need to do is find the type of financial report which will be the easiest for you to maintain on a monthly basis and for this I recommend Microsoft Office. Their programs make it quite simple to use. You can even find some pre-formed financial reports and monthly ledgers at most of the leading office supply stores. Organize all of your monthly bills together and then and separate them into categories for housing, utilities, medical expenses, school loans, and car payments. There should also be a separate category put together for things like dining out and other miscellaneous expenses. Now that you have your entire monthly expenses organized, begin to enter them into your personal financial report by whether or not they are tax deductible. Also make sure it contains payments you make on both an annual or semi-annual basis, like insurance. This is done by dividing the annual payment into twelve equal installments. Gather all of your sources of incomes such as pay stubs from work, pensions, retirement income, rentals, child support, etc., and add them all together. Simply divide your payout by twelve, if you receive an annual payout, for determining what your monthly income would be. Once again, you’re working in the financial report. In the appropriate space enter you total income, the net amount from your paycheck. Your net amount would be the amount you take home after all the taxes have been deducted. The total amount of all of your monthly expenses should next be added together. Once you have that number, enter that into the financial report. Subtract the number you get as your total monthly expenses from the total monthly income you figured out earlier. That amount is your monthly cash flow which could then be saved or used for extras expenses. Keep the financial report up to date every month by choosing at least one day a month for updating.

By: TL Kleban

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