Here's a great concept in matching customers with their banking needs - SavingsAccounts.com. It's a site that, while in its early days, may have the potential to really gel with online clients looking for a one-stop website.

Their claim;

SavingsAccounts.com is the perfect place to find the perfect online savings account for you. We can help you find the bank offering the highest returns with the specific account features that best suit your individual needs.

is certainly going to meet a need in the future but I think they still have quite a job ahead of them.

Here are some of the features that I'd like to see on this site;

• Either a tabular quick view of each financial institution displaying what they offer by showing a tick mark or similar. Or, a form where you could select the type of account requirements you were after and then a list that could be sorted by location, best rate, institution credit rating, monthly service fees etc was presented.


• Illustrated dates for when each of the interest rates were last updated so that the user could tell if they were current.


• A more complete list of financial institutions - currently it is only displaying 12 which includes some of the majors but certainly does not offer the full gamut on offer.


• A savings calculator - how great would it be to have a calculator available to estimate your savings based on each banks offerings. It may even be more beneficial to have a savings calculator whereby you could compare the same savings pattern and time period over a number of financial institutions.

So, while it's a good start, the true test will come as this website grows and offers users better tools to assess their options. After all, it is intended for this purpose.

This is a sponsored post. Click to read my views on sponsored posts.

Posted by Stuart at 6:32 AM | Permalink

The problem with inheritances is that old people aren't dying quick enough. They're living longer and enjoying a greater level of health than at any time in history.

Prior to our parents generation, our grandparents saw an inheritance as a major windfall. They could finally pay off the home, travel to that exotic destination they had always dreamed of and maybe buy a new car.

But our parents are too wealthy already and most have a greater financial base than their parents. So when a grandparent finally carcs it the inheritance becomes like a ripple in the next generations finances, barely rating a mention on the Richter scale of appreciation.

This then causes an adjustment, a paradigm shift if you like, as the older generations consider what to do with their accumulated wealth. Here's the options as I see it;

1. Give it away to charity - Your children will only flitter it away as if it were pocket change anyway. It's far better to give it to those who need it than leave the family in a quandary wondering where it should go.

   More and more charitable organisations are targeting older people to include them in their will. On the surface it may appear like a scavenger circling overhead a rotting corpse but it makes common sense. This money if given to families will predominantly spend on materialistic items whereas this option gives a sense of legacy.



2. Give it to the second generation - the parents don't need it. The kids on the other hand are only just setting out in life and a sizable inheritance could be the kick start they need. Buying a piece of property, paying for their kids tuition and maybe buying a decent car are options that the lower generations will invest in.

   They realise that a holiday or new Jaguar are far too frivolous too spend someone's lifetime wealth accumulation. While an inheritance would only be a ripple in the 2nd generations pockets it would be a small Tsunami for the younger ones.



3. Spend it yourself - Well, why not? You earned it. Inheritances have far less importance these days so saving your money to pass on to future generations is less required. Better than splitting it between your kids why not selfishly enjoy it while you still have your health and wits about you?

   In Australia, we refer to them as "Grey Nomads" - the baby boomer generation that retires at 55, sells up and buys a large 4WD and caravan and traverses the nation for the next x years. They even sport bumper stickers stating "Spending the Kid's Inheritance".

Regardless, it's your money and you can do what you like with it.

Posted by Stuart at 6:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Many couples are now deferring becomeing parents and instead opt for getting a mortgage, travelling and preparing a nest egg before junior arrives. The reason: the economic cost of passing up double wages and living on one income.

How do you do it?

Well, if you're reading this for the first time scratching your head and pondering this very question understand that you're not the first. And you most certainly won't be the last couple to face this dilemma. It's a big decision and you are probably already adding up all the creature comforts (the daily latte, magazine subscriptions, 2-door coupe) that are going to be side-lined.

But it doesn't have to be all bad! Reducing the working hours of one partner can free up some more lifestyle choices as well. Holidays are easier to juggle (albeit harder to pay for), socialising time is freed up and odd jobs around the house can be accomplished without spending weekends rushing around.

If you planning on living on one income in the near future you might want to peruse the 5 point Survival Kit.

Continue reading "5 point survival kit for living on one income" »

Posted by Stuart at 10:04 AM | Permalink

It seems that every new piece of technology that arrives on the scene has the enhanced ability to save us money. We can buy an iPod and download tunes at cheaper prices than buying the CD replacement equivalent (which BTW replaced our now defunct audio tape collection, which also superseded our LP and EP collections).

