Yodlee hooks up with Zillow!

I have talked about Yodlee before. Let me re-iterate that this totally free service is amazing. I use it to keep track of over 20 accounts! MONEY

Now you are probably thinking that 20 accounts is a few too many, and I can understand that. But when you start to count each account you have, checking, savings, visa, discover card, Roth IRA, 401(k)/403(b), and then double that if you are married, you get up there pretty quick. When I bought my hybrid, I opened several credit cards with 0% balance transfers to get 0% financing over an extended period of time. So on and so forth. With a tool as nice as yodlee.com, why bother closing accounts? MONEY

So I have my mortgage set up in yodlee, and pay my bill each month there. But I had to create a custom entry and enter the estimated value of my home as a manual account to get a realistic picture of my finances overall. Until this week that is. MONEY

I was browsing around one night and saw a link called "Real Estate Center." I clicked it and there was an option to set up my address in a tool that automatically goes to zillow.com and grabs the estimate. If you own a home or are shopping for a home and have not checked out Zillow, you should. It complies local sales information and tabulates home values and contains tons of tons of great information on top of a really neat interface that uses google maps and microsoft's visual earth. MONEY

And like yodlee, zillow is free. MONEY

So now Yodlee goes out and grabs my account values as well as my home's estimated value and pulls all the info together and provides charts and graphs of changes in value, spending, and now equity in my home = zillow estimate - mortgage! MONEY

Why we save...

Back when I first started putting together list of tips for living below your means, a wylie reader commented to me that one way to save money was to not give to your local public radio station. money

While I must give props for factuality- you will have more money in savings if you do not give any of it away- I must take the props away because this suggestion is evil. money

And by evil I mean 'not good.' money

I do not mean to suggest that it is evil to not give to public radio. This tip was inspired by marketing almost as annoying as a head on commercial. And bad marketing is worthy of lengthy criticism. Whether or not you give to public radio specifically is up to you. Whether or not you give at all is a different issue altogether. money

MFJ over at myfinancialjourney wrote a very nice post about the fine line of frugality- specifically in regards to giving. And whether or not you have- or think you have- enough money to give some away, you also have time, sweat, and support that you can give. money

So I would be ok with suggesting that one way to save is to find a charity you want to support and volunteer if you cannot afford to give cash. But if you can afford to give money, where should you give? money

Beats me- that is up to you. money

But I am going to list some organizations my wife and I have given to and invite you to share ideas too. If you have suggestions please add a comment on this post or send me an email at wyliemoney at gmail dot com and I will add them to this list. money

Health/Quality of Life

• American Cancer Society
• American Heart Association
• Children's Hospital Boston (Thanks Kate)
• Hospice Foundation of Cape Cod
• Jimmy Fund (Thanks Anne)
  
• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (Thanks Kate)
• Seven Hills Foundation
• St Jude Children's Hospital (Thanks Anne)

Arts and Entertainment

• Boston Jewish Film Festival (specifically in support of Lisa Gossel's film Imagining Peace
• Independent Film Festival of Boston (Thanks Sean)
• Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (Thanks Greg)
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Thanks Greg)
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Thanks Greg)

Hunger and Housing

• Habitat for Humanity (more about this soon!)
• Heifer International (Thanks Sean)
• Project Bread (Wylie walks for hunger!)

Education/Training

• Berklee College of Music
• Colorado College
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund (Thanks Gina)
• Ruby Central (Thanks Sean)

Environment

• Mass Audubon Society

Services

• Massachusetts Volunteer Firefighters (Thanks Kate)
• Trustees of Reservations (Thanks Kate)

Disaster Relief

• Music Rising (Thanks Dr. The Edge)

Credit card offers and stopping junk mail

I get a lot of credit card offers. From time to time, I purchase something like a car or major appliance and will apply for a card or two offering 0% interest for a year so I can pay off the purchase over a long period of time at no extra charge. So while I find the credit card offers annoying and incredibly wasteful, I pay attention to them. money

Last week a friend asked me if I knew of any credit cards offering 0% balance transfers to finance a new refrigerator and dishwasher. Instead of going through my junk mail, I went to the interweb. After a great deal of crazy and masterful searches on the google I found the incredibly obscure yet highly useful site: money

• www.creditcards.com

I clicked on their balance transfer cards link and was able to quickly dig into the fine print to find some options with no balance transfer fees- one of three keys to using this technique without paying one cent. (The other two keys are to pay the minimum balance on time every month and pay the balance in full before the 0% ends.) v

Then I realized... "I don't need this junk mail." money

I used my mad google chops and found the Federal Trade Commission instructions for stopping unsolicited junk mail credit card offers. This page includes a number of steps to opt out of advertising abuse. The sad news about all this is that these blocks are temporary and even worse- in fine bureaucratic form- the time periods are not the same. This sadness is offset a bit by the astonishing fact, that the time periods are listed! Well except for when they are not... money

• Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (567-8688) 2 years
  
• Write the three major credit bureaus Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion and tell them to quit sharing your info with advertisers (click the link for addresses and a form letter to use). Not clear how long this will last.
  
