Posts Tagged ‘Help’

Personal Finance Software to Help You Survive Financial Crisis

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Do you know how to avoid getting caught in the financial crisis? This question addresses one of the biggest fears most everyone has today. If giants like Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers get shaken to their foundations, how can an average person resist getting caught? The answer is simple: spend less than you earn. The era of blithe consumerism is coming to an end, and we should prepare for lean times. It’s time to keep track of all income and expenses and cut down unnecessary expenditures. These simple things will help you to stand bad times.
Part of the survival strategy is organizing your financial life using a good personal finance manager. It will help you to see where your money goes without the hassle of doing everything manually. There are many money management tools out on the market today. One of them is Personal Finances – http://www.financessoftware.com

Overview
Personal Finances is a personal finance manager that will help you to control your budget better than ever. With a glance at its summary view and reports, you will understand where your money goes, pinpoint areas of excessive expenditure and cut down unnecessary expenses. The program also provides future planning you can project expected spending and income and find out how much money you will have at a future date.
The program is ideal for beginners as it keeps budget management simple and intuitive. The program has a simple, uncluttered interface and a lack of advanced features, which are rarely used by ordinary users. For example, Personal Finances has no college or retirement planner. However, when it comes to managing financial accounts, designing and tracking a family budget, the program outshines many others.
Getting started with Personal Finances is a matter of a few minutes. Simply click around to familiarize yourself with the functionality and refer to the program help file if there’s anything you do not understand at first glance.
You’ll also be pleased to discover no advertising “bells and whistles” that could be found in other money management software. Personal Finances is calm and keeps you that way as you focus on organizing your budget.

Getting Around the Interface
When you run the program, it opens into the main window that puts the financial details, tools and options that matter most to you up front. At the top of the window you can see the main commands. A list of transactions – income and expenses – is displayed in the central area of the window and all accounts are in the left area. The icons at the top of the main window let you quickly go to any part of the program, create an account, category, view calendar and create reports. In the left area, there are buttons that let you add, edit or delete transactions.
There are two views for transactions – Account and Summary. By default, the program opens into the Account tab where you can see the transactions associated with a particular account. However you can click on the Summary tab and see all the transactions, regardless of the account they are associated with.

Setting Up Accounts
Accounts in Personal Finances describe where money comes from. The program supports different accounts, such as real bank account, credit card, cash and pocket money. Setting up an account is a breeze to do. Click on the Accounts icon at the top of the main window, click the Add button, then enter the properties of a new account – name, currency, comment. Personal Finances also allows you to set up an account budget for any period of time, so that the user doesn’t overspend. Existing accounts can be edited or deleted.

Entering Transactions
Entering transactions is just as easy. It requires a click on the Add button in the right area of the main window. In the dialog that opens, you need to select the type of transaction – income, expense or transfer between accounts, then enter all details associated with this transaction such as the account, amount of money, and date that will appear on the calendar or in the list of transactions that are due. Transactions can be defined with categories, family members, and tags. Tags provide a way to differentiate between similar transactions that fall into the same category. Categorization by family members will tell you about spending habits of each member of your family.
Transactions can be scheduled, which makes Personal Finances very handy for repeating transactions – tax payments, electricity bills, etc. The frequency for which you can set up a scheduled transaction is weekly, monthly, and annually. When the due date for the scheduled transaction comes, you should select the transaction in the scheduler list, right-click its record and select the Apply Now option to enter the scheduled transaction into the account used to pay the bill. You should also remember to make this payment in the physical world.

Reporting
Personal Finances helps you to understand the flow of your money and control expenditures with handy graphs and reports. You can see the reports generated by categories, family members and tags. Clicking on any item in the report you can drill down to transactions associated with the item. You can generate reports that cover any period of time. Results can be printed out or saved to HTML, CHM, or TXT.

Security
For your peace of mind, Personal Finances allows you to protect the budget database with a password so that no one will get access to your confidential financial information except you.

Portability
If you want to keep tabs on your budget on the move, you can get a portable version of Personal Finances that will run from a USB flash drive. The program can be run from any computer, without leaving any tracks behind.

Personal Finances has a free version and a full-featured commercial version with a 30-day free trial, so you can download the program to see if it will meet your personal finance management needs.

Keeping a budget with Personal Finances (http://www.financessoftware.com) provides big benefits in the form of savings and elimination of unnecessary expenses. This will definitely help you to survive the financial crisis and step into better times.

CEO and founder of ALZEX software – company producing software for home use. Our current products are Personal Finances, a complete financial solution for home users and Visual clipboard – handy clipboard history manager.

