Budget Saving Coupons Your Never Knew Existed.

This is a guest post from my new buddy Todd over at Dealio.  I have to admit, I get hives when I think about spending a lot of money dinning out.  I don’t have any room for it in my monthly budget plan. My wife will attest to that. However, if you’re going to do, I think Todd has some great ideas for you.

In many households, dining out can be large chunk of monthly expenses. Recently, I discovered that in my household of one (non-cooking, workaholic professional), dining out accounted for more of my monthly budget than my rent. This first lead to panic, then to “cooking for one” websites and then, finally, to what I know best – finding deals online. I knew that with a little sleuthing, it’d be possible for me to dine out without blowing through my new, self-imposed budget.

Here are my top ways to spend less money while dining out – whether you’re a household of one or many, these tips will help you save.

1) Group Buying Sites

Ever of heard of Groupon, Living Social, or Blackboard Eats? They’re all a part of a new phenomenon spun off of the “deal a day” websites that extend to restaurants and services. Traditionally, “deal a day” sites take the steep discounts of Cyber Monday and offer one at a time on a daily basis. Typically, this only applied to products – but a company called Groupon took this concept and opened it up to local businesses.

Here’s how it works: Group buying sites like Groupon gets local businesses to offer a limited number of products or services at a huge discount. You sign up to receive emails. Each day, you’ll receive a new offer that usually expires within a day or require a certain number of people to buy in order for the deal to be available to all (hence the name, group buy). This has worked particularly well for businesses that are traditionally offline such as restaurants.

The good news is that this phenomenon has taken off – there are now many Groupon clones all across the country. Each one typically has a restaurant offer that’s 50% or more off the value. For example, you can get a $40 gift certificate for $20. One site I particularly like is called Yipit – it aggregates deals across multiple sites so that you don’t have to clutter your inbox with emails.

Flikr, Icultist

On any given day, I can find a deal on a restaurant that I want to try. I also feel good knowing that I am supporting local businesses. Happy belly and happy karma – can’t beat that.

2) Restaurant.com

These guys were probably the first ones to come up with a new twist on restaurant coupons. Rather than offering $10 or 10% off of a meal – why not enable people to buy gift certificates that could pay for the entire meal?

Here’s how it works: Go to Restaurant.com and search by zip code for restaurants in your area. You can typically buy a $25 gift certificate for $10. The catch is that you have to spend at least $35 (so out of pocket cost is $20) plus pay an 18% gratuity (so that servers don’t get a bum deal). The secret is that there are online coupons you can use to purchase Restaurant.com gift certificates (yes, that’s right, a coupon for a coupon…my frugal heart pitter patters with joy). I’ve found coupons for up to 80% off. This means that I can buy a $10 Restaurant.com gift certificate for $2. As a result, my $35 meal only costs around $12 before tip – beat that Rachael Ray!

Unlike the group buying sites, you can get pick up these offers pretty much any day. There are certain restrictions such as one use per person per month and that the total can’t include alcohol. The upside is that the selection is huge and even the pickiest eater can find something to enjoy.

3) Newspapers (gasp)

I admit that I’m very much an online shopper. I even look at grocery ads online. However, the other day I was going through my weekly circular and found some pretty great restaurant offers such as $10 off at Buca di Beppo (no restrictions) and BOGO at Chevy’s. So, before you toss the circular into recycle – flip through it for some pre-printed offers and tuck them into your wallet. You never know when they’ll come in handy. Sure many can also be found online, but these will definitely be legitimate (yes, fake coupons do exist) and still valid.

Thanks Todd.  Nice work.  My fear; by learning how to dine out for less, will people actually do it more often and therefore spend more?  That’s not a good way to go – especially if you need to get out of debt if you ask me. What say you?

Related posts:

• How To Convince Your Spouse You Need A Budget You might realize that you need a budget…. but...
• You Need A Budget (YNAB) Review – A CFP’s Opinion I finally broke down and decided to review  You...
• Your Personal Budget Plan Just Got A Whole Lot Easier How much do you think you spend each month...

Before you get an LTC(Long Term Care)insurance quote, you should know a few things.

At it’s most basic form, it’s a policy that pays you money if certain things happen to you physically. The insurance company doesn’t reimburse you for your medical costs like health insurance. It simply pays you a predetermined amount of money if you “qualify”.

How do you “qualify” for benefits?

Each insurance  company differs but basically, there are 6 or 7 “activities of daily life”. These activities include being able to move around (ambulate), dress yourself, bath…etc. The policy you buy will pay you a fixed daily amount if you are unable to perform 1 or 2 or 3 of these activities and you incur expenses as a result.

Who determines whether or not you can perform these activities? A doctor has to do so.

Flikr, Rajwishway

Who gets to decide how many of these activities you have to be unable to perform in order to collect the benefits?  Each company spells this out in the policies they sell.  That’s why it’s so important to actually read it.

How is the benefit determined?

You determine it. You can buy a $100 a day benefit, a $200 a day benefit or more. The higher the daily benefit, the greater the premium.

What about inflation?

You can buy an inflation rider that pays you more as the years pass but that rider means your premiums will be higher too.

How long will the company pay you?

You get to decide that too. You can buy a policy that pays you benefits for 1, 2, 4 or 4 years – or as long as you live. The longer the benefit period, the greater your premiums too.

Can your premiums rise?

