Guest Post: Top 3 Websites to Get Financial and Stock News

Melanie DeMonte is a retired stock broker who worked at the TSX for 15 years. She’s now a private financial adviser.

As an important factor in the increasing or diminishing confidence levels of major players in the investment world- whose collective decisions can make or break the economy- the stock market, it turns out, does matter.  A major key to our economy making a full recovery is for confidence to be restored across the board in, among other things, the stock market. In order for that to happen, it’s vital that more people understand and follow it.

As we all adjust to our new reality, featuring a world that is post-leverage and less dependent on castles in the sky, the stock market remains as forward looking a meter of the life and times of the finance world as is currently available.

If you plan to follow the stock market, it’s important that you have at least a basic understanding of what you see. Three important things to grasp that can give you a basic understanding of the stock market are 1) what the stocks themselves are 2) the reason trends are important, and 3 )the role of trading strategies.

Stocks are literally small pieces of companies that the companies have put on the market to raise extra capital. When you buy stock in a company, you go into business with that company. Although you may not know a company’s reasons for selling their stocks, it’s important to get to know a bit about any given company before investing in it.

Market trends can either work for you or against you, but either way, it’s important to understand them. Trends can help you decide which stocks to invest in for a good chance of profit and which to avoid, so keep an eye on how a stock performs over time before deciding to purchase it.

Trading strategies play an important role in the fluctuations of the stock market. Long-term strategies involve holding onto your shares for longer periods of time in order to reap long-term gains. Short-term strategies are more risky and involve keeping an eye out for stocks with sharp rising trends, buying them, making a quick profit, and then selling them before the trend ends.

Financial news websites can give you a well-rounded picture of the stock market and its current trends and climate. Here are three of the best sites where you can find solid financial news.

Globe Advisor
GlobeAdvisor.com features a wealth of relevant industry release, mutual fund, and stock market news. Market action trend graphs and crucial index levels including recent gains and losses are featured directly on the home page for easy access. There is also a list of top performing stocks and handy fund and market update alerts that you can have sent directly to your email.


The Street
Besides all the typical stock market news and trend updates, TheStreet.com features videos of stock-related newsworthy tidbits for an easier audiovisual grasp on the market. This website also features lively discussions on the latest market news that can help you become a part of the action.


Market Watch
MarketWatch.com’s specialty is its intelligent commentary on the latest market news and trends. Experts offer insight and educated views on the latest happenings completely free of charge. MarketWatch.com is a site with a great grasp on the market and what makes it tick.

The world of finance is far too complicated to be measured by any one means in a way that is comprehensively accurate, even if that one means is as far-reaching as the stock market. Still, following the stock market can give us a picture of the current financial climate that is better than almost any other available gauge.

How to share chores, Spousonomics style

While Jordan and I are honeymooning in Vegas, I've asked a few of my favorite bloggers to help me out by writing a few guests posts.  Obsessive Compulsive Daniela, a 20 something Canadian blogger, has written two - thank's again Daniela! 

Tims Stobbs from Canadian Dream recently reviewed Spousonomics: Using Economics To Master Love, Marriage, And Dirty Dishes by Paula Szuchman and Jenny Anderson. Combining economic policy and relationship advice sounded intriguing, so I decided to give it a whirl. I also used this as an opportunity to try out the BF’s new Kindle. As a bonus, I figure if John (BF) has access to the book on his e-reader, it’ll increase the possibility of him reading it.

I’m about halfway through the book and so far, I like it. The authors conducted what they refer to as their “Exhaustive, Groundbreaking, and Very Expensive Marriage Survey.” They also interviewed a crapload of couples. Economic theories are explained (in relatively plain terms) and the theories are applied to real life examples gathered from the interviews.

The very first chapter is all about couples sharing responsibilities in the household. And this got me thinking of all the chores that need to be done in our small condo, and how John and I divide up these tasks. I decided to make a list of chores and include every little thing, regardless of often it needs to be done.

It was kind of surprising to see the list when I was finished – there were almost 40 chores. Our place is only 585 square feet, but damn – that is a lot of things to take care of! Certain things, like grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, and making the bed occur a lot more often than, say, chipping the ice off the bottom of the freezer and vacuuming the bedroom carpet. But it was still a lot of stuff.