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Commercial Finance Funding Help And Working Capital Advice

Monday, December 14th, 2009

There have been some disappointing and unexpected actions taken by commercial lenders in response to recent financial events. This changing environment for business finance funding is likely to produce several new problems for commercial borrowers. To assist small business owners in their efforts to keep up with these imposing challenges, The Working Capital Journal is one of several commercial financing information resources which should be reviewed regularly. The working capital finance industry has primarily been operating on a regional and local basis for many years. In response to cost-cutting that has permeated many industries, there has been a consolidation that has resulted in fewer effective commercial lenders throughout the United States. Most business owners have been understandably confused about what this might mean for the future of their commercial financing efforts, especially because this has happened in a relatively short period of time. Of course, for some time there have been ongoing complex problems for commercial borrowers to avoid when seeking commercial loans. But what has produced a new set of business finance funding problems is that we appear to be entering a period which will be characterized by even more uncertainties in the economy. Previous rules and standards for commercial financing and working capital finance are likely to increasingly change quickly, with little advance notice by business lenders. Business owners should make an extended effort to understand what is happening and what to do about it due to this realization that substantial changes are likely throughout the United States in the near future for commercial finance funding. At the forefront of these efforts should be a review of what actions commercial lenders have already taken in recent months. The Working Capital Journal is one prominent example of a free public resource that will facilitate a better understanding of the responses by business lenders to recent economic circumstances. By publicizing actions taken by commercial lenders, this will contribute to these two goals, both of which are likely to be helpful to typical business owners: (1) To highlight controversial bank-lender tactics with a view toward reducing or eliminating questionable lending practices. (2) To help business owners prepare for commercial finance funding changes. Sources that currently include The Working Capital Journal are actively encouraging business owners to describe and report their financing experiences so that they can be shared with a broader audience to assist in this effort. Some of the most significant commercial financing changes reported so far by commercial borrowers involve working capital loans, commercial construction financing and credit card financing. A notable situation of concern is that predatory lending practices by credit card issuers have been reported by many business owners. Some specific businesses such as restaurants are having an especially difficult time in surviving recently because they have been excluded from obtaining any new business financing by many banks. One of the few recent bright spots in business finance funding, as noted in The Working Capital Journal, has been the continuing ability of business owners to obtain working capital quickly by business cash advance programs. For most businesses accepting credit cards, this commercial financing approach should be actively considered. Business cash advances are literally saving the day for many small business owners because most banks appear to be doing a terrible job of providing commercial loans and other working capital finance help in the midst of recent financial and economic uncertainties. For example, as noted above, restaurants are virtually unable to currently obtain commercial finance funding from most banks. However, if a restaurant accepts credit cards in their business operations, they are likely to be able to obtain needed cash from merchant cash advances and credit card factoring.

Learn how to avoid mistakes for commercial financing and commercial real estate loans – Steve Bush is a working capital finance expert => AEX Business Finance Funding and Commercial Loans

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Small Business Loans and Working Capital Finance Help

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

The Working Capital Journal is one of several commercial financing resources which should be reviewed regularly by small business owners to assist in keeping up with the imposing difficulties posed by rapid changes in the business finance funding climate. As noted below, there have been some surprising actions taken by lenders as a direct result of recent financial uncertainties. The increasingly complex and confusing environment for working capital finance is likely to produce several unexpected challenges for commercial borrowers.

The working capital finance industry has primarily been operating on a regional and local basis for many years. In response to cost-cutting that has permeated many industries, there has been a consolidation that has resulted in fewer effective commercial lenders throughout the United States. Most business owners have been understandably confused about what this might mean for the future of their commercial financing efforts, especially because this has happened in a relatively short period of time.

Of course, for some time there have been ongoing complex problems for commercial borrowers to avoid when seeking commercial loans. But what has produced a new set of business finance funding problems is that we appear to be entering a period which will be characterized by even more uncertainties in the economy. With little advance notice by lenders, previous standards and rules for working capital finance and commercial financing are likely to increasingly change.

With the current realization that substantial changes are likely in the near future for commercial finance funding throughout the United States, business owners should make an extended effort to understand what is happening and what to do about it. At the forefront of these efforts should be a review of what actions commercial lenders have already taken in recent months. The Working Capital Journal is one prominent example of a free public resource that will facilitate a better understanding of the responses by business lenders to recent economic circumstances.

By publicizing actions taken by commercial lenders, this will contribute to these two goals, both of which are likely to be helpful to typical business owners: (1) To assist in eliminating or reducing questionable lending practices by highlighting controversial lending tactics. (2) To help business owners prepare for commercial finance funding changes. Sources that currently include The Working Capital Journal are actively encouraging business owners to describe and report their financing experiences so that they can be shared with a broader audience to assist in this effort. Some of the most significant commercial financing changes reported so far by commercial borrowers involve working capital loans, commercial construction financing and credit card financing. A notable situation of concern is that predatory lending practices by credit card issuers have been reported by many business owners. Because they have been excluded from obtaining any new business financing by many banks, some specific businesses such as restaurants are having an especially difficult time recently.

