It’s official — Geezeo has a brand-new look. And more features! Here are just a few of the new things you’ll enjoy:

Financial Marketplace: Search and find the best financial product for you based on your choice of criteria. Choose the best deals from credit cards, checking accounts, savings accounts, even student loans! Also included are real-people ratings from across the Geezeo community. Click here to check it out!

Net Worth: Now you’ll be able to see your net worth in real time, a real tool for managing your money. Find it in the newly-designed dashboard.

Total Expenses, At-a-Glance: Quickly determine where your money goes; again in the dashboard.

Day-by-Day Plays: Are you making money, or losing money today? We’ll show you. See it in your improved Money Stream.

Goals: Now see all the ones you have, plus all the ones you’ve already achieved. New feature: tying a goal to a specific date and uploading a related picture.

Improved Navigation: You asked, we listened. Now it’s even easier to manage your money and participate in discussions and groups.

More? You betcha. Come and see it for yourself.

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make this new design happen. Keep sending us your fresh ideas so we can keep improving!

My very simple list was as follows:

• Pay off my credit cards
• Pay off my husbands student loan
• Get a “new” used car that is more family oriented yet fuel efficient.

Well, I must say that while I mostly accomplished the first goal, I have put some money back on credit cards, and so I need revisit this goal and try to figure out a way to at least halfway complete it within the next 3.5 months.

The student loan will most definitely have to wait until next year.  Altho, it is only about $2,000 that needs to be paid, so maybe, just maybe we can squeeze that in somewhere.

As for the car, ha!  That will most definitely be waiting if we intend to pay on the other items.

We had an interesting year, and a lot of things change.  We moved from North Carolina to Texas.  Our boys started growing up - literally.  They are getting taller a lot faster than we anticipated, and so we are having to get bigger clothes and take them in, in the waist.  We have been trying to adjust our clothing as well to fit the needs of the weather here.  My husband now works in a different climate - a lot hotter than what he is used to, and so he had to go out and purchase new work clothes for his new job.

The point is, things have changed, and so we need to review our goals for this year, and try to set them up to be something that we can actually accomplish.

ASGreen over at Always The Planner also reviewed his goals for the year.  You will notice how he has had to adjust some of his goals to fit his circumstances.

Have you reviewed your goals lately?  Is there some adjustments that need to be made?  Let us help you keep track of them by taking full advantage of our goals section.

Just a few of the sins you will want to avoid are:

• Skipping Emergency Funds
• Don’t Budget
• Don’t Enjoy Life

Do you want to have help to be able to avoid these sins so that you can be successful with your money management?  Never fear, Geezeo can help!

Jim says: “When you have a pot of money set aside for emergencies, you don’t need to rely on loans or credits to pay for the emergency.”  A great example that he lists is having a flat tire.  You can’t plan for something like that to happen - or can you?  It’s not about knowing when you will need to use that money to pay for that tire, it’s about knowing you have the money available to take care of that should the need arise.

So just how can Geezeo help you here?  Make good use of our goals section.  Geezeo allows you to monitor and display your progress toward obtaining your goals. Plus, others with the same goal can offer encouragement, tips, and strategies until your goal is reached.  Set up a goal so that you can set aside the money to have as part of your emergency fund.

Another sin that Jim mentions is the lack of budgeting.  He gives a good analogy: “Without a clear picture of how much you’re spending and on what, you’re basically wandering the forest at night without a flashlight.”  He also states why you cannot improve your spending if you are not tracking it.  “With a budget, you can tell where you stand the greatest chance of improvement. You may discover patterns you didn’t know beforehand.” says Jim.

Geezeo can help you get started on your budget by helping you pinpoint where you are spending the most money.  Create spending targets based on what you think you are spending, let Geezeo help you keep up with your transactions & tag them accordingly, and then PRESTO! - You will be able to visiually keep track of where you are overspending and can use room for improvement.

Finally, another sin that was mentioned is that of not enjoying your life.  Says Jim: “Life, especially the personal finance aspects of your life, is all about balance… You don’t have to spend a lot to enjoy life but you don’t have to starve yourself of all fun… While all those goals are important, it’s also important that you enjoy life now so that you don’t burn yourself out.”

