Financial Solution News

Since a little more than seven months ago, I made some adjustments to the path in which my career was taking me and took up a job instead of pursuing PhD. One of the main reasons for going that route was that I was so narrowly focused for so long that I forgot why I was doing PhD in the first place (of course, there is more to that story that just that, but I won’t go into that with this post).
Anyways, our household income increased by about four times after I took up the job. Initially, things were taking a deflating turn for the first couple of months - I guess this was in part because I was a relatively “newly employed” and was undergoing training without any major responsibilities (plus,  I apparently hadn’t discovered new ways of spending the increased income). However, our spending took a turn for […]

Original post by golbguru

I guess by now nobody cares if I am around … so this would be just to motivate myself to write a little more.
Looks like the site was down for a couple of months after some screwup with Wordpress/Hostmonster/Upgrade/That-Kind-of-Crap; so it took quite some efforts to get it back on track. Now, it looks all messed up so it will be a while before it looks pretty again.
Hoping to see some old friends again.

Original post by golbguru

One of the issues facing many families’ finances right now is debt. The debt loan in this country is huge. And you may be experiencing it as well. If you are serious about getting out of debt, the best way to do it is to create a plan. A debt reduction plan will help you plan a way to get rid of your debt, keep more of your own money in your pocket and create space for you to prepare for the future. Here are some tips that can help you when creating a debt reduction plan:

Change your way of thinking. Many people think of credit cards as another income source. They are considered “available” funds. Instead, view credit cards for what they are: loans. Realize that you are borrowing money, and that you will have to pay it back — with interest. Deep down, you probably know that, but […]

Original post by Everything Finance

This week, I participated in many more carnivals than in recent past.  The result is that my traffic has increased as my site is seen in many more places!  My suggestion to use Google Alert for coupon watching was also picked by Squawkfox as the editor’s choice for the festival of frugality!
On the PFN front, we also wrote our first group project on Summer Fun!  I hope that you liked our guide and expect more from our group of fantastic personal finance bloggers in the future (excuse my shameless plug)!
Great Articles Around the Web

Unlike Bill Gates, David@My Two Dollars carries a wallet and he’s telling us what’s inside!
Paid Twice shares his biggest Financial Vice!  For the original, check out Five Cent Nickel’s.
Would towing with a small car be a better choice?  Read Clever Dude’s take.
Four Pillars explains to us why he won’t invest in peer to peer lending.
Blunt Money is […]

Original post by MoneyNing

With the release of the 3G iPhone and iPhone 2.0 software, Apple has allowed 3rd party developers to write applications that work with the iPhone and iPod Touch and opened the app store to the public! With the world’s imagination at work, I’m sure there will be a ton of clever applications written for the personal finance world.
Since the app store opened for two days already, let’s take a look at all the personal finance applications available currently.
ACTCurrency - $0.99
Overview: A simple currency converter that becomes extremely useful when you are out of the country.
Pro: Uses are obvious.  It makes you wonder why I didn’t think of it.
Con: Why doesn’t this grab the most up-to-date currency from the web is anyone’s guess.
ACTGratuity - $0.99
Overview: Great little utility that automatically adds tip to a subtotal and splits the bill for you, letting you know how much each person should pay.
Pro: […]

Original post by MoneyNing

I don’t know what to call this passport photo business, so I am just going to stick with “stupid ripoff” for now.
During the weekend, we went into a CVS Pharmacy Photo Center to get some passport/ID photos. We wanted a specific size (as they say “from chin to crown”), so we asked the dude who was attending the photo center whether he can adjust the size. Pat came his reply “No, we just print the standard 2″ by 2″ photo and we can’t adjust any proportions“.
I asked him “But, don’t you have a software where you center the face in the photograph and mark the upper and lower boundaries for the face? All we have to do is to adjust those boundaries and then we can cut the photographs to the size we want - and approximately in the proportion we want“. He didn’t seem too impressed with the […]

Original post by golbguru

A bill recently introduced in California would ban the sale of energy-hogging incandescent light bulbs by 2012. Aside from changing your light bulbs, there are some other things you can do around the house to save you energy and money.
1: Take an energy audit
Your home isn’t very energy efficient if you have less than six inches of insulation in your attic, if your furnace is 10 years or older, or you have lots of windows on the North side and you live in a cold climate, according to the Alliance to Save Energy.
But, there are some specific calculations you can make to determine just how energy efficient your home is. Take a free energy audit online at the Department of Energy’s Web site. This tool can tell you where your home is leaking energy and what you can do about it.

2: Cut the drafts
The average house loses up to 20 […]

Original post by Everything Finance

This is rather obvious, but not much appreciated in day-to-day life, so I thought of giving it a shout-out.
Over the last couple of months, I have been in the process of eagerly seeking a change in my current graduate student lifestyle. A part of this change, would come in the form of a real-life job in an industry. Those who have been following this blog since the beginning are probably aware of the fact that I have been studying towards my PhD - and wasn’t all too happy about the way things have been going for a long time. Finally, sometime in the last couple of months, I bought an artificial backbone from Dogbert at an enormous price ( ) and that has given me the necessary courage to create my own destiny instead of relying on some general-purpose ignorant idiots. Looking for a job at this […]

Original post by golbguru

The best time for young people to consider hiring a financial professional “is when you land your first real job,” says Barbara Roper, director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America. “At that point, you have a variety of financial issues to consider, such as your 401(k) plan and your benefits,” and a financial plan will set you on an appropriate course, she says.

For savers with modest assets, Ms. Roper says, a fee-only planner is generally the best match. These planners only sell their time, at a cost of between $100 and roughly $250 an hour, depending on where they’re based geographically. Because they don’t pitch products tied to a particular company, “it minimizes the potential conflicts,” she says.
To find local planners, consumers should ask friends, family and colleagues if they can recommend someone they trust. Several Web sites, including the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (napfa.org), […]

Original post by Everything Finance

Let’s sing a slightly different tune with this post - instead of the usual debt bashing. When I say “bad” debt, I am referring to the “good debt, bad debt” terminology that’s gathering some attention in financial circles - I am not referring to it in a classic technical definition point of view as “the portion of receivables that can no longer be collected“.
To understand the significance of debt in general, it’s instructive to imagine a society in which the facility to borrow money does not exist at all. Think in terms of education, industrial development, housing “requirements”, entrepreneurial endeavors, emergencies, and other aspects of our life that involve borrowing (and lending) money in some form or other.
While you are at it, try answering these questions: Would you be willing to wait till you are 35 years of age for higher education (think in terms of advanced graduate, law, […]

Original post by golbguru