Using Microsoft Excel Or Google Spreadsheets to Create a Monthly Budget

Fact:

tracking your spending is essential to working your way to financial freedom. Everybody knows that your best defense against financial hardship is simply knowing how much money is coming in vs. how much is going out. You need to make sure you're making more than you're spending.

How?

Well- you can SPEND money to budget on programs like Quicken, Pearbudget, Mint, Mvelopes, or YNAB. Many can provide you with resourceful tools that will help you keep your finances in check; however, you actually have to spend more money to use them! Aren't you creating a budget to save money?

Solution: Use Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets to create a monthly budget for you!

Following are some of the advantages to making Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets your official financial planner:

1. Costs Nothing - Microsoft Excel is a program that most of us own. And if you are one of the rare people that don't have your own copy, don't go out and buy it! You can easily do the exact same thing the an Excel spreadsheet will do with a Google Docs spreadsheet- and that's for free! The fact is a spreadsheet's capabilities can do virtually everything you need them to. Most of your fancy financial software programs will cost you hundreds of dollars in the long run. Seems a little funny that you're going to spend your money on something that is going to save it. Be resourceful; use a spreadsheet.

2. Easy to Set up - Whether you're using Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheet, you're not going to have a hard time setting them up. In fact, if you'll just learn a couple of quick formulas, you'll easily be able to make your numbers automatically add up, multiply, subtract, and divide when and where you need them to.

3. Simple - In my experience using financial budgeting software, they just aren't that simple! The first one I ever bought was Quicken, and I found that it did too much. All I needed was something that I could customize to build a budget that worked for me; Quicken complicated things to a point where I didn't even want to use it. It was not user-friendly at all, and that's what I needed when it came to a monthly personal budget. Pearbudget.com and Youneedabudget.com do a pretty good job to keep things simple and if you ever did decide to pay money for a monthly budget, that's what I would recommend; however, using a free spreadsheet will save you the money period, and it's just as simple to use.

4. Fully Customizable - Why not use a budgeting software that enables you to completely customize what you need?! Choose your own colors, categories, sizes, fonts, styles, and structures to fit what you need. After all, everybody is different and one standardized budgeting software isn't going to work for all! Fit your budget to your needs.

In conclusion, my personal recommendation when it comes to organizing your money is either a Microsoft Excel budgeting spreadsheet or a Google Docs Spreadsheet. Don't waste your money on buying budgeting software. You're pocket book will thank you for choosing an alternative route- budgeting for free!

http://www.financialnut.com - dedicated to improving the world's financial IQ one blog post at a time! Get all sorts of help and information regarding budgeting and using excel budget spreadsheets at Financialnut.

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Methods to Anticipate Free Cash Flow

Free Cash Flow (FCF) is seen as a way of measuring what amount of cash is left over after a firm pays its expenses to help manage the business. So after the company pays off their workers, utilities, supplies, as well as any other operating expenses, the cash that may still be left would be regarded as the FCF. Usually the more FCF a company has, the better off it really is. Practically this will make good sense simply because it ensures that their merchandise is selling effectively in the marketplace, that it's making profits, and it has its expenses under control.

For publicly traded companies you'll be able to calculate free cash flow through looking up info within the Cash Flow Statement. This information can be had free of charge within the organization's internet site where you should have the capacity to come across the annual report and financial statements, or from websites such as Google Finance or Yahoo! Finance. The formula to estimate free cash flow is: Free Cash Flow = (Cash from Operating Activities) - (Capital Expenses).

Free cash flow to equity intro and example

Web sites like Google finance display four years of data on their financial statements. For getting data for more years, you'll want to visit the organization's website and download old annual reports to figure out the free cash flow for past years. In the event that FCF is continuously positive for the previous 10 years you might have found a business that ought to receive more analysis. In the event that the FCF rate of growth has been greater than 0 for most of the years and includes a standard upside pattern it implies that the firm is effectively managed and features an outstanding strategy for promoting their products.

In the event the present fiscal period is simply not yet finished, you can search monthly information that has recently been published to help you determine the FCF of the most current 12 month. Taking an average of the monthly information that may have been noted and predicting the complete 12 month results is a good starting place. Based upon whether or not the enterprise is doing much better or worse as compared to the outcome it's previously established you are able to correct your full year forecasts up or down to acquire a more suitable estimation.

The next things to ask are usually; 1) from what is known with regard to the company, are the assumptions which have been developed to go with your estimate realistic? 2) Precisely how feasible is it really that the business enterprise can continue to generate those sorts of outcomes? One way to answer all those inquiries requires you to take a look at the company's annual record. Locate a description of the product roadmap and technique for obtaining brand new sales and then any conceivable effect on costs. Are there any brand-new rivals that'll be entering the marketplace and having a piece of prospective revenue? Check for hints at a future product releases right into brand new or existing markets or the actual way it promises to maintain its competitive standing.