Yes and no. The insurance company can’t raise rates just because you get older or sicker. They can raise rates for everyone in a certain age group – and this is happening more and more. They can’t do it whenever they want to. Depending on the State they operate in, the State Insurance Commission usually has to approve these increases.

What if you need to pay for someone to come in to your home to help out?

Most people buy coverage for home care and facility care.  One way to reduce your premium is to only buy coverage for care in a facility.

Another way to reduce your premiums is to increase the “elimination period”.  This is the time during which you pay your own expenses.  Think of it like a deductible.  Your “deductible” might be the first 90 days.  That means, if you qualify, you still have to pay for your own care for the first 90 days.  After that elimination period, you’d start to receive the benefits.

Is Long Term Care Insurance For You?

According to the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance, 32.5% of the people who make claims are men and 67.5% are women. That means, if you are a couple and you only have enough money to insure one of you, it’s best to cover the woman.

But the analysis doesn’t stop there.

According to those same people at the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance, the coverage doesn’t pay off too well. They reported that over 8 million people are covered but only 180,000 people receive benefits. According to my calculations, that means only 2% of the people who pay for policies make claims. This almost sounds as bad as debt relief scams…..but is it?

The industry goes on to tell us that 1 in 4 people age 65 or over are going to need long term care at some point before they die. I don’t know if that’s true or not. But it could be that many of those people who need care, get it from family or friends. Possibly, they need it but they die before they have satisfied their “elimination period” and as a result, don’t get payments.

Some people do need long term care coverage. But others are able to generate enough income during retirement to self-insure. Others don’t need the coverage because they don’t need to leave a pile of money to anyone so they are willing to spend down their assets should the need arise.

If you do decide to buy this insurance, it’s important to buy quality.  I am a big fan of buying the cheapest term insurance you can from decent companies.  But when it comes to long term care, I would only deal with the best companies possible.

What is your position on Long term care insurance? Have you included the cost of this coverage when you calculate how much money you need to retire?

Related posts:

• Disability Insurance for Self Employed Guide Disability insurance  is an important issue if you are self...
• 5 Tips To Get The Cheapest Term Life Insurance Program Here are 5 tips to get the cheapest term...
• 11 Tips On How To Reduce and Save on Homeowners Insurance Cost There are many ideas on how to reduce and...

How To Lease A Car Cheap

If you are interested in leasing a car, you can save a fortune by what I’m about to share with you.

I want to go on the record and say that the longer you drive a car, the cheaper it is. I buy cars – I don’t lease them. Tis saves my business money and it saves me money personally.

I buy cars and then I run them into the ground – sometimes with the help of my kids.

Having said that, if you’re going to lease a car anyway, let’s save you some bucks.

Understand that lots of people are unable or uninterested in continuing their car lease. You can turn their desire in to huge savings for yourself.

This is known as a lease transfer.

Flikr, Mike Babcock

Here’s how it works:

The current lease holder says goodbye to the down payment he made….but also to the monthly payments. Despite eating the down payment, they’ll be better off by getting out of those payments.

They also save their credit score if they were considering just walking away from the lease and sending in the keys.

So for the right person, this is a big win.

And for you, it’s even a greater win.

First, you don’t have to come up with the down payment. Next, these transfers are usually much shorter than new car leases. According to Investors Business Daily, they typically run only 18 months. If you were leasing a car for for such a short duration directly from the dealership, you’d pay a heck of a lot more.  This means your monthly budget plan is going to work better.

Sometimes, if the original lessee is in real dire straits, you can negotiate them paying down the lease so your payments are even lower than the original lease.

In effect, you’re leasing a (slightly) used car and that’s why you’re saving so much. The other guy paid for most of the depreciation and that’s a huge plus for you.

There are a few good companies that facilitate these kinds of transfers. You can find them on the web by searching “lease transfer”. They do charge fees but they are nominal compared to the money both parties save.

The only person who doesn’t like this arrangement is the new car salesperson. Boo Hoo.

Of course there are downsides to taking over a lease. The car is used so it would be best to have it checked out and make sure you get a good extended car warranty.  Also, check the mileage cap on the lease to make sure you’re not getting a pig in a poke.

In my opinion, this is an excellent option. What say you? Would you take over someone else’s lease? Have you ever done this? What was your experience?

Why those questions are driving around in your head, let’s take a look at the Pilgrim Posts On Parade:

Festival of Frugality

Carnival of Money Stories

The Digerati Life Should Unemployment Benefits Be Extended?

LiveRichly.com  Discoveries from a Southern Road Trip

Yakezie Challenge Carnival Roundup

Monevator No Lost Decade – Why Were Not Japan – Pilgrim Pick of the Pack

Eric, Starting a Small Business

Joe Taxpayer, Kiddie Roth

Canadian Finance Blog You can afford retirement but can you afford retirement care?

Evan, Some Past Financial Bubbles

When I Approve of Bankruptcy by Mrs. Accountability

Darwin’s Money 10 Dumbest Uses of Your Tax Dollars in Stimulus Bill

Car Negotiation Coach GAP car insurance, do you need it?

Costco TrueEarnings: the Best Rewards Card for Well-Rounded Spenders?

Good Riddance Annual Fee, Little House and Bliss Box Finale!

B Simple, Ten Reasons NOT To Have A Will

Does computerized trading effect long term investors? My buddy Doug with the impossible last name.