Where can Geezeo come into play here?  The goals are to save money, but also to enjoy doing things with friends and family, so how can you find inexpensive ideas of ways to spend your time?  Check out our groups section to find like-minded people searching for ways to enjoy their time without breaking the bank.  Whether it’s just you and your significant other or an entire family, we’re sure you can find a group that will suit your needs and help you find what you are looking for.

Check out the other 4 sins that you will want to avoid.  If you are having a particularly hard time with one of them, confess about it here.

Just because you are on vacation or traveling for other reasons, don’t slack off on your budget. Yes, it may be a little bit harder to keep your budget and goals in mind if you are having so much fun on your travels…but you can still have fun and save a bit of money too!

Since I love to travel, I have found some of the following advice very helpful.

Some tips on how to save…so that you actually have some money to spend when you get home:

SHOPPING – Don’t. Now don’t get me wrong, I love shopping more than you can imagine…but sometimes it just gets a little bit too expensive. I know that many times the purpose of some people’s trips is to shop, then that’s fine and you have prepared yourself for what you will spend. But if your intention before you left for your trip was not to shop, I suggest limiting yourself. Make sure you are only buying things on your travels that you won’t be able to find back home; something unique or a souvenir to remind you of your trip.

CAR RENTALS – Make sure to be smart with this. If you are staying in a city your best bet is to use public transportation. Not only will you not have to pay for your car rental, but you won’t have to pay the extravagant parking fees either. If you do have to get a car rental, make sure to consider if you actually need the car rental insurance that they offer you or if you are already covered. Check out this Geezeo article for more information!

PETS – Check to see if there is anyone that would be willing to take care of your pets for you while you are away. Paying someone that you trust to come to the house and walk your dog or feed your cat will save you a lot of money since you don’t have to send them to the kennels. I know that my brother always offers to take care of his friends dog because he knows that it will save her a lot of money in the long run and it isn’t a hassle for him. Even one of your kids friends might be will to help you out for a little extra cash!

HOSTELS – I know not everywhere has hostels, but if the location that you are traveling to does, it is something that you should definitely consider. Sometimes in Europe and other locations, a hostel is almost as nice as a hotel but at half the price! I know that whenever any of my friends were traveling abroad they never stayed in hotels and always resorted to hostels instead. If you are going on a trip to see the sites, then how much time are you actually spending in your hotel room anyway?

PACK LIGHT – Nowadays, packing light is the only way to go. Flights will charge you for an extra bag AND for your bag being over 50 pounds. Check your bag if at all possible before you arrive at the airport…you don’t want to be stuck paying those extra fees just because you are a few pounds over that 50 pound mark. Also, traveling light will give you more flexibility in case you have to lug your bags around when you get to your location.

CARRY EXTRA CASH – I know this sounds like the opposite of what most people would tell you, but I have found that taking out extra cash while I am home will save me a lot of money on ATM fees when I am away (especially if you are traveling internationally). I am not saying to carry your cash on you at all times when you are on your trip, but you should bring some extra to avoid the fees and keep the extra in the safe while you are at your hotel. I know that this is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea to carry more cash, but I have found it helpful in the past.

Saving money on vacation is not always possible! And don’t let being worried about money ruin your vacation. But do be sure that you are prepared before you take the trip…you don’t want to come home and realize that you have overspent and now have to be frugal for the rest of the year.

Photo: Kevin Rosseel

Related Articles:
Four Reasons to Ditch Your Frequent Flier Card
Should You Travel Without Insurance?
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If you learned anything about personal finance, chances are that you have learned it on your own.

It’s not really being taught in schools; last year, only seven states required a personal finance class as a requirement for high school graduation, according to the National Council on Economic Education.

It’s not being taught by parents, if the amount of debt they are carrying is any indication. (Don’t miss: “Pay Down Your Consumer Debt.”)

That means that there are a lot of people out there who need to take the time to learn the basics of personal finance.

