Tips to protect your financial information

If you are using your computer to keep track of your financial records, here are some tips to keep your computer protected.

1. Make sure to have an up to date Virus and Firewall program. You can get a program like McAfee to do both and keep you safe.

Keep Hackers from Accessing Your PC with McAfee Personal Firewall Plus.

Another good choice for Firewall protection is Zone Alarm Firewall and Anti Virus.



ZoneAlarm AntiSpyware2006


2. The next step is to protect your passwords. If you are doing online banking or using passwords you can use software to protect your passwords in a safe place on the computer. You can try Detto My Password Vault to handle the most secure protection for passwords.



Detto My Password Vault

3. If you are sharing the computer with others make sure to protect your data. There are many people who have visitors accessing their computer and leave all their personal information right in the open. If you do any financial work on your computer you might want to set up a second computer for guests. Your buddy or second cousin removed does not need to know your business.

Pre Paid Credit Cards

I was doing some research on pre paid credit cards. I hate to carry a balance and owe thousands of dollars to the credit companies. I wanted to still be able to have a Visa or Master Card to do simple thing like rent a car. The only option I can think of was a pre paid card. These cards allow you to add any amount you wish on to the card. They do not charge interest for using the card, but I did find there is a catch. The cards here in Canada charge $39.95 to buy the card plus a monthly fee of $5.95 a month for the privilege of having the card. When you load the card there is also some hidden fees. Overall these cards are great to provide away for those who do not want to apply for credit and need the benefits of a credit card.

The downfall to these cards is that it will cost $111.35 for a year. They do add $10.00 to the card on initial purchase. When you think how much you pay in interest on a Visa or Master Card it would cost more for regular credit. If you do online shopping it is also a little more secure then a regular card. If the card gets stolen you are only limited to the amount you had on the card, so if you keep a small balance it is not a big deal. If anyone has any thoughts on these cards please share your opinions.

Nightingale-Conant Corporation

With any type of goal, motivation is an important step to completing the goal. The people at Nightingale-Conant Corporation have been publishing many helpful books and audio programs. If you read about successful people you will see that many have used the publications from this company to help them achieve great wealth. I would strongly suggest that everyone take a look at their company web site, you are sure to find many well written books on a vast number of motivational subjects.


The Psychology of Winning

Sharp Organizer Update

As I started up my Sharp Organizer I was ready for anything. I have been using the expenses tracking program in the organizer for about a week now. I have spent $120.66 here is the breakdown.

• Meals $65.25
• Gas $39.02
• Misc. $7.89

With this data I can now see where some of my money goes. I will have to limit my eating out since it was the major expense. It is interesting to see that I spent more on food then on gas. This has been a very good tool to help me create a realistic budget.

This week I also deposited the $90.00 I made from selling stuff at eBay and Bidville. I will be adding a little extra in the next week after some more auctions end.

Cable is gone

I cut the cable off today. It was a very hard call to make, but if worst gets to worst I can always re-subscribe. I managed to sell some stuff this week on eBay and bidville.com so I will be adding $90.00 to my saving account. I have also been playing with a few more money making ideas. I would like to have $1,000 in my account in the next 2 months. I am looking around the house I am trying to find things that I no longer need or can do with out to sell. The people at eBay say we all have a few thousand dollars in stuff we are not using and could be sold. Looks like things are looking more promising and the goal seems achievable.

Here goes the cable

In order to start saving a little more I went through all my options. It looks like the cable bill has to go. I did not want this to happen, but I have bigger goals in mind. That will free up $60.00 a month to add to my savings account. I get my internet through DSL so cable can be disconnected. I have been thinking about which types of programs I like to watch. It seems like I am always looking for information so the news and educational programs need to be replaced. I will be using my local stations for news free over the air and on the web. The major sites all have some sort of video you can watch for free. I will also be using youtube.com for little video clips and just to entertain myself. Who needs MTV when most record company web sites or artist page have music videos for free. I will need to find free movies I know there are some web sites that have older movies. I can also borrow DVD's from my friends and family for free. Then there is always the library they always have great movies. The basics are covered and I will try to go cable free, being a life long TV addict this might be a tough one.

Tracking expenses with an old Sharp organizer

I found a great way to budget. I will be tracking every penny spent for the next month. The other day I was looking through my desk and found my old Sharp ZQ-5300M Electronic Organizer. In a world of Palm and Pocket PC PDA's which I also own, this little guy seems to do the best at tracking expenses. It is very simple to use and the battery life on this thing goes for at least 6 months to a year before they need to be changed. It's funny I forgot I had this thing. I remember a few years ago a friend of mine swearing by his trusty Sharp over any other PDA and even looking on eBay for a replacement. My friend keeps track of all his expenses in order to not go over his budget and his Sharp did a great job. Well looks like he was right I have yet found a better program on any of the other PDA's that I own. The idea is to keep track of all my spending for a month and then try to look at the data and figure out where I need to take control. In the last few days I have spent $23.58 on things like food, gas and coffee. It really adds up very quickly so it is nice to have this data to study.

Do not use Payday Loans

Today the local newspaper had a great article on payday loans. These are the companies that make a short term loan to people for a very high interest rate. In Canada there has been some law suits and the industry is under investigation. These companies charge such a high rate that some people end up taking other payday loans to pay off the first one, and get themselves into even more trouble. If you are looking for a short term loan think twice try to get the funds from any other source that you can. It is going to set you back far more then just asking a friend or family member to help out. If it is a last resort make sure you will be able to pay the money back when it's due.