3 ways to save big when buying Wii accessories or games Mrs. Not Made Of Money

4 Professionals You Should Contact When Buying a Home MH4C

Oblivous Investor Retirement Savings vs Income Growth

8 things you might not know about your cell phone service Moolanomy

Invest it Wisely -  Meet Andrew Hallam: The Millionaire Teacher

Related posts:

• Young Couple Can’t Afford Credit Card Payment. Help Fix Their Money And Marriage I took a tough call yesterday from a young...
• Early Mortgage Payoff….A Good Idea? Is an early mortgage payoff a good idea? An...
• How Much Can I Afford For A House? A Checklist How much can I afford for a house? Last...

You might realize that you need a budget…. but how do you convince your spouse?

And once you convince him that you need a budget, how do you get him to stick to it?

I could be wrong (it happens once in awhile) but in my opinion, this is the number one issue facing couples with financial problems.

I recently wrote a post for the Consumerist where I detailed how to get on the same page with your partner. In case you missed that post, I’m going to summarize the steps here and go a bit further.

Flikr, 13 of Clubs

Why the budget is the epicenter of your relationship.

Because your budget is the manifestation of all you value. Words are cheap but your budget is really your values in action. Where you spend your money demonstrates what you hold most dear in life. Period.

Let’s say you spend your money paying off debt, saving for retirement and putting something away for your kids. Additionally, let’s say you track your spending and budget for the future. That tells me something about your values.

If, on the other hand, your spouse doesn’t track spending but somehow blows it all at the track, on fancy vacations and other toys, that tells us both something about his values too.

If you can’t agree on how to spend money, your relationship is probably in jeopardy.

That’s why your budget is the epicenter of your relationship and that’s why I keep hammering away at this subject.

So now the question is, how do you get your spouse to take part in the process and implement the budget?

In my piece over at Consumerism Commentary, I detailed a step-by-step method to have an open honest conversation about money.

In it, I suggest that you:

a. Talk about your motives and fears.
b. Be honest about what money means to you both
c. Admit the mistakes you’ve made and where you have to clean up your financial act
d. Work out a plan
e. Appoint a third-party accountability partner.

I think you have to take these steps in the order presented if you want your spouse to embrace the idea of working on and sticking to a budget.

But I have two more very important steps to add to the list above:

1. Provide the tools

I wrote an extensive piece on a software package recently called “You Need A Budget”. I like that software because it’s very easy to use and intuitive. It doesn’t matter if you use it or something else but make sure your spouse takes on the responsibility of keeping your budget up to date. You can’t do it….he’s got to.

This will give him ownership of the process and will insights into the meaning and power of a budget.

This is actually another reason why I love the YNAB program – it’s so easy for a non-interested spouse to use and have fun using.

So, I want you to set it up and then get him to commit to keeping it up to date each week.

2. Schedule time

It’s not enough to hand over the responsibility – you’ve got to be part of the process too. Set aside some time each week where you go through the reports. If your spouse needs to spend that time with you helping him download the data…that’s fine. If he needs you to spend that time updating budgets or analyzing what needs to change…fine too.  Overtime, he’ll take on more as his comfort levels grows.

The important thing is that it’s a scheduled time where you both are together working on the budget. While he may be ultimately responsible, it doesn’t mean he can’t get your help with the process.

I believe these two extra steps are crucial.

What was your experience? How did you get your spouse involved with the budget? Or did you try everything and find that nothing worked?

Related posts:

• How To Overcome Pitfalls Of Zero Based Budget Planning Process Don’t Use A Zero Based Budget Planning Process –...
• Would You Get Along Better With Your Spouse If You Made More Money? Would you and your special love bunny get along...
• Your Personal Budget Plan Just Got A Whole Lot Easier How much do you think you spend each month...

I finally broke down and decided to review  You Need A Budget (YNAB) — the premier personal budget software package — and I’ll tell you why.

Even though I’m a professional financial advisor and Certified Financial Planner, what you do financially dwarfs the importance of my work.

That’s right.

Even if you had Warren Buffet working for you, it would be useless if you didn’t know where and how you spent your money.

I say that because of my experience.

And my experience tells me that folks who don’t use a budget either:

a. Spend it all
b. Don’t save enough
c. Don’t spend enough and therefore fail to enjoy the life they could. (Maybe this is hard to believe but I see this every day.)

I don’t care how much you make.

The balance you strike between income and spending is the most important predictor of your financial future there is.

Let me say that again a little differently.

The best predictor of your financial security is how much you know about and control your budget.

If you’re a regular reader, you know that I’ve suggested a few different approaches to mastering your budget. One of my favorites is using your bank statement to tell you how much you spend, on average, each month.

While I still think this “big picture” approach is really important, I’ve recently become a convert to the “You Need A Budget” crowd.

In case you aren’t familiar with “You Need A Budget”(YNAB) it’s a nifty little software package that allows you to track your spending, budget for your future and generally help you fix your financial problems.

I’ve joined the ranks of the “true believers” for two reasons:

1. I constantly receive unsolicited endorsements of the program from clients, readers and friends. As a result, I figured it was worthwhile looking into.

2. Once I took a look “under the hood”, I realized how powerful an agent it could be to help people really get their financial houses in order. I kicked myself for missing out on the benefits but I wasn’t about to let any more time go by.

YOU NEED A BUDGET (YNAB) – THE MOTHER OF ALL REVIEWS

To start off, it’s important that you understand that the program has a mission; to help you stop living paycheck to paycheck, get out of debt and save more money faster.