I also realized that I was taking care of most things on the list. Don’t get me wrong, John does do certain tasks, like cleaning up after I make dinner, or making the bed in the morning, or cleaning the bathroom every other time. But he could do a bit more out more, and this would help me feel like the home stuff is more balanced.

Now, I like things super organized. Entering a room that is clean and clutter free has an incredibly calming effect on me. John, who keeps things relatively neat, does not share this trait. I know that this means I’ll be the one to do extra tidying. And I’m okay with that. I’m okay with doing a more in general – HE works longer hours, sometimes into the evenings and always on the weekends, and I rarely have to work beyond 5pm, Mon-Fri.

Spousonomics also highlights the fact that partners will have different specialties, and each person will be able to do certain tasks quicker than the other person. It’s way faster for me to go grocery shopping than John. When I go, I know what we need and I know where stuff is. If John goes, I normally have to tell him what we need, and sometimes where to go in the store to find it. Plus he has an aversion to asking employees where stuff is – must be a guy thing.

I shared the list with John, and he too was surprised by all the things I do. He was very willing to take on additional chores. We still have to sit down and figure out who will do what. Ideally I’d like a system where we each take care of our own chores and we can trust each other to take care of things without reminders. Obviously there will be times when this isn’t always possible, but it can at least be a goal. I was also thinking we could set up some sort of penalty when chores aren’t done, such as putting $1-$2 in pig. Like a swear jar, except for chores. If we had a swear jar, I would be broke.

How do you share chores in your household? 

Mirrored Rules Of Personal Finance

While Jordan and I are honeymooning in Vegas, I've asked a few of my favorite bloggers to help me out by writing a few guests posts. This is a guest post by Rafiki. He is a 20-something blogger from the island of Barbados.  He writes on personal development and finance at Upendlife.

When I first began my personal finance journey I learnt a rule which would go on to become my golden personal finance rule. That rule is 

SPEND LESS THAN YOU EARN
Since learning this rule I've made it a good part of my life's worth to do this. I have automatic transfers set up to savings & retirement and I usually don't do much in terms of spending money frivolously.

Recently though I came across a twist to this rule, an exact mirror image is the best way to describe it and just like a reflection, it is facing the opposite direction but completely duplicates your actions.

This mirrored rule is

EARN MORE THAN YOU SPEND
Now this rule caught me off guard and I took some time to consider it. If you really want more and you don't want to accumulate debt to do so, your best option to do that is earn more money. When you think about it, they are plenty of ways you can earn more, be it side hustles, overtime, selling stuff or even investing.

The difference in these rules, to me at least, comes down to this,

One is a minimalist, content and patient lifestyle while the other is an over achiever, always active impatient lifestyle.

To me, the most valuable thing on earth is time and how you utilize it is up to your preference. I'm the kind of person who after finishing my 40 hour week I just want to relax and do things I love. Things like reading, playing games, spending time cuddling with the love of my life while watching the tele and treating her us to an outing every once in while. So for me the earn more than you spend option isn't best suited for me.

The earn more than you spend type is the type of person who would set a goal, for example, to buy a new bicycle. They are the kind of people who would go to work in the morning, come home and walk a few of the neighbor’s dogs for a fee and then jet off to do some late night work like waitressing or bartending. This works for them but a lot of the times they operate on less sleep or they sacrifice some other thing like tele watching or something less important to them.

Earn more than you spend is the go getter lifestyle. They are always doing something to further/better themselves or earn something. When they achieve whatever it is they want, they may bask for a while in the glory of success but then they are “on to the next one”.

Nothing is wrong with either lifestyle as both still need to save some of what they earn and consider the future. They both need an emergency fund, some retirement savings, some form of goals and they both need to do whatever makes them happy without accumulating unmanageable debt.

An interesting tidbit is that the lifestyles can interchange. Sometimes the spend less than you earn person may switch up and start working more, most likely to achieve a short term goal faster. They may pick up some overtime or start doing some odd jobs. Other times the earn more than you spend person may reach a burnout and just want to relax and take a break, maybe go on a vacation just to recharge and they switch up their lifestyles as well.

Both are great rules to live your life by. It doesn’t matter which you are. You just have to know yourself and what you want and be true to yourself. Any of these lifestyles are better than the alternative credit life.

Do you know which you are?