Work in Progress

I just wanted to update everyone that I am doing some research on a few different options and will post results as soon as I can. I was left this comment by a user and thought I would share with everyone:

"Also, when the time comes, make sure your realtor knows about seller's assist (the seller helps pay for closing costs meaning you don't have to have as much cash to put down) and don't let anyone try to put you in a house bigger than you can afford, having money left over at the end of the month for fixing-up a house is a good thing."

This was great tip from kathaclysm.

Dollars and Sense

I was reading in the Weekend Millionaire about a great way to save some extra cash. When you go out carry only bills in your wallet or purse. This way when you got to make a small purchase you need to think if you really want to break that bill. If you do break the bill then you need to add all the coin change into a piggy bank. This way you are saving in small amount, but it will add up by the end of the year. I like this idea a lot and have started to use this method. I will update the blog at the end of the month as to how much change I saved this way.

Credit Score

I have been trying to find extra money to add to my savings. I have been able to come up with a little bit of money and will be adding this amount soon to my account. In the mean time I also was trying to find ways to increase my credit score so that I will be paying less for my mortgage. I found this site and will be using their service. Link bellow to increase your credit score.

How to improve your lifestyle—without working harder or making more money

Pingo Long Distance

I thought I would pass on this deal, to the readers of this blog. As a blog that deals with saving money this looks like a great deal.

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Piggy Bank

As a new way to force me to save I started a piggy bank. I did some research on how much lose change people carry around and it seems to add up to a few hundred dollars a year. I will be adding all my change, and in a few months I will see how much I was able to set aside in the piggy bank. In keeping with my goal to save as much money as I can through creative savings, this one was a given. If you are new to this blog, just a reminder that I am saving for a down payment on a house and I trying to find creative ways to add money to my account. If you have any other ideas let me know so I can share with other users.

Selling Stuff

In order to come up with some more money to add to my account, I will be selling some stuff. I will use eBay and Bidville.com to sell some items I thought I would never sell. I want to have $1,000.00 in my account in the space of two month if not more. I am trying to use found money at the this time for this savings plan. I will find creative ways to make extra money. The normal pay check will be used for paying bills at this time. You can take a look at some items in our eBay store under me2sales.

First deposit

I started a new account for the down payment on a house fund. It was started with some spare change in my pocket so the grand total right now is $6.90 a funny amount, but you have to start somewhere. I guess I just bought a few nails or a brink with this amount so far. This is kind of fun I will keep adding to this amount as soon as I can. I should get some money this week that I can work with. I will need to set a goal as to how much I will need to set aside in this account and when will I put money in the account. I was thinking of setting aside 5% of all money I earn or some how finds me. This would be the starting amount and then I can increase this amount as I see fit.

New bank account

So the point of this site was to start saving for a down payment on a house. I wanted to start this account with $0.00 in order to keep track through the blog. I have some money saved, but I rather think of that money as the rainy day fund. So in the next few days I will be opening high interest savings account to get things started. I might go with ING Direct as they pay about 3% at the moment. I figured I would like to have $20,000 to $30,000 for the down payment so let's see what I can set aside.

Weekend Millionaire Mindset

Just a quick post. I have been reading Weekend Millionaire Mindset by Mike Summey and Roger Dawson. This is a very positive book and a great read. I think if you are starting to get motivated in your saving and investment strategy this book will keep you going. If you have read or found this book useful leave a comment.

Getting Started

Ok now the blog is set up and it is time to get to business. The amount of money waiting to be found is beyond belief. In most cases most people just lose money dollar after dollar each day. It's the same everyday I say it, my friends say I read it on the web "I just don't make enough money".Well you do I do we all do. It's what we do with our money that truly answers this question. In most cases we all spend beyond what we earn. This is the most common mistake and the one that gets us in the most trouble especially if we use credit in addition to paying in cash. Now let's look at this in a simple manner. What makes one guy a millionaire and another broke and living pay check to pay check. Well it's what you do with your money. I like the Star Bucks example, let's say you love your lattes and spend about $3.50 each day to enjoy this great beverage. I know I hear you say I do not drink lattes on weekend or holidays ok then let say in a year you have 300 lattes or coffees. That's about $1050.00 wow that is a lot of coffee. Now what if I bough a nice little machine to make lattes at home costs about $250.00 and about $6.00 a month for coffee for the machine. That's $72.00 trust me you can get some good coffee for this price or even lower if you shop around. So now I saved $728 after the one time cost of the machine and the coffee supply for the year. Do you know what you can do with $728 each year. So if you put $728 and get 3% and add $728 each year Over a 12 month period, you will earn $1,478.14 (investment + interest) that is $22.14 in interest alone. Sounds good to me and now look around how many other Star Bucks type non investments are you making. I know I have been making less and less non investments and I have started to see results.

Welcome

I have been reading many money oriented blogs, and as a result I wanted to share some of the information in my own blog. It's tough going through so much information, so this blog will be a digest of all this great information. I will try to keep everything simple and easy to understand. The main goal will be to provide the foundation to get myself and the readers of this blog to save money and build wealth. I will share success stories and share my own experiences in my quest to save for a down payment on a house. So please book mark this blog and let's all make some money.

Cheers!