I received a question through the MET Group. I thought I’d post the answer here. I threw it together quickly so feel free to comment and I will do a blog post on each topic in more detail in the future.
The best thing you can do is track your spending. Some people just use excel, some use quicken and there are other services out there. I use mint.com. That does a total net worth for you. Through mint.com you can input all your accounts into one place so that it becomes easy to keep track of everything. You can also set up a budget to help with spending and/or saving money.
As for easy ways to save money I leave that up to the people. I don’t tell people how to spend their day to day money. Enjoy it. You can find plenty of articles out there that will tell you to make coffee at home rather than going to Dunkin Donuts and save $10 per week or $500/year. Does it work? Yes but usually not as good as it sounds, like buying a coffee maker, coffee and supplies will probably eat into the $500 but not by too much.
I find people’s spending varies a ton. If you make more money you spend more money and if you make less you spend less. So what are you going to spend money on regardless, the things you need. So here’s a list for you:
1. Savings- Check bank fees. The fees which banks are charging nowadays are changing dramatically and you might not realize it until it’s too late. You want to avoid fees as much as possible and look for competitive rates of return. Online Savings accounts give better returns. Banks are looking for new ways to make money in this economic environment. Don’t let them use you.
2. Insurance – Today’s marketplace for insurance is changing drastically. With all the economic turmoil a lot of companies are changing their insurance rates. Life insurance is changing with longer life expectancies but high insurance costs. Massachusetts is still settling in on more competition for the auto rates. Have your policies reviewed by a professional.
3. Investment Fees – Some of the big brokers are cutting fees. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see fees changing in the mutual funds. It costs them money to liquid holds for when people pull their money out. It’s a great time to re-evaluate what you are getting for the costs you are paying.
4. Debt - Rates are near historic lows. Yet for a lot of people credit cards rates are higher than ever. You have a say in this. The better the credit score the more say. If you don’t ask you won’t get any help. Don’t be a bystander to the banks looking for more money.
5. House - might fall in the above category but it is very important to know where your house stands and what your options are. You might be able to free up money or you might need to seek help from the government. It looks as though mortgage rates have stopped falling so now is that time to act if you are in the right position. If not you do have a lot of options so don’t be afraid.
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To add to this post here is a news about Mint.com http://mashable.com/2009/06/05/mint-myyahoo-app/