Markets can fluctuate from time to time. Investing in managed funds with a long term outlook is the key to achieving sustainable long term capital appreciation.

Long Term Capital Appreciation

Stock markets have been shown to outperform other asset classes over the long term. Investing earlier rather than later should ensure that your money has more time to work for you. Investing in a diversified managed fund means that you are not over-exposed to any one sector. As the outlook for an economy improves (or continues to be positive), so too does the likelihood of a diversified managed fund performing well. Whilst timing your investment can affect your overall returns, a long term view makes timing less important.

Smoothing Out Volatile Periods

Markets can be volatile beasts. The recent global financial crisis is a great example. Some markets dropped over 50 percent from their peaks. Many have subsequently recovered over 50 percent from their lows. Many experts have difficulty timing when to enter investments. While being able to pick a low to enter an investment is a wonderful skill, the truth is this is difficult. Stock markets do recover from their lows, and continue on to reach new highs as economies improve, meaning that investors can benefit from this upside, even without investing close to a low point. Even if one had invested at the absolute peak just before the huge 1987 stock market crash, that investment would be worth many times the initial investment today.

Compounding Returns By Re-investing Distributions

Companies often pay dividends to investors (after all, you are lending them your money!). Likewise, managed funds may distribute such dividends from the underlying companies in your managed fund to you (like an interest payment). By re-investing these distributions back into your managed fund, you will end up with additional units which in turn participate in the future performance of your managed fund. Do this over the long term, and you will end up with substantially more units than you started with.

Enforced Savings Plan

An investor is less likely to withdraw from a managed fund than from a bank account, or even a term deposit. Having your funds tied to market leading companies, through a managed fund means that as these companies prosper, so should you. Set up an automated system where you contribute regular amounts to existing managed fund investments (for example, on a monthly basis), and you will do even better.

Beating Inflation

Prices go up over time, sometimes substantially, such as with petrol prices over recent years. While managed fund performance can fluctuate from year to year, a decent managed fund’s long term trend is upwards, ensuring that over such a period, your invested capital increases. As a managed fund investor, you are a part owner in many companies. As they raise prices for their products, you, as a shareholder, benefit. This ensures that you don’t lose, and actually most likely gain purchasing power over the long term.

Share Trading involves both risks and rewards. A long term approach, as outlined above is the lower risk option for steadier returns.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Even servicemen and women in the United States Armed Forces, who happily enjoy a great deal of job safety, can be exposed to financial insecurity by family medical emergencies, mortgage difficulties, credit card debt or even car trouble.

Today’s economy is a difficult and unforgiving one. Even servicemen and women in the United States Armed Forces, who happily enjoy a great deal of job safety, can be exposed to financial insecurity by family medical emergencies, mortgage difficulties, credit card debt or even car trouble. If such a situation were to arise in your life, would you know how to take out a military loan without incurring excessive interest rates?

Sadly, even those in the know about civilian debt can, at times, be flummoxed by the variety and complexity of military loan choices. One seemingly tempting option is the payday loan. Payday loans provide an immediate advance on your next paycheck. Some even offer overnight payment. While these loans may seem to be an easy way to pay a credit card, mortgage or utility bill that needs to be dealt with rapidly, they are in fact a mechanism for predatory lenders to take advantage of financially desperate servicemen and women.

Unlike other, safer military loan options, payday loans generally come with incredibly high interest rates. In the past, less financially savvy members of the Armed Forces have been tricked into agreeing to interest rates of up to 800% on their payday loans. At this interest rate, a borrower would be required to return 4000 dollars to their lender in exchange for a meager 500 dollar military loan.

The problem of predatory payday loans has become so pervasive and damaging that that both the Federal government and quite a few state governments have felt forced to step in on multiple occasions in recent years. In 2006, for example, Congress passed a law limiting payday loans to an interest rate of 36%. In eleven states, payday loans are outright illegal, as they are considered forms of usury.

While payday loans may seem tempting to cover your short term needs, they are never the answer. A trusted financial institution that specializes in military finance can provide with you a range of military loan options. Good financial advice from such an institution can help you stay out of debt and even generate assets to invest in and retire on.

Popularity: 6% [?]

