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Monday Night Finance- Volume 18

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Monday, 15 June 2020 / Published in Monday Night Finance

Monday Night Finance- Volume 18

Each Monday we feature three personal finance articles we loved this past week. Here are this week’s features.

Volatility and Consistency

Anyone who has been following the stock market in 2020 will be familiar with volatility. The markets rapidly plunged more than 30% as a result of the coronavirus and an oil price war. Speaking of oil, the price for oil contracts actually went negative for a short period of time. For the average investor, volatility can be scary; most would much rather prefer to see consistent, solid, returns. So is volatility always a bad thing? In this article, Matt from WealthInAnyEconomy.com looks at the merits of both consistency and volatility.

Volatility is a fact of life – we will never be able to control the change that surrounds us. However, inside that risk, there is great reward. ~Wealth in Any Economy

What exactly are volatility and consistency? The article defines volatility as a combination of the amount that a stock price is fluctuating and the amount of trades happening on the stock. So if many people are buying and selling stock XYZ and the price is moving up and down, then it has a high volatility. Consistency on the other hand is the opposite where the price is moving slowly (hopefully upward) and there is relatively low volume. Most average investors crave consistent returns over the long run. However, volatility allows traders to potentially make large amounts of money rapidly. For a given stock, there are likely to be periods of both consistency and volatility. This article gives great perspective about trying to maximize returns through both consistent and volatile periods of returns.

How To Make Money From Hobbies (Get Paid To Have Fun!)

Almost everyone has a hobby. Maybe it’s playing tennis or taking photographs. Could those hobbies make you money? Obviously Rafael Nadal makes money playing tennis and someone paid $4.3 million dollars for a photograph. At the same time, I don’t think Nadal considers tennis a hobby. Is there are sweet spot where you can have a fun hobby that instead of costing you money pays for itself or in fact, makes you a few extra dollars? In this article, Bob from TheFrugalFellow explores different ways to make money from your hobbies.

I’m sure that for most of us, there can be a dilemma when deciding whether to do something we enjoy or something that makes good money. This begs the question: are there any decent ways to make money without selling your soul? ~Bob, the Frugal Fellow

In the post, Bob shares a list of hobbies and a corresponding way to monetize them. I learned that you can make money playing online video games by trading objects in the game that can be converted into real currency. Some hobbies, like dog walking, have apps that help facilitate earning money from the hobby. Beyond the listed hobbies, Bob sets up a framework on what kinds of hobbies can be monetized. The hobbies should provide value to others. This could be a sentimental value, by capturing a family photograph, or a more tangible value, like increasing the profit of a company. If you’re interesting in making more money, check out the article and look at your hobbies to see if you can find a way to turn it into a small business.

How Coronavirus Will Change the Way Americans Save Money

The coronavirus has changed nearly every facet of our lives. I cringe when I think about how commonplace handshakes were just three short months ago. Watching movies or televisions shows with scenes of large crowds now cause me to sweat when I think about the ability for a virus to rapidly spread through the crowd. At the same time, many of us have completely adapted to teleworking and our employers are seeing potential benefits to having a decentralized workforce. In actuality, we’re just scratching the surface of how this virus has changed our lives. In this article, Clint from DoughRoller.net explains how the coronavirus has affected our spending habits and what this means for the future.

So how will the events surrounding the coronavirus pandemic change the way Americans save money? What will savings habits look like moving forward through the remainder of 2020 and beyond? Here’s what the best data available tells us we should expect. ~Clint from DoughRoller.net

The article focuses on emergency funds, or money that is easily accessible in case of a job loss or unexpected expense. Clint notes that in the months leading up to the pandemic, the percentage of Americans with an emergency fund was shrinking, despite near-record low unemployment and a robust economy. However, the coronavirus has already changed saving habits with many people across all income levels starting to hoard cash. While the future is still uncertain, the article predicts that people will focus more energy on budgeting in the future. We think that CountAbout is an excellent budgeting tool to help you increase your emergency savings.

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Reviews

Shirley Hou
CountAbout was Perfect
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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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.

 
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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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!

 
‏@davepurcell
15-11-2016

I rarely tweet endorsements, but -- after years of using/hating Quicken, Countabout is awesome for tracking home budget/finances. Thx!

 
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Richard Luna
03-02-2021

I'm a one-person real estate brokerage and having accurate financial records and being able to easily search transactions and generate reports is crucial. I'd been using Quicken for Mac for 10+ years and wanted to migrate to using a Chromebook instead of a Mac, to do that I had to find a replacement for Quicken.

The replacement had to be online; available from my phone, tablet, etc., and no software installations almost every year. I immediately dismissed any 'free' financial software (Mint, etc.) - I believe that you get what you pay for and there is no such thing as 'free.'

I settled on Tiller and CountAbout and subscribed to both; I quickly decided that a spreadsheet is not what I wanted. I wanted something that worked a lot like Quicken and CountAbout fit the bill. It took me awhile to fully embrace it but once I did I've been very happy and would not go back to Quicken even if they offered a fully online version. The few times I've had a question about using CountAbout I've always gotten a response by the end of the day - and often in an hour or less. If feels like I'm working with a small enterprise that's interested in putting out a superior application, improving it and solving issues and responding to questions. I'm very satisfied!

 
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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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!

 
Nate E.
05-02-2016

Fantastic! I finally found a great replacement for Quicken! CountAbout is entirely cloud-based, so you can access it from whatever OS you happen to be using. And the mobile app isn't hamstrung like Quicken's. No looking back for me, this is a great app and a great service!

 
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Jeffrey Wilk
02-04-2018

Great product and great customer service. Thanks!

 
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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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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!!!

 
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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Ann
28-06-2021

Countabout's concept is awesome. I track checking and credit cards by transactions, and investments by total only. The reason for four stars is that periodically the investment accounts refuse to update the correct amount. Then, I have to unlink the account, delete the account then set up the account a second, third or fourth time. Often times, when trying to link a new account, CA logs me out. If you have patience, CA is a hundred times better than Quicken, but not yet perfect. Still trying to set up a credit card account after 6 attempts. At some point, it will click.

 
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Dana Linder
29-03-2019

This is an incredibly well thought out program.

It imports QIF files perfectly. I tried a number that failed miserably.

It has a function that emails reminders about scheduled transactions. That is an extremely useful function that I hadn't seen anywhere.

Tech support is second to none. All my questions were answered in detail within hours (sometimes minutes).

The companion phone app is very simple. You can browse, search, enter transactions and see scheduled transaction. That's really all you need on the phone.

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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Colin R. Vine
13-07-2021

I have been using Countabout Basic for a few months now and love the program. It is far and away better than any other personal finance program I have used.
I would recommend Countabout to anyone. Give it a try. The web interface is easy to use on my Chromebook and on my Android phone and tablet.
When I have had a query, the company has written back almost instantaneously. Great service!

 
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.

 
Mark Goldfarb
20-01-2017

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

 
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Wayne Everett
07-02-2022

I have been using Countabout for over 2 years. I got sick of quicken continuing to "improve" itself with crap I did not want, even if they did not increase their costs constantly. Countabout has done everything that I need. I have 20+ accounts linked and all is great!

 

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CountAbout® is an easy-to-use online personal finance application that imports data from Quicken and Mint and automatically downloads data from banking, credit card, and retirement accounts. With no software to install, we’re anywhere you have an Internet connection. Our platform is stable, secure, and totally private. Our dedicated customer service team is friendly, knowledgeable, and quick to respond.

Never lose track of your finances, or the big picture, with CountAbout. Sign up for a free 45-day trial today.

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