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Money Management (Distributed by the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants)

Online Resources for Better Money Management

The Internet has changed the way people do everyday business from buying books to looking for a job, but it can also serve as a valuable resource for performing common financial tasks like balancing your checkbook, paying bills, and managing your cash flow. The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA) provides the following suggestions for using the power of the Web to become a more efficient money manager.

Online Banking
Online banking makes it possible to conduct most routine banking transactions 24/7. For starters, check your account balances, determine which checks have cleared, and transfer funds between accounts. When combined with personal finance software, online banking can help manage your money through one central location for banking and investment account information and for daily monetary transactions. Personal finance software programs also include tools that can be used to create budgets, build reports and graphs, and assemble information for your taxes.

Bill Paying
Most online banking services treat bill paying as a separate, add-on function. Setting up your bill payment account can require significant up-front effort. You need to provide account numbers and correct remittance addresses for the vendors you plan to pay electronically. However, if you have a lot of monthly bills, you'll find it worth the initial effort. Be aware that, while convenient, online bill payment is not always timely. In fact, the time you request payment until the proceeds are actually received by the payee can take anywhere from a week to 10 days. Banks charge varying rates for bill payment services. Generally speaking, if you pay more than 10-15 bills a month, you'll find that the bank's fee is offset by what you save in time and postage.

Online Investing
Online investing can be convenient and save you money as well. Online trading systems are secure and relatively easy to use. But, since online broker services vary, you need to do your homework before proceeding. Visit the different brokers on the Web, comparing services and pricing. Online trading usually works best for active traders interested in quick trades and low commissions, while investors looking for financial advice might choose a traditional brokerage firm.

Financial Calculators
Most personal finance-related websites have online calculators that make it easy to play out "what if" scenarios. For example, what if I pay an extra $200 toward my mortgage each month? How much should I save each month to fund my child's college tuition fund? How long will my retirement savings last? You can access a wide range of calculators from USA Today at www.usatoday.com/money.

Savings Bonds
Want to know how much the U.S. Savings Bonds in your safety deposit box are worth? Go to www.savingsbond.gov and enter the denomination and issue date to learn the answer and the interest rates they're earning. At the same site, you can download the Savings Bond Wizard, a program that allows you to maintain an inventory of your bonds and determine the current redemption value, earned interest, and other information. You also can print your bond inventory. The site also has a link called Treasury Hunt that helps savings bond investors find missing bonds and interest payments and find out if the bonds they are holding on to have matured and are no longer paying interest.

Credit Card Information
Some credit card issuers provide online access to balance and credit line information as well as recent payment and charge history. Check with your card issuer for details.

In addition to these services, you can shop for interest rates online, apply for a loan, credit card or mortgage, and even sign up for life insurance. CPAs recommend that you look at online financial magazines such as www.kiplinger.com, personal finance portals such as MSN Money Central at www.moneycentral.msn.com, and sites such as the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org and the Internal Revenue Service at www.irs.ustreas.gov. These sites provide informative articles, current interest rates, calculators, and other links to help you manage your finances.

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Money Management is a weekly column on personal finance distributed by the NJSCPA.

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