It’s built on zero based budgeting. You enter your income for the month and then budget how it’s going to be spent or saved. Get it? Using this method, you don’t spend more than you have. (A novel idea who’s time has come.)

The Rules:

Rule #1 – Stop living paycheck to paycheck.

The idea is that you use the money you earned last month to support yourself this month. You don’t spend money you earned this month – or the money you think you’ll earn in the future.

This is a stroke of genius and frankly, I’m disappointed I didn’t come up with it myself.

This helps get you out of the habit of living on money you don’t have.

In order to achieve this, the software actually helps you stash a month’s earnings away.

If you are in debt, accomplishing this may seem daunting. However, saving a month’s earnings isn’t as difficult as you might imagine. Also, the folks at YNAB give you some great ideas on how to get this done and even build up to it. And thousands of others have used YNAB to stop living paycheck to paycheck. Why shouldn’t you be able to do it?

Rule #2 Give Every Dollar A Job.

This is something I’ve never done but I can see how important it is. You basically assign every single dollar you earn a role. (It takes about 20 minutes the first time. After the first month, you can handle this task in about 20 seconds.)

A particular dollar’s job can be to pay for current needs or it can be to provide for future needs or saving…but every dollar has a specific task.

This is beautiful because it makes it almost impossible for you to spend without thinking. (I know you never do this but somebody you know might benefit by having this constraint.

Rule #3: Save for a Rainy Day

You might be pretty good at handling your day-to-day expenses, but how do you handle those unusual bills? Do you panic when the insurance bill comes due? Property taxes? When it’s time to fix the roof?

The software is designed to get rid of this roller coaster ride by smoothing out your true expenses. Me likey.

Rule #4: Roll with the Punches

This rule throws you a life-line when you break one (or more) of the 3 rules above. I guess they figured out that nobody’s perfect. Imagine that…

They actually build that into the system.

Sweet.

It’s OK to blow it but it’s not OK to give up. If you’ve ever started a budget “diet” only to fall off the wagon, you know how important a life line is. This software is designed to help you when you hit those life bumps.

Installation

It took me about a minute to install YNAB and it was a good omen. I like the fact the designers make it easy from the start. You won’t have any troubles here.

Using YNAB

When I clicked on the icon, the program opened immediately and it showed me the pretty picture above. As you can see, you are invited to either open up your most recent file, create a new budget or open an existing YNAB file.

I created a new budget.

At this point, my choices are “Accounts”, “Budget” or “Reports”. Obviously, I couldn’t run a budget or report until I have my accounts set up with some data. Even if this wasn’t clear to me, the “Getting Started” tutorials (documentation and video) would walk me through the set up stage really well.

Accounts

When you select “Accounts”, you basically open up an electronic checkbook register. This is where you’re going to record your expenses and deposits in each of your accounts. You can open a new “account” instantly and easily.

Once you’ve opened an account, the register opens. This electronic register is just like your check register. (But one difference is that this register allows you to electronically search for certain transactions and schedule recurring transactions. I’ll come back to this in a bit.)

Adding entries to the register is a breeze.

Just click where it says “add a new transaction.”

Type in the date, payee and category. Then you can make any memo if you want. Last, indicate the amount as an inflow (deposit) or outflow (expense).

Doesn’t hurt a bit.

The power of this program is really in how you use the categories.

You see….this “assigning categories” issue is often overlooked but that’s a mistake.

When you assign a category to an expense, that’s how you track your spending. And if you don’t assign the right category….you not tracking your money.

If the program you use makes assigning categories difficult, you’ll backslide. You’ll take the easy way out. If that’s the case, you shouldn’t bother using any software at all.

I like the way YNAB handles categories.

YNAB has quite a few categories set up already and if you need to create a new one, it’s much easier to do than with Quicken or Quickbooks.

You can also split an expense across many categories which is handy. That’s important because when you go to Costco, you might spend $200….but $100 on groceries and $100 on clothing. The split function allows you to keep track of that.

Downloading transactions

You can either manually input your transactions as I just described or download them from your bank and credit card company.

Most banks allow you to download data and I’m a huge fan of doing so. It saves me a huge amount of time.

YNAB allows you to import data from just about any format so if your bank provides any downloads, YNAB will work for you. The most common formats banks use are OFX, QFX, QIF, and CSV files. They all work with this software.

One complaint that others have is that you have to download and save the file from the bank before importing into YNAB. I can tell you that it’s no big deal.

I’ve been using Quicken and Quickbooks for years and even though the download is seamless, it still takes a long time to get all my transactions into those old dinosaurs. That’s because of the ardous way Quickbooks and Quicken handle categories.

All told, it was actually easier to get the data into YNAB even though the download isn’t seamless.

In short, the data importing feature was really a pleasure to work with. All the transactions downloaded fast and assigning categories to each transaction was fantastic.

Let’s get back to “search”

I love this function. How would you use it?

Let’s say the doctor says you didn’t pay her and you know you did?

This search feature will help you prove it faster. You can also see how many times you visited Starbucks and how much you spent there. The search box will show you every time you spent money with any vendor. You can also export this info to excel.

The Budget

This, as we say around the dinner table, is where the matzo balls meet the soup.