In the UK alone, there are more credit cards than people and around the world, people in developed nations are all too familiar with paying on plastic

Personal debt certainly isn’t a stranger. In the UK alone, there are more credit cards than people and around the world, people in developed nations are all too familiar with paying on plastic. ‘Buy now, pay later,’ is almost the consumer slogan these days! So being in debt isn’t as rare as it once was. Here’s how not to manage your debts.

Ignore Your Creditors

Ignoring your creditors when they call or write is a sure fire way to irritate them. They want their money and if you’re not making your payments on time, they won’t give up trying to get it. If you have a lot of creditors, it can be difficult to deal with and some form of debt consolidation or formal restructuring might mean you have far fewer creditors, thus fewer calls to handle. But don’t blank them. If you are struggling to balance the books, try talking to your creditors. Contrary to popular misconception, they’re human too!

Take a Payday Shopping Spree!

Want to ensure that your debts are going to haunt you for your entire life? Then hit the shops the moment that your monthly wage lands in your bank account. Go wild, buy things you really don’t need but just want! That really will keep you in the red. However, if you want to take a more sensible approach and look at getting back in the black, you might want to hold off on the splashy expenses. Ask yourself, before you make a purchase, ‘do I need this?’ Maybe switch a luxury purchase for an extra payment towards your credit card bill. Admittedly, paying off your debts is a lot less fun than splashing out, but you’ll feel all the better for it when you see those debts slowly disappearing.

Take a Payday Loan

Payday loans are incredibly high interest loans of relatively small amounts designed just to keep you afloat until your next payday. However, you will end up paying back far more than you borrowed. This is one of the most expensive ways to borrow money and if you want to fight back against your debts, is a real no-go!

Sneak into ‘Unauthorised Overdraft’ Territory

Overdrafts really aren’t a bad way to borrow. They’re often much lower in terms of interest rates and charges than credit cards or other forms of lending and, with most banks, providing you don’t step over the agreed overdraft limit, you won’t incur any additional charges. However, the second you go over your agreed limit, you will start racking up bank penalty charges which really can add up and before you know it, you’ve incurred more in fees than you even took in the form of unauthorised overdraft spend. Running short? Try agreeing a higher overdraft limit with your bank where possible. They’d much rather you enquired about extending the overdraft than just taking more. The worst they can do is say no.

If you’re serious about dealing with your debts, it really comes down to a sensible approach.
• Write a budget.
• Stick to the budget.
• Cut back on luxuries and treats.

Of course, if your monthly repayments exceed your income, you will need to seek professional debt advice to deal with your problems. However, such advice is available freely from a number of companies and charities.

Popularity: 14% [?]

The current financial climate means people are constantly on the lookout for ways that they can save money.

How to best control your personal income is often a topic of discussion. Through years of controlling my own finances, I have come across ‘rules’ or ‘guidelines’ that work wonders and others that simply don’t.

The current financial climate means people are constantly on the lookout for ways that they can save money. I’ve put together my top financial tips that I hope will prove useful for you all.

Budget! - Never spend more than you earn

Probably the simplest tip I can give you but budgeting is something that we all should do. Take a pen and write down your expenses for the month and work out how much you can afford to spend. By doing this, when you come to the end of the month you won’t have to worry about struggling to make payments.

Once you have noted down all your expenses, including your phone bill and any direct debits, think about the amount of money you would like to put aside for the month, it doesn’t have to be a lot, a little can go a long way. Then after deducting your expenses and how much you would like to put aside from your monthly income, you should try and not go over that amount. Budgeting works wonders because it gives you something to aim towards and helps keep you motivated.

Review Your Expenses – You could be paying too much

There are certain things, whether it is gas or electricity that we have to buy to survive. These necessities are the things that people often pay too much for. The easy way to avoid paying too much on the things we have to buy is to use price comparison websites. These websites do all the hard work for you as they compare all the market leaders for the likes of, insurance, money, utilities and even phone bills. These websites are a quick fire way to start you saving a lot of money.

Credit Cards – Reward Yourself

Many people often give credit cards a bad name. However, if used properly they can be a quick fire way to earning some decent rewards. There are so many credit cards on the market that they all offer something for everyone. If you’re a shopaholic then look for credit cards that will reward you with money off your next purchase, or if you’re a frequent jetsetter, take a look at airline credit cards, where you can build air miles depending on how much you spend on your card.

