In 2006, recent Harvard grad Alexa von Tobel was headed for a job at Morgan Stanley. But though she would soon be managing the bank’s investments, she realized she didn’t know the first thing about her own finances. Most financial guides seemed to be written for middle-aged readers with millions in assets, rather than recent college grads. “I was reading every book I could find, but none of them spoke to me,” she says. So she came up with the idea for LearnVest, an online personal-finance resource for young women like her, and ended up writing an 80-page business plan.

After two years at Morgan Stanley, von Tobel entered Harvard Business School in 2008. But upon winning a business plan competition held by Astia, a non-profit that supports women entrepreneurs, she took a five-year leave of absence and invested $75,000 of her Wall Street earnings to start LearnVest in November. She quickly enlisted advisors, including Betsy Morgan, the former CEO of the Huffington Post, and Catherine Levene, the former COO of DailyCandy, to help develop the site’s content and technology. In January 2009, she secured $1.1 million in seed funding from executives at Goldman Sachs.

LearnVest’s site launched a year later and has since signed up more than 100,000 members. It offers online budgeting calculators, video chats with certified financial planners on the company’s staff, and free e-mail tutorials on topics such as opening an IRA. The company earns revenue from advertising and by referring its users to companies such as TD Ameritrade. In April, after just four weeks of fundraising, von Tobel closed a $4.5 million investment round led by Accel Partners, which has also invested in Facebook and Etsy. (Incidentally, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg lived in the same dorm as von Tobel at Harvard.)

Von Tobel likens LearnVest to an online version of The Suze Orman Show, but with the goal of reinforcing positive finance habits early on. “Suze Orman helps 45-year-old women get out of debt,” she says. “Why not reach 20-year-olds to keep them from getting into debt?”

Five Best Personal Money Management Sites

Web-based financial management tools have grown in sophistication to the point where many people manage their entire financial lives with online tools. Here's a look at five of the most popular personal money management sites.

Photo a mashup of images by Leonardini and Wilton.

Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite personal money management site; now we're back to highlight the five most popular contenders.

Click on the screenshots below to take a closer look.

Buxfer (Basic: Free, Premium: From $2.79/month)

Many people are hesitant to use online banking services because of security concerns. Buxfer's compromise to provide ease of use while also assuring users and keeping things as controlled as they would like is to offer multiple methods for storing your credentials. You can manually synchronize your financial accounts with the site, you can store your passwords and login credentials locally using Google Gears, Firefox, or Safari, or you can use the Firebux Firefox extension—Firebux helps you automate the process of downloading financial data from your banking institutions and reviewing Buxfer data. If you'd like to skip the hassle of handling your own syncing, Buxfer offers automatic nightly syncing of your financial data, automatically logging into and pulling data from your various online money portals. Buxfer comes in three flavors: Basic (free), Plus ($2.79 per month), and Pro ($3.79 per month). All accounts include features like split bills, automatic tagging, and mobile access, but you'll pay a premium for unlimited budgets, bill reminders, and balance projections. You can try a live demo of Buxfer here.

Yodlee MoneyCenter (Free)

As many readers were quick to point out, Yodlee provides the guts to the user sites for hundreds of banking and financial services. Organizations like Mint, Thrive, and large banks like Chase use rebranded but Yodlee-powered interfaces. Yodlee users will often characterize Yodlee as similar to Mint, but without such a strong emphasis on flashy graphics. Instead it focuses more on analyzing your raw data—transaction descriptions, for example, are easier to search and more detailed. Yodlee can import data from thousands of institutions, help you generate a budget, automate your bill paying, and send out user-defined alerts. If you like the idea of a site like Mint but want more fine-grained control and the ability to manually tweak things when necessary, Yodlee is a solid alternative.

Mint (Free)

Mint has risen to prominence as a major player among web-based financial management tools by putting an extreme emphasis on user-friendliness and automation. The focus on automation is so strong, in fact, they only recently added the ability to add in any sort of manual transactions. By providing Mint with your various logins, you can track all your financial accounts in one place—checking, savings, credit cards, investments—and easily generate budgets and projections based off your data. Mint has won many people over, especially in the younger demographic, by being the first tool they've used to really get a good look at their money and where it's going.

ClearCheckbook (Basic: Free, Premium: $4/month)

ClearCheckbook is a web-based checking account ledger on steroids. You can track your spending, input your daily expenses from the web-interface or from your iPhone, Android, or Palm, and generate a budget with spending limits. Upgrading to a premium account gets you a custom report tool, custom transaction fields, future balance projection, and editing of the auto-suggest feature. Visit ClearCheckbook at the link above to check out the video tours of both the free and premium accounts—available at the bottom of the main page.

Mvelopes ($39.60/quarter)

Mvelopes is a robust web-based financial tool built on the old principle of budgeting with envelopes—each budget category gets an envelope with a set amount of money. Its focus on an old budgeting technique, however, doesn't mean you're stuck with dated tools. Mvelopes automatically pulls transaction data from hundreds of financial institutions, supports automatic bill payment, and helps you generate snapshots of your net worth as you adjust your budget and goals. Mvelopes is notable for being the only contender in the Hive without a free account option, a testament perhaps to how happy people are with the service that it made an appearance in the top five despite the lack of free-as-in-beer option.

Now that you've had a chance to look over the top five contenders for best personal money management sites, it's time to cast a vote for your favorite:

Have a favorite web-based tool that didn't get a nod or want to talk up your favorite a bit more? Let's hear it in the comments. Have an idea for the next Hive Five? Send us an email at tips@lifehacker.com with “Hive Five” in the subject line and we'll do our best to get your idea the attention it deserves.

Send an email to Jason Fitzpatrick, the author of this post, at jason@lifehacker.com.

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Health <b>News</b> « Dprogram.net

Newsletter. Dprogram.net news, once daily, in your mailbox. -Click Here. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Most Viewed. Exotic High Tech Explosives Positively Identified in World Trade …

Going Global: George Stephanopoulos And ABC <b>News</b> Execs Discuss New <b>…</b>

Earlier this week, ABC News launched a new iPad application that adds a twist to the way most apps present the news: a third dimension. Fire up the app and you're immediately faced with a nifty-looking globe that's covered in headlines …

Small Business <b>News</b>: Getting Things Right | Small Business <b>News</b> <b>…</b>

Marketer Mark Brimm hates when gurus tell entrepreneurs and other marketers they're doing it wrong. Though there are certainly right ways and wrong ways to.

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Health <b>News</b> « Dprogram.net

Newsletter. Dprogram.net news, once daily, in your mailbox. -Click Here. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Most Viewed. Exotic High Tech Explosives Positively Identified in World Trade …

Going Global: George Stephanopoulos And ABC <b>News</b> Execs Discuss New <b>…</b>

Earlier this week, ABC News launched a new iPad application that adds a twist to the way most apps present the news: a third dimension. Fire up the app and you're immediately faced with a nifty-looking globe that's covered in headlines …

Small Business <b>News</b>: Getting Things Right | Small Business <b>News</b> <b>…</b>

Marketer Mark Brimm hates when gurus tell entrepreneurs and other marketers they're doing it wrong. Though there are certainly right ways and wrong ways to.

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If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable’sMashable Job Lists section gathers together all of our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to Leverage Social Media for Career Success and How to Find a Job on Twitter.

But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable’s job boards are a place for socially savvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space and beyond. Have a look at what’s good and new on our job boards:

Mashable Job Board Listings

Senior Manager, Social Mediasocial media & Marketing at Electronic Arts in Redwood City, CA.

The Senior Manager, Social Media & Marketing is responsible for developing, communicating and implementing a comprehensive social marketing strategy against EA’s priority titles and initiatives.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Area Sales Manager at AT&T in Tulsa, OK.

Join us as an Area Sales Manager-InternetInternet.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Account Executive at Social Media Link in New York, NY.

This position demands a skilled and creative strategist, able to communicate technical topics in a clear and concise manner.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Strategist at iCrossing in New York, NY.

