“Track every penny you spend.” I have heard this suggestion as a solution to my financial woes over and over again. If only I had a quarter for every time I heard it. Maybe all of those quarters would help take care of those financial struggles.

But I have slowly come to realize that tracking each penny doesn’t have to be difficult!

1. Your first step to success: Get a system. Finances are much more manageable if you are organized. Whether it be a pencil and paper or a computer program, your system should help you keep track of your money more efficiently.

2. SIMPLIFY. Get rid of as much paper as you possibly can. Consolidate accounts and only keep the credit cards that are completely necessary. Cancel unused accounts. Downsize the amount of junk mail you receive through the Direct Marketing Association’s mail preference service.

3. Keep everything in one place. A friend of mine scans her information onto her computer to keep on a file. Some people use notebooks to store receipts and bills. Some have a cubby in their house where they store financial documents. Whatever you prefer, put all of your financial information in the same place.

Once you have designated a place, use it only for finances. Keep it clean and organized.

When your stuff is disorganized, you wind up paying hundreds of dollars a year in bank fees, late charges, library fines, overdue fees and tax penaltiesTrust me on this one. I speak from painful experience. Organization will make your life so much easier!

4. Process your financial information regularly. Set aside a time each day or each week when you can pay bills, check your statements and look over receipts. This should only take about 10 minutes each day, or 30-45 minutes for the week.

Here are some easy-to-use online tools to consider:

• Online banking…quite possibly the most handy invention since the ipod. This is a great tool to check your balance and spendings whenever and wherever you need.
• Quicken online- a free online account to help you track all of your finances. I would highly suggest this program. It’s easy and free!

Whatever your system and whatever your routine, small steps can help you get your financial life back in order.

Courtesy of alancleaver_2000 on flickr.

Right now times are tough for just about everyone. Who isn’t looking for a way to save money? CNN posted an article called “3 Ways to Save Money This Spring,” and reminded us that it is possible to do things on a budget. Here are some ideas from the article with a few of our own added in.

Travel on the Cheap

As the Caribbean spring break comes to an end at the beginning of April, it is easier and easier for you to find cheap travel deals. How do you find those deals? Sign up for airline and hotel programs that offer discounts and reward points (try this site for several worth your time), sign up for emails, and keep an eye on flight booking sites like airfairwatchdog.com and kayak.com. Other sites to check out include smartertravel.com and onetravel.com.

But, don’t stop saving when you book your tickets. While on the road, save money by doing things like eating the continental breakfast at your hotel, stocking up on snacks from the grocery store instead of eating out for every meal, shopping around for souvenirs to find the best price, and taking advantage of things like senior, student and military discounts.

Don’t Withhold More For Taxes Than You Need To

Lots of people are unknowingly having too much withheld from their paychecks. Fixing this means a little extra each pay period you didn’t realize you had. Grab your last pay stub and tax return and head over to the withholding calculator at irs.gov, learn how to fill out your W-4 and then ask your payroll department to make any necessary adjustments.

Get Creative With Your Flexible Spending Account

Lots of employers let their employees use their previous year’s flexible spending account until March 15. Take advantage of this by spending it on things you wouldn’t normal think to spend it on: contact-lens solution, home pregnancy tests, acupuncture and more. Go to fsafeds.com for a list of things you may have never realized you can use your flexible spending account for.

Similar restaurants’ revenues only rose 0.6 percent in the United States and 5.4 percent in Europe. The low increase in the United States is blamed on snowstorms that kept people home throughout February.

As a result McDonald’s stock rose 0.2 percent in the New York Stock Exchange.

Does anyone disagree? Perhaps, but the numbers sure agree. Over 250 million iPods, 43 million iPhones, 32 million iPod touches sold to date and still too early to tell how many iPads will be sold.

Apple won this year’s vote by the highest margin ever for the number one spot. This puts Apple only two years away from tieing GE for most appearances in the top spot.