To Jessie & Jordan

I wish you the best for the future. May your lives, when joined together be one of the greatest blessings to this earth. Separate as you are now you have done and achieved so much. The world itself can hardly wait till your hearts beat as one. We all could use more touches of love in our lives and in this world. Spread as much joy and love as you possibly can for the rest of your lives and love and cherish each other forever. Congratulations in advance and I hope the wedding day is one of the most memoriable events in your life. May you live happily ever after.

Your friend and fan
Rafiki from Upendilife

P.S.
Thank you for sharing your journey with all of us.

Marriage - What Does it Mean to You?

While Jordan and I are honeymooning in Vegas, I've asked a few of my favorite bloggers to help me out by writing a few guests posts.This is a guest post by eemusings. She lives in New Zealand and blogs about personal finance, career, relationships, food and 20-something life in general at Musings of an Abstract Aucklander.


With Jessie and Jordan off celebrating their newlywed status, I thought I'd take this opportunity to reflect on marriage - such a heavy word - and exactly what it means to me.

Some of you might know that I recently upgraded from de facto to fiancee. (I still haven't quite got used to it and still refer to T as my partner, actually.)

What you mightn't know is this wasn't the first time he proposed. No siree. That came a couple of years ago, when I was in the throes of my final year at university and perilously close to a mini breakdown. There I was, in tears for the umpteenth time, lying in bed in our damp, mouldy converted-garage-room, when he asked me to marry him.

"Are you kidding?" I said. This was not how I had pictured it. I was 20 years old. He was, at the time, unemployed. And quite honestly, I wanted to be proposed to on a happy occasion, with a ring.
I think my reaction wounded him more than he let on, but eventually he gave it a proper shot two years later, and here we are today.

Those engaged among you who've started wedding planning (unlike me) have probably already come up against plenty of barriers. Specifically, I bet you've encountered people judging your choices from day one - even on the pettiest of details. I haven't even set a date, looked at any venues or settled on a guest list, but I've already met with judgement on three apparently controversial points:

Keeping my name

I've always planned on keeping my last name. But more people than I thought reacted to this, well, as if we were living a century ago. Even more surprising, these are women I've known for quite a while and who should have expected me to do so anyway.

A frugal, but not cheap, wedding

Never having been the kind of girl who dreamed about walking down the aisle, I'm much more concerned with saving for travel than my wedding. I'm really not excited by flowers or decorations. This leaves me in the minority. So far, I've pulled a number ($5,000) out of the air, and hope I can achieve all my priorities on that budget. 

Not rushing it
To us, being engaged doesn't mean a rush to the aisle. I don't see it as a catalyst to start dress shopping. It's two people committing to getting married - but not necessarily immediately. In our case, it's more like a couple of years away. Again ... not a popular view; I've actually been asked why we bothered at all.
I feel brides too often get caught up with "the big day" and forget to actually pay any attention to what comes after. 

Marriage. 

To me, it's the precursor to buying a house, starting a family - it's a formal and binding commitment one doesn't enter into lightly. (Not that I judge anybody who follows a different path.) 

 
For me, being married means choosing to choose somebody, every day, for the rest of your life. Choosing not to give up. Choosing to wake up to that person. To be their guiding light when they need one, and know they'll do the same for you. To focus on their strengths, not their weaknesses. To accept their flaws and faults. To know you will never walk alone, and accept both the benefits - and drawbacks - of the fact.

What does marriage mean to you personally?

It's coming...help!?

July 21st... just 16 days until the wedding!

After the big day, Jordan and I will be spending a week in Vegas for our honeymoon!  It'll be so much fun!

I'm going to do my best to write some good content for the three weeks around the wedding, but I'm not convinced that i'll be able to make it work everyday.

If any of my readers would honor me by writing a guest post (with links to your own blog if you have one) I would be very appreciative! If you are interested, just send me an email with your post to jessiesmoney@gmail.com and i'll schedule it in.

~thank you,
Jessie

Guest Post: General Budgeting Tips in and Around The Home

Budgeting tips, make your money go further by comparing outgoing on line such as car insurance, home insurance etc.

General budgeting tips in and around the home

Setting a budget and sticking to it is something many of us struggle with. The bills – which cover everything from mortgage repayments, food, utilities, entertainment, car insurance to home and contents insurance – come thick and fast and can leave you with precious little left at the end of each week, month and year. To lower the cost of living in general and free up for a few extra dollars, follow these handy hints.