As a Senior Analyst in this group, you will help plan and execute social media marketing programs for clients.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Digital Strategy at Hill Holiday in Fairhaven, MA.

While serving as the digital marketing lead for a set of clients, you will build the case for digital solutions and help conceive and execute marketing programs that cross digital channels, integrate with offline media and push interactive innovation.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Art Director at Digitas in Philadelphia, PA.

The Art Director at Digitas will be responsible for the conception, design, and execution of innovative visual materials for integrated, cross channel initiatives including: large web initiatives, online advertising, digital marketing, direct marketing and/or print advertising.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Web Developer at Clorox Creative in Oakland, CA.

We are looking for a contract Senior Web Developer experienced in building modern web sites and web apps utilizing OO PHP5 and Javascript/Ajax functionality.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Experienced Front End Developer at Clorox Creative in Oakland, CA.

Looking for a true front-end HTML and CSS guru that hand codes.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Project Manager at Infuse Creative in Santa Monica, CA.

The Project Manager’s role is a mission critical client interface and project management role.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Vice President, Digital Strategy at Ketchum in New York, NY.

We’re looking for a Vice President/Digital Strategy to join our ranks, an individual deeply ingrained in media culture, “pull-not-push” marketing and the dynamics of on- and off-line community building.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Ambassador at Buick in Chicago, IL.

To kick-off this program, Buick is seeking three Brand Ambassadors in Chicago who will serve as the in-car Buick representatives during Tweet to Drive.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Facebook Engineer at Demandforce in San Francisco, CA.

Demandforce is looking for an outstanding individual to join the engineering team, reporting directly to the CTO.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Engineering Manager at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.

We are seeking an Engineering Manager to direct the development, creation, and modification of computer applications software and specialized utility programs.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Online Marketing and Engagement Manager at Make-A-Wish Foundation in Phoenix, AZ.

This position is responsible for the tactical implementation of online marketing and key audience engagement functions at the National Office to advance the Foundation’s goals in corporate and individual fundraising, mission delivery, chapter support and brand advancement.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Manager at PETA in Los Angeles, CA.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) seeks a social media manager to lead PETA’s award-winning social media efforts which include PETA’s Facebook and Twitter presences, PETA’s popular blog, The PETA Files, and online activism efforts.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Community Editor at AOL in New York, NY.

Urlesque.com, AOL’s internet trends and web humor site, is looking for a NYC-based temporary freelance community editor to engage, grow and interact with the Urlesque audience.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director of Engineering at Synacor in San Francisco, CA.

We are seeking a Director of Engineering who will be responsible for leading a team of Internet developers and architects in a fast-paced and quickly growing company.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Intern at All Wet Beachwear in Hollywood, FL.

We are seeking a Social Media Public Relations Intern who has the passion, drive and knowledge to develop an effective and cutting edge social media campaign.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director of Engineering at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.

We are seeking a Director of Engineering who will be responsible for leading a team of Internet developers and architects in a fast-paced and quickly growing company.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Editor in Chief, Startup at Life and Home Style Digital Network in Los Angeles, CA.

You must have digital exp., knowledge and interest in consumer/lifestyle, emerging home design and its customers.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Manager, Marketing at Digitas in New York, NY.

Day-to-day management of all digital media (online advertising), offline media (print, direct mail) strategy, production and execution through strong partnership with extended teams.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Platform Engineer at Gilt Groupe in New York, NY.

As a hands-on Senior Software Engineer for Gilt Groupe on our platform team, you’ll help develop and maintain the scalable data and services platform upon with the Gilt Group sites are built.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Application Engineer at Gilt Groupe in New York, NY.

The Application Engineer is responsible for developing applications for the production websites ranging from search, product presentation, usability etc.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Multiple Job Openings via UrgentCareer in New York, NY, Silicon Valley and elsewhere.

We currently are managing over 80 positions from more than 50 top companies.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director, Social Media at National Association of Home Builders in Washington DC.

This position serves as the technical point of contact for the NAHB social media and social networking activities.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Applications Engineer at Triton Digital Media in Kentucky.

Triton Digital Media, a quickly growing media company,is looking for experienced social media application developers in Cincinnati, Ohio and the surrounding area.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director, Online Content at National Association of Home Builders in Washington DC.

This newly created position is responsible for ensuring that NAHB’s website and social media networks clearly and effectively communicate the association’s messages, promotes its products and services and provides high-quality information and content to numerous publics.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Online Marketing Specialist at Quikbook.com in New York, NY.

Group of successful ecommerce travel websites seeks a new team member to head customer acquisition efforts.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director of Engineering at Gilt Groupe in New York, NY.

Lead software development activities such as software design, development, unit testing, documentation, integration testing, deployment documentation, code reviews, adherence to software development standards

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Planner at Wunderman in New York, NY.

The Senior Planner (eCommerce) will articulate consumer insights to drive digital demand generation communications strategies and programs related to eCommerce for local sales units.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Youth Marketing Manager at PETA in Los Angeles, CA.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) seeks a youth marketing manager to build awareness and recognition of PETA’s campaigns and reach the youth (teen, high school and college) audience with PETA’s message through media, special events and peer-to-peer marketing.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Manager of Creative Media Design and Development at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, IN.

The Manager of Creative Media Design & Development is a hands-on management position responsible for the design, development, implementation and maintenance of gallery creative media to drive significant new and repeat visitation to the museum and to enhance the visitor experience.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Intern, Marketing at The Walt Disney Company – Disney Retail in Los Angeles.

The successful candidate will join our internal marketing team as an intern to monitor our social media presence, become an ‘intra-preneuer’ serve as a customer service agent, develop, implement and monitor successful campaigns resulting in real world results and author social media activities.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Sr Software Engineer at IGN Entertainment in San Francisco, CA.

IGN Entertainment is looking for a passionate Rails engineer who believes an agile development and believes in vertical ownership of technology stack. ExperienceeXperience with large scale production systems and Java is a plus.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Digital Communications at Bayada Nurses in New Jersey.

We seek an experienced and results-driven Senior Digital Manager to join our Communications team to develop and direct digital strategies for Bayada Nurses.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Storage Administrator at Synacor in San Francisco, CA.

We are seeking a Senior Storage Administrator who will work under limited supervision, administer all aspects of an advanced storage area network.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Storage Administrator at Synacor in Los Angeles, CA.

We are seeking a Senior Storage Administrator who will work under limited supervision, administer all aspects of an advanced storage area network.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Webmaster at Pacific-10 Conference in Walnut Creek, CA.

The webmaster will oversee the editorial and technical operation of Pac-10.org and also contribute to our long-range site strategy and planning.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Analyst, Strategy and Analysis at Digitas in Detroit, MI.

The Digitas Strategy & Analysis Group is responsible for driving strategic thinking and economic insight across multiple client engagements

Read more about this opportunity here.

Sr Copywriter at Digitas in Philadelphia, PA.

As an Integrated Sr. Copywriter for Digitas you are responsible for the conception and execution of innovative copy for integrated, cross channel initiatives including large web initiatives, online advertising, digital marketing, print advertising and/or direct mail.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Customer Experience Manager at GigMasters.com in Redding, CT.

GigMasters.com, based in Redding, CT, is seeking an experienced manager to supervise our dynamic Customer Experience Team.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Product Manager, Mobile at HealthCentral in Arlington, VA.

Understand the company’s vision and lead product and business development for our mobile services in tracking health symptoms and care.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Front End Developers at Modea in Blacksburg, VA.

Modea is looking for developers who can create engaging, interactive experiences on platforms ranging from small micro-sites to large, global, multilingual enterprise systems.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Interactive Website Project Manager at TIG Global in Chevy Chase, MD.

As a result of continued growth and expansion, we are currently seeking an Interactive Website Project Manager

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director, Social Marketing at Yahoo! in Sunnyvale, CA.

We are seeking a dynamic, creative and innovative leader to drive social marketing programs at Yahoo!

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Manager at Milestone Internet Marketing in Santa Clara, CA.

Milestone Internet Marketing in Santa Clara, CA is seeking a Social Media Manager within the travel vertical.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Intern – Social Media at Vans in Cypress, CA.

