Financial Planning Software

Only get Software you're Actually Going to Use

2009-05-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

There are lots of different software programs available with varying degrees of complication and features. Some are very simple and others have a feature for more than you could possibly think of. Not all software is created equally and not everyone will find useful every kind of software.

You have to think carefully about what is going to be useful to you. Just because a program has amazing reviews doesn't mean it's going to be great for you specifically to use. If you have a small budget with few investments and things to work with, a large complicated piece of software with a ton of features will probably be too much for you.

Software with more features is generally going to be more expensive. If you don't need those extra features, you are paying for more than you need. Why bother with this? It's a waste of money. It's also a waste of time.

On the other hand, if you have a very complicated financial position, you probably will need the software with more features and it is worth your time looking into that and spending the extra money.

This goes for any kind of software you want to use such as stock charting software and even software in an entirely different field. Don't waste your time or money.

Should you Use Software or Spreadsheets?

2009-04-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

When tracking your financial goals and budget, you don't have to use a software program, or even a budget. You could use a notebook, and pen or pencil if you want, but that wouldn't be as easy or efficient. When it comes to choosing between software and spreadsheets, which should you choose?

It's hard to say that one is better than the other, because they both have their ups and downs. If you want overall ease of use, the software might be better. First of all, you don't need to design anything as you would a spreadsheet, unless you found a predesigned spreadsheet.

On the other hand, you can make a spreadsheet incredibly simple which would take you all of ten minutes, less you are proficient with excel spreadsheets. In this case, a software program might be better if you are looking for something more complicated to handle your many accounts, goals, and expenditures.

If you really want to know what will work best, you need to try them both out. You might even end up trying out a couple different financial software programs to find one that worked best for you. Give them a try and see what you think.

What Happens if you Don't Use Financial Planning Software?

2009-04-01T17:37:00.000-07:00

Not much will happen if you don't use financial planning software. In fact, not much will happen either way. You won't lose anything, really, but you won't gain anything either. You'll probably just have a lot harder time achieving your goals, if you achieve them at all.

I'm not saying that you have to buy a piece of software in order to make your financial goals. I'm just saying it will be a lot easier. It would even be easier just to use the free programs, so it's not a matter of price. You don't have to pay a price.

The idea is that you want things to be as simple as possible. Make things more simple. There is no reason why things need to be excessively complicated. Simplify the process and you'll get there faster and easier.

Sign up for a free program or design your own spreadsheet. Make it work. When it does, you'll be so glad you went ahead with it.

Quicken for Free or for a Price?

2009-03-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

Quicken Online is now being offered absolutely free. With the word free might come feelings of doubt. If it's now free, it can't possibly be as good as the costly one, right? That's hard to say.

You can't exactly compare the two. Yes, when you pay for it, you may get a few more features, but no necessarily better quality. If you find everything you need in the free online, you might as well stick with that. Unless you want something that isn't 100% online, stick with the online program.

On the other hand, if you have a more complicated agenda, you might be better off with the paid program. They will offer you some features that the free program doesn't have. There are even varying degrees of the paid program, paying more for more features.

I would recommend starting out with the free program, and if it doesn't give you all you wanted, check the features of the paid program. If it does give you want you want, go for that. Upgrade as you feel necessary.

How do you set up Financial Goals?

2009-02-27T13:47:00.000-08:00

A financial goal can be anything you want. It doesn't have to be 'worthy' of being a goal. You can make a goal to save $100 for a new mp3 player and that's fine. In fact, you should always make goals to save for expenses you don't normally buy.

Start buy coming up with a goal and finding a price. Don't just set up a goal for the sake of it, there's no reason to buy something you don't even really need. That's why it's great to start with large goals such as college, if you are still in high school or younger, retirement, a house, a car, etc.

Get a financial planning software program to help you out or set up a spreadsheet. Decide when you want to make the purchase or when you will need the money buy and figure out how much time you have until then. Finally, divide the amount of months you have to save into the price.

That is how much money you will need to save each month, assuming you were to keep it all in a jar on your dresser. Most likely you won't do that. You'll probably put it in a bank account. Use an online bank account to get a higher interest rate.

This is what you'll need to use your software, or at least a calculator, to figure out. This is a more advanced financial equation. You will need to figure out how much you need to save each month.

Now you have one large goal and a small goal for each month that you can work on following.

What is Financial Planning?

2009-02-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

Do you have financial goals? A financial goal can be anything from buying car to buying a house to retiring early. They can be as big or small as you want. Financial planning is all about completing those goals.

If you make a goal to buy a house, you need to plan that goal or it may never happen. You need to set a time line for when you want to complete it. You need to set savings goals within that time line in order to meet that goal.

These are all necessary parts of financial planning. For example, you may decide you want to save a $40,000 down payment for a house in 5 years. That means you will need to save $8,000 a month or about $667 a month. Take into account the interest you will earn on the money assuming you put it into a high interest savings account, these numbers will go down.

Once you have all the goals down, you have to come up with a way to save that money. You need to make a budget so that you can save that $667 or less per month. You need to set up a spending plan so that you don't spend too much money in one place over another.

All this is part of financial planning. This is what it is made up of. If you want to complete your goals, financial planning can make it so much easier, cheaper, and more attainable.