Continuing the example, the iPod can store anywhere between 1000 and 5000 songs depending on the size of the hard-drive, which of course depends on how much you're willing to spend. But, will an iPod be all that I need 5-10 years from now.

As a teenager, the SONY Walkman was the biggest thing since sliced bread and every teen hankered after it. Today you can pick them up for less than $5 at a garage sale and the audio tapes they played will probably be included in the deal.

Technology is moving at such a fast rate with every consumer chasing the next big item that will change the comfort levels of their own lives. It wasn't that long ago that the 5¼in. storage disk was replaced by the 3½in. disks. My new computer doesn't even have a slot for the 3½'s.

Which brings me to the dilemma facing some students in the web report, "High Schoolers Pick Web Yearbook". Teenagers are turning to the web to store their yearbook photos and therefore hopefully save $70. Makes a great amount of sense but what if the technology has changed so much when they hold their 25-year school reunion the pictures are no longer accessible.

It's possible. Why do you think so many companies are now popping up offering to convert your VHS movies onto DVD. It wasn't that long ago those VHS movies were being created from Super 8 reels.

And what do you think the cost of all this transferring to the next form of technology is costing?

Continue reading "Will technology actually save us money?" »

Posted by Stuart at 7:20 AM | Permalink

I am still yet to ascertain the wisdom in saving mobs of money only to bestow it on others after your death, however I'm sure that if I were a recipient I wouldn't be making too many waves about it. Two women on opposite sides of the globe have performed such an action in the past few months.

The first frugal endowment came from an 96 year old English woman who shocked her family when she bequeathed nearly £11million to her nieces and nephews. She had lived a very simple life and her only luxury possesions were a £2500 jewellery collection and a Picasso etching worth £2000.

Her friends and family were staggered that she had horded that amount of money without spending it on herself or tothers during her lifetime. The reason; she didn't want to be treated differently.

The second bequest came from a 90 year old public school teacher who gave more than $1million dollars to a Milwaukee college and established a $440,000 scholarship fund at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a fund at the West Allis Public Library.

Marian Breskvar had amassed her fortune through frugal investing and had not lived life of luxury either.

It astounds me that some people are like this. While I wouldn't need to have a Porsche in the driveway to feel content with life, I would probably consider it if I had these ladies wealth. While being frugal should be a quality that is taught and respected, hording wealth should not.

These women's money had been tied up for such a long time, both of them were 90+, and could have done more good in the community earlier than saving for the final exit. Each to their own, but that's my view...

Posted by Stuart at 8:01 AM | Permalink

Imagine paying a $20,000 debt in 5 years with only a $22,000 annual income. Apparently this is what Tawra Kellam did after seeing her mother raise two children as a single parent on less than $500 per month.

These two frugal champions have now published a book "Dining on a Dime Cook Book" and operate a highly regarded website www.livingonadime.com.

In this article, "Think thrifty: save yourself from spending" the writer explains some of their great tips on saving. Wise advice such as reducing the amount of drinks the families buy to cleaning up the kitchen in the morning which prevents your psyche from wimping out and ordering take-away at dinner. They're not coupon pushers and actually advise that these methods don't actually save your family money.

They recommend implementing one change at a time and being successful with that change before introducing another. These great tips could help your family back on the road to financial recovery.

Posted by Stuart at 7:21 AM | Permalink

If Jew's are considered the most financially savvy race and pork is not kosher why do we have piggy banks? Do Jews have piggy banks?

It's one of those "When in Rome do as the Roman's do" type scenarios. If you want to learn from the best you need to mimic their behaviours. It seems this could be a key on how Jews teach their children about saving and budgeting. Maybe there's a lesson for us all here?

Maybe they just have a little jar or tin to stash the coins that accumulate in their pockets and wallets? It could be a simple as that. Perhaps, they don't need to save. Maybe they're just so financially savvy that they don't actually have time to put their loose change into anything at all? Who knows? Who cares?

If you've ever wondered where the piggy bank idea came from take a moment to read this article.

Posted by Stuart at 10:08 AM | Permalink

We tread the internet in tip-toe fashion, trying not to clumsily step on anything hazardous to our online health or alerting the attention of unwanted hacker publicity. Why? Because we know that lurking in the not too distant background is the possibility that our identity could be stolen and used innappropriately or credit card details could be used to transact a criminal's spending spree.

We're just trying to download the latest offering from iTunes or pay for a successful auction win on Ebay unaware that the threat is real or that it may be greater than we first assumed. Most internet users, myself included, assume that e-crime is something that happens to other people and optimistically prescribe to the notion that companies are getting better at dealing with these security risks. They're not!