The basics are not difficult. You can learn them easily by reading one of the many personal finance books that are out there. Simply head down to your local library, check out one or two of the books available (such as Smart and Simple Finances for Busy People by Jane Bryant Quinn, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey or The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton), and spend a few days reading them to help lay a foundation of personal financial knowledge.

Unfortunately, many people never take this step, because they believe personal finance is going to be too difficult to learn. (Don’t miss “Six Awful Truths of Personal Finance.”) If you happen to be one of those people, here is a quick and easy “lazy person’s guide to personal finance.”

Budgeting

Version 1: Spend less than you make.

Version 2: Make more than you spend.

Advanced version: Have all your bills automatically paid (including irregular bills such as real estate taxes and insurance premiums) and all long-term savings (such as an emergency fund, college fund and retirement) automatically deducted when your paycheck is deposited. Whatever is left over is what you may spend, and if you don’t have enough money for something, you simply can’t afford it.

Click here to continue reading, lazybones…

I’m reminded of all the times I checked boxes on investment risk assessment quizzes. (”Are you willing to trade greater volatility for potentially larger returns?” Check. “Will this choice worry you and keep you up at night?” Never!).

I’ve got more to learn about investing long-term. But this much I know: you’ve got to “stand by your plan”. Here’s why.

1. Excessive trades mean more fees. Sure, you should move out if the highs and lows are just too much to take. But remember: each trade will incur fees, which means you’ll have to earn even higher returns just to make up this cost.

2. Remember, the stock is “on sale”. Now is the time to load up. There are always rebounds, and, if you’re able to buy more during a downturn you’ll be sitting pretty during the next upswing.

3. Don’t let fear strangle your good sense. No one will care more about your long-term portfolio than you. So, don’t get nervous and give control of your assets to someone else. To allay your fears make a commitment to learn a little more about your investments every day. Small improvements in knowledge add up over time.

4. Don’t run after the next thing. This is easy to do. Rather than buy more of your sinking stock, it’s easy to turn your attention to something new. Something that is sure to break big! Chasing a new stock will frequently mean you miss the opportunity to buy more of your existing stocks while the price is lowered.

5. Carefully select your intake of news. The sky isn’t falling — everywhere! Edit your news intake to cover the basics related to your specific investments. For example, you could set a Google alert to send you articles whenever your stock, fund, or fund manager is mentioned. Scare sells; don’t let it sell you on dumping your stock!

6. Focus on your long-range goals. Any fluctuation now is just par for the course. Review why you picked this specific investment in the first place. So long as your long-range goals haven’t changed, it’s probably best to just ride it out.

7. Review your strategy. This goes along with #6, focusing on your long-range goals. Looking at the bigger picture will put any temporarily sinking stock into perspective.

8. Charts. Look again at any number of charts that show upswings and reversals over the last century. Again: this will remind you that everything is cyclical. Is it really that bad now?

9. Connect with others who have the same investment. These are the people who will know it best. You can discuss the pros and cons of holding or selling. Meet them here at Geezeo.

Related:

Stocks Sag Under Jobless Numbers
Are Your Baby Steps Big Enough?
Ask Benjamin Franklin: What is the “Rule of 72″?
How-To: Save for Specific Goals
Putting Your Financial Plan in Action
Finding Purpose in Your Investments

As this hurricane season continues with Hurricane Hanna, it is hard for me to understand how people have the courage to re-build in the same location after such disasters. However, it is understandable that people don’t want to leave a place that they call “home.”

However, people do need to make sure they are prepared before disaster strikes. Although you may have homeowner’s insurance, it is best to know what your insurance company offers with regards to coverage. Often times the damage that is caused by a hurricane or natural disaster may not be covered at all.

Some Things that ARE Typically Covered:

Personal Property – Think how much money you have put into purchasing all of the belongings that are located in your home. Your furniture, electronics, clothes, etc. is covered in case something happens such as a fire burns down your home.

Personal Liability – Having people over your home puts you at risk in case anything happens to someone else while they are they. If you are held personally liable for something that happens to another person in your home, often times homeowner’s insurance will cover this liability. This type of incident would be if your neighbor fell down your deck stairs they could potentially take you to court for damages.

