If you are looking for free personal finance software then you should consider BudgetPulse. BudgetPulse is designed so that you can quickly and easily take control of your personal finances. BudgetPulse eliminates the risk of identity theft because it isn’t linked to your bank. Additionally, there are no downloads or complicated software to figure out.  So check it out, it’s FREE!

See the video below of how BudgetPulse works.

For more information visit BudgetPulse.com.

Related Article: Get Your Free Financial Software at Gnucash.com

If you are an online advertiser, MySpace MyAds will give you $50 towards advertising on their site with Pay per click banner ads.   However, you must be a new advertiser.  

You can spend as low as $5 per day.  I signed up for the $50 and posted some ads.  The service is pretty simple to use.  You first create an ad using their free template or you can upload your own.  You then choose who will see your ad depending on age, gender, location, hobbies and interest.  You can also monitor your ad performance via their free reporting tools.

You control your pricing by setting a daily budget limit and how much you want to pay per click.  The click prices are very reasonable; could be as low as $0.05 per click depending on who you want to target.  You can change your budget and pay per click cost at any time.

After you create your ad, you will be asked for your credit card information.  This is where you will enter the promotion code (PRO50 or SHOE50).  The promotion codes are via ProBlogger.com and Shoemoney.com.

Of course, the MySpace ads aren’t as targeted as search engine ads; however, some marketers have been very successful using social media advertising such as MySpace and FaceBook to drive sales.  Many large companies use social media advertising merely for brand recognition.

If you have student loans you may be able to lower your payments with the government’s Income Based Repayment (IBR) plan.  IBR is a new repayment plan for the major types of student federal loans, which include any Stafford, Grad PLUS or Consolidation loan made under either the Direct Loan or FFEL program.  However, if you are in default you are out of luck.   Additionally, parent PLUS Loans or consolidation loans that repaid a parent PLUS Loan are not allowed as well.

IBR caps your required monthly payment at an amount that should be affordable based on your income and family size.  New and old loans for any type of education (undergraduate, graduate, professional, job training) may qualify for the IBR plan.

You may apply for IBR if your federal student loan debt is high relative to your income and family size. Your lender will determine your eligibility, however, you can use the Departments IBR calculator to estimate if you would likely benefit from the IBR plan. The calculator looks at your income, family size, and state of residence to calculate your IBR monthly payment amount. If that amount is lower than the monthly payment under a 10-year standard repayment plan, then you are eligible to repay your loans under IBR.

For more information visit studentaid.ed.gov.

Now maybe a great time to buy a car, especially if your current vehicle is a gas guzzler.  President Obama is about to sign into law a program called the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) to help consumers purchase a new, more fuel efficient vehicle when they trade in their less fuel efficient vehicle.  The government incentive could save you up to $4,500 to purchase a new car.

To qualify, your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the date of trade-in and you can only purchase a new or leased vehicle costing less than $45,000. Your trade-in vehicle must have 18 MPG or less, however, some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans may have different requirements. To find out your vehicle’s official MPG, visit www.fueleconomy.gov.  Additionally, your trade-in vehicle must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in.  You will not need a voucher because dealers will automatically apply the credit at the time of purchase.  To find the trade-in value of your vehicle visit Autos.MSN.com.

How Will CARS Work?  According the website Cars.gov:

• Step 1: Visit CARS.gov for current information about the program.
• Step 2: Determine if you qualify, then shop for a new car.
• Step 3: Bring the title, registration and insurance papers showing continuous registration and insurance coverage for the past full year.
• Step 4: When you buy or lease a new vehicle, the dealer handles the submission of all required information to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).
• Step 5: NHTSA ensures that your purchase meets the requirements.
• Step 6: About 10 days later, NHTSA will issue a financial credit to the dealer.

Sources:

• Visit Cars.gov for further details.
• Visit FuelEconomy.gov to determine your car’s MPG.
• Visit Autos.MSN.com to determine your trade in value.

Many financial experts recommend having a 3 to 6 emergency fund (of your typical living expenses) in the bank for unexpected events in your life such as a job loss. However, in today’s economy is a 3 to 6 months emergency fund enough?  Many unemployed people are having difficulty finding jobs within 6 months.  It’s now taking some people up to a year to find employment. So it maybe a good idea to have a 1 year emergency fund!

If you don’t have an emergency fund, the hardest part is how to get started.  You know you should have an emergency fund but how can you create one when money is already being tight.  As with most things, it’s all about creating a plan and sticking to the plan.

The first thing is tracking where all your money is spent each month.  If you were to track every dollar spent you’d be amazed how much of that money falls in the “I don’t really need this” category.  You also maybe surprised how much money you spend on small items that adds up to a decent amount of money over time.  That $5 coffee you purchase every morning at Starbucks in a month is costing you $100.  That’s over $1,000 in a year for coffee.  That’s money you could have put towards you emergency fund.

Another strategy is to reduce your 401K contributions temporarily to build you emergency fund.  However, if your company is matching you, you should put at least that amount in your 401K.  So for example if you are putting 10% of your gross salary in your 401K but your employer matches dollar for dollar 6%, your should reduce your contribution to 6% to still getting the matching dollars.  Why lose that money?

Also create a budget and look at each expense to determine what you can do to reduce that expense.  Do you really need to be paying $85 per month for cable TV?  Can you reduce it to $50 per month?  Do you need to spend $100 per month for cell phone?  Can you reduce it to $60 per month? Do you really need that gym membership that you almost never use, saving you $35 per month?  Can you shop around for cheaper car insurance and raising your deductible saving you a few hundred dollars per year?  Can you take your lunch to work instead of eating out everyday? If you look closely at your budget to determine how much money you can save by cutting expenses you will be surprised with how much money you can save!

So go ahead and get started.  Time is of essence.  Start today!

Related Articles:

• Surviving a Layoff
• MSNBC 10 Tips to Save on Your Cell Phone Bill
• Video: Dave Ramsey’s Advice on Financial Success
• Think and Act Like a Business Owner

I’m always looking to save money and am seriously considering getting rid of my land-line and instead using the Magic Jack.  Magic Jack was launched mid last year and I’ve heard nothing but good things about the service.  (See 2 videos below).

Magic Jack works by first purchasing a phone jack that you plug into your computer via the USB port.  You then plug your home phone into the jack to make your phone calls.  It’s that easy.  The service includes free local / long distance, free directory assistance, free phone number, free call waiting, free voicemail and free caller ID.  Additionally, you get a Magic Jack phone number that people will see on their Caller ID.

The phone jack costs $39.95 plus $6.95 for shipping and handling.  After the one year of free service, it’s $19.95 per year for the phone service.  That is a fantastic deal.

Visit MagicJack.com for more information.

Magic Jack infomercial

Magic Jack Review

The higher education law passed by Congress last year requires that all colleges have net price calculators on their websites by 2011 to determine out-of-pocket cost and financial aid packages available.

The calculators ask for a variety of information similar to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  The calculators then use this information to deterrmine how much a student or family is expected to pay. 

Additionally, the calculators will highlight the cost to attend that specific school and financial aid package the school might offer to make up the different between the student/family out-of-pocket contribution and the total bill.

There are several universities that already have calculators which include:

• Williams College
• Princeton University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Yale University
• Amherst College