Eliminate Debt: To go straight to the heart of the problem, there is a free website, ReadyForZero.com. It links to your credit cards, loans and bank accounts, totals what you owe and estimates how long it will take to pay off your debts, depending on the interest rate of each account. A sliding bar of what you can pay each month shows dynamically how you can shorten the time to pay off everything, and save money in the process. Even a small extra amount added to monthly payments can make a difference over time. ReadyForZero’s graphs show at-a-glance how you can improve your economic health. The program was originally designed with credit card debt in mind, but it has been expanded to include other types of debt. It includes recommendations for improving your overall financial picture, such as calling credit card companies to arrange different statement dates to accommodate your income pattern.

Pay Bills On Time: Late fees not only cost you dearly, but they can damage your credit rating. Pageonce.com has a mobile application that is designed to keep you on track with payments, according to the site’s COO, Steve Schultz. The company is a “financial nanny,” he said, that warns when payments are due and collects monthly statements into a single, convenient place. The greatest advantage is the ability to pay directly from your Android or iPhone. That’s particularly appealing to those who travel for their business and tend to lose track of payment dates. The fee for the mobile bill-pay feature is $4.99 per month.

Plan ahead: You can get even more support in budget planning, bill notification and financial advice through Mint.com, considered by many to be the most mature app and service online. The software is free and it tracks bills and accounts to give you detailed expense balances. It automatically categorizes certain charges or fees under headings such as “shopping,” “alcohol and bars” or other expenses common to your individual spending patterns. It shows how much cash you have on hand, how much credit card debt and what your cash flow looks like. Mint is available for Android and iPhone handsets and has an extensive website. The software is not, however, integrated with the desktop software of its parent company, Intuit’s Quicken.

Quain suggests hiring a coach if you are serious about getting a handle on debt. That could involve signing up online and sharing details of your financial standing with a third party. If that’s a leap of faith greater than you feel comfortable with, try DebtCoach at Bills.com. The site doesn’t require you to post private account numbers, just the overall data. It may suggest that you seek professional help or simply take steps such as increasing payments, reducing spending and paying off debt early, depending on the depth of your problem. Handling debt is an individual matter. It’s a different problem for a recent college graduate, for instance, than for earners who have a family to support. Look for advice from those who recognize these differences.

Here are 10 New Years’ Resolutions that will help you get your finances back on track.

1. Know What You Want

Write down what you want this year. Knowing what you want will give you goals to shoot for and reasons to save for those goals. Keep a list of the things you want the most and target them by not overspending on things you think you have to have but don’t really need.

2. Kill Your Debt

Take a good look at what kinds of debt you are carrying. Evaluate whether you are able to do anything about them this year that you weren’t doing last year. Are there numerous credit cards that still have outstanding balances? Can you consolidate any of them to the lowest interest credit card. Can you make a long term plan to get rid of this type of debt? How long will it take you? Be sure to work on paying them off, not making minimum payments. The credit card companies love it when you do that because they make more money from you.

3. Pay Bills On Time

Nothing can hurt your credit more than paying bills too late. Not only do you loose money when this happens, you lose in your credit scores. That will hurt you when you try to get a loan for a home purchase or a business loan.

4. Plan Ahead

Planning helps in most areas of life, but with finances planning is key to your long term security. Talk to a financial planner to help you with estate planning. Forecasting what you will need as you age is critical to do while you are young. The longer you stick to your plan, the better returns you will get.

5. Monitor Your Credit Report

Keep an eye on your credit report. You may think that everything is alright, but you really need to make sure. Unexpected reporting errors do happen all the time. Make sure it isn’t happening to you.

6. Track Spending

You have probably heard this a million times. Some people do this with ease, while others struggle. If you have a hard time writing things down as you spend cash, make it a habit to use your debit cards for spending. You will be able to categorize your spending much more easily this way. You can also use your personal checks to act as a record of spending. Just make sure you can evaluate what is going out from your hard earned dollars.