In fact, most online companies while employing a 128bit SSL for their transactions fail to secure the backend of their data, inadvertently creating a back-door for would-be hackers. Now imagine for a second that your data, address, full name, date of birth and credit card details are sitting insitu on some (unfortunately not-so) secure server with the backdoor left wide open. It's like a red-rag to a bull teasing hackers to try their luck.

And who's to blame for the increase in e-crime? Well, while we're pointing the finger it must be directed toward the door of the reigning governments initially. Are they fair dinkum (an Australian colloquialism translated as "genuine") about resolving this type of crime that will inevitably cost the community? There seems to be little that is being legislated in this arena and the resourcing for crime prevention compared to the resourcing of criminals borders on obscure.

My life, like many others, is becoming increasingly dependent on the web. Unfortunately though, it can be that life can be rubbed out quicker on the internet that it can in real life.

Read this article.

Posted by Stuart at 8:43 AM | Permalink

Is personal finance an issue that can be taught or do you just pick it up along the journey of life? The 'school-of-hard-knocks" is where many seem to sharpen their teeth on fiscal matters but is that the right playground for our society to be maintaining?

I've just read another article Back to personal-finance basics on a school system hoping to influence young students in money matters. I'm bouyed by the optimism but I struggle with the pressures that you can't teach kids that will inevitably inch their way into their lives.

For instance, here's a big one: Will they teach them that staying together in a relationship and working hard at it to make it successful makes better financial sense that separating years down the track? What about those ridiculous purchasing terms of "Pay nothing now - 4 years interest free" - how do you teach kids when they're mates all have the latest Plasma that delayed gratification is a better deal?

I'm all for education, but education taught as theory only seems to me to be the biggest waste of time. You would never train a doctor purely from manuals and tutorials. They need experience with the tools of their trade - bodies and scalpels. The same needs to happen with teaching kids about personal financial skills. They need to somehow deal with the pressures of this world in a simulated environment that's as close to real as possible.

Where can this happen? Where it should happen - in the home.

Posted by Stuart at 6:24 AM | Permalink

While everybody has a belief system (Christian, Islam, Catholic, Buddhist, atheist, agnostic etc) this hasn't always translated into their dealings with money. Many investors, especially those who hold nominal beliefs, would argue that the two, Money and Beliefs, are not congruent and should be dealt with at arm's length.

If you believe that gambling is a bad thing you may not venture to a casino but you may invest in Aristocrat Leisure because it's share price keeps booming. You may not believe in promiscuous lifestyles but it doesn't seem to rate a bleep on the radar when purchasing those Ansell stock options. Or does it? Can our belief structures begin to dictate our investment portfolios and still make solid returns?

Todd Larsen, quoted in this article Investors bet on their faith says,

Investors are finding that they don't have to sacrifice returns to invest with religious values in mind. Some faith-based funds have consistently outperformed the broader market, and performance between screened and unscreened funds is competitive

Could it be possible that what you stand for can actually stand up to the investments that go against your values?

Posted by Stuart at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It can't be too hard to save money, surely? It must be though as credit becomes more and more rampant and those financial gurus seem more and more concerned with our lack of saving habits.

I have a few friends who struggle with saving and are using the tax system as a saving mechanism. They happily allow their employers to deduct extra tax from their wages with the hope of being able to claim it all back once they submit their annual return. They brag to me about their supposed 'windfall' not realising that they were allowing the government to borrow their money free-of-charge for the past 12 months.

On the other hand though they now have this pool of money available to them which they probably would have struggled to save during the course of the year. Which begs the question, why is it so hard to save money? And, is forced savings a key to helping these people get ahead with their finances?

Posted by Stuart at 7:19 AM | Permalink

We have four children who we are very keen to teach them how to save their money and use it wisely. Our allowance strategy is to give them a dollar for every school year (i.e. If they're in Grade 5 they will get $5 a week.) This doesn't just get given to them as a handout but they have jobs that accompany this payscale.

For example, our eldest boy is in Grade 5 and his job is to sweep the patio and barbecue area while our eldest daughter (Grade 3) has to sweep the front porch. Each year their amount increases as does their job responsiblities. It teaches them the value of money and that it comes at a price.

I stumbled across this article which had some great tips for parents - How to Teach Kids to Save Money – 15 Easy Strategies. It has some great ideas to teach children but I still think that we also need to show our kids that money is only a means to an end - not an end in itself.

Posted by Stuart at 8:25 AM | Permalink