In the house – The costs associated with running a household will account for the vast majority of your budget so the more small changes you can make here and there the bigger the difference will be. To decrease the amount spent on your utilities, think carefully about how you can reduce the amount of energy used around the home. Turn off appliances at the socket when you’re done with them, avoid using the standby function and don’t leave lights on when you exit a room. Get properly insulated and try to limit the use of central heating systems and air-condition units if possible as turning them down slightly can make a huge impact. Buying energy-efficient products will also produce impressive results by the time your next utility bills arrive. Recycle and reuse items as much as possible.

In the kitchen – Adopt a methodical approach to going grocery shopping or you may end up going crazy and filling up your cart with unnecessary and expensive luxury items. Only buy what you need – the easiest way to do this is to try and plan your food menu over a week. It may be a regimented style of feeding yourself and your loved ones, but hopefully it’ll mean you reduce on wastage and only spend money on the essentials. Buy cheaper brands, grow your own fruit, vegetables and herbs if you can and attempt to avoid eating out or getting takeouts. If you insist on dining out, then check if there are any relevant online vouchers or discount codes. Make your own lunches for work as saving a few dollars on a daily basis will soon add up towards the end of the month.

In the garage – Being a vehicle owner means paying out for insurance, garage bills and gasoline. The price to fill up at the pump varies greatly from one city and province to the next, but irrespective of where you live you can do your bit to lower fuel consumption, like sticking to speed limits, driving in a generally responsible manner and avoiding harsh accelerating and braking. Keep your tires inflated to the correct level and avoid making needless journeys in the car by instead taking public transport or, if possible, walking. You can get cheap car insurance by scouring the Internet for the best deals, making your vehicle more secure, decreasing your mileage and raising your deductibles.

Guest Post: The Best Way to Save Money Is Not Having It

By Bella Paige

TransferMate

If you can’t trust yourself with your own money, then you have a problem.

Let’s admit it – money is never enough even if we get a salary increase, bonuses, etc. Buying and consuming has become such an incredibly big part of our lives that we don’t really make the difference between a necessity and a shopping obsession anymore.

The problem is, I realized, shopping was swallowing most of my finances but I couldn’t help it as it was kind of a therapy after a long day at school and work. I was working really hard, but I was spending as hard, too.

It was time for a change because I didn't want to be like most of my friends with thousands of dollars in debt at the age of 22. So, I opened a savings account and was trying to put a certain amount there every month. Guess what – after a couple of months, I stopped doing it – negligence took over as I was too busy to go online and transfer money from my checking to my savings account. Another problem was, once the money was in my checking account, I had a hard time putting a certain amount aside because I could always figure out a thing to spend it on.

So, to protect my money, I had to trick myself.

I asked my employer to automatically deposit 10% from my monthly salary into my savings account and directly deposit the rest into my checking account. This way, the 10% was saved before it even came to me. If you don’t have it, you can’t spend it, and thus you can save it, right? It required more effort to go to the bank and withdraw from the savings, as well as go online and do the transaction from savings to checking in order to spend it. I successfully forgot about this 10% which, at the time, equaled $150/month. After a year, you can all figure what my savings grew up to – $1,800.

Honestly, I was proud of myself because I was never able to save that much on my own before. It might not look like an achievement to some, but to me it meant I was smarter than my slackness.

Guest Post: Finance 101: Building An Emergency Savings Fund

Jessie's note: The author mentions America, and while you all know that I'm Canadian, I beleive that the themes he talks about are applicable in all of North America.

The fact is that most Americans will earn several million dollars during the course of their professional careers.  That is a lot of money!!  Unfortunately, very few will actually retire comfortably, but the truth is that it is rarely ever due to not making enough money.  Usually, it is due to improperly managing the money one does make.

The truth is that managing money in a frugal manner in America is a very hard thing to do!  It is a real challenge to cut back on spending when our American culture is based on consumerism.  Every day all day long we are constantly bombarded with advertisements and marketing efforts that are shrewdly focused on bilking us out of our hard-earned cash.  But the good news is that with some determination and discipline, a person can break out of the consumer-based money-management behaviors that cause many Americans to not save.  No matter how deep your financial hole is, you can get out!