7. Reduce Expenditures

This seems obvious, but are there areas that you don’t really need to be spending money on? Are you dining out too frequently? Take a cooking class to make your home cooking taste better so you won’t want to go out as much. Just look at things you can live without and do it. Live without it.

8. Make Money Doing What You Love

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you are going to do what you love to do so why not figure out a way to get paid for doing that. When you love what you do it hardly feels like you are working. Time goes by quickly and you tend to improve your skills along the way.

9. Use Financial Software

There really is no excuse for being in the dark about where your money is going. Free websites like Mint.com will help you set a monthly budget, set financial goals and help you to save money by alerting you when you are getting charged fees through your bank. Many people use Quicken software or Quickbooks to help them get organized. The price of the software is worth it to gain some peace of mind and financial plans.

10. Read A Book About Finance Every Month

Although this is the last of the resolutions, it is probably the most important. There are hundreds of books out there that can help you at any stage of your financial planning. The more you know, the better you can plan for financial security.

Even those who manage to keep a lid on Christmas shopping during the early days of the shopping season sometimes find the temptations too much in the final days leading up to Dec. 25, credit counselors say.

Merchants —literally— bank on it. They offer last-minute bargains designed to bring the shopping throngs through their doors. Free photos with Santa, holiday food samples, special in-store events, buy-one-get-one-free deals are all crafted with the buyer —and his wallet—in mind. Keep firmly in mind that nothing is a bargain if you can’t afford it. Keep your Christmas shopping budget in mind.

Experts offer several strategies to help you avoid temptations during the final days of the annual frenzy.

Stick with the budget you made to begin your shopping spree. Avoid the temptation to add to your list or fudge a little on what you planned to spend for each recipient. Trying to be Santa to too many is a sure-fire budget-buster. Be a friend all year round instead. Biting off more than you can reasonably chew is a sure way to take the ho-ho-ho out of the holidays.

If last-gasp gift requirements do pop up, consider gift cards. They’re more convenient and less time-consuming than looking for bargains. The longer you spend in a place of merchandising, the greater the temptations become. If you go, have specific items in mind, find them, pay for them and go home. Browsing only gives you time to weaken.

Remember that groceries are part of the equation. The come-ons in the grocery aisles can be as tempting as those in other stores. Plan what you want to offer family and friends and stick with it. A cupboard full of crackers is not a particularly good Christmas leftover.

Shift your focus to other things. Avoid the stores. Think of places to go to celebrate the season without the urge to lay out cash, checks or the plastic. Remember for whom the till tolls. It tolls for you. Find some good entertainment that doesn’t involve walking through a mall. Or throw on the holiday music and spend some feet-up time. Contemplate the good things about the season, spending aside.

Avoid credit cards. Leave them home if you are venturing out. In extreme cases, have someone you trust put them away for the duration.

Communicate, even if it is belatedly. If the first 11 months of the year were tough, leaving your Christmas budget on the thin side, say so. Share your situation with relevant family members. Look for unique gifts that won’t break the bank. A little of your time may be more appreciated than a lot of your money. Chances are that if you talk with others, you’ll find they are hoping to cut back on their Christmas outlay too.

Use some of the time you are saving by avoiding the stores to look ahead to next year. Plan in advance to keep expectations reasonable and to make the season fit your situation. Plant firmly in your mind this year’s temptations for last-minute spending and recognize it when the same thing happens next year.

Common Depreciating Assets

Timeshares: Many people purchase them without realizing the money holes they can become. Unlike the majority of standard real estate, most timeshares lose 50 percent of their value immediately upon their purchase from a resort. Additional depreciation, up to 90 percent, occurs over the next few years.

Boats: There is a reason why boat owners often lament that the two happiest days of their lives were the day they bought their first boat and the day they sold that same piece of property. The dream of boat ownership is quickly absorbed in the reality of the expense such ownership entails. Boat rental may seem an expensive alternative, but it is usually far less expensive than to own your own. Your own boat is usually a depreciating asset you could do without.