The budget section is what keeps you on track. Here, you’ll enter your budget. Then the program compares your actual numbers to that budgeted numbers and let’s you know two things:

a. Are you on track?
b. If not, what do you need to do differently?

This is a huge benefit to you that no other program offers. 

Here’s an example of a blank budget:

As you can see, it’s pretty straight forward. Just download your data and input your budget.

But here’s the feature that really made me fall in love with YNAB:

The program won’t let you budget money you don’t have. This is what makes YNAB different and better than anything else I’ve seen on the market.

This feature forces you to live within your means. I love it and so should you.

The screen shows your budgeted amount, the actual money spent and any balance.

Just what the doctor ordered.

Budget Categories

I mentioned categories above when we looked at data input. Now, let’s see how to use them with your budget.

The program comes with default “Master Categories” but you can change the names and add new categories. These are you major buckets of expenses.

I have such master categories as Charity, Investing, Utilities, Groceries, Auto, Clothing, Recreation etc. Under each master category you can create sub categories.

Once you set up your categories your ready to set up a budget number for each category. When you input or download your actual numbers, you assign each transaction to one of these categories so you can see how you’re doing.

Budgeting

The budgeting window is built around your “Available to Budget” amount which is taken from your account balance automatically. If you don’t have the money…..they won’t let you budget it. Built in accountability without the whining. YES!

If you overspend this month in any particular category, YNAB will let you know. You have to make up for it (another plus).

Say you budgeted $500 for groceries last month but you spent $600. The program will allow you to either budget $400 for groceries this month, or just cut the “Available to Budget” back by $100 and let you decide where to make the cuts.

No such thing as “deficit spending” in YNAB land. Should we buy a copy for the boys and girls in Washington?

YNAB also allows you to save for future purchases or events. This way, when the insurance bill comes due 3 months from now….you’ll have the money to pay for it. Nice.

Reports

All the personal budget software programs have nice reports and YNAB is no exception. YNAB’s reports are clean and easy to understand. You can also export the data into a CSV file which will allow you to play with the numbers in Excel.

While you might be a person that values having a wide variety of reports, I’m not. I just want to see my actual expense vs my budgeted expense. The “Budget” screen tells me everything I need to know.  Did I spend what I said I’d spend? If not, what’s the problem.  End of story. That’s the only report I need and YNAB delivers it like no other program.  If you want other reports or want to export the data to Excel and go wild….YNAB will oblige.

SUPPORT

The support is another feature that shines.  YNAB includes dozens of video tutorials and on screen help (see the FAQ’s below).  Also, and this blew me away, they actually provide online classes with real human instructors available to answer your questions.  So if you need someone to hold you hand as you set up the software and/or implement it, this is your dream come true.  Just try to call Quicken or Quickbooks for support and you’ll know how valuable this feature is.

In Summary

You Need A Budget is an excellent piece of software. It’s simple to use and easy to understand. The tutorials are great and the program gets the job done. Unlike other programs I’ve seen, YNAB is “solutions” oriented.

While the other programs do a good job at reporting what’s going on, YNAB helps you live within your means and see what you need to do to get back on track when you don’t.

Features I Love:

· Simple to install and use
· Intuitive
· Has anto-pay feature which saves tons of time with reoccurring payments.
· Holds your hand as you install the program and work with it. The documentation and tutorials are top flight – but you probably won’t need them.
· Free online budgeting classes with live instructors for Q & A. Unheard of.
· Unique approach, proven methodology and change agent for thousands of users. (according to their webstie, the average YNAB user pays off $500 in debt in their first 30 days)
· Can run on Mac or Windows
· 30-day Money Back Guarantee

YNAB is for you if:

You are in debt, living paycheck to paycheck or not saving money fast enough. If you know what to do but somehow don’t do it, the built in “accountability partner” features should really pay off for you. If you’ve used Quicken or other software and felt overwhelmed by the complexity and underwhelmed by the support and results, you’ll enjoy YNAB and what it can do for you.

I also think this is a fantastic gift for college or high-school graduates.  Let’s get them started off on the right foot….right?

YNAB is not for you if:

You have a system to track your spending that’s working.

You’re not in debt, you don’t live paycheck to paycheck and you save money fast enough. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.
Also, if you’re looking for a program to track your investments, YNAB isn’t your best choice.

My Recommendation

I’m recommending this program to all my clients and I recommend it to you too. It’s easy, simply and quick. It holds you accountable and keeps you on track. It’s the strongest budgeting software available and offers support that is unparalleled.

Is it worth the investment?

Well…if you would like to get out of debt, stop living paycheck to paycheck and save money faster and you think it would be worth it to pay $59.95 one time in order to achieve that and stay on track for the rest of your life….then yes…..it’s worth it.

(If you don’t think those benefits are worth the 60 bucks you should spend the money to get your head examined first…then buy the software.)

You should get this for your kids or grand kids if you don’t need it.  The benefits to them are enormous.

There are free programs out there and you also have the option of making a spreadsheet up yourself.  But you won’t get anything like the pay off that this program offers.

I have an accounting degree and I’ve been working with clients struggling with their finances for over 25 years.  I also have the luxury of alternatives.  I can endorse any program I want.

I would not bestow the Pilgrim seal of approval unless I was 100% satisfied that YNAB was the way to go and I can tell you that it is.

FAQ’s

1 Does the program automatically backup?

No, not in the current version although that feature is on the way. It does prompt you to save though if you haven’t yet when closing the software out.