• The site to stop telemarketers is also included: www.donotcall.gov 5 years
  
• And lastly, the Direct Marketing Association’s information is included so you can contact them and tell them to leave you alone. 5 years

I put myself on the do not call list and immediately (well after a few weeks) noticed a almost complete end to telemarketing calls. If the credit card offers list works half as well, the Lorax will be one happy mossy, bossy man-like creature. money

Living below your means- three new tips

Thanks for the suggestions! money

Sean posted an excellent tip:

"A trick I was taught is to pay yourself first. These investments are for you and your future and not to be considered another expense along with rent/mortgage, car payments, insurance, etc. money

So, what you can do is direct deposit a piece of your paycheck into a separate account, and then use that account to either save for the initial investment, as you point out, or feed those investment accounts. This way, you never see the money, and, really, once you get used to that $50 or $100 not being in your paycheck from week to week, you don't notice it. And then you can increase it by living further below your means, piping a raise right into it, or some other method. money

Something else I used to use when I didn't have a lot of money is sharebuilder.com. The fees add up quickly, but for a would-be investor without a lot of starting capital, I think it can be a good entry into the game." money

I have not looked into sharebuilder.com and am curious how their fees work. Regardless, the pay yourself idea is a great tip, especially if your habit is to spend the money in your checking account. money

David offers:

"I often buy generic products at the grocery store, and when my employer didn't pay for my lunches, I always brought a lunch." money

We'll post more about packing your lunch later- and possibly we'll explore how to find an employer who will pay for your lunches, or maybe we will just mock David to try and abate our jealousy. money

Finally, Holly wrote a post a while ago and suggests that you make your own coffee. This can easily save you $100 a month if you currently buy coffee out every morning. I like Holly's approach too- do not 'cut out' going to Starbuck's or Dunkin Donuts if you enjoy their sugary treats. Just do not go every day. And if you experiment, you will likely find you can make coffee you like more than what you are paying more for. money

Please post any ideas you have as a comment to this post and I will add them to the list as well. You can also email your ideas to me at wyliemoney at gmail dot com. money

Tips for living below your means

The hypothetical portfolio I am putting together is designed for an investor who wants to buy a selection of Mutual Funds and add to their investments by adding $100 per month to each fund. To put this plan into action, you would need to come up with up to $2500 per fund for the initial investment and then another $100 per month for each fund. money

Here is a breakdown of the amounts for three, five and ten funds:

• For three funds $7500 initial, $300 per month.
• For five funds $12,500 initial, $500 per month
• For ten funds $25,000 initial, $1000 per month

So how can someone come up with this much money on a modest income or on any income for that matter? The answer is simple- live below your means. Many folks live above their means and increase their debt month after month. This plan is not for them. Many spend what they make and as they earn more money, spend more. This plan is not for them. No matter how much you make, the way to save and build wealth is to live comfortably below you means. And while the approach is simple enough, executing is not always easy, especially if you live in an expensive city. money

So I am going to start a collection of ideas to reduce the cost of living, making it possible to save and invest. Please post any ideas you have as a comment to this post and I will add them to the list as well. You can also email your ideas to me at wyliemoney at gmail dot com. money

• The first suggestion comes from Dave over at east3rd.com. Dave recommends bicycling to work in general and saving money is not his primary motivation- but any time you find a way to save $70 per month, it is an idea worth sharing.
• Sean suggests paying yourself first by directing a small portion of your paycheck straight to a savings account.
• David mentions buying generic products at the grocery store. I would add that you should not get hung up on only buying generic products. If there are one or two things you really think taste better, buy the brand you like and treat yourself.
  
• Holly suggests that you make your own coffee. This can easily save you $100 a month if you buy coffee out every morning. I like Holly's approach too- do not 'cut out' going to Starbuck's or Dunkin Donuts if you enjoy their sugary treats. Do not go every day and when you do go, you'll enjoy the treat even more. money

Picking a Brokerage

I know a number of folks in the process of rolling old 401(k)s into IRAs or setting up brokerages for the first time. I have discussed the pros and cons of a few brokerages with a few folks, but the truth is, it is hard to compare because the offerings, fee structure, and resources available are very different from firm to firm and there is not a good website that I can find that really compares it all. That said, smartmoney.com has done a nice job of categorizing several brokerages and rating them. They do not explain every feature so you should do more research- but this is a good list of brokerages and summaries of who they might best serve. money

I use etrade, because my original brokerage was bought by another brokerage that merged with another that was bought by etrade. This process has not been fun- especially given that my historical records have not been carried over from company to company. money

Despite the fact that my experiences with etrade have mirrored those described in the article, I am not surprised that they rated etrade #2 under their premium brokerage category. I got a kick out of (but do not completely agree with) their summary concerning many of the etrade critics that- "...much of (their/our) griping may stem from resistance to change."