You might even have to assess the free cash flow growth rate to help quantify intrinsic share prices. Projecting rates of growth of ten percent or more in the long run is just not wise. Anytime a organization has become big, its rate of growth will usually tend to go down somewhat because the actual size of the organization will make it difficult to produce high rates of growth. Rationally this will make sense as making a business increase in size from $250 billion in market cap to $500 billion is going to be less difficult than increasing in scale from $500 billion to $1 trillion. On that basis the actual long run FCF growth rate should really be lower than 10%, which would be a very good accomplishment for any enterprise to realize.

To learn more about value investor strategies for investing please visit the Value Investor Headquarters website.

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When To Sell Mutual Funds

Mutual funds can be an excellent investment for average people because they offer professional management and fewer risks. Unfortunately these vehicles have risks and can lose money. Many people have seen a large portion of their retirement savings disappear because they did not know when to sell their mutual funds.

Unfortunately there is no easy answer to the question of when to sell shares in a fund. Every fund and every investor is different but there are certain situations in which it will be advantageous to sell funds. Any investor should have no problem learning when to spot such situation and take advantage of them.

When to sell

When the Fund is No Longer Making Money 

The first and most obvious time to sell your shares is when the fund is no longer making money for you. An investor should be able to tell this by monitoring the fund's performance and by comparing that performance with the fees.

It is fairly easy to track the performance of most funds through free internet portals such as Google Finance and Yahoo Finance. You can also track funds through financial newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal and their websites. Simply look to see if the fund is performing to your expectations and track returns over monthly and yearly timeframes. You do not need to monitor your funds everyday but you should check them about once a month.

You can tell if the fund is making money by figuring out its costs and fees which will be listed in the fund prospectus. Simply write down all the costs and fees and add them up and subtract them from the return you are getting on the fund. If the fees and costs exceed the return then you are not making money and you should sell the fund.

When it is not Achieving Your Investment Objectives 

Before you invest money you should sit down and figure out what your investment objectives are. An example of such an objective could be to generate a rate of return that exceeds inflation or to increase my retirement savings by 5% a year.

You should take a look at those objectives every year then revisit your investments. You should sit down examine the investments and see if they are helping you meet your objectives. Look at mutual funds to see if their returns are meeting your goals. If they are not you should sell them and look for others that are. If a fund is not generating enough additional income to meet your objectives you should definitely think of selling it.

When a Fund's Return can not Beat the Rate of Inflation 

The standard rate of inflation is around 5% therefore any investment needs a return of at least 6% to beat it. A vehicle like a mutual fund should have a rate of return around 10% in order to make money in spite of inflation. Always check funds to see if they are making such a return. If they are not you should sell them and look elsewhere.

Something to remember is that mutual funds are a fairly high risk investment. The gain you are taking you should justify the risk you are taking. If the return is not around 10%, the risks you are taking and the fees you are paying are probably not worth it.

Steven Hart is a freelance writer and a Financial Advisor from Cary, IL. He writes about Annuity topics like Annuity Definition, Annuity Rate, and Best Annuity Rates.

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Google Spreadsheet Budget Vs Microsoft Excel Budget

Which one do you use?

It's clear that having a personal finance budget on a spreadsheet is an effective approach to handle your money. But should you be using Microsoft Excel or Google Docs as a means?

Advantages of Using Microsoft Excel For Your Personal Finance Budget

Excel is the most popular spreadsheet on the market; as a result, more people use it as a means of budgeting than any other spreadsheet option available, even Google Docs. But what are the advantages to using Excel?

1. It has the most functionality - Excel does the most. Period. There are thousands of customizable options, 

formulas, colors, structures, and formats that you could create using Excel. No other spreadsheet program does what Excel can do. What does that mean for your budgeting? Well- if there's something you would like to see done, chances are Excel can do it.

2. It's the most popular - Because Excel is the most widely used program on the market, it allows people to get help on formatting and creating formulas that you probably couldn't get on other programs. The internet has tutorial after tutorial on how to create a budget on Excel.

3. It's quicker and more dependable than Google Docs - And that is very true! Sometime Google Docs goes down or moves very slowly. It's dependent on the internet working well. If that is not the case, you won't have access to your budget. Excel is a software program, and if your computer runs well, then you'll always be able to access your budget.

Advantages of Using Google Docs For Your Personal Finance Budget

Google docs has several advantages. Following are just a few:

1. Access from anywhere - You can get to your Google Docs from anywhere because how it's accessed via 

the internet. Google hosts your information for free, and makes it available to you whether you're sitting at home in your office or on a business trip to Europe. You can access and edit your budget from anywhere using Google Docs.

2. Easy to learn & use - Google Docs is much like Microsoft Excel, so using it and learning it is going to very easy if you're thinking about making the switch. It's not nearly as complex as Excel, so you'll be able to pick it up in 10 or 15 minutes.

3. Free - Google Docs isn't going to cost you "one red cent." If you don't already have the Microsoft Suite, you'll have to spend a fortune to buy it. It doesn't make sense to spend a large sum of money on a means to greater financial security, does it? Use Google Docs because it doesn't cost a thing.

Trevor Shipp, the author, works as an online business consultant, student, husband, and business owner. Only just recently married, he and his wife take a serious approach to personal finance in their early years. Follow him on his personal finance blog.