2. Does it offer print features?

Yes. You can print reports, the register and the budget directly to PDF file for emailing, archiving or printing to paper from there.

3. How large is the pdf set-up guide?

The entire manual is 106 pages but the guide to get started is only a single page long. Everything that you will find in the manual is within the software and is backed up by extensive ‘inline’ help with pop-ups that guide you every step of the way.

4. How many tutorials are there?

44 currently with more on the way.

5. How often are the classes held?  How many per week?

At a minimum weekly with as many as 3 or more at times and all of them are completely FREE and without any obligation at all.

6. How long does it take for the average user to become capable?

That’s a tough one because it’s truly dependent upon the individual’s ability as well as how much they want to put into learning the ropes. That said, YNAB is different but it’s not difficult and on average you could learn it in an hour – the length of our getting started webinars.

7. How long is the guarantee? What are the terms?

The money back guarantee is for 30 days no questions asked.

8. Can it run on Mac or Windows? 
Yes!

YNAB 3 will run on Windows, Mac or Linux computers and you can easily share the very same budget data file amongst the 3 without the need for conversion.

Related posts:

• Free Budgeting and Forecasting Software Review – Budget Pulse I had the pleasure of interviewing Craig Kessler of...
• How To Convince Your Spouse You Need A Budget You might realize that you need a budget…. but...
• Your Personal Budget Plan Just Got A Whole Lot Easier How much do you think you spend each month...

Don’t Use A Zero Based Budget Planning Process – Here’s Why

A zero based budget planning process might work for some people but there is a much better alternative.

Flikr, chego101

In fact, the zero based plan might even create a tremendous obstacle for you.

Before I explain, let’s look at what a zero based budget planning process is.

Quite simply, this is a process whereby you account for every single dollar you bring in. You budget every penny. You budget some money for spending and other money for saving. Nothing goes unaccounted for.  You can using budgeting software or a spreadsheet to set this up.

I know that this system helps many people but it would drive me (and more important….my wife) nuts. It’s a bit too regimented for us. We’d never stick to it. And my experience tells me that lots of people feel the same way.

Sure…..lots of folks start off with good intentions. But after a short time, the work becomes too much. The burden too great. Out goes the baby with the bath water and we’re back to our free-spending ways.

Actually….the situation for many of us gets worse. Having gone through this exercise with 100% commitment we get discouraged when we see it’s too much. Unfortunately, some people decide that they are doomed to a life of debt because this last-ditch effort failed so miserably.

Is there a better way?

In a word….yes.

The system I use is simple to understand and easy to implement.

I pay myself first and you should too.

In other words, having run a financial plan, you know how much money you need to save in order to reach your goals.

Add in an expected rate of return and calculate how much money you need to save each year to stay on track.

If that number is too great, amend the plan.

How?

Either work longer, retire with less or work part-time after you retire.

I’ll give you an example. I’ll ignore inflation, taxes and interest for the time being. I just want to show you how this works. You can find financial calculators on the web to determine present and future value.

Let’s say you’ll need $25,000 a year (on top of your other sources of retirement income) to live on when you retire in 10 years.

If you figure you can withdraw 5% of your money when you retire, that means you’ll need a total of $500,000 at that time.

If you already have $200,000 saved, that means you need an additional $300,000. You have 10 years to save that money so that means you must save $30,000 each year.

$30,000 a year is $2500 a month. So for this plan to work, you must save $2500 each month before you do anything else.

But let’s say you can only save $1,000 a month.

No problem.

Amend your plan by either reducing your cost of living, working (and saving) longer, working part time or a combination of all three.

Can you see how such a plan might be far more powerful for you than a zero based budget? With the zero based plan, you might become a great accountant…but that doesn’t mean you’ll reach your goals.

I love this system because it has a great foundation:

a. It’s built on reality.
b. It’s focused on my goals.
c. I know immediately whether or not I’m on track.
d. It’s simple.
e. I pay myself first.

With this type of plan, you are goal oriented. Plus……it’s a lot more fun.

Once you reach your savings goal, you can do anything you want with any money left over.

Blow it in Vegas? Go ahead.

Buy that X-box? Be my guest.

Would this budget planning process work for you? Why or why not?

Related posts:

• Your Personal Budget Plan Just Got A Whole Lot Easier How much do you think you spend each month...
• How To Convince Your Spouse You Need A Budget You might realize that you need a budget…. but...
• Free Budgeting and Forecasting Software Review – Budget Pulse I had the pleasure of interviewing Craig Kessler of...

There are a number of great free online software programs available to help you spend less money and get out of debt.

But how do you determine if it’s worth your time to really learn more about a particular program?

Lucky for you Emily Thomas wrote this guest post and guide to some online budgeting tools — some of which you may never heard of before….

How do I get my budget under control?

That’s a common question I hear from people who want to take the reins on their financial lives and really keep their spending in line but who lack the knowledge or training to jump head-first into rows of earnings data. But there’s good news. There are a variety of programs out there, some Web-based, designed to help you reorganize your cash flow and make better use of your money. Here are some to get you started:

Billster.net: This is free service that comes in handy for understanding monthly expenditures, debts, and income. There’s also a shared bills aspect that’s ideal for roommates who need to pool funds to cover things like utilities.

Mint.com: One of the biggest out there, this portal is a solid aggregator of your information across multiple financial institutions, and you can sign up to receive e-mails when bills are due. A very strong site.