Natural Disasters – Only some damages caused my certain natural disasters are covered. These happen to be damage from windstorms, hail, lightning, and volcanic eruptions (now that one really surprised me)!

Some Things that are Typically NOT Covered:

War, Nuclear Accidents, Terrorism – The act of terrorism is new on the not included list. Before September 11th, many insurance companies did cover damages by terrorism. However, insurance companies became clear that they would not cover them after September 11th made the threat appear more real.

Natural Disasters – The more at risk you are for a natural disaster to occur, the more likely it is that your insurance will not cover you. Many insurance companies do not cover people for hurricanes and earthquakes. If you live on the Gulf Coast, insurance companies know that your risk of damage from a hurricane is fairly large and will not offer coverage for you in that area. The same goes for California and earthquake insurance because this is an area where they are typically expected to occur.

Mold and Water/Flood Damage – When you buy a home, you want to make sure that there is no mold damage before you purchase the home because you will end up paying for these to be fixed by yourself. Check out this article on Geezeo about Flood Insurance (which you should definitely consider purchasing if you live in regions affected by hurricanes).

I used to live in Illinois when I was younger and became terrified of the tornados that would occur during the summer months. I loved the area a lot but the one thing that stops me from potentially moving back is my fear of tornados. However, at the same time it puts some perspective on why people stay where they are despite the risks.

When choosing your home, make sure to have it inspected if you have any questions about the property beforehand. Also, if your real estate agent is doing their job, they should be able to tell you the history of the house and if previous residents have had any trouble with floods, mold, etc. It is much better to make sure you are covered for anything potential that may happen, than to find out when it is already too late that you are not.

Photo: Jari

Related Articles:
Gustav is Going, Here Comes Hanna: 5 Costliest Tropical Storms
7 Items your Auto, Home Policies Don’t Cover
Are You Prepared for a Natural Disaster?

Related:

Should You Purchase That Car Rental Insurance?
The High Cost of Teen Driving
Can a Bike Save Your Wallet, Your Commute, Your Health?

Getting organized is the essential first step to getting ahead financially. An organized system for your financial records will help you stay focused and on top of your bills throughout the year. Tracking spending and finding documents will be a snap. Here’s what you need to get started:

1.  A Filing Cabinet or File Box

If you don’t already have a metal filing system a plastic file box, available at all discount stores, is a great alternative. You need to have one place to keep your current-year files. If you are lucky enough to own an existing file cabinet, designate one drawer for the current year.

2.  File Folders

Create a file folder for every bill or statement you receive monthly. These files should live in the File Box or the drawer in the File Cabinet designated for the current year. Designate a file folder for everything you get in the mail on a regular basis: phone bill, utility bills, bank statements, credit card statement, subscriptions, paycheck stubs, etc. Here’s where you can have fun. Pick some bright colors and coordinate your files. Use labels and funky fonts. When paperwork arrives each month (and bills are paid) it now has a place to live that’s not a garbage bag shoved in a corner. 

3.  Sturdy Expanding File

In addition to the file folders that were described above, designate a plastic expanding file envelope for “Permanent” files, things that are updated less frequently than monthly. In this sturdier folder keep paperwork that does not change or update itself yearly. Think: health documents, auto titles, apartment lease or mortgage. These should be kept in the back of the same “yearly” file box (or drawer) for easy access when you need to find a copy of that lease you signed two or three or years ago.

4.  Plain Expanding Files

At the end of each year, usually after you file your taxes, take all the prior year files out of the box or drawer and file them away in a plain cardboard expanding file – clearly marked with the year they represent. This self-contained folder can now go into longer-term storage, even if it’s the back of a closet or under the bed.

5.  Small Check File

Save your receipts! A small, plastic file, often used for coupons, is perfect for saving receipts. Designate each section for every plastic card you use: ATM card(s), credit cards, store cards, etc. You can also designate a section for cash purchases. Every month when your statements arrive, take out the receipts and match them (“reconcile”) to the statements. Match debit card receipts to bank statements, credit card/ store card receipts to their statements. This should be done every month. You’d be surprised how often banks and credit card companies make mistakes.