Recreational vehicles: Just like cares and boats, RVs love a large percentage of their retail value the minute you depart from the dealer’s parking lot and they continue to lose value as they age. Few people use RVs as much as they expect to when they plunk down the purchase price. Add the costs of gas and the space rental many people have to pay for the RVs when they are not in use and ownership doesn’t make much sense.

Luxury cars: There is not much chance of avoiding a car purchase forever, but keep in mind that it is a depreciating asset. To get the most out of your purchase, focus on what you really need, not what suits your ego or what will keep you in the running with the Joneses. A used car in good condition has already seen much of the initial depreciation priced out. The corollary is someone who wants to have the benefit of gold’s stability and buys jewelry instead. You can’t have it both ways.

Electronic Gadgets: They not only depreciate, they do it quickly. Owning the latest and, purportedly the greatest in computers or electronic gadgets may be popular, but it also is the least cost-effective option. The latest models always come with a premium price. Last year’s model is usually just as effective for most people. And last year’s models will be heavily discounted as soon as the new model appears on the horizon. Make sure your purchase checks out with your wealth building plans.

The prospect of any large purchase should trigger the question: “Do I really need this?” If the answer is “Yes.” proceed wisely. Opt for the product that fulfills your actual needs at the best possible value. Depreciating assets eventually affect your finances, so avoid them when possible and consider devaluation as one of the factors to evaluate as you make your purchasing decisions.

Faced with the fallout from a lingering bad economy, many online merchants are offering deep discounts on the most-wanted holiday gift items, often throwing in free shipping with low or no spending threshholds. The holiday promotions began before the masks were off the Halloween trick-or-treaters. Lands End was one of the first, with a $40-off deal on orders of at least $100 and free shipping if the tab goes over $50.

Nearly 93 percent of online retailers say they will offer free shipping at some point through December, says the National Retail Federation. A good number of the merchants say the promotions will be more tempting than last year. Shoppers put off by the sense of a very slow move toward a robust economy will want some special deals to prod them into digging into their pocketbooks, experts say. The Federation says it expects the average shopper this season to do about 36 percent of his buying online. Last year, the figure was 32.7 percent.

Some online retailers such as Walmart, are offering not only expanded free shipping for those who purchase at least $45 in goods, and they have online-only bargains that can’t be found in stores. A spokesman for Bradsdeals.com predicts all-time low prices on televisions, computers, cameras and tablet computers.

In what has become a well-entrenched custom, the holiday online shopping frenzy is expected to launch on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, with more to come on the following Cyber Monday.

Shoppers can multiply their holiday shopping benefits by following these tips from the experts:

MONITOR DAILY DEALS

Sites such as Groupon.com, Eversave.com, Living Social.com and PlumDistrict.com offer half-off buys from a variety of online dealers. For example, Groupon recently offered a $40 Body Shop certificate for $20.

KNOW RETURN POLICIES

Not all online merchants allow to return an item in-store. Find out up-front and save the hassle.
COMPARE PRICES: Begin your shopping with a Web search of the particular product you have in mind or consult a comparison site such as Bizrate.com or PriceGrabber.com

READ PRODUCT RATINGS

One of the great advantages of online shopping is being able to access websites that include customer ratings of products.

AVOID SHOPPING CHARGES

Many retailers recognize shipping costs as one of the deterrents to online shopping. They offer ways to get around them. Amazon.com offers free “SuperSaver” shipping on orders over $25, although the deal doesn’t apply to all products. Some of the free-shipping offers are tied to a spending minimum . Freeshipping.org can be a guide. Some online dealers offer a buy-online, pick-up-in-the-store option, eliminating the shipping charge.

USE COUPON CODES

Among websites that can give you information about money-saving coupons are RetailMeNot , Coupon Cabin and Coupon Dealing. Some sites will accept more than one coupon code per order. For the best savings, compare coupon offers between a couple of sites. There are many combinations, so do the math.

GO SOCIAL

Many major online merchants are offering more money-saving offers via Facebook and Twitter. Get on the “Like” or “Follow ” lists of your favorite retailers.

