With a few tips for managing money wisely, you should have no problems putting together a good working budget and learning how to manage your money. Here are some excellent tips for managing money wisely that will give you a great platform for getting started.

Budget - don't throw money away! Put it to good use!

1 - The first step is to figure out how you are currently managing your money.

Spend a month tracking every dollar that comes in, and every dollar that goes out. By the end of the month, you will have established a pattern of how your money is spent. From this, you can create a budget.

2 - Once you know how you are currently managing your money, creating a budget is vital.

Are you happy with how your money was spent in an average month, or is money going into the wrong expenses? Form a budget that allows for all of your expenses to be paid monthly, with money left over for savings. You should not be spending beyond your means, nor should you be completely broke by the time bills are paid every month, and a budget will ensure this.

3 - Revisit your expenses, spending practices and budget at least every few months, or twice a year to make sure that nothing drastic has changed.

Bills can vary a little bit from one month to the next month, but you should still have no problem paying them off unless your income takes a hit or your expenses climb considerably. If changes are occurring, it is vital that you make sure your budget reflects them, meaning that your budget should change over time as well.

4 - When forming a budget, you should make sure to include every potential expense, otherwise you may end of forgetting something and paying severely in the long run.

Your budget should include your housing, auto, insurance, home maintenance, food, clothing, personal grooming, dry cleaning, utilities, credit card payments, loan payments, other insurance payments, child care, entertainment, child support, legal expenses, medical bills, savings, vacations and income taxes. If it involves money coming in or money going out, it needs to be included in your budget in order for your budget to be efficient.

5 - If your budget is not working for you or you are still having difficulty finding ways to manage your money wisely, it may be time to rethink the way you are budgeting.

There are all kinds of different ways to budget and manage your money wisely, so change things up a bit if you feel like what you are doing isn’t effective.

These tips for managing money wisely are just the beginning. Learning to manage your money wisely takes time and effort, but once you find a budget plan that fits your needs, managing your money will be easier than ever, and that is when you can truly begin to get a handle on your finances, saving money every month.

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In this day and age, everyone is hurting for money, and locating legitimate high yield investments is not easy. Aside from scams, another consideration that needs to be made is the potential return on any investments that you make. Despite the fact that there are many attractive investment opportunities available both online and off, the appealing returns that they promise on your investments are not always what you will actually end up with. When investing, you should fully investigate all investment opportunities to make sure that the legitimate high yield investment offer you respond to is actually what it claims to be.

What are legitimate high yield investments?

In any situation involving a high yield investment, there is always going to be a degree of risk regardless of whether it is recognized as a legitimate investment or not. It is recommended that you should only invest what you can afford to lose in any high risk high yield investing opportunity. All high yield investing opportunities are high risk in nature, meaning that if you find something that seems to good to be true based on a lack of apparent risk, you’re probably dealing with an investing opportunity that is only going to end up burning you in the end. If you end up investing a huge amount of your funds into a high risk high yield investing strategy, and you find out later that it is not a legitimate high yield investment, then you can end up in bankruptcy, or worse. Do not invest too much money until you know what you are dealing with, no matter how bright the results seem to be, because there is no telling what will happen as early as a few months down the line.

When it comes to investing in a legitimate high yield investment, there are two different basic approaches that you can take.

One is an active approach and the second is the passive approach.

The active approach involves researching the investment opportunity to find out who is collecting, who is managing and who is buying the returns. People who take the passive road give their money to someone else and wait for their money to be invested properly.

In other words, the difference between actively and passively investing in legitimate high yield investment options simply falls on whether you do your own research and investing, or if you trust your capital in the hands of an expert who has an investment opportunity to put your money into.

If you are not sure how to tell whether an investment opportunity with a high yield is legitimate or not, you may be better off trusting an expert. Most investment strategists have numerous clients with all kinds of different investing strategies. Because they work with so many different people, they have a better understanding in general of what investment opportunities are out there, and which do and do not pay the returns that they promise. Remember that playing it safe is always better than risking your money for a high yield investment and getting burnt in the end.