The Vans Direct to Consumer Communications intern assists the department with social media efforts both internally and externally

Read more about this opportunity here.

CSS Producer at Buddy Media in New York, NY.

Work extensively implementing sites into our Platform/CMS from HTML/CSS templates.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Mashable’s Job Board has a variety of web 2.0, application development, business development and social networking job opportunities available. Check them out at here.

Got a job posting to share with our readers? Post a job to Mashable today ($99 for a 30 day listing) and get it highlighted every week on Mashable.com (in addition to exposure all day every day in the Mashable marketplace).

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Today I was able to catch up with Gary Key who is a Technical Marketing Manager for ASUS to ask him a few questions about Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview 3.

James : Thanks for your time Gary. As a Technical Marketing Manager, how have you been involved with the release of Internet Explorer Platform Preview 3?

Gary : It’s really exciting to be involved! ASUS has been providing both mainstream and cutting edge hardware to Microsoft to ensure the best possible user experience with Internet Explorer 9. Not only have we been supplying exciting hardware for testing but we’ve also been providing input and feedback on how to make IE9 perform its absolute best on ASUS products.

James : You said that it’s been exciting being involved with Platform Preview 3. What’s been most exciting for you?

Gary : Here at ASUS we’ve been at the forefront of netbook and notebook innovation by providing the type of CPU and graphical processing power that Internet Explorer 9 thrives on. For example, we shipped the first Intel Atom dual-core with NVIDIA ION powered netbooks, NVIDIA 3D Vision enabled notebooks and one of the first DX11 gaming notebooks powered by ATI’s Mobility Radeon HD 5870 GPU. It’s this type of power that enables IE9 to provide an extremely responsive and interactive user experience on the Web. ASUS’ continued commitment to provide excellent CPU and GPU performance in its mobile products along with Microsoft’s innovative use of hardware acceleration in IE9 will help to create an unlimited possibilities for new Web applications that are both graphically and functionally rich.

James : You mentioned some of your innovative hardware. I’ve had my eye on your U30Jc or UL80Vt notebooks. How will they perform with the latest Platform Preview?

Gary : Thanks to the Intel dual-core processor and discreet graphics performance of the NVIDIA mobile GPU chipset in either notebook the user experience with Internet Explorer 9 will be incredible. In fact, even our AMD based Eee PC 1201T netbook will provide enough graphical and CPU processing power to ensure the user has a terrific web experience with IE9.

James : How about elsewhere in your range? Is there a price point or a particular type of machine I should be looking for?

Gary : We have a vast number of new mobile products launching this summer that are built with Internet Explorer 9 in mind. Everything from our upcoming Eee PC 1215N netbook and slim and light U35Jc notebook to the new 3D capable Republic of Gamers G53 gaming notebook will offer users a rich and interactive internet experience with IE9.

James : So do I need to buy a new notebook or workstation to take advantage of the hardware acceleration in Internet Explorer 9?

Gary : Not at all. We’ve been using discrete graphics and multi-core processors in most of our machines since we started shipping Windows Vista and Windows 7 machines so Internet Explorer 9 will be able to take advantage of that horsepower too. Of course, buying a new shiny notebook with an aluminum body never hurts does it?

James : You’re really trying to talk me into that U30Jc aren’t you? One last thing, what’s your favorite Platform Preview 3 demo on the www.ietestdrive.com site and why?

Gary : That’s a very difficult question to answer. I really do not have a single favorite Internet Explorer Platform Preview 3 demo as they all show how the combination of IE9 and the processing power available in ASUS mobile products will provide a uniquely rich, responsive and interactive Web experience for the user. However, I would have to say during testing that we probably ran the Flickr Explorer demo the most as it truly displayed the power of our current and upcoming mobile products when using IE9.

James : Gary thank you so much for your time.

Gary : It’s been a pleasure.

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<b>News</b> Roundup: Gabriel Macht Joins USA Network Pilot, 'Glee' Casts <b>…</b>

Gabriel Macht, known to many for his role in 'The Spirit,' is getting a very 'Legal' state of mind. Macht has joined the cast of USA.

This Week's Health Industry <b>News</b> – Prescriptions Blog – NYTimes.com

More earnings reports from health insurers and drug companies, as well as agency hearings on medical devices.

Shakesville: Today in Not <b>News</b>: The Afghanistan War Blows

The biggest news about this leak should be that the horror the documents reveal isn't actually news. Not to anyone who's been paying attention to the war we're totally not supposed to be paying attention to. …

Forget the coupon clipping. A straightforward, realistic budget is the best deal you'll ever find.

Why is a budget the best deal? Because, just like your childhood puppy your budget will always be there for you, no expiration dates, no fine print to yank away the savings after you've already been whipped into a furry of consumerism. If you care for your budget it will take care of you so that “saving” isn't just not unnecessarily spending an extra $5 at the grocery store this week; but actually saving money in a high yield savings account. Another great thing about a budget is that, again like your puppy, it will take you back even if you screw up.

Think outside the sale. For years I chased after deals and discounts like they were the oxygen keeping me alive. It didn't matter if I needed an item or not — if there was a sticker advertising 60, 70, 80 or 90% off a gadget, I wanted to buy it. How could I pass up the savings?

It wasn't until recently that I realized a budget is the best deal you can find. After taking a few minutes to look at how to put together a budget I realized that it takes less time to set up and follow a budget than it does to look for deals every day of the week.

Thanks to great free personal finance management (PFM) tools from sites such as like Mint.com, Rudder and others you can easily create a budget and track how well you are following it each day. These tools will even send you a notification when you go outside of your budget so you aren't shocked at the end of the month. If you don't already have a successful budget don't start creating one yet. First go read these tips for setting realistic budget.

Advice on Budgeting

• Reverse Budget – A savings first solution from FiveCentNickel
• Budgeting basics – a Budget primer from Consumerism Commentary including suggestions on how to get started.

My personal favorite and current method of budgeting isn't so much a budget as it is smart spending. Ramit Sethi explains the model in his book I Will Teach You to Be Rich, calling it, “Conscious Spending.” Instead of focusing on the minutia Sethi concedes that it is in fact OK to, “Spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don't.”

A budget may be the best deal, but that doesn't mean you need to give up on coupon clipping and bargain hunting; just make these tools that support your plan instead of the main focus. If you plan for your purchases, by saving up at SmartyPig or setting a goal in Rudder, you can still go looking for a deal on your next purchase and pay in cash. Trust me, there's something really incredible about paying in cash for the new camera that you've researched and found the best deal on.Thanks to great free personal finance management (PFM) tools from sites such as like Mint.com, Rudder and others you can easily create a budget and track how well you are following it each day. These tools will even send you a notification when you go outside of your budget so you aren't shocked at the end of the month. If you don't already have a successful budget don't start creating one yet. First go read these tips for setting realistic budget.

Advice on Budgeting

• Reverse Budget – A savings first solution from FiveCentNickel
• Budgeting basics – a Budget primer from Consumerism Commentary including suggestions on how to get started.

My personal favorite and current method of budgeting isn't so much a budget as it is smart spending. Ramit Sethi explains the model in his book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich, calling it, “conscious spending.” Instead of focusing on the minutia Sethi concedes that it is in fact wise to “spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don't.”

A budget may be the best deal, but that doesn't mean you need to give up on coupon clipping and bargain hunting; just make these tools that support your plan instead of the main focus. If you plan for your purchases, by saving up at SmartyPig or setting a goal in Rudder, you can still go looking for a deal on your next purchase and pay in cash. Trust me, there's something really incredible about paying in cash for the new camera that you've researched and found the best deal on.
Mint.com is arguably one of the most popular personal finance management tools out there. For all that it has done well, up until this week, it hasn't been the best place to track financial goals. Now, with the introduction of Mint Goals you can link all of your financial goals with the accounts that you have connected to Mint to better track your progress.