There are two primary poisons that try to kill our financial progress—debts and reckless spending.  Reckless spending can be cured immediately with the proper amount of personal will, but debts, of course, must be paid off over time.  The first step to personal financial success is determining to cut back on your spending.  A budget is 100% essential.  The second step is to address your debts.  Most Americans have a high level of credit card debt, and these must be addressed immediately.  The first step in addressing them is to stop using them!  The personal finance success formula is simple—cut back on spending, stop using credit cards, build up an emergency savings account, and then use excess savings that are a result of decreased spending to pay off debt.  It really is that simple.  Implementing this formula is where the difficulty is.

In this article, we are discussing the importance of building an emergency savings fund.  Most personal finance experts agree that there should be at least $1,000 in this account.  This account serves one major purpose.  It is designed to help you never use credit cards for unexpected expenses.  If the car gets a flat tire, or you have an unexpected doctor visit that requires a co-pay, or any other unexpected expense occurs, you should always have a small cushion of savings that can finance these expenses.  This will not only give you peace of mind, but it will also help to solidify your progress of not accumulating any more debt.

An emergency savings fund should be built before you jump headlong into paying off credit cards, college loans, car loans, and the mortgage.  Once you cut back on expenses, you should direct that extra money toward building the $1,000 emergency fund.  The easiest way to cut back on expenses is to keep track of all your expenses for one month by logging them in either a journal or an Word or Excel file.  Then, at the end of the month take an honest and objective look at where you are spending your hard-earned money.  A little common sense will make it clear where you are spending too much money.

As unexpected expenses arise, you can then dip into your emergency savings to make ends meet.  When you have to make a withdrawal to cover an expense, then your next objective should be to build your savings back up to $1,000 as soon as possible.  Building and faithfully maintaining this emergency savings fund should not be seen as an “option.”  It really is essential that you have a financial buffer in place to help in time of need.

Guest Post: Getting Out of Debt - A Success Story

This guest post is written by Jason Holmes. He is a regular writer with Debt Consolidation Care and is also a contributory writer with other financial sites. His expertise is woven around various aspects of the debt management industry and with his e-books he tries to impart to people the different situations and simple solutions to get out of difficult situations. Some of his works include e-books like 'Credit Score The Quintessential Therapy for a Happy Pocket', Take Creditors and Collection Agencies to Small Claims Court' and, My Story- From Depression To a Smile'.

With god's grace I am leading a peaceful life for the past few years. I have a lovely wife, beautiful children and no financial problems. But things were much different 2 years ago. I was deep in financial crisis and had a lot of bills to pay off. The creditors were threatening to sue me. In short, my life was a complete mess.  

I got married at the age of 21 and had a son within a year. Being a student with a low paying job made it very difficult for me to support my family. I needed quick cash. But instead of looking for a better job, I started using all of my credit cards. I hardly had money to pay the bills and within a few months my credit card bill amount was around $60,000. But my problems didn't end there. My son had a hole in his heart. The doctors were of the opinion that he needed immediate treatment. If any of you have been through this situation, you must be aware that such a treatment requires a lot of money. The total medical bill was around $50,000. I borrowed from my friends and paid $25,000. Still, I owed $25,000 to the hospital authority. So, things were getting out of hand! 

My credit score was going down with each passing day. I was having regular fights with my wife. Out of the two of us, she is the sensible one. She kept advising me that I should look for a secondary source of income until I get a better job, and start making payments to the creditors. But I kept ignoring her. My wake up call came on that day when one of my creditors threatened to sue me. I realized that I needed to do something to get out of this situation, as I had a family to take care of.  

I started thinking of the ways to get out of this mess. My total credit card bill amount was $60,000. The medical bill amount was $25,000 and I didn't have sufficient amount of money. I knew that the creditors won't work with me unless I could pay them what they asked for. So, I started looking for better jobs and this time I did get one in just 15 days! My wife is an excellent cook. She started selling home-baked cookies to the neighborhood. This increased our monthly income to around $15000. 

I realized that even if I made the minimum monthly payments on each credit card, it would not be possible to wipe out such a huge amount of bills. My wife asked me to contact creditors and I did so. I requested them to lower the payoff amount. But they refused to do so. One of my best friends suggested that I enroll with a settlement company and I followed what he said. The consultant at the settlement company was successful in negotiating down the credit card bills up to 40%. So, I had to pay around $36,000.  