If you have the money to make a purchase and you look after your finances well, then you could always fund a big purchase on a reward card, so that you can reap the benefits, then just pay off the card straight away so you don’t pay any interest.

A few important things to remember if you use a credit card are, keep an eye on your finances, don’t overspend and always try and pay more than the minimum payment every month; doing these three things when using your card will help you save money.

Save – Open a savings account

People don’t get the best use out of savings accounts, but they are a sure way to save money. A good way to ensure you save a small amount each month is to set up a standing order. Set a small amount every month to go from your normal account into your designated saving account. By doing this every month your money in your savings account will build and build, and the more the money builds the more interest you will gain.

The Lifetime Savings Account for those of you situated in the US offers fantastic benefits. Whatever you put in your account is not tax-deductible, but any returns you earn from your LSA are tax-free.

If you like me are based in the UK, then using a cash ISA is the best way to save some cash. All interest is tax free and you can save up to £5,100 in the account every year.

I hope my top financial tips prove useful for you and remember, when looking at your finances; small changes can have a big impact.

About the Author:

This article was written by Andreas Nicolaides.

Andreas works as a financial writer for UK based MoneySupermarket.com.

Popularity: 47% [?]

It has been said that most people spend more time selecting a new cell phone or shopping for clothes than they do managing their investments.

For many of us, keeping track of our 401K or other investments ranks with a trip to the dentist on our “must do” lists.

However, if you don’t have an easy and efficient way of managing your investment portfolio, you are highly likely to make mistakes that will inevitably affect your financial future. To prevent this from happening, you need to take action now and start using a good portfolio manager software system.

A good portfolio management system is like having an expert who devotes his or her entire day to keeping track of all of your investments, and knowing exactly when to buy or sell. The noted investment manager David Swensen, who manages Yale University’s multi-billion dollar endowment, noted in his bestseller “Unconventional Success” that the majority of small investors “buy high” and “sell low”.

Simply put, they don’t have a system for managing their money, and when the market swings wildly, they panic. Having a good portfolio management program in place will go a long way toward making sure you don’t fall into this trap. And it will make managing your investments on a day-to-day basis a whole lot easier in the long run.

Having a good investment software program will save time and money, and may well preclude the necessity of hiring a financial manager to do it for you. So what program should you choose? What should you look for when selecting an investment management program? As with many products, portfolio management software programs range from the simple to the feature-bloated and everything in between. You should review the various offerings and make your purchase decision based on your assessment of your own needs and interests. But there are some core features you will find in most consumer-oriented portfolio software programs, and you should look for at least these features in any program you are considering:

Manage Investment Decisions

The core goal of a portfolio management system is to improve your investment decisions. A good program automates this task for you. It does the heavy lifting to help you size your positions, time your trades, identify and take advantage of trading weaknesses, improve your risk management, and so forth.

Investment Portfolio Records Management

With this basic feature, you keep track of your transaction history for an infinite amount of portfolios and investments. You can keep track of mutual funds, stocks, bonds, options, commodities, Forex, and even cash accounts. You will be able to manage tasks like redemptions, purchases, transfers, distributions, spin-offs, re-combinations, splits and mergers, and so forth.

Reports

The software will offer several report types including custom reports. You will be able to control the content of the reports with various filters.

Yield Calculations

This feature will allow you to choose a variety of multiple yield types to report how well (or poorly) your investments and money are performing.

Multiple Investments And Portfolios

Allows you to keep track an infinite amount of portfolios and investments. If you manage other peoples’ portfolios, this type of software will be indispensable.

The benefits of using a portfolio management program are numerous and important. First and foremost, you will save money (or avoid losing it through incompetence). Second, through the discipline that a program imposes, you will inevitably improve your investment skills and learn better money management. Third, you will gain some peace of mind from knowing you are managing your investments properly, rather than doing your calculations on the back of a napkin. As with so many financial matters, that peace-of-mind may be the most valuable benefit of all.

About the author

This article was written by Neil Street, who writes on a range of topics for leading websites. His interests include real-time trading risk management and market-risk issues.

Popularity: 40% [?]

Nobody want to be broke, right? We all want to make sure that we have enough money not only in the present, but also for the future.