Mint Goals improves on the Planning section, which Mint users had until now used for goal-setting. The new Mint Goals section provides users with eight goal areas which can be tailored to the individual so that the goal is realistic and achievable. These eight goals include getting out of debt, saving for an emergency, saving for retirement, buying a home, buying a car, saving for college, taking a trip and improving your home; you can also set a custom goal.

Mint Goals Video from the Wall Street Journal:

When you create a goal Mint will ask you a few questions to find out when you want to achieve it and suggest a monthly contribution to this account. If you have Mint connected to all of your accounts the service can use the data it already has to automate some of the planning process. For example, if you are setting up an emergency fund, Mint knows about how much you spend a month so it is easy to figure out how much you need to cover three months' worth of living expenses. If you are working to pay down debt, and have your credit cards linked, you'll get a look at what you owe and a pay-down plan based on that amount.

After you choose the amount you want to save, Mint allows you to link the goal to a specific account, add a new account or suggests an account to open that fits the goal's purpose. When I was setting up an emergency fund goal, Mint shared several high yield savings accounts.

If your goal is getting out of debt, Mint may suggest that you get a loan through a partner like Lending Club, a peer to peer lender that offers personal loans at rates more than 50% lower than the average credit card APR. The suggested accounts are not all encompassing and you should still take a few steps to find the best bank or account for you.

In addition to budgeting for your day-to-day expenses, setting a goal for purchases and events such as buying a new HDTV, a house or taking a vacation is an important step to getting out of debt and staying out. If you need help after setting up your goals, Mint provides a checklist of to-do items and advice. You can also come back to WalletPop to learn more about all topics personal finance.

What do you think about the new Mint Goals?
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Table Scraps — Food &amp; Drink <b>News</b> You Might've Missed, Quickly

Presenting the sixth installment of “Table Scraps”: Where we suck the tasty marrow out of the past weeks' food & drink news. See also:Table Scraps, the inaugural editionTable Scraps, Volume IITable Scraps, Volume IIITable Scraps, …

Energy and Global Warming <b>News</b> for July 24rd, 2010: World's first <b>…</b>

You probably won't hear it from columnist George F. Will, Fox News commentators or the plethora of conservative blogs that have claimed global warming essentially stopped in 1998, but recent figures released by the National Oceanic and …

Hillary Rodham Clinton Says Despite Withdrawal Plans, US, World <b>…</b>

(July 20) — US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told an international conference in Kabul today that the United States and the world will stand with Afghanistan even after Washington begins withdrawing its troops next summer.

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Table Scraps — Food &amp; Drink <b>News</b> You Might've Missed, Quickly

Presenting the sixth installment of “Table Scraps”: Where we suck the tasty marrow out of the past weeks' food & drink news. See also:Table Scraps, the inaugural editionTable Scraps, Volume IITable Scraps, Volume IIITable Scraps, …

Energy and Global Warming <b>News</b> for July 24rd, 2010: World's first <b>…</b>

You probably won't hear it from columnist George F. Will, Fox News commentators or the plethora of conservative blogs that have claimed global warming essentially stopped in 1998, but recent figures released by the National Oceanic and …

Hillary Rodham Clinton Says Despite Withdrawal Plans, US, World <b>…</b>

(July 20) — US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told an international conference in Kabul today that the United States and the world will stand with Afghanistan even after Washington begins withdrawing its troops next summer.

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International scam artists defraud Americans out of more than $1 billion every year, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC warns that global con artists are adept at reaching out across national borders via phone, email, snail mail, and web sites to trick unsuspecting victims into sending cash or revealing personal financial information.

To help combat this problem, the nation's consumer protection agency has compiled a list of useful tips for avoiding overseas scams, Putting a Lid on International Scams: 10 Tips for Being a Canny Consumer, which include the following:

• Don't respond to messages that ask for your personal or financial information, whether the message comes as an email, a phone call, a text message, or an ad. Don't click on links in the message, or call unfamiliar phone numbers left on your answering machine, either. The crooks behind these messages are trying to trick you into giving up your personal information. If you get a message and are concerned about your account status, call the number on your credit or debit card – or your statement – and check it out.

• Don't play a foreign lottery. First, it's easy to be tempted by messages that boast enticing odds, or claims you've already won. Inevitably, you'll be asked to pay “taxes,” “fees,” or “customs duties” to collect your prize. If you send money, you won't get it back, regardless of the promises. Second, it's illegal to play foreign lotteries.

• In the wake of a natural disaster or another crisis, give to established charities rather than one that seems to have sprung up overnight. Pop-up charities probably don't have the infrastructure to get help to the affected areas or people, and they could be collecting the money to finance illegal activity. Check out ftc.gov/charityfraud to learn more.

• Don't send money to someone you don't know. That includes an online merchant you've never heard of — or an online love interest who asks for money or favors. It's best to do business with sites you know and trust. If you buy items through an online auction, consider a payment option that provides protection, such as a credit card. Don't send cash or use a wire transfer service.

• Don't agree to deposit a check from someone you don't know and then wire money back, no matter how convincing the story. By law, banks must make funds from deposited checks available within days, but uncovering a fake check can take weeks. You are responsible for the checks you deposit. When a check turns out to be a fake, it's you who is responsible for paying back the bank.

The tip sheet is available on the FTC Web site.

To hear Sarah Palin tell it, she and her mama grizzlies are people-powered, grassroots examples of how Americans can get involved in politics. But a close look at SarahPAC's campaign finance report shows she spends her donations on the same old, standard consultants as every other politician. And like many others, she still finds ways to keep her inner circle in the money.

She pulled in just shy of $866,000 in donations from people hailing from Kissimmee, Florida to Rancho Palos Verdes, California. But Marylander Laurie Beitman's $35 and the bulk of Palin's small-dollar donations is going to more than Republican candidates the former Alaska governor wants to see win this fall. By our count, Palin spent nearly $400,000 on consultants, lobbying firms and the standard direct mail and fundraising firms politicians frequently use. (The AP had a stricter consulting tally, $210,000.) Just about the only maverick-style item she purchased was $4,000 worth of sausage.

Palin spent $30,000 on “consulting, national and international issues” with Randy Scheunemann's Orion Strategies, a lobbying firm representing foreign governments.

Then there's Rebecca Mansour's Aries Petra Consulting, which Palin paid $22,000 for “internet messaging” to write those infamous Palin Facebook messages. Politico describes Mansour as a “Los Angeles screenwriter and political neophyte whose creation of the popular cheerleading blog Conservatives4Palin endeared her to Palin's inner circle.”

She paid NorthStar Strategies, the firm owned by her campaign body man and former Bush administration alum Jason Recher $36,000 for “logistics political consulting.”

Former press aide Meg Stapleton's IzzyLene Consulting received $2,500 for media consulting.

Palin paid $35,000 to Grey Strategies, a Columbus firm that helped her with media, logistics and political consulting. It appears to now be a newly merged firm called Grey Shockley, run by lobbyists Doug McMarlin and Leslie Beyer. According to Hotline on Call, McMarlin also travels with Palin.

True North L'Attitudes, a consulting firm created in February by an Anchorage woman named Robyn Engibous, got more than $10,000 for scheduling. Engibous, a former staffer for Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), also got almost $1,400 in reimbursements for office supplies and mileage.

Palin has made much of her personal wealth in speaking fees, which reportedly run up to $100,000 per speech. For speechwriting services this past quarter, her PAC paid $3,700 to Lindsay Hayes. Hayes wrote speeches for Palin during the presidential campaign; she also was a speechwriter for Sen. Stevens for several years.

SarahPAC gave another $5,000 for “clerical” work to Ivy Frye, a close confidant of Palin's who has been with her since her campaign for governor and who Palin hired as an aide in the governor's office. In addition to the $5,000, SarahPAC gave Frye almost $1,500 to reimburse her for postage and copies. In the first quarter of 2010, she paid Frye $15,000 for clerical work and more than $3,000 in reimbursement for printing and shipping costs.