One of the few recent bright spots in business finance funding, as noted in The Working Capital Journal, has been the continuing ability of business owners to obtain working capital quickly by business cash advance programs. For most businesses accepting credit cards, this commercial financing approach should be actively considered. Business cash advances are literally saving the day for many small business owners because most banks appear to be doing a terrible job of providing commercial loans and other working capital finance help in the midst of recent financial and economic uncertainties. For example, as noted above, restaurants are virtually unable to currently obtain commercial finance funding from most banks. Fortunately, restaurants accepting credit cards are in a good position to obtain needed cash from credit card receivables financing and merchant cash advances.

Steve Bush is a business finance expert – he publishes The Working Capital Journal and provides business cash advances in addition to small business loan programs at AEX Commercial Loans

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Help! My New Car Financing Has Eaten My Raise!

Saturday, December 12th, 2009

Let’s take a look at the facts: Housing prices are rising at a clip of 10-15% per year, tuition costs are rising by an average of 10% each fall, and energy costs – well, the average rise in prices depends on the week you happen to be looking at, but double-digit increases have been the norm for the past few years. And now, the really depressing fact: Average wage increases have hovered between a measly 3 and 4 percent for the past three years. Now what, you ask, does any of this have to do with car financing?

Hey, as simple as can be stated, it boils down to numbers. Interest rates: These are the hidden little killers that can destroy retirement plans and lifestyles over the course of a lifetime. Car financing is the second most important credit-related decision you will ever make, the first being the mortgage on your home. So, just as an example, let’s say that you make $30,000 per year and are looking to finance a $25,000 car over five years. The difference between attaining approved car financing at 6% interest and 16% interest equals $130 per month if you take the loan out over 5 years! And here’s the clincher – a 3% annual increase in salary will net you an extra $900 per year (and that’s before taxes), while saving $130 per month on your car financing puts nearly $1600 more dollars in your pocket. (And hey, that’s after taxes!) Even a few percentage points difference on your car financing can actually equal or exceed the raise you got from work this year!

I had no idea those tiny numbers could add up to so much money! What is my best option for getting an approved car finance plan – with the lowest interest rates?

In the end, your credit rating, and the interest rates it commands, can make or break you over the course of your life. Car financing is not rocket science, but you really have to be careful with the numbers – or you can end up paying thousands of dollars more than you have to. Your best approved car finance option is probably going to be obtained through a bank or credit union. The great things about getting your car financing through a bank is that you tend to get the best rates, personalized service, and you don’t have to worry about some pushy car salesman trying to shove useless add-ons down your throat every five minutes! However, banks and credit unions have higher car-financing standards, so you need decent credit to consider this as an option.

But wait a minute – the banks always take forever to process a loan, and the salesperson at the dealership can get me approved in minutes!

This is very true. But there is a price for that convenience, isn’t there? The dealer almost always offers you a higher rate on car financing – and be prepared for them to try and sell you every single add-on you never wanted in the hour it takes them to fill out the paperwork! That approved car finance arranged through the dealership may save you a week over financing through a bank – but just a few percentage points difference in interest rates can easily cost you $1,000 more each year for the entire length of your loan. So in the end…how much is that week worth to you?

All right…the dealer can be a bad option for car financing – but what about those online places that can approve me in minutes?

In all honesty, the Internet can be a great place to secure approved car finance. With the ability to hop around and shop the different sites, you can definitely get some decent interest rates, sometimes comparable to those offered by a bank – plus you can get approved in minutes, and be driving your new car in a day or so. So what’s the catch? Well, the Internet has more than its fair share of scammers just looking to get your social security number and other vital information. If that car financing information ends up in the wrong hands…well, you can do the math! Plus, the ‘Net can be terribly impersonal at times – but it is still a viable option for approved car finance at competitive interest rates.

Impulsive and poorly made car financing options can literally cost you the price of an entire new car over the course of your life. Approved car finance is available through a number of outlets, and each has its own benefits and disadvantages. However, if you want to be able to afford actually driving your new car someplace other than home and work for the next few years, you may want to avoid the inflated car financing, AND those useless add-ons, offered by dealerships.

Albert Medinas has developed and maintains the website Car Financing Resources, which answers the most common questions drivers have about Car Financing. Please visit us at http://www.carfinancingresources.com today.

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