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Start a jar for your spare change and single dollar bills.

There are plenty of ways for you to save money simply by managing it. It does not necessarily mean that you have to be frugal, but rather you simply have to be wise in the decisions that you make. Too many people these days are finding that they were never taught how to manage their money, which makes saving and investing a lot more difficult in the future. Here are some tips that will allow you to go beyond basic budgeting, learning how to more efficiently save your money for greater returns over time.

- Begin by creating a money jar.

Every day, make an effort to gather all of your change and single dollar bills and put them into the money jar. Any money that you save when out shopping should also be put into the money jar as well. Many of us are excellent at saving money, but not at allowing the money to build up over time. We end up spending the money that we save someplace else or on something else. If you save money by opting against a purchase, put those savings in your money jar and watch your savings add up.

- Save any bonus money that comes your way.

Money gifts, rebates, tax refunds, bonuses and other little money bonuses should be put into your investment accounts or your savings accounts. This way, this extra money will go to work for you, earning additional income for you. If you spend that money, it won’t do anything for you in the long run.

- One of the easiest ways to manage your money and save is to have money withdrawn automatically from your checking account every month, and moved right into your savings account or investment account.

Most employers are more than willing to have this done for you, which makes the process even simpler. Take advantage of this offer by moving money into your investments, savings or 401(k), because money that you never see is money that you never miss.

- Your checking account and checking registrar should be balanced at all times.

The more in tune you are with what your checking account looks like, the better off you will be. Writing bad checks and over drafting your account is just throwing out good money into fees and other deductions that don’t do you any good. If you know how much money is in your account, you will not make mistakes by overspending, which is a great way to save money over time.

- Shop on sale whenever possible.

Do not purchase things just because they are on sale if you don’t need them, but do make an effort to use coupons, buy discount, and find the best deals for the things that you do need. This is an excellent way to save money while still getting the things that you need.

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Online Finance Magazines

Most people intentionally bypass the bay of finance magazines in the grocer or their local newsstand, believing that there is nothing in those magazines that will help them gain a better understanding of their money, the state of the economy, or anything else relating to finances for that matter. But by exploring what online finance magazines have to offer, you may actually be able to gain a much better understanding of the world’s economy and how it influences you, and you may have an improved sense of understanding over your own finances as well.

- Not only will reading online finance magazines give you input from a variety of different sources on the current state of the financial segment, the world economy and other vital finance topics, but by getting such a wide variety of different views, you will get a much larger picture of the current situation than by just following one point of view. Online finance magazines give you plenty of insight by sharing views with you from sources all over the world, including finance experts, economists, government officials, politicians and more.

- By reading online finance magazines you will open yourself up to advice on a wide variety of different finance topics. You may not go looking for the next big investment vehicle, or advice on how to invest small but reap big rewards, but articles like these and more are available in many online finance magazines, so there is plenty that you can learn by reading them. Not only will you learn about the economy in the United States and all over the world, but you will also learn a lot about managing your own finances, getting out of debt, financing a big purchase like a home or car, or just managing small investments or your growing investment portfolio.

- Online finance magazines often have question and answer sections that you can write in to. Getting your question published in a print magazine is a lot harder than getting published on the web. Ask an insightful question about finances or the world economy and have your question and its corresponding answer broadcast online for the entire world to see. It may surprise you how many people you can help by asking a question that is on the minds of many other people.

If you want to keep up to date on what is going on in finance not only in your area, but across the country and around the world, reading online finance magazines can really help. If you want advice on investing, growing your investment portfolio, managing your money, financing a large purchase or paring down your debt, you can find the answers that you seek in online finance magazines as well. If you have concerns relating to the economy or your own finance management on a large or small scale, online finance magazines can really make a difference.

