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Table of Contents
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Money Woes
A Helping Hand
Favorite Freeware
Featured Download

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Money Woes

Tax time is long since past for those of us in the United States, so many of us have stopped worrying about our finances for now...right? Okay, so maybe we still sweat over our finances and bank accounts even when it is not tax time. We have monthly bills to pay, food to eat, gas for our cars, and other fun expenses. I have been sharply reminded of my bills since I received the amount of my tuition payment that I owe in the mail for seminary. Ouch! I guess it is a good thing because it reminded me that I need to keep much better track of my finances now that my monthly earnings and my monthly payments are going to be very close to one another in their respective amounts. Fortunately, I only need to manage a budget for myself since I am still woefully single, but maybe it is better that way for now. I think many of you may be in the same boat as I am with struggling to make ends meet and looking for those magical funds in your bank account that will help pay your bills and erase credit card debt. It has been said that the computer has helped make people more efficient in how they live their lives, and that can be debated. I do think the computer can be utilized very effectively to help streamline the management of your financial situation.

John Saddler
info@setsystems.com

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A Helping Hand

• Many of you probably track your bank account(s) through the internet, or at least have the ability to login to your account via the web. I personally love to do this since it is much quicker than calling your bank for updated account data, and the information online is usually up-to-date. It is good to take advantage of this, but remember that you are accessing very personal information via the web. Make sure you are logging into your bank account only on a computer that you use, preferably your home computer. Also, after logging out of your internet's bank site, it is probably a good idea to close down your browser and then to open it up again to begin a new session. You are taking an extra step in making sure that no one is able to access your personal data. To sum up, be as protective as possible of your sensitive bank data.
• There is another positive aspect of the internet that has helped me with my finances. That is the aspect of being able to pay your bills and taxes fairly easily and quickly. For my normal bills such as electricity, phone, water, gas, etc., I utilize an online bill paying service. Usually, these services have you list their address as the billing address, so the bills are sent to them instead of your address. You usually have the service setup to deduct the appropriate amount from your bank account each month. You may pay a small fee each month for this service, but I have found the service to be worth the fee as it saves the hassle of writing checks, buying stamps, and sending stuff in the mail each month. I have also used an online tax service the past couple of years as well. I have to say that it has been very nice not having to fill all that tax paperwork by hand. I did not time myself, but it took me less than an hour to take care of my taxes online. So, if you do not want to deal with the hassle of filling out paperwork next year, take advantage of that resource.
• Finally, I would recommend taking advantage of the software that you have on your computer. Many computer systems today come pre-loaded with some sort of financial software. Mine came with Microsoft Money and Quicken 2000. Both of these financial programs can be used to manage your bank accounts, investments, credit cards, bills, etc. They also come with a pretty decent budget planner. If you've been thinking about using your computer to track your finances, check to see if you have some financial software already setup on your system.

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Favorite Freeware - MarketBrowser, 2.98 MB - Leading Market Technologies

http://www.marketbrowser.com
Download Program
Specs - Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000

If you like to keep track of the stock market, or if you are an investor, then this program might be useful. The program's interface is basically setup as an internet browser, except that it downloads graphs and charts of different stocks of funds that you might be interested in tracking. This program delivers up to the minute market information, and it is also compatible with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. This program requires you to be connected to the internet to receive live updates.

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Featured Download - SL Checkbook, 1.97 MB - Nickle Alloy Software

http://www.nicklealloy.com
Download Program
Specs - Win 95/98/ME - Shareware - $20.00

If you want to try using a simple program to balance your checkbook and other bank accounts, then you should try SL Checkbook. The program does not occupy a ton of space on your computer, and it is very easy to learn. It also does not come with a lot of bells and whistles that you would never use, but it gets the job done which is the important thing. If you are looking for a simple computer program that is easy to use and inexpensive, then you should try out this program. You have plenty of time to test it as it is a 60 day trial version.

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