Given a plan like my hypothetical non-retirement portfolio of mutual funds that allow $100 monthly or quarterly contributions for NO fee- etrade seems like the best bet. money

The bottom line is that when choosing a brokerage- you need to figure out what you want to do with it and how much help you will need doing it. If you are going to roll-over an IRA and invest it in a couple of funds and forget about it until you retire, you do not need a brokerage that offers a ton- just one with the lowest fees possible. If you want to invest actively and do not need help from your brokerage and are ok with really poor customer service, etrade may be your best bet. Smartmoney also mentions: "Lilien, the firm's president, says E*Trade plans to spend an extra $42 million on customer service this year."

Motleyfool has another resource to help you pick a brokerage- I like the comparisons it makes and the info it looks at but it only reviews 4 companies. money

etrade updates its mutual fund screener

I have written about etrade and explained that I am using it to pick mutual funds for my hypothetical non-retirement portfolio. I have warned folks picking a brokerage to be wary of fees at any brokerage and decide how you want to use your brokerage account before opening a new account with any company. money

I use etrade for my IRA and non-retirement savings and that is why I have access to their mutual fund screener which I have talked a little bit about. money

So today, when I signed in to make my next pick, a Large Cap Value fund, I was surprised to see that they have upgraded their fund screener. money

The old screener was more or less like what you can find on any financial news web site. But the new features will make it much easier to do what I have been doing: pick no-load funds by sector specifically looking for good non-retirement investments. money

Some obvious improvements include being able to exclude closed funds and exclude funds that require huge amounts for initial investments. Even better, as I add criteria, I get a running tally of how many funds are available based on my choices so if I am too restrictive and only a few funds will show when I pull up the details, I can expand my search. The last major improvement is that I can save my criteria- so as I start each new search, all I have to change is the category I am looking at. money

So... Specifically I am screening out funds that:

• are available through etrade
• are no-load, no-fee funds
• are available to new investors
  
• have 3-5 stars from morningstar (some index funds end up with 3 stars)
• have below $5000 initial investment (I wish it let me set this at $2500 because that is my actual cut-off for this project
• have an expense ratio below 1.5 (different categories have different averages on this and turnover so this will be a setting I tweak)
• have a low turnover

Here is what the fund screener looks like:





I am poking around a bit and it looks like they have replaced the Standard and Poors report they used to link to each fund with an in-house etrade report. The new report and new detail screens look nice and are easier to navigate through. The one piece missing is the style composition box- which I actually used a good bit. I'll email etrade and ask about it which will also give me a chance to see, anecdotally, if their customer service has improved at all. money

Check you Credit Report for free

If you are a legal US resident, you are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months. December stirkes me as a good time to make sure my credit information is accurate. money

If you search around for the site to check your credit report, you will find dozens of sites with similar names that will let you check your credit report. Many will force you to sign up for a service that is not free after one month to then lead you to your 'free' credit report. How this is legal is beyond me. money

This site will allow you to check you credit reports with Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, for FREE. Of course each of these companies will attempt to sell you things- like your credit score, and extra credit protection, etc- but you can view your reports, online for free, without paying a cent by declining the offers. money

Here is the site:

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp money

How to keep track of it all…

I work at a college which switched retirement plans but allowed me to leave my older 403(b) contributions with the previous company. I have a bank account, IRA, and a brokerage account. I also have a mortgage, gas and electric bills, various credit cards, cell phones, etc. All told I have about 20 accounts to keep track of. money

Many people advise to combine as many accounts as possible, but if you are disciplined and can keep track of it all, some accounts have different options and some credit cards offer different services, so arguments can be made for keeping various options open. If you do not want to consolidate for whatever reason, you are left with the need to get organized. money

How can one easily keep track of 20+ accounts? Check out yodlee.com Some banks offer Yodlee’s tools through their sites if you have an account with them so you may have seen this before. This service has been around and been free for a while- if you go directly to yodlee.com. money

This service allows you to enter each account and enter your account name and password . Then when you log in to your Yodlee account, Yodlee logs in to each of your other accounts using your information and pulls the details together into one page. money

To use a service like this you have to ask how much you trust Yodlee’s security processes and how valuable you find the consolidation. Personally, I love it. Once a month I log on, see my bills, add up how much I own, click on the button to log on to each credit card and the mortgage- Yodlee logs me on automatically without me needing to remember the account name for each site. I pay each bill and I can see if I have any extra money left over to move into my brokerageaccount and invest (not likely this time of year!). money

I can see my total retirement savings, my non-retirement savings, my debt, etc. You can add any additional amount- even if you have an account that is not supported by Yodlee. For example, if you own a home, you can go to zillow.com, get an estimate on your home and enter the value as an account. If you have entered your mortgage, it will display your monthly statement as well as your total debt. Looking at your home's value next to its estimated worth you can how much equity you have built in your home. money

Sure you can paste all of this into excel, or buy some financial software to help manage this, but Yodlee is free, makes paying bills and transferring funds a snap, and gives a quick snapshot of all your accounts without any maintenance. money

What is a fund category?

Wells Fargo has a page that goes into some detail about what a fund category means and the risks typically associated with each category. money

I think Wells Fargo's page is much clearer than Morningstar's own explanations. Maybe Morningstar has a better page somewhere, but I don't see it... money