For some people who are fortunate enough, this is never a major concern. But for the rest of us we have to struggle with the need to pay bills today and the desire to have a nest egg set aside for the future. Thankfully there are a few things that you can do to save for your future, no matter how tight your budget is.

Follow your budget

There’s a reason you set a budget for your money. It ensures that you don’t overspend and end up not having enough money to pay your bills. Sticking to your budget means that you won’t have to dip into your extra money.

Reevaluate your budget

Do you really need as much spending money as you’ve allotted yourself each month? And is each and every one of those 102 TV channels necessary? Review and tighten your budget and you’ll be surprised by how much money you’ll be able to put away monthly.

The 5-10% rule

As a rule of thumb you should be setting aside 5-10% of your weekly income for your retirement fund. If you are living on an extremely tight budget, try putting 5% into a savings account or RRSP. The more you can put away, the better. And you would be surprised by how little you miss the extra money once you don’t have access to it.

Little things add up

A lot of the time it’s not the large purchases that stop us from saving money, it’s the smaller ones. A dollar here, five dollars there can add up and you would be shocked at the amount of money yearly that slips away. Do you really need a coffee and donut from the local coffee shop every morning? Cutting out the little expenses like this can add up, and quickly.

Be careful with credit

While some forms of credit are inevitable (mortgage, car loan) others should be considered a luxury. And luxuries aren’t necessarily something you need. While it’s a good idea to have a credit card for emergencies, it’s easy to get sucked into the buy now pay later lifestyle. Too many people live off of credit and this is NEVER a good idea. You will end up with all of your money going towards minimum payments rather into your savings account. If you spend more than you can realistically pay you will end up in a vicious cycle of monthly payments that never see your debt go down.

About the author:

Vern Marker is an expert on a variety of topics including budgeting, marketing, and business. Want to ask an expert about something specific? Check out YoExpert.com

Popularity: 16% [?]

Nearly everyone looks for ways to keep their phone bill down. Since almost everyone has a cell phone, it is quite likely that most people are spending more then they should to maintain that phone.

If you were to look at your bill it is likely that you could look at it right now and immediately find charges for services that you do not even use. The consulting industry uses a term, scope creep, that means a project slowly grows out of control. For most consumers this is what happens with their bill. Over time we add services in the form of extra lines, minutes, or data and our bill creeps up to a higher and higher amount until it is eventually out of control. If you want to get your bill back under control you should consider some or all of the following tips.

1. Watch your minutes

One of the biggest expenses for any cell phone owner is going over your minutes. If you consistently go over your minutes it is probably worth investing in a plan that gives your more from the beginning. There are also some free tools available that will let you know what your usage is and warn you if you are close to reaching your limit.

2. Consider a prepaid phone

If you do not use your phone a lot and do not want to shell out the money every month to maintain it you might consider a prepaid cell service. These services allow you to pay for only what you use and can be significantly cheaper then a traditional phone with equal service from a legitimate carrier.

3. Get rid of the phone insurance

Unless you have a very expensive phone and are particularly hard on them insurance is usually not worth the investment. It can cost about $200 which is not a great investment on a phone that is typically less then $500.

4. Look for discounts

Most carriers have ways to keep your phone bill down through employee discount programs. In some cases you might be entitled to a discount through the company you work for, or in cases of small businesses through their suppliers. You may wind up saving upwards of 20% on your bill.Â

5. Avoid buying ringtones

Yes, they are cute and can make the ring of your phone a bit less jarring, but they are quite simply a cost that can be eliminated.

6. Double check your bill

There are online services that will evaluate your bill for a small fee. They can then tell you how to save money. Typically the reports can show consumers how to save hundreds of dollars each year based on their actual usage.

7. Swap SIM cards

If you break a phone prior to the expiration of your contract you might have to pay a steep price for a new one. But, if you have other phones under the same account you can instead replace an older one, getting a lower price on the new phone, and simply swap out the SIM card from the broken phone.

9. Negotiate

When your contract expires you can negotiate to get a better deal. Since plans are typically cheaper as time goes on it is likely you can do better then your previous contract. Just make sure you get the same or better services.

10. Reconsider unlimited plans

Unless you have a texting addicted teen under your account odds are you do not really need an unlimited plan. While most of us like having them because they relieve us from worry about overages we probably don’t need them. Look at your actual usage to determine what your actual needs.

