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Monday Night Finance- Volume 41

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Monday, 23 November 2020 / Published in Monday Night Finance

Monday Night Finance- Volume 41

Holiday Gifts: Managing Expectations with your Kids

This week is Thanksgiving, which means it is the start of the traditional holiday shopping season. (Although to be fair, it seems to start immediately after Halloween nowadays). Do you typically have a plan for your Holiday shopping? Perhaps you have a dollar amount you normally spend for each child. Or maybe you try to buy the perfect gift regardless of the cost. Have you ever regretted a holiday purchase? While you can draw from your past Holiday shopping experiences, this year is a blank slate.

Yes, we want to see their faces lit up with joy when they get that new toy they’ve always wanted, but we also want to make sure we’re not going into major credit card debt to get those smiles. With the “perfect” gifts, you and your kids may both be smiling in December, but come March when you’re still paying down that debt … you won’t be smiling anymore. ~Marriage Kids and Money

In this article, Andy Hill, of Marriage Kids and Money talks about how to manage Holiday gift expectations with your children. Andy states that the average family goes into debt to buy Christmas presents and that many of these families continue to pay for these presents well into the Spring. Given the uncertainty in the economy with COVID-19, this might be a great year to scale back holiday spending so that it is affordable. Andy breaks down five tips for how to manage holiday spending and expectations. The first step? Setting up a budget using a budgeting app (like CountAbout). Check out the article for the remainder of the tips.

32 Best Passive Income Ideas for 2021

Passive income is a key concept in becoming wealthy. In case you didn’t know, passive income is where your money makes money for you. In a very simple case, this could be the interest that your money earns in a savings account. However, it would be hard to live of the few pennies that savings accounts generate. If you’re able to build up enough passive income, you never have to work another day. Because passive income has the power to transform your life, there’s lots of people selling the idea of passive income. Before you put down money for a one-of-a-kind-life-transforming seminar at a hotel ballroom, check out this free article by Financial Wolves.

Among the most powerful ways to generate wealth is to leverage passive income, meaning that you are generating revenue with little or no effort, even while you sleep. You’ll find no shortage of passive income strategies in bookstores and online, each with their strengths and weaknesses.

In this article, Kyle from Financial Wolves presents an ultimate guide to earning passive income. While many websites suggest you can “earn passive income through real estate”, Kyle shows you many different ways to do so. These ideas range from buying an income property to investing in a crowdfunding real estate website to taking in roommates (i.e. house-hacking). And those are just a few of the ways he details how to make money with real estate. Stocks are another great way to earn passive income. Similar to real estate, the article breaks down many different ways to make money with investments from certificates of deposit (CD) to peer-to-peer lending. Finally, the article presents alternative ways to generate passive income, like becoming an entrepreneur and growing a business. Check out the article for all 32 different passive income strategies!

Remote Learning During COVID-19: How It’s Going So Far

COVID-19 has completely changed the entire world economy in just a few short months. It has given rise to “Zoom Happy Hours”, changed whether people want to live in cities, and even how many of us get our groceries. But one of the biggest changes for parents has been school. In the spring, many schools closed and parents were trapped inside their house with their children for weeks upon weeks. Depending on where you live, school this fall could look one of a multitude of ways. Your children may be forced to attend virtual school or instruction could be 100% in person. There are also a multitude of hybrid options as well.

In my Q3 2020 update, I shared our decision to enroll our kids in remote learning this year. It was a difficult choice; in order to register for remote learning, we had to withdraw our kids from their home schools.

In this post, Chrissy from Eat, Sleep, Breathe FI shares her parenting story during COVID-19. This fall, Chrissy had the option to send her kids to in-person school (she lives in Canada). However, she opted to send her children (ages 12 and 15) to a virtual school. Virtual schools operate under the same standards as normal schools but they are fully virtual. Chrissy calls it the perfect mix of homeschooling and traditional schooling. Chrissy decided to enroll her children in virtual school for three reasons- COVID, academic concerns (some of which involve COVID), and aspirational concerns. Since Chrissy is working towards FI- she could imagine a scenario where the kids attend a virtual school and they could travel full time. If you’re considering virtual schooling, Chrissy does an amazing job of talking about the pros and cons. It’s well worth the read!

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What you can read next

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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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About Us

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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Madison, WI 53715
(608) 313-5629

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