When the world of money feels as if it's moving at 1,000 miles and hour, and new, sometimes contradictory information never seems to stop coming, the ability to discern what's noise, what matters, and what to do about it is invaluable. Here are some websites to help you as you consider money decisions.
Your Budget
How can I cut my spending so that I can save more?
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mint.com |
Mint brings all your financial
accounts together online, automatically categorizes your transactions,
lets you set budgets and helps you achieve your savings goals. |
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daveramsey.com
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Start with your income on top, then walk through your expenses. Recommended percentages are included to assist you in your budget creation. |
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Your Wallet
Is it time to dump my rewards card for a better one?
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nerdwallet.com |
NerdWallet is a credit card comparison site; you simply put in info about your overall spending, along with estimates
of spending in certain categories (gas, grocery/drugstore, dining) to
see what reward cards might be right for you.
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creditcardtuneup.com
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CreditCardTune-Up analyzes your charging and payment patterns, based on the info you
supply, and offers you a list of the cards that may have the best rewards
for you. |
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How can I find a better-paying savings account?
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billshrink.com |
BillShrink provides a free, web-based service that provides users with
personalized recommendations for everyday services such as cell phone
plans and credit cards. |
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bankrate.com |
Bankrate is a site of personal finance channels,
including banking, investing, taxes, debt management and college
finance. |
Your Credit
How good is my credit?
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annualcreditreport.com |
AnnualCreditReport allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
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quizzle.com |
Quizzle is a free website that provides you with important information
about your home, money and credit so you can make smart financial
decisions. |
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creditkarma.com
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Credit Karma, in addition to free credit scores, has a wealth of tools
and content to help consumers better understand how credit scores and
credit reports work. |
Your Home
Should I refinance?
How far will my mortgage balance drop
after 7 years?
How soon can my refinance pay for itself?
How much do I
need to make each month to qualify for a mortgage of a certain size? |
hsh.com |
If you’re shopping for a mortgage, a financial calculator designed to
answer specific mortgage questions can go a long way toward making your
course of action clear in just a few clicks.
With HSH.com’s mortgage calculators, complex financing decisions become
simpler. This free resource puts you in control: you can run the numbers
to confirm a mortgage lender’s figures or become comfortable with
different home loan scenarios before getting in touch with a lender. |
Your Portfolio
| Do I need to save more for retirement? |
basic.esplanner.com |
ESPlannerBASIC generates life-cycle spending, saving,
and life insurance suggestions, which can be used as educational input
as you develop your complete financial plan. |
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choosetosave.org/ballpark |
The Ballpark E$timate is an easy-to-use, two-page worksheet that helps
you quickly identify approximately how much you need to save to fund a
comfortable retirement. |
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Do I have the right mix of investments?
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morningstar.com |
Instant X-Ray analyzes your holdings. To
use Instant X-Ray, enter ticker symbols and specify an allocation for
each holding.
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How do "life events" like getting married, having a baby, buying a home, etc. affect my money?
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mymoney.gov |
MyMoney is the U.S. government's website dedicated to teaching the basics about financial education. |
Your Education
Where can I find information to compare colleges and universities?
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collegenavigator.gov |
College Navigator is a free consumer
information tool designed to help students, parents, high school
counselors, and others get information about over 7000 post-secondary institutions in the United States.
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collegeboard.org
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Find colleges, learn about financial aid and use expert college planning tools.
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Your Giving
| Should I give to this charity? |
charitynavigator.org |
Charity Navigator works to advance a more efficient and
responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of over
5,500 of America's
largest charities. |
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give.org
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The Better Business Bureau's charity evaluator to help you make informed pre-donation decisions. |
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charitywatch.org
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The American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP) is a nationally
prominent charity watchdog service whose purpose is to help donors
make informed giving decisions.
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Your Dependents
How much life insurance do I need?
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lifehappens.org |
The Life and Health Insurance Foundation
for Education (LIFE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping
consumers make smart insurance decisions to safeguard their families’
financial futures.
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| Should I keep or replace my cash value life insurance policy? (i.e., whole life, universal life or variable life) |
evaluatelifeinsurance.org
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Using the Linton Yield Method, this organization calculates returns derived by comparing
the cash value policy to the alternative of buying lower premium term
insurance and investing the premium savings in a hypothetical
alternative investment, such as a bank account or a mutual fund. |
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