GET CASH BACK

Ebates.com, ShopatHome.com and FatWallet.com and other cash-back websites earn a small commission for referring shoppers to online merchants. They then share that commission with shoppers who buy. Start with one of these Web pages and then click on the merchant with whom you would like to shop. Not every merchant works with a cash-back site, but many do.

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The thing to do is compare. The options may vary, including such things as choice of designs, personal message lines, one-time offers of a few personal checks or a free box with the second at a reduced price. Be aware that some check printing businesses offer these options only to first-time customers. Look around and evaluate such things as the number of personal checks and the terms of the transaction, designs and shipping costs.  Then compare the variables to determine which appeals most to you. Some companies may offer free recycled checks or duplicates to entice you into an upgrade. Some require a coupon code, so make sure if you have such a code that it is still valid.

Follow these steps to complete your process:

1. Select a design. Companies will vary in how many designs they offer that you can choose among, ranging anywhere from four to 25.  If the special you choose includes a second box free, you’ll be set for a long time.

2. Select lettering styles. Some companies may throw in a monogram or symbol next to your name and address or add a personal message line gratis.

3. Be certain of the status of a register to keep a record of checks. If the deal you opt for does not include a register, you may want to add one to your shopping cart.
If you love the design you chose, consider coordinating with other items such as address books or labels to extend the effect.

4. When your check order arrives, be certain to look at the invoice to ensure that the fees and terms are what you agreed to. If you are certain everything is as it should be, submit your payment.

5. Print a copy of the invoice so you have a record of all the shipping terms, estimated shipping dates and customer service number just in case a question should arise after the fact. A printed copy is easier to access if it is required than having to look up the details online if references are needed later.

Personalizing your checks can be fun and rewarding. There is such a wide range of designs and photos that appeal to almost any age, women, men and young buyers.

Income level is a factor. Those who earn less—under $50,000— said they wouldn’t use their cards. Only 47 percent of those whose incomes tops $50,000 said they would not buy gifts with a credit card. That translates into age groups as well. The younger the demographic, the  less likely they are to resort to credit buying—likely because they have less “wiggle room” for debt. Seventy percent of those in the survey who were in the 19-29 year age group said they were not likely to use a card; 57 percent in the 30-44 year age group; 56 percent in the 45-59 bracket; and 48 percent in the 60-plus category.

Will You Buy Christmas Presents Online?

The Marist pollsters said they found more shoppers this year inclined toward making purchases online. Eleven percent said they would wrap up all their Christmas shopping  online; 42 percent that they would make some online purchases and 47 percent that online wouldn’t be an option for them. Those poll results compare with a similar survey in 2007, when 58 percent of the respondents said they would not make online purchases at all; 37 percent said they would use the online approach for some of their purchases and 4 percent that they would spend their time at the computer instead of in the stores.

How Much Will You Spend This Christmas?

When it came to the amount they plan to spend on Christmas this season, 57 percent of those who responded to the Marist poll  planned to spend the same as last year, despite the ongoing economic pressures spawned by a long-lasting downswing. Forty percent said they will spend less and only 9 percent that they were opening their wallets wider.  Again, the age groups seemed to reflect the effects of the recession.

Forty-three percent of the women surveyed said they are likely to spend less this year, and they tend to be more prone to shopping than their male counterparts, 37 percent of whom said they are likely to spend less during the annual gift-buying frenzy.

Credit Card Benefits For Christmas Shopping

In favor of using credit cards for shopping are people who make purchases and the merchant goes out of business. Credit card users were the only ones able to get refund for defective merchandise. If you plan to use your credit cards for shopping, make sure you check your budget.

The Rise Of Apple Stock Prices

What does the future of Apple look like without Steve Jobs? Analysts are predicting a very bright future.

Today, Apple is worth $377.83 billion dollars. Share prices are fluctuating between $401 – $409.  It is the largest company in the world and new products are in development.  The iTV, which is currently in the prototype stage, could revolutionize the television industry and it could add billions of dollars to the worth of Apple.