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The first step that you need to understand when it comes to determining whether or not stocks are a good investment is to understand how stocks work in general. A share of stock is the smallest unit of ownership possible in a company. Owning a share of a company’s stock essentially makes you a partial owner of said company. Determining whether or not stocks are a good investment is not easy as a whole, because some stocks do make good investments while others do not. Determining whether a specific stock is a good investment or not is a completely different matter, because it depends on the company the stock belongs to, the industry that they are in, the market in general, and numerous other factors as well.

Do you thumbs up or thumbs down stock investments?

If you are thinking about investing in stocks and you want to know if stocks are a good investment or not, consider this:

Common stock represents the majority of the stock that is held by the public, offering voting rights and the right to share when it comes to dividends. When you hear or read about “stocks” and the stock market, the stocks they are referring to are common stocks. Preferred stock on the other hand offers fewer rights than common stock except for when it comes to dividends. Companies which issue preferred stock pay consistent dividends, and preferred stock has the first call on any dividends over common stock.

Investors tend to buy preferred stock for the current income from dividends, so it would be wise for you to look for companies that are earning big profits, because then preferred stock can be used to return some of those profits through dividends.

Liquidity is another benefit of common stocks. They are highly liquid in most circumstances. Small and more obscure companies may not necessarily trade on a frequent basis, but most large companies are trading almost daily, which creates ample opportunity for you to buy or to sell shares. Thanks to the stock market, you can now buy or sell the shares of most companies that are traded publicly almost any day that the market is open.

With a good working knowledge of stocks and the stock market, stocks could be a good investment worth considering. However, if you do now have a good knowledge of how the stock market works, you may be better off choosing an investment vehicle with more security behind it. The recent downturn of the stock market is a good example of what is possible, but while it is frightening many stock traders and threatening some jobs, it is not the end of the world. Most savvy stock investors know when to get out, and when to stay in - And this is powerful knowledge if you want to make the most out of a stock portfolio. Stocks can be risky, and may not always be a safe bet, but they can be a good investment vehicle if you invest in the right companies and at the right time.

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Thank you to our Nation's Veterans.

Loanio would like to thank all the men and women who have put their lives on the line to protect America’s freedom and ideals. Your sacrifices and bravery have been beneficial to many and are greatly appreciated.

Below you’ll find links to resources, both blog and news articles on the economy, small business, p2p lending, and investing. We hope you find them helpful in navigating the financial waters of the internet.

The Economy:

• Market Watch discusses deficit balloons.
• Paulson Says Focus Of Bailout Will Shift writes NPR.
• Bush comes out fighting for free markets says FT.
• Yahoo Finance writes Banks Get More Approachable on Mortgage Rates.
• Banking on Survival of the Fattest over at Smart Money.

Small Business:

• Keeping Your Rivals From Minding Your Business says the NY Times.
• Orlando Sentinel announces SBA to unclog credit flow to entrepreneurs
• Herald Mail writes Ask SCORE - Keeping business burnout at bay.
• Chicago Business asks Launching a biz now? Protect your personal assets first.

Peer-to-Peer Lending:

• Business Standard writes peer-to-peer lending gains prominence.
• Lending Tree posts Making a Profit on Investment From Social Lending Sites
• Richer by the Day talks about P2P Lending Default Considerations.
• Common Sense Investor blogs Peer-To-Peer Lending: The Free Market In Action.
• Canadian Peer-to-Peer Lending over at Four Pillars.

Investing:

• Seeking Alpha posts When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Play Defense
• New York Times writes Fund Managers See Need for Some Tighter Restrictions.
• Blogging Stocks publishes as oil flirts with $55, OPEC says it will meet later this month.
• The Sun’s Financial Diary looks into Asset Allocation: What It Is and Why It Is Important .

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Every working man and woman is entitled to a retirement that is secure and comfortable. Saving and planning for retirement is not necessarily an easy process however because we are living longer and healthier lives in general, which means we need more money to survive retirement than ever before. If you want to learn how to plan for a healthy, comfortable and secure retirement then you need to begin planning wisely using a blueprint similar to the one outlined below:

What do you plan to do in your retirement?