The PAC also pays a $10,000 monthly legal retainer, totaling $30,000 for the quarter, to the Palin family lawyer, Thomas Van Flein. Van Flein was Palin's personal lawyer while she was governor, defending her against ethics complaints. He also represented Palin's daughter, Bristol Palin, when she tried to get child support from Levi Johnston earlier this year.

Check out our past coverage of Palin's “brain trust” of advisers here.

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Gut First – Science <b>News</b>

Crawling caterpillars move their insides forward before their outsides, X-rays reveal.

More Good Economic <b>News</b> In Europe, As Germany Goes Into &quot;Party Mode&quot;

Improving economic data also plays into the stress tests.

The Rise of Private <b>News</b> : CJR

The big question for these organizations is the inverse of the one troubling the mass news outlets in a digital world: their concern isn't to find a model that allows their influential newsrooms to keep humming along; it is to achieve …

Gut First – Science <b>News</b>

Crawling caterpillars move their insides forward before their outsides, X-rays reveal.

More Good Economic <b>News</b> In Europe, As Germany Goes Into &quot;Party Mode&quot;

Improving economic data also plays into the stress tests.

The Rise of Private <b>News</b> : CJR

The big question for these organizations is the inverse of the one troubling the mass news outlets in a digital world: their concern isn't to find a model that allows their influential newsrooms to keep humming along; it is to achieve …

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Gut First – Science <b>News</b>

Crawling caterpillars move their insides forward before their outsides, X-rays reveal.

More Good Economic <b>News</b> In Europe, As Germany Goes Into &quot;Party Mode&quot;

Improving economic data also plays into the stress tests.

The Rise of Private <b>News</b> : CJR

The big question for these organizations is the inverse of the one troubling the mass news outlets in a digital world: their concern isn't to find a model that allows their influential newsrooms to keep humming along; it is to achieve …

Mint.com is arguably one of the most popular personal finance management tools out there. For all that it has done well, up until this week, it hasn't been the best place to track financial goals. Now, with the introduction of Mint Goals you can link all of your financial goals with the accounts that you have connected to Mint to better track your progress.

Mint Goals improves on the Planning section, which Mint users had until now used for goal-setting. The new Mint Goals section provides users with eight goal areas which can be tailored to the individual so that the goal is realistic and achievable. These eight goals include getting out of debt, saving for an emergency, saving for retirement, buying a home, buying a car, saving for college, taking a trip and improving your home; you can also set a custom goal.

Mint Goals Video from the Wall Street Journal:

When you create a goal Mint will ask you a few questions to find out when you want to achieve it and suggest a monthly contribution to this account. If you have Mint connected to all of your accounts the service can use the data it already has to automate some of the planning process. For example, if you are setting up an emergency fund, Mint knows about how much you spend a month so it is easy to figure out how much you need to cover three months' worth of living expenses. If you are working to pay down debt, and have your credit cards linked, you'll get a look at what you owe and a pay-down plan based on that amount.

After you choose the amount you want to save, Mint allows you to link the goal to a specific account, add a new account or suggests an account to open that fits the goal's purpose. When I was setting up an emergency fund goal, Mint shared several high yield savings accounts.

If your goal is getting out of debt, Mint may suggest that you get a loan through a partner like Lending Club, a peer to peer lender that offers personal loans at rates more than 50% lower than the average credit card APR. The suggested accounts are not all encompassing and you should still take a few steps to find the best bank or account for you.

In addition to budgeting for your day-to-day expenses, setting a goal for purchases and events such as buying a new HDTV, a house or taking a vacation is an important step to getting out of debt and staying out. If you need help after setting up your goals, Mint provides a checklist of to-do items and advice. You can also come back to WalletPop to learn more about all topics personal finance.

What do you think about the new Mint Goals?
Forget the coupon clipping. A straightforward, realistic budget is the best deal you'll ever find.

Why is a budget the best deal? Because, just like your childhood puppy your budget will always be there for you, no expiration dates, no fine print to yank away the savings after you've already been whipped into a furry of consumerism. If you care for your budget it will take care of you so that “saving” isn't just not unnecessarily spending an extra $5 at the grocery store this week; but actually saving money in a high yield savings account. Another great thing about a budget is that, again like your puppy, it will take you back even if you screw up.

Think outside the sale. For years I chased after deals and discounts like they were the oxygen keeping me alive. It didn't matter if I needed an item or not — if there was a sticker advertising 60, 70, 80 or 90% off a gadget, I wanted to buy it. How could I pass up the savings?

It wasn't until recently that I realized a budget is the best deal you can find. After taking a few minutes to look at how to put together a budget I realized that it takes less time to set up and follow a budget than it does to look for deals every day of the week.

Thanks to great free personal finance management (PFM) tools from sites such as like Mint.com, Rudder and others you can easily create a budget and track how well you are following it each day. These tools will even send you a notification when you go outside of your budget so you aren't shocked at the end of the month. If you don't already have a successful budget don't start creating one yet. First go read these tips for setting realistic budget.

Advice on Budgeting

• Reverse Budget – A savings first solution from FiveCentNickel
• Budgeting basics – a Budget primer from Consumerism Commentary including suggestions on how to get started.

My personal favorite and current method of budgeting isn't so much a budget as it is smart spending. Ramit Sethi explains the model in his book I Will Teach You to Be Rich, calling it, “Conscious Spending.” Instead of focusing on the minutia Sethi concedes that it is in fact OK to, “Spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don't.”

A budget may be the best deal, but that doesn't mean you need to give up on coupon clipping and bargain hunting; just make these tools that support your plan instead of the main focus. If you plan for your purchases, by saving up at SmartyPig or setting a goal in Rudder, you can still go looking for a deal on your next purchase and pay in cash. Trust me, there's something really incredible about paying in cash for the new camera that you've researched and found the best deal on.Thanks to great free personal finance management (PFM) tools from sites such as like Mint.com, Rudder and others you can easily create a budget and track how well you are following it each day. These tools will even send you a notification when you go outside of your budget so you aren't shocked at the end of the month. If you don't already have a successful budget don't start creating one yet. First go read these tips for setting realistic budget.

Advice on Budgeting

• Reverse Budget – A savings first solution from FiveCentNickel
• Budgeting basics – a Budget primer from Consumerism Commentary including suggestions on how to get started.

My personal favorite and current method of budgeting isn't so much a budget as it is smart spending. Ramit Sethi explains the model in his book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich, calling it, “conscious spending.” Instead of focusing on the minutia Sethi concedes that it is in fact wise to “spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don't.”

A budget may be the best deal, but that doesn't mean you need to give up on coupon clipping and bargain hunting; just make these tools that support your plan instead of the main focus. If you plan for your purchases, by saving up at SmartyPig or setting a goal in Rudder, you can still go looking for a deal on your next purchase and pay in cash. Trust me, there's something really incredible about paying in cash for the new camera that you've researched and found the best deal on.
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Rachel Maddow – Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Shirley Sherrod | Mediaite

While President Obama may be trying to avoid diving into the racial fray right now, Rachel Maddow jumped right in last night. In a fairly devastating segment Maddow tied this week's Shirley Sherrod debacle to previous cases, …

The Rise of Private <b>News</b> : CJR

The big question for these organizations is the inverse of the one troubling the mass news outlets in a digital world: their concern isn't to find a model that allows their influential newsrooms to keep humming along; it is to achieve …

Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media, SEO and Marketing | Small <b>…</b>

Small business in the Internet age is still about marketing. In this case much of that marketing takes place online. The tools you will use include social media.

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Rachel Maddow – Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Shirley Sherrod | Mediaite

While President Obama may be trying to avoid diving into the racial fray right now, Rachel Maddow jumped right in last night. In a fairly devastating segment Maddow tied this week's Shirley Sherrod debacle to previous cases, …

The Rise of Private <b>News</b> : CJR

The big question for these organizations is the inverse of the one troubling the mass news outlets in a digital world: their concern isn't to find a model that allows their influential newsrooms to keep humming along; it is to achieve …

Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media, SEO and Marketing | Small <b>…</b>

Small business in the Internet age is still about marketing. In this case much of that marketing takes place online. The tools you will use include social media.