Gene Munster, analyst for Piper Jaffray, a $400 million dollar investment company, says “We believe that of the estimated 220 million flat panel TVs sold in 2012, 48% or 106 million units will be internet-connected, of which Apple could sell 1.4 million units,” Munster wrote. “We believe an Apple Television could add $2.5 billion or 2% to revenue in 2012, $4.0 billion or 3% in 2013 and $6.0 billion in 2014.”

Will that make investing in Apple now a good investment? David Zeiler writes an interesting article: Why Apple Stock Is Headed for $500 – And Beyond. The momentum behind Apple seems to be growing past the loss of it’s founder, Steve Jobs.

A recent book called “Steve Jobs,” by Walter Isaacson, clearly reveals the thinking that has been driving the success of the company for years. Steve’s out of the box, creative thinking has gotten the masses to use computers in a new way. From the launch of the MacIntosh in 1984, to the recent launch of the Ipad2, his products provided us with the next generation of technology.

Designing products with ease of use has been Steve Job’s philosophy. Thank goodness, because the masses are not tech geeks. His artistic sense of design, minimalistic lifestyle and obsessive attention to detail are the fuel behind the products we have come to love and use daily.

From his high school part-time job working at Hewlett-Packard, Steve Jobs found one mentor after the next to teach him about technology, product creating, business structure and relationships. Although not always the best at relationships, his demand for perfection and his drive for great product creation triumphed.

There is a future for Apple because of Steve Jobs. His vision and creative thinking will truly be missed, but his contributions to the world will benefit generation after generation.

Related Company Valuations – October 31, 2011

1984 Launch of the Macintosh

 
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Hugh Molotsi of Intuit, receives an award of $1 million dollars.

On August 31, 2011, Hugh Molotsi received the “Founders Innovation Award,” for his role in the development of Quickbooks Merchant Services. An employee of Intuit for many years, Hugh discovered a business problem by talking to business owners about why they weren’t use credit card processing and the most frequent response he got was that they didn’t know how to do it.

Quickbooks Merchant Services Impact

Providing a solution to that problem was the beginning of the creation of Quickbooks Merchant Services which Hugh was instrumental in developing. It was released in 1999. Within two months, the business was profitable. Within the first year, they had 3,000 customers. The next year, business tripled to 10,000 customers and revenue tripled as well. Intuit’s future businesses were built on the fundamentals that the Quickbooks Merchant Services had. Now most of their customers, revenues and profits are from Quickbooks Merchant Services customers. Most of the Intuit businesses today and most of them for tomorrow are because of Quickbooks Merchant Services.

Through Hugh’s leadership he has earned two leadership in excellence awards and four of Intuit’s Innovation Awards. According to Intuit founder, Scott Cook, he is a classic leader and teacher. He is a continuous learner and focuses on self-improvement. He received Intuit’s special recognition, special access to Intuit events, and a financial reward of $1,000,000.00.

Intuit Company Development

Intuit has produced the popular accounting software, Quicken for personal finance, Quickbooks, and Turbo Tax. Intuit is a financial services company founded in 1983 by Scott Cook, former employee of Proctor & Gamble and Tom Proulx, a computer programmer studying at Stanford University. These two brilliant people worked together to help make people’s lives easier by creating the first software accounting program for families and businesses.

Intuit now has a revenue of $3.9 billion dollars, was ranked #44 by CNN as one of the top companies to work for and was ranked in Forbes magazine as one of the top 100 most inventive companies. Their mission statement is to remain “driven by our passion for inventing solutions to solve important problems, perfecting those solutions and delighting our customers.” Intuit makes a practice of rewarding their innovative employees by giving them special recognition and handsomely rewarding them financially. Intuit has become a success story inspiring people from all walks of life.

Founder of Intuit

Scott Cook co-founded Intuit Inc. in 1983 and now serves as the chairman of the Executive Committee. He earned an MBA from Harvard University and received a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from the University of Southern California. Cook is a member of the board of directors of eBay; Procter & Gamble; the Asia Foundation; the Harvard Business School Dean’s Advisory Board; the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin; and the Intuit Scholarship Foundation.
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