But why do people love Apple so much? One word: Product. Think of how much Apple has changed. They have changed the way we listen to music, design products and how we engage with the world aroudn us. They lead the market and we see copycats following suit after each of their products.

With this kind of trend, I won’t be surprised if we see a repeat next year.

Currently, the interest rates are the lowest they have been for decades.  The Federal Government says that they will not raise the federal fund rate for awhile, but declined to specify a specific time period.

 Investors are waiting in apprehension for the interest rate to change because they will have an impact on the markets. These changes will alter their strategies for finding success in their investments. They should be looking ahead and preparing for the changes to come now.

The deal falling through was another addition to the long list of disappointments that General Motors has faced lightly. After their losses on the Hummer, GM plans to focus on their four successful brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC.

They also plan to cease production of all other brands. Stopping the production of Hummer and closing the plant would mean the loss of jobs for over 3,000 people.

The Hummer was initially applauded for its fierce military image. However, after the increases in oil and gas prices its image evolved into an inefficient, low gas mileage vehicle.

Currently China is trying to promote the idea that their vehicles are friendly to the environment. The Hummer is not viewed as an environmentally vehicle, and would be this idea at risk. This is only a small part of the reason China company Tengzhong was unable to complete the deal.

This incompletion was the third deal to fall through for General Motors.

Sales of new homes dropped last month to the lowest they have ever been since the government started keeping track back in 1963.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home sales was reported at 11.2% to 309,000 for January.  In December, the rate was 348,000.  This caught many economist by surprised who expected January sales to rise to an annual rate of 354,000.

All while this was going on, an estimated 254,000 new homes went on sale.  At the current sales rate, it will take 9.1 months to sell through that inventory.

January’s median new home sale price dropped $17,800 from the previous month’s sales. Like I said, if you are in the market to buy a house this is a good time to buy.

These companies will also be required to notify borrowers of any change to their interest rate 45 days before the change will take place. There are new restrictions regarding over-limit fees and offering credit cards to people under the age of 21.

These changes occurred through the Credit CARD (Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure) Act signed in 2009. There are many mixed opinions on whether this act will be beneficial or detrimental overall in the long run.

For the time being, these changes will save millions of dollars for the general population in fees, fluctuating interest rates, and other charges. As borrowers can now feel assured that they will know how much they will need to pay and when they will be able to take better control of their accounts and their debt.

On the other hand, the banks are going to lose access to the millions of dollars that the general population will save. Many people expect interest rates to rise in response to the Credit CARD act. These new interest rates will affect all credit card holders and not only those who fail to pay on time.

To read more about the credit card reform visit: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/CreditCardSmarts/card-act-what-to-know.aspxref=nofollow

The CNN ratings were based on local economies, schools, affordable homes, crime rate and other related issues. Here are the top 10:

1. Louisville, CO
2. Chanhassen, MN
3. Papillion, NE
4. Middleton, WI
5. Milton, MA
6. Warren, NJ
7. Keller, TX
8. Peachtree City, GA
9. Lake St. Louis, MO
10. Mukilteo, WA

The database included 1,800-plus U.S. cities including towns with populations 8,500 to 50,000 with satisfactory education and crime scores, where income is below 200% of the state median, and that are no more that 95% white.

Thain’s new position starts immediately at the CIT base in New York. John Thain will be filling the shoes of Jeffrey Peek, who was also an executive at Merrill Lynch.

John Thain had been forced to give up his position at Merrill & Lynch following Bank of America’s purchase of Merrill & Lynch in 2008. Currently, CIT Group Inc. faces financial troubles due to subprime lending previous to bankruptcy.

CIT Group offers business loans to over 3,000 companies a major railcar leaser and aircraft financer in the United States. They employed 4,480 employees as of September which is tiny compared to Merrill & Lynch.

Thain commented that, “This is a company that’s over 100 years old and its core business is lending to small- and medium-sized companies…If we’re going to get the U.S. economy to continue to grow, if we’re going to create jobs, then we need to have this kind of a company do well.”