Tag Archives: Personal Finance

How Apple Pay Doesn’t Help Personal Finance

Bruce Heen

Through the eyes of personal finance, Apple Pay is not as exciting as it was projected to be. Although boasting numerous pros, its plaguing cons have dubbed the program disappointing.

Apple had a wonderful opportunity to accomplish what Google failed with Google Wallet. It was widely anticipated, and nearly error-free as a mobile payment standard that is better than swiping a card. Apple Pay’s NFC token-based system which is based on a relatively new and important standard called, EMV Payment Tokenization, ensures that no party except your card issuer ever stores your personal card info. If Apple Pay becomes popular enough, it could mean that hackers would have a much harder time accessing accounts and fraud could fall significantly.

Cards for Apple Pay and transactions made with Apple Pay appear in iOS’s Passbook app, which could be transformed from tickets and coupons aggregator to the nexus of many iPhone users’ financial lives. A step in the right direction, it makes it far easier for us to check in on our accounts wherever we are and help us gain an often elusive sense of control over our money.

However, this is where the pros end. Apple Pay only shows you in passbook the most recent purchases you have made on its own network. Because such a small amount of merchants have the capability for Apple Pay, most of the spending will not come up on Passbook which was never designed as a personal finance account aggregator.

Apple Pay launches for in-app payments, we may finally see micro-payments take off. That will make the challenge of tracking your spending from multiple sources even more acute. Aside from the great security potential of the Apple Pay, is it worth it? It looks like a revolutionary technological security and environmental innovation that has the potential, but needs more work.

For more information, check out the full article here.

Personal Finance Game Leads to Scholarship Money

The financial industry has struggled to restore its image since its destruction six years ago. One common approach to do so has been developing programs to inform students about financial education. Tax preparer H&R Block released its $3 millions in college scholarship money to give to high school students who get all the answers right in an online budget game.

Block is following the lead of numerous national banks that sponsor some form of financial education. Visa has also made big commitments to the cause as well. This push has been a way to teach young people practical monetary skills while improving the financial industry’s damaged reputation.

Block is not a bank nor a credit company. However, the company is still passionate about teaching youth about finances. “It’s appalling how clueless many teens are about money,” says Block CEO William Cobb. He is not shy about admitting that Block’s “budget challenge” is as much about smart marketing as it is about helping teens get smart about money. The challenge concludes on Tax Day, April 15. But Cobb says educating high school kids about student loans and more is also “the right thing to do”.

Block’s program is constructed around an online game that simulates real life problems and situations. It is apart of a class with a teacher that teaches lessons for youth personal finance. The push for the high school students is a college scholarship. The first challenge will begin Oct. 3 and last for nine weeks. Five more challenges will run through mid-April next year. Students need about 30 minutes to set up their profile and about 30 minutes per week after that in order to compete.

Although its goal is to teach, the Block program seems not only engaging but fun. Participants will have access to a leaderboard to see where they stand amongst their competitors. Youth will need to figure out what the best choices are and to try to make sense of the world of money so they can make good choices in the future.

For more information read on at http://time.com/money/3306372/financial-education-college-scholarship-hr-block/

Personal Finance Tips to Consider

Bruce Heen There’s numerous ideas and thoughts on how to save money but the favorite seem to be to buy less lattes, pay less for data and switch your wireless mobile provider. However how valid are these assertions?

According to data on monthly Starbucks expenditure, people actually do not spend as much money on coffee as they assume, so cutting back won’t really rack in your savings. The average Starbucks customer goes less than 3 times a month and spends a total of $24 dollars. The dollars being spent are not very substantial, and although you could make a much cheaper coffee at home, there are better ways to cut back.

For Cable, analyzing data on how much people spend on major providers, such as Comcast, gives a good indication of potential savings. Most people pay between $50-$150 a month for Comcast so the ability to save is significant. It should not be hard to cut $50 from your cable bill a month which can save you $600 a year. A combination of other services such as Netflix and Hulu might work as well.

With so many cellphone providers, there is certainly an opportunity for savings. T-Mobile seems to be the cheapest based on what an average customer spends a month. The real savings comes from switching to one of the smaller carriers which will have you spending an average of $87 a month lower.

Coffee does not seem to be the money pit it used to be and wireless and cable seem to be where the real savings lie. Cutting $600 a year off your cable bill may be possible for many spending over $150/month and the savings on phone plans over a year could even hit 4 digits for those with some flexibility. So take some action and save some money.