The five items above will get you a great start towards organizing your finances. This is the basic groundwork that will help you better manage your financial life.

Labor Day is the day we “take a break” from our labor to honor those who work. The very first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York, a celebration that was created by the Central Labor Union. Two years later, the date was fixed as the first Monday in September.

As we celebrate Labor Day and the traditional end of summer, this year there’s a national concern about jobs — about the number of jobs, the kinds of jobs, the right policies for the creation of jobs.

It seems that not enough people in America can find the kind of personally or financially rewarding work they seek. The nation’s unemployment rate stands at 5.7%. That’s far from the breadlines of the Great Depression, or even the double-digit rates of the early 1980s when much of our industrial economy went through an upheaval. (We’ll get an update on those unemployment numbers on Friday.)

But the 5.7% unemployment rate in this huge economy represents 8.8 million people who say they are looking for work but can’t find a job. That doesn’t include the millions who have given up the job search — an estimated 1.6 million so-called “discouraged workers.”

Nor does it include the “underemployed” — those working in part-time positions because they can’t find full-time jobs or because their hours were cut back. In July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people who worked part time for economic reasons rose by 308,000 to 5.7 million.

All the economic statistics mean little, of course, if it is you or someone in your family who can’t find a job, or has taken a lower paying position with fewer hours just to try to make the mortgage payment or put food on the table and gas in the car.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined to “only” 425,000 last week, down 10,000 from the previous week. Is the glass half full or half empty? It was the sixth straight week that more than 400,000 people filed claims.

The Good News?

There are, however, some positive signs for the economy. Growth in the second quarter was revised upward last week to 3.3% from an anemic 0.9% in the first quarter. The growth surprised many economists, whose predictions averaged a still-healthy 2.7% gain.

Why the boomlet? Credit the stimulus checks from the government that sent $90 billion into the economy and spurred consumer spending, and the weak dollar, which spurred exports in the second quarter.

Still, Americans are complaining about the jobs they do have — charging that the best jobs are being sent overseas to those who will demand less pay and benefits.

It’s true that those working full time are working slightly fewer hours. In July, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.1 hour to a seasonally adjusted 33.6 hours.
And workers are making slightly more money — but not enough to keep up with the current rate of inflation. The BLS reports that over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings increased 3.4% and average weekly earnings rose 2.8%. But the consumer price index was 5.6% higher in July 2008 than a year earlier.

Good Numbers, Bad Policy

We have economic growth today based on government spending and a falling dollar that boosts exports. Those ingredients make for good numbers but bad policy. Spending money the country doesn’t have by sending checks to consumers only increases the national debt and triggers fears that we’ll “print” more money, which is inflationary and weakens the dollar. That dollar weakness may spur the growth of exports, but it raises the price of everything we import, including oil.

Research shows small businesses created more new jobs, on a net basis, than larger companies in recent years. But many of those small businesses can’t afford the health benefits provided by larger firms. So if you start your own small business and grow wealth — or hire other people to work for you, or purchase supplies from a small business — you’re boosting the economy.

But job growth in small business also means a shift in the way we provide both health and retirement benefits. Individual retirement accounts have taken up some of the burden that was once provided by corporate pensions. But it is undeniable that the employer-linked health care model that worked so well in a different era now must be replaced.

The issue facing Americans — and the political candidates in this election season — is how to recognize the changing profile of labor in this country. The challenge is how to provide benefits and incentives that keep the economy and the job market growing, instead of making America noncompetitive in a global marketplace. And that’s the central economic issue about to be debated on a national stage.

We don’t want to compete for a share of the least productive jobs with the rest of the world. And we can’t build a wall to keep the best jobs from moving away.

America always has created the right incentives to keep growing new industries and better jobs and a better standard of living for its citizens. That’s our challenge on this Labor Day. And that’s the Savage Truth.

Related:

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Real Deal on Jobs and Housing
How High Energy/Fuel Prices Will Change Life as You Know It