Tips and Strategies for Dealing with the Pink Slip

Goodbye Party Work

According to a recent MetLife survey, 50% of Americans are one month away from financial instability. Bottom line: If half of Americans were to lose their jobs tomorrow, they’d have less than a month’s wages saved to carry them through unemployment. Yes, it’s St. Patty’s Day, and we just wanna have fun but we can’t keep living like sudden unemployment is impossible any longer. It’s happening at an increasing speed. Read More »

Savings Tips for Tight Times

We hear it everywhere–recession, recession, recession (and some folks are even hinting at a dreaded “depression”). So, as a result, we tighten our belts, put our hands in our pockets, and get down to the business of saving. While this may not be good for the economy, many of us see no other way to preserve our financial stability, as fears of job losses loom and investments tank.

Personally, I’m very frugal (OK, cheap), and I have a habit of haggling for absolutely everything–sometimes a simple question like “can you do any better on the price?” can surprise you. With businesses looking to keep customers and move product, this is a good time to leverage your buying power when you need to make a big purchase. But there are also a lot of ways to save on what you’re already paying for every day. Here are a few:

Call your insurance company When’s the last time you checked out those bills for your auto or home insurance? Look at your rates and coverage, and see where reductions can be made. Call other companies and see if they can do any better, and then take those bids to your insurance agent. He or she may be willing to make a deal to keep your business. You also might check your coverage and deductibles–if you’re willing to reduce or increase these, respectively, you could save a lot on your bill over the course of the year.

Review your utility bills I actually gasped at my gas bill this month, even though my thermostat has been set at a low 68 degrees this winter. Thankfully, my gas company is willing to help. In fact, many utility companies will actually come to your house and perform energy audits, letting you know where little fixes (like new caulk on your windows or weather stripping on drafty doors) can save you big bucks. Call your local company and find out if they offer this kind of service. You might also be able to equalize your bills if you’ve lived in your house for a period of about a year (paying an averaged bill instead of one that fluctuates based on monthly usage). It may not mean big savings, but at least you won’t dread opening your bill every month.

Take stock of ‘necessities’ You all know how it goes–you started with dial-up internet and basic cable, and somehow you’ve ended up with high speed internet and 600 channels of HDTV, conveniently recordable on your DVR. Now might be a good time to take stock in how much you’re actually using these “extra” necessities. Call your cable company and ask if (as a good customer, of course) you can get a reduction on your bill. There are also plenty of free sources for watching TV over the internet out there–Hulu.com has a wide selection, for example. You may want to try cutting your cable entirely.

In summary, take stock and learn to haggle–even saving $20 to $40 a month means a nice chuck of change at the end of the year.

What have you done to reduce spending in these lean times?

Help Is On The Way For Tax Time!

As we all know, tax time is bearing down on us, and, if you’re like me, you’re trying to gather all of your information together to get the maximum refund possible.

The good news is that there is plenty of help out there. For around $20, Bonnie Biafore, personal finance expert and award-winning author of Quicken 2009: The Missing Manual, is offering a webcast next Thursday, January 29th, on how to make it easier to organize and access your tax information for both your 2008 and 2009 tax returns with Quicken. This is a great opportunity for Quicken desktop users who want to know how to easily pull things together come April 15th. Check out this website for more information, and to register for the webcast.

If you’re in need of just plain old tax advice, we’ve got something for you, too. Through January 31st, you can talk to a TurboTax expert who will answer your personal, federal tax-related question for free (a $29.95 value)! Just go to the Free Tax Question website to submit a question online, and you’ll receive a personal call back, at a time you request. Update: Free Tax Question is now closed. Check back with us in 2010 for tax tips. It’s true that Quicken and TurboTax are both made by the same company, but it’s hard not to gush; after all, TurboTax is the nation’s leading tax software!

Quicken 2009 R4 Patch is Now Available

The Quicken 2009 Desktop R4 patch is now live. Below are the release notes. If you need to download the patch manually, check out this FAQ.

Quicken 2009 Release 4 Notes:

Bill Management
Fixed a problem when using “next” to advance to the next check number in the Add Transaction dialog from the Cash Flow Center did not properly advance to the next check number.

Printing
Resolved an issue where Quicken was not able to find the installed printer and print to it. Fixed a problem where Print Preview did not display any content for Graphs.

Online Banking
Improved account setup to better handle setting up an account online after an error occurs during the option to setup the account in Quicken. Resolved an issue where a renaming rule was sometimes not visible to the user even though it existed.

Crash Error Reports
Fixed several Crash Reports submitted by Quicken Customers.

Savings Plan
Resolved a performance issue that caused Savings Plan to take a very long time to open.

Rental Property
Fixed an issue where tenant name does not match the payee name.

Happy Holidays from the Quicken Team: The Best Advice You've Ever Received

The holidays are upon us, so the Quicken team has put a little gift together for our users: the best financial advice we’ve ever received!

A wise friend once said — pay now or pay later with interest. That works both financially and karmicly. It really is a phrase that makes me think before I buy — Brian V.
So, what’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?

Make saving automatic. From regular account transfers into savings each month, or paycheck deductions for savings bonds, find passive ways to stash cash for that rainy day without having to think about it. Don’t give yourself an opportunity to spend the money elsewhere. — Kim B.

Wait at least a week before buying an item you think you really want or need (with the exception of necessities). I’ve found this really helps me curb my impulse buying. — Chelsea M.

Most people spend more time planning their two-week vacations than their 20- or 30-year retirements. Isn’t it worthwhile to skip going out to a movie or shopping to invest a few hours in your financial security? — Ann P.

When people are buying stocks, buy real estate. When people are buying real estate, buy stocks. — Ben W.

Go one month using cash for everything (take the money out of the bank and give yourself a budget to live within). It really helps you to see what you’re spending your money on, and you’ll quickly figure out that many things you’d normally whip out your credit card to buy, you really can live without. — Patsy N.

Be brutally honest about your finances; don’t avoid the truth because it’s too painful to confront. — Mandy I.

The rule of 72. For me, it showed the importance of investing as early as possible.
Assuming 9% interest the rule of 72 says that you’ll double your investment in around 8 years (72/9%). When you look at this over your lifetime, it shows the significance of starting to save in your 20’s and not your 30’s…so do whatever you can to start saving as soon as possible. — Jessica B.

The book The Richest Man in Babylon is a great read that incorporates financial advice through stories. It’s a very old book but still sold and very cheap. — Scott G.

How Do You Learn About Your Money?

Happy Friday, all. As you can tell, we’re working on making our blog a place where you can get information about Quicken and about the best ways to manage your personal finances. Read More »

10 Examples of Horrible Money Management

With the economy sinking fast, it’s no doubt that many of us are reevaluating our recent spending habits, and hopefully cutting back on some of the frivolity. Read More »

Pennies to Millions: 10 Stocks You Wish You Had Bought

With the current state of the economy, there are many “what ifs” floating around; it’s hard to remember that historically the stock market returns around 10% to investors.

Need proof? Here’s an an interesting investing article about the 10 stocks that would have made you rich if you had invested in them early. The article includes a calculator to estimate what an initial investment would have netted you today—so you can laugh (or cry) about it. Read More »

Keeping Holiday Spending Under Control

It can be hard to keep from overspending at the holidays.

You want to buy special gifts for family and friends — and you don’t want to disappoint them.

Given the uncertain economy, however, both you and your nearest and dearest might need to trim expectations before you trim the Christmas tree. Read More »