11. Combine you and your spouses plans

If you are living together and are not sharing a cell phone plan you are probably wasting money. Combine into one account and you will easily save lots of cash each month.

12. Do not cancel a contract

If you want to switch carriers mid contract it will cost you a lot of money. Instead look to one of the online services that link up people like you with people who are looking for a cell contract. That way you help someone else and get out of costly fees.Â

Finding ways to keep your phone bill down is a great way to cut household expenses. You can then use that extra money for more fun things like going on holiday or to pay off other bills.

About the author

This article was written by William Eve, a regular personal finance writer for Home Loan Finder, a 100% free mortgage comparison and application service. Visit the Home Loan Finder website for more great ways to save money and the most competitive investment loans and first home buyer loans on the market.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Often times we’re so busy in our daily lives that we forget that we can’t live like a rockstar, and need to budget and spend accordingly. Those little things you say like, “ohhhh it’s okay, I’ll make up for it somewhere else” or “I’m too lazy to send in that rebate” are actually hurting you in the long run. Here’s a few things you may want to consider when planning your budget and allotting spending money to yourself or your family.

1. Use online services like Mint

I’m saying this one in particular because I’m using it, and I absolutely love it. They just released a mobile phone app too, so you can track your budget and money on the road. You can separate your expenses, and Mint will automatically know what you are spending where. It will then alert you when you go over, as well as alert you when bills and credit card bills are due.

This will save you from 

• going over your budget and being more aware of your spending
• you’ll save because you won’t be wasting money on ridiculous late fees or overage fees

2. Being proactive with your car insurance companies

Actively seek our better insurance companies on both ends. There’s a TON of options out there and you want to make sure you aren’t losing out when you could be saving. For instance, some car insurance companies give you money back when you DON’T have an accident. Some health insurance companies give you a savings program with what you’re paying in. Do the research; you can actually end up saving a ton of money on these necessities.

3. Buying off Ebay/Etsy

Some people are afraid to use online auction websites for privacy reasons. That’s understandable, but when you can get a brand new TV for hundreds of dollars cheaper- I would say it’s time to take the dive and start using them. There are plenty of ways to track your auctions in Ebay, especially, to make sure you are only spending what you want to spend.

4. Get a credit card

This might sound like really dumb advice, especially if you’re trying to save money, but it’s probably the smartest thing you can do. When you don’t have revolving open credit accounts, it can actually hurt your credit. Put gas and groceries on your card (when you have the money) and pay it off at the end of the month, every month. This will keep revolving credit open as well as earn you rewards on certain cards. These rewards can be in the form of cash, gift certificates, travel etc.

5. Shop in bulk

Places like Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale may cost more in the beginning, but they actually save you more in the long run. As you probably know, when you buy in bulk, prices go down. While you may not “need” a ton of beef, you’ll pay less for it up front and use it through-out the month.

6. Send in your rebates

 Many people will be too lazy to send in a rebate right away and then they miss the date. Rebates are sketchy enough to begin with (although they’ve gotten better with the issuance of debit cards for your rebate rather than waiting for a rebate check) but they’re technically money you’ve spent; you may as well get it back.

These are just a few small tips to make sure you are living frugally and saving money. Pretty much common sense, but not things that people think of everyday.

What are some budgeting/spending tips that you have?

Popularity: 9% [?]

It’s a vast financial jungle in these early days of the 21st Century and it’s never been more important to budget.

Money is hard to come by and even harder to keep. However the internet has a wealth of choice for easy ways to set up and maintain a personal budget. Here are the top five online budgeting tools.

5. SmartyPig.com

You get two for the price of one with SmartyPig. Not only is this software a great budgeting tool but it also throws in a high yield, FDIC-insured savings account. You can also enlist friends and family to help you save for your specific financial goal while protecting your personal information. It’s also free to sign up and use. Plus, once you’ve attained your financial goal, there are options as to what to do with the money. Transferring it to a store gift card can add up to an additional 12% to the amount being allocated.

4. Geezeo.com

Something of a bare bones online budgeting option, Geezeo provides the usual tools to help you manage your finances but the real treat here is the community aspect of the site. You set your financial goals and form groups with other site users who can encourage or advise you as you go. There is also expert advice available as well. Checking, credit and savings accounts can all be maintained here though the group aspect is the real selling point. If you’re looking for a more interactive way of handling your finances then you might want to give Geezeo a try.