For more information read on at http://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmoore/2014/08/13/three-personal-finance-tips-from-big-data/

Financial decisions and family

Bruce Heen Retirement plans and other financial matters are not the most common topics of conversation when it comes to parents and their adult children. But it should be. As a result many young Americans are not prepared to live comfortably in retirement or support their family during a financial crisis.

A study conducted by Fidelity Investments discovered that about 64% of parents and children can not agree on when to have conversations about financial preparedness. The study found that money is a taboo subject for many parents of adult children.

Many families disagree on when the best time is to sit down and have conversations about later-life financial topics such as retirement. According to the study, around 40% of parents indicated they haven’t discussed these matters with their adult children.

“Admittedly, these discussions aren’t always easy, but there can be real emotional and financial consequences when they don’t happen or lack sufficient depth,” said John Sweeney, executive vice president of Retirement and Investing Strategies at Fidelity.

There are three financial misunderstandings that often affect families. Parents lag adult children on sense of urgency about retirement. Adult children are 56% more likely to worry about financial security compared to 23% of parents. Adult children also significantly underestimate the value of their parents’ estate. Lastly, families disagree over who will care for a parent if they fall ill. The study shows that these parent-child disagreements can be avoided by talking about these financial issues earlier.

For more information read on at http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2014/07/09/families-divided-over-personal-finance-decisions/12380577/

Managing Personal Finances

Bruce Heen Managing personal finances is something many individuals and families struggle with. From lines of credit to loans to filing for taxes, it seems like the stream of information surrounding financial matters is never-ending and often difficult to understand. When it comes to tackling personal finances, it is easy to feel over whelmed. One way to combat this is to think of your overall financial situation in small increments and assess each part individually. Focus in on three financial issues that need to be addressed, for example, student loans, IRAs, and car payments, and figure out a plan of action for each. Breaking down financial planning will help you think more clearly, make better decisions, and benefit you in the long run.

One creeping threat to many young adults is the impending doom of student loans. With college tuition at an all time high, paying for education is definitely a financial issue that should be addressed. While a private, academically superior university may be appealing or even thought of as necessary to get a job, many employers say that where an applicant gets a degree matters very little. Consider looking into less expensive, quality colleges as a first step to avoid debt later in life.

Another thing to think about during financial planning is IRAs. Although paying up front may seem like that best solution because it can protect you from higher rate in the future, it is important to weigh all of your IRA options. Different IRAs will benefit different types of people and choosing the right payment method could saving you a good deal of money in the long run.

A third area of personal finance that should be addressed is the question of buying or leasing when you are shopping for a new car. Recently, leasing cars has become very popular and many auto manufacturers are trying to make leasing more appealing through lower pricing on standard three-year leases. However, there are other long-term factors that should be considered when leasing a car to make sure that you are getting the best deal, including the value of the car you are considering buying or leasing and how long you plan to keep the car.

For more tips on managing personal finances, please visit http://theweek.com/article/index/259371/personal-finance-tips-the-importance-of-your-college-choice-and-more.

Key Personal Finance Tips

Money Many people will admit that they know less than they probably should about personal finance. Even if people do not have the time to presently become a finance expert, there are three common personal finance areas that people should focus on learning more about.

First, investing in your employer’s company stock has benefits and drawbacks that should be weighed carefully before taking action. Employees may be eligible for discounts on stock prices in addition to having a better knowledge of the company’s performance than an outside investor. However, if your company faces some sort of financial turmoil, you as an employee run the risk of facing unemployment combined with a decreased value of the stock you own. Still, if investing in the company you work for appeals to you, experts suggest not investing more than 10 percent of your overall portfolio with the company to minimize risk.

A second area of personal finance that may need attention in the near future is open lines of home equity credit. These loans were popular from 2004 to 2007, but the time to pay back is fast approaching as the 10-year breaks on paying back principals are expiring. You should review the terms of your equity line and, if you anticipate having any issues making the impending higher payments, talk to your lender about options like refinancing the loan.

Finally, for those who are looking to revamp their personal finance agendas, it may be time to dispel the myths surrounding the glorified platinum credit card. While platinum cards do offer various perks to cardholders, these perks will not be beneficial to everyone. Customers already in debt should avoid platinum credit cards all together. However, if you are debt free and travel often or make larger purchases regularly, a platinum credit card may be a nice option after all as these cards often offer airline perks and longer coverage on large purchases.

For more tips on personal finance please visit http://theweek.com/article/index/256747/personal-finance-tips-the-problem-with-platinum-cards-and-more.