Yodlee.com: Another Web-based service, Yodlee is a great way to visualize money-saving methods and plan for future purchases like cars or homes.

Wesabe.com: Like other services, Wesabe is designed to help you collect and better understand your financial information, but it also boasts a thriving user community that not every site can offer. This ability to get advice from peers who’ve been in similar cash situations can be very helpful.

Mvelopes: Although Web-based, Mvelopes isn’t a free service like the others. However, that’s no reason to overlook it. They offer a variety of helpful tips to teach you how to reduce spending, manage debt, and work toward personal financial freedom.

Quicken: This classic piece of software has been helping individuals and families monitor their expenses for years now, and it’s a fantastic tool to get your budget under control and better understand how you spend your money. There is a caveat, though: After a few years, you’ll need to buy a new edition of the software to make sure you’ve got the latest tools and support available. But if you’re serious about getting your budget in order, it can be worth the expense.

Try those services out and see which one fits your needs and style. By taking control of your budget, you’ll start saving money and enjoying life more right away.

By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Emily Thomas, who writes on the topics of online college degree . She welcomes your comments at her email Id: emily.thomas31@gmail.com.

Thanks Emily! On a personal note…I’m a QuickBooks Pilgrim. I use it for both business and personal. But by far, the best budget tracking system I’ve ever used is a free one I wrote about some time ago…and it doesn’t even require a computer!

Related posts:

• Free Budgeting and Forecasting Software Review – Budget Pulse I had the pleasure of interviewing Craig Kessler of...
• Best Way To Get Out Of Credit Card Debt Fast The best way to get out of credit card...
• Best Car Extended Warranty For Free I just got the best car extended warranty. To...

I just got the best car extended warranty.

To sweeten the deal, it didn’t cost me a cent.

As you can imagine, I’m pretty happy.

I want to tell you what happened in the hopes that you’ll be able to take advantage of my experiences and get your best car extended warranty for free too.

photo by Aussiegall, Flikr

The background:

PRELUDE: My 2003 Japanese mini van was leaking oil.

I’m a huge fan of Japanese cars and that’s all we drive. (“Yes” I know about Toyota’s sudden acceleration problems and “No”….it won’t stop me driving Toyota’s or other Japanese cars.)

Step 1. We took the car into the dealership.

The first person I met at the dealership was quite possibly the most inept person I’ve ever met in my entire life.

First he said it would be $100 to diagnose the problem. I was fine with that so I left the car and went to work. A few hours later he called and said it would be $400 and that would include the repair. I was OK with that too.

Then , a few hours later, he called and informed me that the fix didn’t fix the problem. Now he wanted $700 to do more tests.

Whether or not he did this on purpose or because he was born an idiot, I can’t say. All I know is I was completely dissatisfied with the service so I kicked the problem upstairs. I called the service manager. I wasn’t rude to either person but I wasn’t giving up without being treated fairly.

Take Away from Step 1.

A. Don’t let anyone push you around. You are the customer. They are getting paid to help you. If you don’t understand something, don’t accept it.
B. Never treat anyone rudely no matter how poorly they treat you.

Step 2. I explained to the manager how it was in his interest to shut me up.

While I wasn’t dealing with a Toyota, I explained that I bought a Japanese car because of it’s quality and workmanship. I reminded Mike that his company probably didn’t need the headaches that Toyota was going through and I was sure they wanted to make it right.

He said he’d look into it and call me back.

Within a few hours, Mike did call back.

He informed me that some of the engine bolts weren’t tightened to spec when the car was manufactured back in the Land of the Rising Sun. This kind of surprised me because the car is a 2003 model. I didn’t understand why it took 7 years for the oil to start leaking…but I didn’t care. In any event, Mike said that he would get the manufacturer to pay for the repair and he turned me into a raving fan and customer for life.

Talk about the best car extended warranty.  Does it get any better than this?

Take Away from Step 2.

Always remain calm. Ask good questions. Keep in mind that you have leverage. Hint that you do, but don’t threaten. Keep the dealership on your side.

What I could have done better.

I should have done a Google search on the make and model and the words engine oil leak. I could have checked out www.carcomplaints.com to see what problems have been reported by the manufacturer. They publish TBS’s (Technical Service Bulletin) with known problems and fixes. You can get these full reports from your dealership and if you do you better believe they won’t try to push you around.

Can Everyone Have the Best Car Extended Warranty for Free?

I’m not convinced that I can get my car dealership to pay for anything that goes wrong with my car – nor do I think it would be fair to try. But if you are kind, calm and do some digging, I’ll bet you’ll do a lot better next time your Model T needs some TLC.

Have you ever had a similar experience with auto repair? Have you found that you need to stay better informed in order to get a better deal?

Related posts:

• How To Lease A Car Cheap How To Lease A Car Cheap If you are...
• Get Out Of Debt With Free Software There are a number of great free online software...
• Free Budgeting and Forecasting Software Review – Budget Pulse I had the pleasure of interviewing Craig Kessler of...

Here’s a novel valentines day gift idea if you have a boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband or domestic partner.

Give them a hug. Give them a kiss. Heck…give them a horsey back ride if you must

photo by Jurvestson, Flikr

….just keep your money in your pocket and purse.

It’s the gift that keeps on giving and it’ll help improve your money and marriage.

At least that’s what I’m doing.

My wife gets nothing. Zilch. Bubkas.

