It’s All About Attitude A postive outlook can help you find your way during economic hard times
Free Online Budget and
Investment Resources
If the thought of budgeting and
investing gives you a headache,
fear not! There is a new generation
of websites designed to make the
process easier.
For personal budgets, one resource
is Mint.com ( www.mint.com). It allows
you to keep all of your accounts
in one place. By using the same
security practices as major financial
institutions, you can protect your
information while tracking your
income and spending.
TeenVestor (www.teenvestor.
com) breaks down stock market
terminology in easy-to-digest
chunks and offers market tips to
teens looking to get into finance.
The simple-to-understand setup
is also beneficial to adults who are
unfamiliar with the market.
Once you have invested your
money, Wikinvest (www.wikinvest.
com) will help you keep track of
it. Much like Mint.com, it allows
you to keep all of your accounts in
one place, so if you have invested
through different firms, you can track
everything from one site.
Want to know how certain
stocks are performing? The website
StockMapper ( www.stockmapper.
com) has the answer. It is a collection
of stock heat maps that measures
the changes in stock values. It allows
you to group stocks by geographical
location, industry and stock index.
With all of the online resources
available, budgeting and investing
have never been easier.
By Chelle Cordero
The economy stinks! Despite many
great tips out there on how to cope with
the downturn, it is still frustrating and
depressing when things seem tighter than
ever.
According to financial expert
Farnoosh Torabi, author of “Psych
Yourself Rich,” it’s actually good to be
afraid in times like this.
“Young professionals can tame the
beast when they realize it’s just a matter
of mind over money,” says Torabi.
Using the latest behavioral and
psychological research, she goes beyond
the old “lend and spend” mentality and
offers a deeper, more holistic financial
guide. She stresses the importance of
maintaining a healthy attitude.
“Young families really need to evaluate
every penny they’re spending and
understand that there are ways to save
money on virtually everything,” Torabi
says. “Think and act frugally so you can
build savings and address the goals that
really matter to you.”
Being frugal means looking for things
that will be affordable and valuable at the
same time, according to Torabi.
“Families should revisit their
aspirations often and make sure their
spending habits don’t interfere with
accomplishing these goals, whether it’s to
buy a new house, send children to private
school or renovate the kitchen,” she says.
Although many use the words “frugal”
and “cheap” interchangeably, Torabi
believes they are far apart in meaning.
One should not focus on the sole idea
of saving money without examining the
consequences. Don’t pass up valuable
opportunities.