In 2006, recent Harvard grad Alexa von Tobel was headed for a job at Morgan Stanley. But though she would soon be managing the bank’s investments, she realized she didn’t know the first thing about her own finances. Most financial guides seemed to be written for middle-aged readers with millions in assets, rather than recent college grads. “I was reading every book I could find, but none of them spoke to me,” she says. So she came up with the idea for LearnVest, an online personal-finance resource for young women like her, and ended up writing an 80-page business plan.

After two years at Morgan Stanley, von Tobel entered Harvard Business School in 2008. But upon winning a business plan competition held by Astia, a non-profit that supports women entrepreneurs, she took a five-year leave of absence and invested $75,000 of her Wall Street earnings to start LearnVest in November. She quickly enlisted advisors, including Betsy Morgan, the former CEO of the Huffington Post, and Catherine Levene, the former COO of DailyCandy, to help develop the site’s content and technology. In January 2009, she secured $1.1 million in seed funding from executives at Goldman Sachs.

LearnVest’s site launched a year later and has since signed up more than 100,000 members. It offers online budgeting calculators, video chats with certified financial planners on the company’s staff, and free e-mail tutorials on topics such as opening an IRA. The company earns revenue from advertising and by referring its users to companies such as TD Ameritrade. In April, after just four weeks of fundraising, von Tobel closed a $4.5 million investment round led by Accel Partners, which has also invested in Facebook and Etsy. (Incidentally, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg lived in the same dorm as von Tobel at Harvard.)

Von Tobel likens LearnVest to an online version of The Suze Orman Show, but with the goal of reinforcing positive finance habits early on. “Suze Orman helps 45-year-old women get out of debt,” she says. “Why not reach 20-year-olds to keep them from getting into debt?”

What a fantastic basic concept.
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We employed the alternative massively effective budgetting tool.

Be a self employed Engineer for 15 years with take home pay of £50K a year and spend it all (and more besides, because ‘I want one of those NOW’) because ‘my jobs safe’.

Watch as the banks destroy the worlds finances.

Suddenly realise that over 90% of British industry is ultimately owned by Japanese investment banks, who suddenly have no money to fulfill their legal obligations to complete legislation driven improvment projects.

Watch as my £50K a year take home falls to ZERO.

Start a brand new business with Kleeneze (sorry not available in the USA) Which although it’s building really well is , after all, a business and needs time.

Suddenly HAVE to live on £18K a year GROSS.

Best Motivation for re-inventing your budget that anyone can have LOL.

We used to spend about £1,000 a month on groceries, now we spend around £300 a month, AND we eat more healthily.

Fortunately the finance on my car ended a month after our income disappeared saving us £375 a month.

We’ve sold my wifes’ car (THAT hurt) it was a really nice car, but it was costing us £489 a month in finance.

We’ve moved to a cheaper house saving us £400 a month in rent.

We’ve cancelled everything that wasn’t absolutely essential – including SKY and the TV license (It’s true, you don’t die if you turn the telly off!)

We still have creditors who we’re negotiating reduced payments and frozen interest with, but basically we are starting again from scratch.
We won’t fall into the credit trap again
Certainly not in the next six years or more ‘cos no-one in their right mind will give us credit now anyway!!

The one thing that keeps coming back to me though is

WHY aren’t our schools teaching kids how to budget? It’s a thousand times more important than even the basics.

Who cares if you can’t spell budgit if you can make one and stick to it.

It CAN’T be one of the things that are left to parents because nobody ever taught us!

Back to subject,
Your article is brilliant and if it helps one person (which I’m sure it already has) to get out or stay out of debt then you’ve done a service to humanity.

Keep it up &
we’ll see you
OVER the top

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Zattikka raises $5.5 million funding | <b>News</b>

Online games business Zattikka has raised $5.5 million for growth and expansion though parent company Expedite 5. Zattik…

Castlevania October date is &quot;speculation&quot; <b>News</b> – Page 1 <b>…</b>

Read our news of Castlevania October date is. … Latest News. Konami nervous about new Castlevania . SAW director doing Castlevania film . E3: Kojima overseeing new Castlevania . E3: Kojima turning to Castlevania? …

The iPad just got a game changing <b>news</b> reader, it's called Flipboard.

It offers a way to “flip” through news, photos and updates from what your friends on Facebook and Twitter are sharing. Rather than scrolling through posts and links, Flipboard organises everything shared into a magazine like format, …

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The American Spectator : <b>News</b> Quiz #3

In this contest, readers are again asked to identify the bogus news item. All four items are “reported” in similar style, from The American Spectator News Service (some minor details have been slightly altered). …

Do Unions Bust Convention Business? « Liveshots

Chicago had been steadily losing conventions to the glitz of Las Vegas as well as sunshine and.

Investors Back China <b>News</b> Outlet – DealBook Blog – NYTimes.com

Many news organizations around the world have been cutting back on staff, resources and coverage. But a new media outfit backed by one of Hong Kong's most prominent businessmen is bucking that trend.

Aaron Patzer, the founder of Mint.com (2008), sold his company to Intuit for $170 million and has been ensconced as Vice President and General Manager of Intuit Personal Finance Group. But he hasn't forgotten his entrepreneurial roots. He's using that stack of cash from Intuit to make some angel investments of his own, including a stake in Jack Abraham's Milo.com, which is on this year's list. And he's also an informal advisor to Anapata's Ooshma Garg.

When he appeared on the 30 Under 30 list in 2008, Etsy founder Rob Kalin had just hired a professional CEO and given up day-to-day management responsibilities. But last December, Kalin retook the reins. Etsy has thrived since–the company is profitable and has been posting double-digit monthly sales gains. In his spare time, Kalin is working on a second company, Parachutes.org, an online education start-up.

Chaim Indig and Evan Roberts, the founders of Phreesia (2008), closed a $16 million Series D investment from Ascension Health Ventures in May. Phreesia, a self-service patient check-in company that makes electronic tablets for use in doctors' offices, will use the investment to expand its nationwide presence.

Involver founders Rahim Fazal and Noah Horton (2008), have added Facebook, the White House, and Sony Music to their client list. Involver, which helps companies and organizations build their video presence across social networking platforms, now supports more than 80,000 brands.

It's been a big year for Ben Lerer and Adam Rich and their company Thrillist (2009). Early in 2010, Lerer and his father Ken, co-founder of The Huffington Post, launched the New York City-based angel fund Lerer Media Ventures. And in the spring, Thrillist made its first acquisition, expanding into the e-commerce space with the purchase of Jack Threads, a flash-sale site for men's streetwear that works similarly to Gilt.com. With the deal, Thrillist diversifies its business, which was heavily dependent on advertising revenue, while Jack Threads will get its name in front of Thrillist's nearly 2 million e-mail subscribers.  “We have the e-mail list and they have the vendor relationships,” Lerer says. “The case we made is that it would be just so much easier for them if they didn't have to worry about building the audience.”

Box.net's (2008) Aaron Levie and Dylan Smith grew their company more than 535 percent in 2009 and tripled revenue in the first half of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.  Box.net allows users to share, store, and access any type of digital file from anywhere at anytime, and now has more than 4 million users, ranging from SMBs to giants like Volvo, Audi and Coca Cola. The company launched one of the first customized business applications for the iPad, developed mobile applications for the iPhone and Blackberry, and also integrated with other mobile productivity applications. Last April, the founders landed $15M in Series C financing, led by Scale Venture Partners, bringing Box.net's total venture funding to $29.5M.  Levie and Smith plan to invest aggressively in R&D and will add a significant number of employees.

Ben Kaufman (2007) sold Mophie in August of 2007 and began developing Kluster, a platform designed for group decision making and measuring influence. It's Kluster that drives Quirky, the social product development company that Kaufman launched in June 2009.  Quirky develops one new product a week and shares the revenue with the influencers who helped develop each product. Since launch, Quirky has collaboratively developed 46 new products, hit threshold on 16 (the trigger that sends a product into production) and raised $6 million dollars in series A financing led by RRE (also an investor in Venmo, on this year's list.)