3. Mint.com

Another free budgeting option, Mint allows you to see all your credit card and banking transactions side by side, giving you a clearer picture of exactly how much you are spending and where. Safe and reliable, you can easily keep an eye on your money and the handy cash vs. debit ratio as you can download your purchases to your Mint account. To use Mint, you will have to input some of your banking security codes, which is a genuine concern for most. However they use the same security company as Bank of America so you can breathe easier.

2. BudgetPulse.com

Simple, easy to use, comprehensive, and free! Now what budgeter doesn’t like that last one? This software is a great way to monitor one’s finances. You can create personal budgets quickly and the software does not link to bank account data or ask you for personal account numbers or passwords. Quick charts and graphs illustrate your expenditures in an easy to follow manner. Safe, secure… did I mention it was free?

1. Mvelopes Personal

This award-winning software is free to try but does cost a bit to use. However it boasts revolutionary and innovative financial software, which allows you to easily set up a comprehensive budget that helps you to live within your income. Again, ease of use and simple graphics show you where you are spending your money. Things are further simplified through the use of budgeting envelopes into which you transfer funds earmarked for specific expenditures.

About the author:

This was article was written by Andrew Salmon. He contributes blog posts about budgeting and the IVA debt solution for a number of websites.

Popularity: 11% [?]

There are many ways to cut corners in this recession, but many of us tend to overlook a very important cost that can be cut in a most advantageous way: our cars.

There are many ways to cut corners in this recession, but many of us tend to overlook a very important cost that can be cut in a most advantageous way: our cars. Instead of avoiding maintenance for our cars as a way to skimp on costs, certain maintenance types should be even more important to avoid serious future issues. Here are some tips on what car maintenance you can perform yourself, and what is important not to skip over in order to keep your car in tip-top condition for many years to come. Auto mechanics charge high hourly rates because they know that many tasks do not take much more than twenty minutes. With a little research, you’ll be surprised how much money you can actually save!

Oil Changes:

Though it may no longer be necessary to change your oil as often as it once was, it is still a very important part of your car’s maintenance. Most oil changes cost from $20 to $100, depending on the type and amount of oil you use. There are a few tricks to this. The first is to buy your own oil and bring it to the shop, rather than paying extra for the same stuff. The other option is to change your oil yourself. It may seem like a huge task, but there are videos all over the web to help you learn more about changing your oil by yourself. It is actually quite easy, and you can save a bundle each year.

Tires:

Tires are going to wear out, and probably at one of the worst possible times. However, if you continually check your tire pressure, fill them as necessary, and keep a spare with you at all times, you are much less likely to find yourself up a creek without a paddle. Keep a tire gauge in your glove compartment for easy access, and check the air on a regular basis.

Brakes:

Let’s face it, brakes are very important, and there is not a whole lot we can do to keep them from wearing out. However, you can learn how to change your own brake pads, and quite easily. This can save you up to a hundred dollars a year on San Diego brake repair, and it only takes auto mechanics about 15 minutes to complete this expensive task. You should also dry out your brakes whenever they are exposed to heavy rain or excessive water. Driving through puddles can trap water in your brakes and cause issues, so pound on your brake pedals the following day to ensure that all the water is out. (At a slow speed, in a vacant area, stomp on your brakes three times to shake out excess water.)

Fluids:

Another maintenance trick you can do without contacting the professionals is a quick fluid check. Check the oil regularly; this can help you avoid changing it when it is still in good condition. You should also check your transmission fluid every year or so. It does not need to be changed as often as oil, but it should still be checked. Your brake fluid is also important to check. Cars should not consume brake fluid, so every time you check it, you should still have an ample amount of fluid left. Low brake fluid could mean a wear and tear or a dangerous leak in the brakes. Power steering should also have fluid that you should check regularly, as well as coolant and windshield washer fluid. If you live in a hot area of the country, it is even more important to check your coolant as often as you check your oil. Make sure to go to a reputable mechanic, like Robert’s Auto in San Diego, if ever you are in doubt about your fluid levels, as it might be a sign of a costly leak, that when overlooked, can cost you a lot more in repairs later.

Popularity: 20% [?]