I might pick some roses from the garden if I’m in a good mood… but that’s about it.

Are we hurting for money? Thankfully no. In fact, we are completely debt free.

Has my income dropped? Nope. It’s up from last year. I’m grateful about that too.

So what’s the problem? Have I lost that loving feeling?

Not at all. In fact, my relationship with my wife has never been better in the 23 years we’ve been together. I’m as crazy about her now as I was when I first met her.

So am I cheap SOB? You might say I am but I don’t think so. I just like to spend money in a meaningful way. And I don’t like someone else defining “meaningful” for me – life the Retailers Association of America. I don’t need their valentines day gift ideas.

My wife knows I love her and she doesn’t need any material gift to demonstrate it.

But the flower and jewelry people work really hard to convince my wife just the opposite is true. I’ve got to “say it with flowers” or remind her that “diamonds are forever” . No thanks guys. Words and actions do the job much better.

That’s why I’m so anti-Valentine’s Day. It’s my way of “sticking it to the man”.

Of course, our culture has been carefully manipulated into thinking that spending is caring but it’s just the opposite that is true.

And make no mistake…if you buy flowers for your sweetie, it doesn’t stop there…

Once we take the bait and start believing that we need to spend in order to prove how we feel about someone, out come the $100,000 weddings and $200,000 undergraduate education tabs.

No thanks. Not for this pilgrim…and not for you either I hope.

So don’t kid yourself. When you go to spend $30 on a bunch of flowers on Sunday, realize that you’ve taken the bait. You drank the cool-aid. Before you know it, you’ll be driving a leased car you can’t afford, live in a home you can’t make payments on and take a mortgage out on your future to impress everyone around you.

That rose is the kiss of death. Pass it by. Instead, take that same $30 and donate it to the folks in Haiti. That’s love…..isn’t it? That’s meaningful…right? That says something about who you are and how grateful you are to have what you have – including your love muffin…..right?

Am I wrong on this one? Am I just rationalizing my cheapskateness?
What are you doing this Sunday? How are you celebrating your love relationship?

A few pilgrim sightings this week….

Festival of Frugality- Sweating the Big Stuff

Carnvial of Personal Finance

Related posts:

• Early Mortgage Payoff….A Good Idea? Is an early mortgage payoff a good idea? An...

photo by Pastapopaulose, Flikr

I took a tough call yesterday from a young couple struggling with their money and marriage.  John and his wife Margaret are in way over their heads and they’re considering throwing in the financial towel and declaring bankruptcy.

They owe $50,000 in credit card debt and they can barely make the minimum payments.  They fear losing their home and their credit score.

How they got there:

Both John and Margaret are hard working people.  They got caught when his employer (of 15 years) closed down after noticing he didn’t have enough cash for his small business.  Ouchie….

They piled on credit card debt to tide them over until John found new work.  Strike 1.

At just about the same time, the credit card companies started jacking up their rates. So just when the family could least afford it, their expenses went through the roof.  Strike 2.

Finally, the city they live in came under financial hardship and doubled the residents’ property tax. Strike 3.

Those were the three straws that broke the camel’s back.

photo by Neil Carey, Flikr

The only assets John and Margaret have are their home and John’s IRA.

They have $200,000 in equity in the home and about $68,000 in the IRA account.  That is their only savings.

Their income is barely enough to pay their basic living expenses.  It is certainly not enough to cover their living expense and the credit card bills.

The couple asked me about bankruptcy.  I had to tell them up front that I wasn’t the best person to consult with – that’s why I’m asking you for your input.

Having said that, here’s the advice I did provide:

A.    Continue making property tax and mortgage payments. The home is the one asset they own that has some equity.  They simply can not afford to lose it.
B.    Perform a postmortem on the credit card debt.  How did they accumulate the debt? What could they have done differently to avoid falling into this trap?
C.    Implement a drastic plan to cut expenses and increase income. I suggested that they go through every single expense and try very hard to find a way to do without.  Also, I suggested they rent a room out in their house and find second jobs.  They simply must create an emergency fund so this problem does not repeat itself.
D.    Renegotiate the debt with the credit card companies.  I told John and Margaret to call the companies and inform them that they simply can not make the payments.  They should push the companies hard to make an arrangement.  I believe that the couple should be able to get the companies to agree to an interest rate moratorium and even a principal reduction.

I did not suggest that the couple contact a debt consolidation or negotiation company because I have heard horror stories about these firms and I was wondering what your experience has been.

What advice would you give John and Margaret?  Are there companies that really do help people facing these hardships?

After you’ve considered these questions, please consider checking out these posts and carnivals.  They are my favorites for the week.

Cash Money Life – Carnival of Personal Finance

Peak Personal Finance – Personal Finance News Carnival

How to Buy Super Bowl Tickets -  Save this one for next year! (Go Colts!!!!)

Be Vigilant of Car Recalls

Have a No-Spend Weekend

Five Reasons To Start A Side Business

Six Reasons Why Britain is Booming Again

Help with Debt

Passive Income Now – Money Hacks Carnival

Pragmatic Environmentalism

Related posts:

• This Credit Card Alternative Could Reduce Your Interest Rate by 50% There is credit card alternative that could reduce your...
• How To Change Your Credit Card Story Quick Everyone has a credit card story. You know, the...
• Best Way To Get Out Of Credit Card Debt Fast The best way to get out of credit card...