The counselor told me to save as much money as possible and I did so. I stopped using credit cards, tried to save on my utility bills, made a budget and stuck to it. I also found a part-time job. Believe me, I was able to pay off the outstanding balance within a year.  

Once, I have paid the credit card bills, I contacted the hospital authority and requested them to forgive a portion of the medical bill. The management was kind enough to forgive $10,000. I saved every penny and paid off the remaining debt within 3 months. A heavy burden was lifted off my shoulders the day I paid off my bills completely. I realized that hard work and determination can indeed help one get rid of financial problems.   

Guest Post: Creative Ways to Pay Off Your Debt

Many people are just starting to assess the damage from this recession, and realizing that they still need to reduce their debt load. They know now that credit can be great for liquidity when in supply, but it can also be an anchor when it goes unpaid. Here are some creative ways to find cash to pay back your credit card balances, a cash advance, or just stash money away for another rainy day.

Review Your Insurance Needs

You can often find extra cash in your monthly budget by reviewing your insurance needs on a yearly basis. Auto insurance or home mortgage insurance rates can drop over time as the value of the asset depreciates or a new company offers more competitive rates. Take the difference and apply it your loan repayments.

Become A Vegetarian

One of the easiest ways to save money is through eliminating costly items in your diet. While not everyone will want to try to be a vegetarian, you can reduce the amount of alcohol or convenience foods you buy. Over the course of a month you can save $50 or more, if you start to review your food budget in detail. If you grow your own veggies, you can reduce it substantially more.

Cut The Umbilical Cord

Anything that hooks you into a yearly contract is a money leak. That includes cable television, phone contracts, or monthly memberships. With so many different services out there that don’t’ require you to make a one to two year commitment, it’s not necessary to get married to your service company. Substitute hulu.com for cable, a prepaid cell phone for a landline or expensive contract, and just say no to the gym. Walking is free. For every $50 to $80 you save on each service a month, you can direct that towards your debt payments.

Guest Post: How to Avoid Overdraft Fees with Prepaid Debit Cards

When prepaid debit cards began to appear a few years ago, many were skeptical about their use. Why would someone want to take the time to load money on a card when they already possessed a debit card connected to their checking account? However, as time went on, the obvious advantages that prepaid debit cards offer to consumers began to come to light. Leading the list of reasons to obtain a prepaid debit card is the fact that they will never lead to overdraft fees, because they can only use the amount that’s available on the card. Which is why overspending that triggers an overdraft fee becomes impossible.

Today many banks are losing money due to the poor economy and increased regulation. To make up for these losses, most are adjusting their policies to make an overdraft fee more likely, while significantly raising the associated penalty fees.

Most consumers don’t realize that debit cards connected to checking accounts usually come with automatic overdraft coverage, which means that a charge will be paid by the bank, rather than be refused. Banks may market this as a convenience for their customers–a wonderful benefit that means their customer’s card won’t be rejected at the checkout counter–but the hidden danger of that policy is the high overdraft fees that occur with each purchase over the checking account’s balance.

Poor budgeting or faulty math may lead to overdraft fees that can add up in a hurry. It’s like bouncing a check every time the card is used when no funds are present to back the purchase. Consumers are waking up to the realization that the overdraft protection is not an outgrowth of their banking institution’s altruistic attitude, but may be a savvy way to increase profits. It is well documented that banks earn millions of dollars from overdraft fees each year.

Prepaid debit cards are increasing in popularity with consumers who have been burned by excessive overdraft fees. In addition, they like the built-in budgeting protection that a prepaid debit card affords. Users are able to preload the amount they want to the card, with the assurance they won’t overspend their budget when their record-keeping fails. The consumer who knows their tendency to overspend is able to prevent in advance binge buying and non-planned sales fueled by emotion rather than common sense. Using a prepaid debit card to assist with good budgeting while putting an end to high overdraft fees is a dynamic financial combination more consumers are choosing every day.

Jessie's Note: Have you ever used, or known someone that used pre-paid debit cards.  This is a service that I have never utilized before.  I wonder if it would work for loading ones 'jar money' onto it for people who don't like carrying jars/envelopes around.