- Save early and often. -

The sooner that you begin to save money, the longer the amount of time you will have for those funds to grow. By putting compounding to use, you can make gains every year that will add on to the gains of the prior year, and so on and so forth. This can really add up, fueling the growth of your retirement fund.

- Set realistic and attainable goals. -

Do not use rules of thumb to project your retirement expenses, because they are based upon your needs and not the needs of others before you. What type of lifestyle do you want to live when you retire? Figure out the expenses accordingly and use these expenses to formulate how much money is needed to supplement social security and other income sources during retirement.

- Save using a 401(k). -

This is one of the best and one of the easiest ways that you can save money. Making contributions towards a 401(k) plan can provide you with immediate tax deductions, matched contributions from your employer, and even a tax deferment on the growth that your retirement savings accrues. This is absolutely excellent advice for anyone who ever wondered how to plan for retirement.

- Utilize IRAs for retirement savings with tax advantages. -

IRAs provide you with large tax breaks much in the same way that 401(k)s can. They offer two different types of tax breaks, one which provides growth that is tax deferred, and one that provides tax free growth but doesn’t allow for deductible contributions the way that traditional IRAs can. Roth IRAs do not allow deductible contributions, which mean withdrawals do not require you to owe any taxes in the way that traditional IRAs do.

- Make wise asset allocation moves. -

This means that your portfolio should be divided between stocks and bonds in a wise manner so that you can make a strong and powerful impact on any of the long term investment returns that you have. Stocks are the best option for stable and long term methods of growth, while bonds work well both in the short term and long term. Still, you should not rely too heavily on bonds when planning for retirement. If you want to stretch your nest egg’s life out to the best of its capabilities, you absolutely must make tax efficient withdrawals.

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Create a budget.

Personal budget planning is absolutely crucial if you want to build personal wealth and overcome things like the credit crunch and the current problems that the economy is experiencing. The word “Budget” is one that worries a lot of people because it often seems more like a hassle and a chore than anything else, but there are a lot of easy things that you can do in order to create a personal budget planning process that is beneficial to you and your entire family and household. Here are a set of basic steps that will help you build a personal budget that is going to work well for you and your household as a whole

- Begin the personal budget planning process by collecting at least three months worth of bills, expense statements and receipts.

Look at your bank statements, cash transactions and any receipts that you have saved. Look through your credit card statements as well. What did you purchase? What bills did you pay? Were there any fees that you paid? Are there any habits in your monthly bank statements that are worth noting? Are you spending basically the same amount of money every month? Are there expenses that are the same or similar every month? Answering these questions will give you a good foundation for your personal budget planning.

- Now that you have a firm handle on your expenses, the next step is to gather documents relating to your income.

If you are on salary, put together your paychecks and make sure that you are getting the same amount every month. Otherwise you should gather between three and six months of income statements to get an average amount that you earn in a single month.

- Now that you have a good idea of both your expenses and your incomes, the next thing to do is to compare them to see how much money is left.

This may seem like a frightening step, but it is important if you want to know how much discretionary income you have every single month.

- Now that you know how much money exists at the end of the month on average, you can start looking at what expenses can be eliminated or reduced.

Review your expenses carefully to find out how you can leverage additional income on a monthly basis, because this extra money can be used to reduce debts and begin to save money for the future.

Now that your basic budget is outlined, you can begin to work on prioritizing your debts by reviewing interest rates and listing your debts beginning with the highest interest rate and working down. Once your budget and discretionary income have been outlined you can begin to plan for your financial future by outlining both short term and long term goals in your personal financial life. The last step is simply to exercise patience and to stay the course for as long as you can. Personal budget planning is not going to become a habit as quickly as over night, but it will eventually become a habit if you practice it regularly.