Wesabe, one of the first personal finance management tools I wrote about when WalletPop was but a young blog, announced today that after July 31 it would no longer operate the accounts tab of the website. In an announcement posted to Wesabe.com Marc Hedlund, CEO of Wesabe, cited the inability to maintain customer support and security on a shoestring budget.

Hedlund, who was known to contact users directly from time to time to help solve support problems, was able to share one bit of good news; the Wesabe Groups section of the website will remain open indefinitely. The “Groups tab,” Hedlund explains, is cheaper to host, and it is a great resource to users who have relied on the community to help them make big financial decisions and offer financial advice specific to their situation.

In addition to the “Groups” section of Wesabe, the website was best known for its Data Bill of Rights, which assured users that, “your data belongs to you” and offered the ability for users to upload transaction data from their bank without linking accounts directly to Wesabe. Part of the Data Bill of Rights at Wesabe was the fact that the company did not use a third party solution to manage accounts and security. Instead, Wesabe built its own tool, which likely played a part in the cost of keeping data secure.

What does the closure of Wesabe, which was free, mean for the personal finance management space as a whole? Will you still be able to manage your money online for free next year, in five years?

The good news is that yes, there will still be tools which don't charge users a monthly fee to manage their money, but expect to see a greater focus on ads and tie-in products in these offerings. Ultimately, the personal finance management space will fall into three categories; free with ads, set monthly fee, or at your bank.

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Children's first teachers are parents. The majority of parents feel it is necessary for children to know the alphabet by the time they enroll in school. Why? To better prepare kids for the challenges they will face in school. In short, to make children's lives easier. An equally important, yet often ignored lesson, is the value of money. Parents frequently complain, “My child thinks money grows on trees!” If parents allow that thought process, children will assume a constant source of money is available.

Parents need to take a pro-active roll in teaching children money management lessons. Learning positive spending and saving habits as a youngster will better prepare your child for financial challenges later in life. Educating children about money is the single most important thing parents can do which will make adult life less stressful. Financial struggles continue to top the list of stresses for adults. Like the basics of ABC's, teaching money management skills will prepare children for financial responsibility in adulthood.

Where to start poses the biggest problem for parents. Many adults do not feel themselves capable of teaching money management, simply because they lack confidence about their own financial situation. Rather than stare at the roadblock, parents should evaluate this question: What is money? Contemplating the question will allow parents to travel the path for their children. The answer? Money empowers people. Money allows people to make decisions. Money helps people feel safe and secure. Understanding how to use money will empower a child to grow into a fiscally responsible adult. The idea of empowering their children will help parents follow through on a very difficult lesson.

Start early. Talk to your toddler about money. Children are introduced to money early in life. A study at Texas A&M University shows children begin asking for specific things at 2 years old. Depending on the child, counting starts between 2 and 4 years. By the time a child reaches 4, he knows he must have money to pay for what he wants in a store. As children reach kindergarten, they learn to distinguish between coins and bills.

Talking to children about money encourages children to think about money as well as consider the things they want. A great learning tool for younger children is using regular shopping trips to encourage choices. For example, when making a trip to the grocery store, visit the cereal aisle first and allow the child to pick one box of cereal. Let her carry it, and look at the box if she wishes. As you continue shopping, if she requests another item, explain to her that she has to choose between the two. Empower her to make the decision. Allow her that choice. Stick to the plan, and take her to put the cereal back. Empowering kids to make choices involving money will make her realize the value of money over time. Making choices will also allow her to examine her wants and needs. If a child goes without her favorite cereal for a week, television advertising targeted at young children will remind her of the cereal she left at the store.

Use Allowance Wisely. Allowance is a great tool for parents and children. From the age of 5 or 6, children who receive a regular allowance learn the value of money if rules are followed. The purpose of an allowance is to teach children money management. Many parents mistakenly tie chores to the allowance, with the idea that children need to know, when they don't work, the result is they won't get paid. This lesson will be learned later, when the child gets a job outside the home. This common error doesn't properly evaluate the purpose of chores. Why do children have chores? Is it to get paid? Or is it to contribute to a smoothly running household? When children fail to perform expected chores, consider a punishment that reflects give and take in the household, such as no TV or telephone, rather than losing the opportunity to learn money management skills.

Give allowance in smaller bills. Encourage saving by giving allowance in $1 bills. Suggest setting aside $1 of allowance in a piggy bank for a special purchase. Children should be encouraged to make spending and saving choices. If a child wants a video game that costs $50, help him break down the math on a simple savings plan. The math is probably something he could figure out on his own, but he will need guidance to formulate his goal into a tangible reality. In making allowance work, do not undermine his efforts on a goal. This means do not go buy the game for him, or if he fails to achieve his savings goals, do not buy it for him anyway. Children need to learn the consequences of money. If he follows through, great! But resist the temptation to reward him with extra money for other items since he is saving. By sticking to the plan, parents will reinforce what he is learning. From this experience, he learns sacrifices are necessary when choosing purchases. If he failed to follow through, maybe he decided he didn't want the game that much after all. What did he learn from this experience? His wants will change over time, and he doesn't need everything he wants.

Discuss Family Money. Several financial experts recommend including older children in family financial discussions to introduce the realities involved in cost of living expenses. Many parents are uncomfortable with this suggestion. An alternative activity that divulges less information and still addresses cost of living issues is to include the kids in creating a family budget for an upcoming family vacation. Discuss the total amount of money allotted for the trip. Initially, children will probably be impressed with the large number. Present hotel choices as well as campground cabins. Include varying price ranges so the kids have a visual of money leaving the budget for where they will be sleeping. Consider menu prices at different restaurants in the destination area. The children will see another chunk of money being removed for food. Next, discuss travel arrangements. Will the family fly or drive? Price both options, and discuss the pros and cons of both scenarios. As a decision is reached, kids are watching another large chunk of money disappearing from the vacation pile. After the cost of living essentials are handled, let the kids be involved in the fun choices. Do not shield them from what they don't get to do. If a desired attraction can't be fit into the budget, invite the kids to revise the budget in order to free up the needed funds. The lesson involves making choices, and appreciating what they do have instead of yearning for what they don't have.

A life long skill, money management begins with comprehending the differences in wants, needs and wishes. Children will need to understand and use money for the rest of their lives. By encouraging choices, continuing allowances, and discussing budgets, parents will empower their children. Introducing smart money concepts in childhood prepares kids for the adult world of financial responsibility.

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Bob Schieffer Defends Himself Against Fox <b>News</b> On New Black <b>…</b>

CBS News' Bob Schieffer defended himself against Fox News Sunday on CNN's “Reliable Sources.” Schieffer, who interviewed Attorney General Eric Holder last weekend on “Face the Nation,” came under fire from Fox News' Megyn Kelly for not …

Does Anyone at Bloomberg <b>News</b> Care About Accuracy? | The Seminal

Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, the answer is no. On Thursday I documented a blatantly false Bloomberg news story designed to mislead readers about the level of support for President Obama's temporary moratorium on deepwater …

UC Davis <b>News</b> &amp; Information :: UC Davis study predicts newspapers <b>…</b>

Overall newspaper circulation has been declining since the early 1990s, as the Internet spawned an explosion of new sources of news and information, according to the study, “Next Generation Unionism and the Future of Newspapers: …

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As you’ll read tomorrow (or Monday), I’ve entered a new phase in my life. After years of hard work and long hours building this blog (time that I’ve enjoyed), I’ve been shifting things around so that I have more free time. As a result, I’m going to have more time to devote to creating quality blog posts, instead of rushing around at the last minute looking for something to write about.

Because of this, it’s time yet again to take requests. I do this about once a year, and it’s a great way to get a feel for what GRS readers are interested in. I’d be grateful if you’d take the time to leave a comment below with topic suggestions or article requests. It doesn’t matter if we’ve covered the subject in the past. If you’d like me (or one of the other GRS staff) to write about it, let me know.

