Category: Financial & Investment Tips
Personal Finance Software Review: Moneydance
Back in the day, I used Quicken. It was the first personal finance software I used, and I used it faithfully for more than a decade. The problem is that I use a Mac, and Quicken stopped supporting Quicken 2005 (often considered one of the best versions of Quicken) somewhat recently. I’ve not been overly impressed with the latest Quicken offerings for the Mac, and I’m not interested in running Windows on my Mac just to get Quicken. So I looked for a replacement. After a lot of poking around, I settled on Moneydance. So far, Moneydance has been fairly easy to use, and I’ve been satisfied with my experience. Based on my experience using the software, here’s my review of Moneydance. Features of
Gym Operator Planet Fitness Plans IPO
Filed under: Company News, Retail, Healthcare Industry, IPOs Richard Levine/Alamy NEW YORK — Planet Fitness, the company known for its low-cost purple-and-yellow gyms, plans to go public. The company said Tuesday that it filed a “draft registration statement” to the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. The filing is confidential and the paperwork is sealed from the public. Under the law, companies that have revenue under $1 billion are able to submit confidential IPO drafts to the SEC. Planet Fitness didn’t say how many shares it would offer, what the stock would be priced at or how much money it plans to raise. It also didn’t say when it expects the IPO to happen. Becky Brown, a spokeswoman at Planet Fitness,
Walking, Bicycling, Driving, and Cost-Effectiveness
Leaving the car at home and using a bike for local errands can of course save you money. Can it save time, too? Photo: Rob Recently, it was announced that a grocery store is opening within two miles of my home. This is actually pretty good news for me as, prior to that announcement, the only grocery store anywhere nearby was more than 10 miles away. I would simply have to drive to a different town for groceries. This means that right now, most of the things I need to acquire or business that I need to conduct are within a simple walk (or a bicycle ride) from my house. Within a two mile radius, I can visit a pretty good public library, buy fresh produce and other
Media CEOs Dominate Ranks of Top-Paid Executives
Filed under: Company News, Media, Entertainment Industry, CEOs Jordan Strauss/Invision via APCBS CEO Leslie Moonves was the second highest paid CEO in 2014, according to a study by executive compensation data firm Equilar and AP. By STEVE ROTHWELL and RYAN NAKASHIMA NEW YORK — They’re not Hollywood stars, they’re not TV personalities and they don’t play in a rock band, but their pay packages are in the same league. Six of the 10 highest-paid CEOs last year worked in the media industry, according to a study carried out by executive compensation data firm Equilar and The Associated Press. The best-paid chief executive of a large American company was David Zaslav, head of Discovery Communications (DISCK), the pay-TV channel operator that is home to “Shark Week.”
Biggest Stock Movers: Shake Shack Sizzles; Roundy’s Retreats
Filed under: Earnings, Retail, Biotechnology, Restaurants, Investing Richard Drew/AP Plenty of stocks go up and down in any given week. The gainers inspire us to keep investing. The decliners keep greed in check while reminding us about the risks of the equity markets. Let’s go over some of last week’s best and worst performers. Shake Shack (SHAK) — Up 34 percent last week The fast-growing burger chain soared on reports that a related entity has taken out a trademark for the Chicken Shack name. Shake Shack has plenty of room to grow as a burger chain, but if it’s launching a sister concept specializing in poultry — likely chicken sandwiches — it can make things even more interesting for one of the hottest IPOs of the past year. Red
Taco Bell, Pizza Hut to Boot Artificial Ingredients
Filed under: Company News, Advertising & Marketing, Food & Beverage, Restaurants, Consumer Issues Steve Helber/AP By CANDICE CHOI NEW YORK — Taco Bell and Pizza Hut say they’re getting rid of artificial colors and flavors, making them the latest big food companies scrambling to distance themselves from ingredients people might find unappetizing. Instead of “black pepper flavor,” for instance, Taco Bell will start using actual black pepper in its seasoned beef, says Liz Matthews, the chain’s chief food innovation officer. Boot.getJS({ src:’http://api.dailyfinance.com/dailyfinance/?service=mycourses&rf=http://learn.dailyfinance.com&callback=DAILYFINANCE.wssInlineCourse&courseId=908′, defer:’load’ }); The Mexican-style chain also says the artificial dye Yellow No. 6 will be removed from its nacho cheese, Blue No. 1 will be removed from its avocado
Pay for Your Honeymoon With Credit Card Rewards
Taking advantage of lucrative credit card sign-up bonuses and putting some of your wedding expenses on those rewards cards can help you earn travel rewards for a dream honeymoon. Photo: Westin Dawn Beach via Facebook More and more newlyweds are putting off their honeymoons. A lot of busy couples reach this decision because of scheduling conflicts, while others simply see no hurry to rush it. But other soon-to-be-married couples are putting off their honeymoons for one reason only: money. In many cases, that’s probably an excellent decision. While it’s certainly possible to have a frugal wedding, the average wedding now costs more than $30,000; it’s a wonder that many couples get to take any kind of honeymoon, let alone a big,
Questions About Lawnmowers, Banking Privacy, Self-Learning, Ice, Summer Reading and More!
Looking for a reliable lawn mower you can buy for life? Consumer Reports has a recommendation. Photo: Sean Hobson What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. Children as insurance policy? 2. Exercise outside the gym 3. Installing solar panels? 4. Bank violation of privacy 5. A frugal society is bad? 6. Buy it for life: lawnmower 7. Ice packs or ice 8. Stolen item from Craigslist 9. Mom gave away life’s savings 10. Huge financial changes 11. Value of self-learning 12. Cheaper to buy? 13. College free in the future? 14. Positive financial heroes 15. Summer reading? Being a freelancer is very, very different than most jobs in one key respect: you work whatever hours you
10 Tips for First-Time Home Buyers
In the summer of 2007, my wife and I purchased our first home. As a first-time home buyer, I knew we needed to spend a considerable amount of time researching our purchase. So that’s exactly what we did – we read as much as we could, educated ourselves on the local real estate market, and explored every aspect of the home buying process. But even then, we still made a few rookie mistakes. Of course, it’s easy to see that now – after the fact. You know how the saying goes: “Hindsight is 20/20.” Although we are still happy with our purchase overall, there are definitely a few things I wish we would have done differently. Valuable Lessons for First-Time Home Buyers But you live
An Awesome (and Free) Investment Tracking Spreadsheet
There are a lot of tools out there to track your investments. One of my favorites is Personal Capital. It offers a free online financial dashboard that automatically tracks your investments and your spending. Today I have another option for you–a free spreadsheet that tracks your investments and tells you when it’s time to rebalance your portfolio. I have to give a BIG thank you to a reader named Dan. He built this spreadsheet and shared it with me weeks ago. With his permission, I’ve created a copy and am sharing it with you today. Thanks, Dan! The Spreadsheet To start, you can see the spreadsheet by clicking here. It is build in Google Sheets. When you go to the spreadsheet, you’ll see
What to Bring to College: The Smart (and Frugal) College Checklist
A lot of college packing lists seem like overkill. So what do you really need to bring? Photo: Nazareth College Angela writes in: In nine days, our oldest son is graduating from high school. He will be the first one in our family to go to college as he is going to [a major state school]. While we have spent a lot of time figuring out scholarships and financial aid and other things, we are really unsure as to what he needs to actually take to college. There are a lot of “lists of stuff to take to college” but they seem like overkill. You would need a moving van to take all of that stuff! He is going to live in the dorms for at