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Parents like to complain that their teenage children do not listen to them. However, when it comes to matters dealing with money, the opposite is actually often true. Teenagers often welcome the advice that their parents have to give regarding finances, money management and investments. In the past few years, teenagers have been earning billions of dollars through summer jobs and part time after-school work. Many of these teenagers have gone on to spend all of the money that they have made, while only a few have saved it up, only to end up spending on a larger purchase down along the line. Kids these days need to become more aware about their income and investment basics so that they can learn how to better manage their money as they get older. If you want your teenagers to manage their money more effectively in adulthood, then they absolutely have to learn the investment basics now.

Start training your teen about money.

It is your responsibility as a parent to begin training your teenage children to use their money more wisely now while they are listening. Here are some of the things that you can do to teach your children how to save and invest wisely so that they can have some money left over at the end of the weekend following payday.

1 - Lead by example!

This seems simple but it has an extraordinary impact. Your children are going to look at how you spend money and act accordingly. If you show them how you allot money to different purposes for household needs, bills and budgets, they will learn how to do the same over time.

2 - Help open a bank account for your teen.

Establishing a bank account for your teenager will allow him or her to have instant financial responsibility. Sit down with them and explain how they can manage their own account, and take a moment to talk about the rewards that can be received once they have saved enough money. These savings, for example, could go toward their college tuition or even to purchasing a car. The entire process of saving and earning will give them a significant sense of accomplishment, and they will have something concrete to show for their hard work and dedication to saving and investing wisely.

3 - Construct a spending plan for your teen.

Teens tend not to like the idea of budgeting, but you should not allow them to get by without a budget or a spending plan just because they don’t like the idea. Instead, you and your teenaged son or daughter should sit down and build a spending plan that will help them get excited about the idea of earning, saving and investing their money. Take the time to teach them the differences between what they need and what want, and what things are worth saving for. Once they know what they can do without, it becomes easier for them to save their money for investing.

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D.R.I.P.s

In times of uncertain economic future, it is important to look at your investment strategy and tweak it as needed. One of the ways that you can improve your portfolio is to take on small investments with lower risks associated with them. Taking in smaller rewards and returns may seem like a waste, but these smaller ROIs can actually add up fast in the right investment vehicles. Fixed income investments are some of the best small investments that are available to you, like savings accounts and CDs. Another excellent investment vehicle for someone looking for small investments with great rewards is an investment called DRIPs.

DRIPs are a truly cost effective way to raise equity for a company, and they are beneficial for investors as well. The reason why they are beneficial for investors is because they allow for the investment return drawn from dividends to be invested immediately back into the investment for price appreciation and compounding, but without incurring any brokerage fees. Additionally, there is no waiting for the investor to accumulate enough cash for a full share of the stock, which is another excellent advantage making these some of the best small investments that you can make.

DRIPs have numerous advantages associated with them, but they’re not perfect. They do allow investors to take advantage of dollar cost averaging for cost effectively investing the dividend income that is being paid out by the company. Not only will the investor receive a guarantee for the return on the dividend yield, but they will also earn whatever has been appreciated by the stock during the time that they own it. Another advantage is the fact that you do not need an exorbitant amount of money to begin. You can participate in such a program without more than a single share of stock, but it would be wise to consult your broker or the company’s investor section of their website to get more details on this.

DRIPs also allow you to grow your investment capital in a cost effective way by purchasing more company shares rather than simply spending money or having it sit idly in another account. Most company-offered DRIP investment programs have no fees for transactions, brokerage fees or account-keeping fees so 100% of your returns are being invested back in.

Some of the disadvantages of DRIPs include the administrative hassle associated with the cost basis of all the different small stock purchases, maintaining records of these purchases, and the fact that you do not get to choose the timing for when the stock is purchased. Most DRIPs have specific schedules that they are meant to follow, so there’s a little bit of uncertainty built in to this particular investment vehicle.

Still, if you are looking for one of the best small investments that you can make, these DRIPs are a good way to go if you can find a suitable program to buy into. They are worth checking out if you are trying to build your investment portfolio and are looking for something new, and profitable for that matter.

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