Have there been too many articles about credit cards? Too few articles about credit cards? Would you like to know more about individual savings accounts? Do you like the articles about the psychology of spending? Would it be helpful to have somebody come in to explain insurance concepts in plain English? Should I try to persuade my wife to share more of her recipes now and then? Let me know what you’d like to read about!

While you’re all providing feedback about the site, here are a few recent articles of note:

Over at The Simple Dollar, Trent and his readers had a thoughtful discussion about the obligations of wealth. “I think there is some inherent distrust of the rich in the mainstream of American society,” Trent writes as he describes how a wealthy person can keep from alienating his friends. There’s so much to say about this topic; I’m tempted to write an entire article about it.

GRS reader Steven writes a blog called Hundred Goals, which is about achieving your goals while managing your finances. After Sierra’s post this morning about travel, he dropped me a line to let me know that he has a recent article about how to have a great vacation.

Speaking of vacation, my pal Jason over at No Credit Needed spent time compiling day-use fees and free days for state parks across the United States. Handy page to bookmark!

And here’s more travel! At The Art of Non-Conformity, my good friend Chris Guillebeau has posted a beginner’s guide to travel hacking. I’ve been asking him to share this info for a long time; now I’ve got to take responsibility to use the knowledge he’s shared.

Finally, I’ve been giving a lot of interviews lately. I’m much more comfortable with these than I used to be. (They used to scare me to death!) Some examples:

• Colleen from The Frisky interviewed me about how to save money even when you’re living paycheck to paycheck. This is a tough quandary, something I’m asked about a lot.
• In an interview with BeFrugal, I discuss frugality, happiness, and conscious spending. (Note: “the ballot” should be “the balance” — I must have mumbled.)
• Jeff Rose at Good Financial Cents also interviewed me. This interview is very much about the process of writing a book, which may or may not interest you.
• I also spoke with Beverly Harzog from Card Ratings. We chatted about credit cards, of course, but also about other aspects of personal finance.
• Finally, USA Weekend has a short piece on how to give your 401(k) a midyear check, for which author Richard Eisenberg interviewed me back in May. This is a perfect example of how much work goes into even a small newspaper article. Eisenberg spent 20-30 minutes on the phone with me, and I’m sure he did the same with the other folks he quotes. Plus, I’ll bet he spent a lot of time writing. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 4-6 hours in this small piece.

Okay, one last thing before I go. Tim pointed me to a two-year-old New York Times series about the debt trap, which includes an interactive infographic showing average household debt loads over the past century.

That’s enough links for today. Please do leave a comment with topic requests or other feedback. Meanwhile, it’s time for me to go do some yardwork…

Kelley wrote recently with the sort of dilemma I get asked about all of the time: Is it better to invest or to prepay a mortgage? We’ve covered this topic in the distant past, but it’s time to review the debate for current readers. First, let’s look at Kelley’s e-mail:

My husband and I are on the right track. At age 25, our only debt lies in our home mortgage. We have the six-month emergency fund in place, I currently meet the 3% 401(k) match offered by my employer, and I started a Roth IRA for myself and my husband last year. I started each Roth IRA with $4,000.

My financial advisor recommended for us to max out each of our Roth IRAs each year. My husband disagrees. He thinks paying off the house is a bigger priority. Starting this year, we’ve made an extra payment on our house each month. If we continue doing this, we can have our house paid off in nine years rather than 30 years. However, we can’t do both.

Currently we’ve decided to throw $1,000 into each Roth each year until the house is paid off. Is this the wise decision? Or is it better to put more toward the Roth IRA and less toward the house?

I understand either option is good because I’m saving money. I’m just curious of which route would be wiser.

Kelley’s right: Both of these options are good. This is like choosing between an apple and an orange. Both taste good, and they’re good for you &madsh; but is one better for you in the long run?

What the experts say
Three years ago, when we last covered this topic (holy cats! — where has the time gone?), I collected the following roundup of advice from personal-finance books:

• Ric Edleman (Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth): Never own your home outright. Instead, get a big 30-year mortgage and never pay it off — regardless of your age and income. “Every time you send an extra $100 to your mortgage company, you deny yourself the opportunity to invest that $100 somewhere else.”
• Suze Orman (The Laws of Money): Invest in the known before the unknown. Paying off your mortgage offers a guaranteed return on investment. “You cannot live in a tax return. You cannot live in a stock certificate. You live in your home.”
• Elizabeth Warren (All Your Worth): Save 20% of your income. Use 10% for retirement savings, 5% to accelerate your mortgage, and 5% to save for future dreams. “Paying off your home also does something many financial planners neglect to mention: It gives you freedom. Once that mortgage is gone, just imagine all the freedom in your wallet.”
• Dave Ramsey (The Total Money Makeover): Prepay your mortgage if you can, but only after you’ve saved an emergency fund, and only if you’re putting at least 15% of your income toward retirement. Don’t use a program designed by a broker; use your own self-discipline.
• Dominguez and Robin (Your Money or Your Life): “Pay off your mortgage as quickly as possible.” This book, too, was written when interest rates were higher. Also, the authors emphasize frugality over investing.

Financial authors don’t agree on this subject. Maybe the personal finance gurus writing for the web can clear things up?

• Liz Pulliam Weston at MSN Money: Don’t rush to pay off the mortgage. “You’ve got better things to do with your money, like saving for retirement, building an emergency cushion or even living it up a little.”
• Walter Updegrave at CNN Money: If you’ve funded your retirement, and if it will make you happy, then pay down the mortgage. Otherwise, it makes more sense to invest.
• Laura Rowley at Yahoo! Finance: Using very conservative figures, investing instead of prepaying the mortgage yields an extra $400 per year. If you feel compelled to pay down your mortgage, do it. But realize you’re paying a price to do so. (She offers more details at her blog, as well as tips on how to estimate the investment return you need to earn to make it worthwhile.)
• Bankrate: Pay down your mortgage if your investments would be conservative. Invest if you’re planning to do so for the long term.
• USA Today: It depends on your income, your monthly expenses, your risk tolerance, and your desire to own your home free and clear.
• Kiplinger’s: Invest unless you’re near retirement
• The Dollar Stretcher: Mathematically, it makes more sense to invest, but it all depends on your risk tolerance.
• My fellow pfbloggers at Bargaineering and Million Dollar Journey recommend that a person do a little of both: pay down the mortgage some and invest some. Free Money Finance says: “If you have the discipline to save/invest the money you would be using to pay off the mortgage, it’s likely that saving/investing is the better option. But if you’re more the “average” person out there managing your money, I still believe it’s a better option to pre-pay your mortgage.”

The Rowley article offers some interesting background to this debate:

Why do so many people choose to put extra money into a mortgage when other options would likely increase their wealth? “This is really remnant of Depression mentality that has persisted from generation to generation,” says [one expert]. At the time, most mortgages had one- to five-year terms, with a lump sum payment due at the end.

“Any shock to income meant you couldn’t afford your payment — mortgages were much more susceptible to economic uncertainty,” [the expert says], and roughly one-quarter of Americans were unemployed during the Great Depression. “It’s fine to pay down your mortgage if it gives you peace of mind, but you should recognize what that peace of mind costs.”

If you’re facing a similar decision, you may find this calculator useful: prepaying your mortgage vs. investing.

The bottom line
My conclusion in 2007 (and the one I still hold today) is that unless your mortgage rate is very high, it makes more sense mathematically to invest your money. But most gurus agree that psychologically, you should do what works for you. If paying off your mortgage would take a weight off your shoulders, then pay off your mortgage. Sure, you might be losing a bit in the long-term, but you’re still making a smart choice. As I said earlier, it’s like choosing between an apple and an orange. One may be better for you, but they’re both good.

Ultimately, I kind of like the choice that Kelley and her husband have made. They’re prepaying their mortgage and putting some toward retirement. But enough of what I think. Kelley really wants to know what you think.

Which option is better? Should she and her husband be pumping as much as possible into their Roth IRAs? Or should they be paying down their mortgage as quickly as they can? Have you been faced with a similar dilemma in the past? What did you choose to do? And would you make the same choice again?

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