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Google Finance - Late to the Party

If you haven't already heard, Google rolled out their own Finance site today to rival that of Yahoo's and Marketwatch.

After spending a few minutes using the site, I have to say that I am very unimpressed. The design of the site is far inferior to that of Yahoo's or Marketwatch, with a clunky layout that makes finding what you are looking for rather difficult. They display a few financial stats, but not any wheres near what the others offer their users. The portfolio tools are very rudimentary and outdated feeling, and their charts are nothing special. The whole site just feels rushed in my opinion.

One feature that I do like is the inclusion of real-time quotes, something that the others don't offer. Also, they display links to blog posts on the respective companies. Unfortunately, it doesn't display links tovery many blogs, none of my posts on specific companies are indexed nor are those of many of my peers. The majority of the links are to the Seeking Alpha Network, to which I am a contributor, but these are merely repubishings of other's works. If Google can figure out a way to include a more extensive list of blog submissions, it would be a nice touch, but unfortunately I don't forsee them devoting the necessary time to accomplish this.

I will give Google the benefit of the doubt here, as the site is only in beta, but Google Finance is nothing to write home about. Reminiscient of many of their most recent offerings, such as Google SiteCreator and Google Video, the site appears to be lacking the innovation and quality that used to set Google apart, a disturbing trend if you are a Google shareholder. Unless they are able to make some extreme improvements, I don't see many Yahoo Finance users or Marketwatch users converting. Not only is Google late to the party, but they left the gifts at home as well, nothing fashionable about their entrance here.

Originally published in The New Wall Street [http://www.thenewwallstreet.com], a proud member of the Wall Street 2.0 Network [http://www.wallstreet2pt0.com].

[http://www.thenewwallstreet.com]

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Facts About Google Finance

Google Inc is one of the most respected companies in the world and, according to Fortune Magazine; it is also the most preferred employer in the world. It is a fact that "Google" has become a part of our vocabulary and is synonymous with online searches. Many young people use the term 'Google it' instead of saying 'search it' which shows the degree of impact it has been able to create on people. Many important and useful services are offered by this company apart from the search engine service, they are mainly YouTube for video hosting, Orkut for social networking and a recently launched service called Google Finance etc. Apart from the internet based services the company is also the developer of the popular mobile operating system called android. Thus, it's a giant corporation with billions of dollars in assets and turnover and a business module which is diverse, expanding and advanced.

Google Finance:

It is a service that was launched in 21st of March, 2006 and has been active since then and is available in most countries around the world. The first Non-US country to have it was Canada; it was designed to provide a specialized search experience for information about the financial sector like trends, live market updates, stock news, financial news from around the globe etc.

Surprisingly not too many people use it or are aware of the various facilities associated with it. There are many advantageous of this financial service, they are:

1) It is an absolutely free of cost market information guide which takes live feeds and provides real time market information.

2) It takes input from search results on a given day to predict the kind of stocks or FOREX that people can trade in to reap maximum profits. As it is the market leader in search engine, so it has a reliable database to get the required information for such kind of predictions.

3) It has a unique feature called 'get quotes' through which we can get real time information about stocks of a company listed with NASDAQ. For example, if we type in 'HP', it will give us the current stock value of 'HP' as per NASDAQ.

4) Google Finance contains vital statistics about the monthly, quarterly and annual financial performance of various MNCs which can help people in deciding about the kind of company they can invest their money on.

5) It is a very simple and user friendly service that can be used by everyone.

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Using Google Docs to Create a Personal Finance Budget

Having a personal finance budget is essential- there's no question about that. You need it. If you haven't got
one, create one today; there's no time to waste. Many of us do have a budget we use regularly. Some use programs like Quicken or MS Money; others use online programs like Mvelopes, Mint, or YNAB. The downside is that many of these programs offer too much and take the simplicity out of budgeting, not to mention the fact that they often cost money.

Why Using Google Docs Is Your Best Option

Google spreadsheets can give you the simplicity, customization, and affordability that you're looking for in your budget. Following are a list of reasons why Google docs is your best option:

1. Customizable: Your budget can be as complex or as simple as you'd like. Knowing just a couple of simple formulas can help you create a system that is just as helpful as any top-notch program on the market. You can format the look how you want it- colors, sizes, structure, and format. Because all of us have different tastes, this is one of the best features that Google Docs offers.

2. Simple: Have you ever used budgeting software and couldn't figure out how to do the simplest things? You're excited after reading the back of the box when purchasing the software, but as soon you get home and get it installed on your computer, you can't figure out how to use it. You can make your spreadsheet with Google Docs simple and easy to use.

3. Access From Anywhere: If you go on vacation and don't bring your laptop, you can't keep up on your budget. And that can be a huge problem, because receipts get lost, spending gets forgotten about, and subsequently budgets become inaccurate and useless. Google Docs is hosted on Google's servers; therefore, you can access it from anywhere!

Trevor Shipp, the author, works as an online business consultant, student, husband, and business owner. Only just recently married, he and his wife take a serious approach to personal finance in their early years. Follow him on his personal finance blog.

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