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Monday Night Finance- Volume 10

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Monday, 20 April 2020 / Published in Monday Night Finance

Monday Night Finance- Volume 10

Welcome to this week’s Monday Night Finance. Each week we highlight three recent personal finance articles. Check it out!

Savings accounts: changes we’re making because ‘Rona and the stimulus check

The novel coronavirus has completely upended our entire country in the matter of weeks. On New Year’s Day, who would have thought that before Tax Day we’d be facing record unemployment claims, school closures, sheltering in place, and stimulus checks? In this article, Diana of FreeFunFamily.com shares how the coronavirus, which she affectionately calls, “The ‘Rona” has affected her family and finances.

When you don’t know what’s coming, cash savings are the best bet, even with the inflation we’ll likely see come from this. Banks still seem pretty safe at the moment, but who knows what might not be? ~Diana at Free Fun Family

While Diana’s family is still drawing their same income that they were at the start of the year, they are taking moves to be prepared for whatever may happen next. Diana points out that we are living in unprecedented economic times, and anyone who claims to know exactly how quickly the economy will recover is likely not being honest with themselves. To brace for this uncertainty, Diana is working on building up her family’s cash reserves. She increased her emergency fund, “sinking fund” for large expenses, and buffer in her checking account. These moves helped Diana get some peace of mind and set her family up to be more financially resilient in these next coming months.

How to make money with a 3D printer

With record levels of unemployment, people are looking for ways to make extra income. In this article, Forrest from Don’t Work Another Day details how to use a 3D printer to make money. While it’s not quite as easy as “printing money”, there are lots of ways to use a 3D printer to make money.

For consumers, 3D printers make great gifts that can spark creativity and inspire entrepreneurship. The capabilities are almost limitless, including the ability to make a profit with your printer. ~Forrest at Don’t Work Another Day

If you’re unsure of what a 3D printer is, it’s a device that can build three dimensional objects from a computer drawing. Most home 3D printers use plastic to build the shape one 2D layer at a time. The article starts with a review of different 3D printers for home use. It then goes on to detail how to monetize the printer. The easiest way to make money is to simply rent time on your 3D printer to others with a need. On the difficult end of the spectrum is teaching classes on 3D printing or starting your own YouTube channel. Check out the article if you’re interested in more details.

How to use less and still live comfortably

Shannon and Sergio at ScrewTheAverage.com are minimalists who are part of the FI/RE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement. In 2019 this couple lived on only $7,000! Here they share some of their tips for using less. They also explain why you may be happier consuming less, even if that sounds counter-intuitive.

Using less makes our life simpler. In other words, we’re less dependent on ‘this’ or ‘that’. So, when we’re in new or changing circumstances, like traveling, or there’s stress on time or resources, we have less to worry about, and we can go with less or do without. ~Screw The Average

Shannon and Sergio point out how using less creates a virtuous cycle. Using less helps you to make less trips to the store, which also helps you to save money. Consuming less not only helps you save money today, but also allows you to ultimately live on less income. Both of these actions lead to greater financial security and hopefully less stress and more happiness. There are lots of different ways to work towards minimalism. Shannon and Sergio detailed how they studied their consumption of various products around the house and reduced their consumption of shampoo by 70%. A similar framework could be applied to many regular purchases. Beyond using less, Shannon and Sergio detail how to decide whether you need an item at all or whether you could do without it or find a multi-use alternative.

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Barbara Ann Feeney
16-05-2016

I switched from pencil and paper on grid accounting paper, then to a Google spreadsheet, then to CountAbout. Really happy with how this app makes it easy to track how I doing, staying (or not) on budget.

 
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15-11-2016

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David M.
16-07-2016

CountAbout is as easy to use on my mobile as it is on the desktop and it provides me with the same or better information than Quicken.

 
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05-02-2016

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My Bank Tracker
24-11-2016

...you won’t be bombarded with ads when you log in. Mint, for example, uses targeted ads to help keep the platform free. All in all, CountAbout could be a good choice for Quicken and Mint users who want to start fresh with their finances without losing their past transaction history.

 
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20-01-2017

I love the software – nice and clean – the categories was a must have that your competitors are lacking.

 
Widgets to Compare Monthly Spending in Active Categories
17-02-2017

Huzzah! I can add widgets now and already made one to compare my monthly spending in my active categories to my budget. Excellent. That tool is one of my favorite features in a personal finance product.

 
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15-03-2017

I was looking for finance software to use as treasurer of the parent-teacher association at my child's school. CountAbout was perfect - it had all the register features and download capabilities that I was familiar with from desktop Quicken, but it has the advantage of being in the cloud so I can use it from any computer.

 
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Steve P.
22-09-2017

My search for a cloud-based alternative to Quicken is over! Very easy to transfer my Quicken data and customize my account. Thank you CountAbout!

 
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Jim Powell
17-03-2018

Vastly superior to the execrable Quicken, which caused me to have to choose a new bank password every time I used it. CA is fast, simple, and all you need unless you have a complicated investment portfolio. Its almost fun!

 
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Jeffrey Wilk
02-04-2018

Great product and great customer service. Thanks!

 
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Nancy
10-08-2018

I love CountAbout! I have hated Quicken for years, but didn't have an alternative. Now I do! I love that the cost is only $9.99 per year for the basic service (which is all I need). You can upgrade for more features, if you need them. But for personal use, the basic plan is just fine. When I found CountAbout, I gleefully gave Quicken the boot and I haven't looked back or missed it at all. Bye bye Quicken!!!

 
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Dana Linder
29-03-2019

This is an incredibly well thought out program.

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It's one failing for me is that I have a transaction that I have a transaction that occurs on the 3rd Wednesday of the month, and it's not possible to set that up. It's easy enough for me to change the date of next transaction when I enter the current one.

I am extremely impressed with the company. The trial is free for 15 days. You have nothing to lose.

 
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Keith Hurst
22-05-2020

I've been trying to ditch Quicken for years, finally a worthy replacement, but it's so much more, so clean and intuitively designed. I was really surprised and delighted to find a full featured iphone app that meets all my needs.

 
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Amanda Sherlock
25-08-2020

I started using Quicken in 1987, before I had my own PC. I continued using it for years, frustrated by the frequent breaks in the synchronization. Finally I took the leap and used Mint for a year or two. Free software is worth as much as I pay for. Finally, in 2019 I found Countabout. The synchronization is great and I am happy to have a product that's easy to use and reliable. The customer support is excellent and very responsive to my questions.
There aren't as many bells and whistles as Quicken but the simplicity outweighs the complications.

 

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