If you haven’t jumped on the electronic filing bandwagon yet - that is, filing your taxes online in a paper-free way - then there are many good reasons to do so:

• You get your return faster - it can be as quick as two weeks, whereas the minimum time for a paper-based return is six weeks.
• You avoid mailing problems like your return getting lost in the mail, your tax check getting stolen, or any other kinds of delays. And you skip the line at the post office.
• You can do the filing at any time of day (or night).
• You avoid many mathematical errors because the e-filing software will pick up discrepancies; similarly, you don’t have to rely on data entry operators at the tax office to input your data correctly.
• You save paper and printing costs, and help the environment as well as yourself.
• You’re less likely to miss deductible items if you follow question by question formats in tax filing software.

While some people still are unsure about the security of sending this kind of personal information online, in reality, it’s probably safer than having pieces of paper everywhere with the same information on. Try e-filing for this year at least and see if you like it better.

As many people have personally experienced, those people who are closest to retirement are one of the groups who have been hardest hit by the economic downturn. That means there are adult children who are particularly worried about the state of their parents’ finances, and are looking for ways to be able to help them out - even though they’re not in great financial shape themselves.

A recent discussion at CNN Money looked at helping out a 50-year-old parent who doesn’t have any retirement savings, but the problem is even greater for adult children with parents approaching their 60s.

Some of the problems involve actually convincing your parent that they need to be serious about saving for retirement - for the double reason of their own financial security and making sure that they don’t later become dependent on your finances. Parents don’t usually like to learn from their children, no matter how old they are, so the advice is to introduce the idea of retirement savings as tactfully as possible and with an information focus - educate them (carefully) about 401(k)s and how they could be saving more. Encouraging a parent to set up automatic deductions from their wages to put into savings is also a useful step. But above all, remember they are your parents and probably the hardest of all to advise.

Is it a good idea for a college student to carry a credit card? Most people, especially experts, will tell you no. Simply put, it is widely believe that college students are not mature enough to carry a credit card. Instead of using this money for important items such as books, it is thought that they will blow their credit at the bar, on junk food, on clothes, etc. Does all of this make sense?

Just like any consumer, some college students can responsibly carry a credit card and others won’t make it a few days without messing up. If your college-age child is interested in applying for a credit card you should talk to them about this situation. Ask them why they want a credit card, what it will do for them, how they are going to use it, etc. You may open their eyes to the fact that applying for a credit card is not the best of ideas.

Unfortunately, most credit card companies don’t have any issue lending money to college students. They know that college kids spend money, and of course, they can hit them with high finance charges that are sure to work in the favor of the creditor.

It is hard to say for sure that all college students should stay away from credit cards. But one thing should be remembered: in order to carry a credit card, no matter your age, you need to be financially responsible.

Have you taken the time to create a budget based on the amount of time you have available? We’ve all heard that time is money and yet most of us are quick to count pennies while paying little or no attention to the seconds that fly by. Unlike money, however, there is no way to store time to use at a later date. There are  no credit cards issued to use when you need 190 hours in your week instead of the usual 168.

So how do you go about making a time budget? You use the same format that you should already be using to track your financial income and expenses. Figure out approximate times for each major task you complete during a specific week. The hours you typically work, your drive times, shopping, laundry, etc. Be realistic in your estimations and don’t cut down times just to make yourself feel better about how you spend your time. Just like you’d bring some extra money to a grocery store if you knew prices changed constantly and you had a list of things to buy, make sure you leave enough margin between your tasks.

Once you have your time budget laid out, its time to see where you are wasting time and congratulate yourself for the days you use your time effectively. Setting up a time budget is a great exercise to gain a new perspective on how you are spending your life. Unlike the financial playing field, the one of time is exactly level for us all. The most financially wealthy people in the world woke up this morning…and started the day with exactly the same amount of time left as you did.

Have you made a time budget?

photo credit: Michel Filio

Whether or not you hire a financial planner is up to you. Before you decide for or against this you should consider the pros and cons. Some people would not know what to do without a financial planner. Others have no reason to hire this type of professional, and never think twice about doing so.

The main benefit of working with a financial planner is the expertise they offer. In other words, if you don’t know much about money and investing your financial planner will be able to clear a path for you. This is something that you have to decide on based on your knowledge. Do you know a lot about your money? Are you comfortable handling all aspects of your investments? If so, you may want to try your own hand before hiring a financial planner.

On the downside, when you hire a financial planner you have to pay them for their services. Do you really want to spend money on something you may be able to do on your own? Again, this is a question that you have to answer based on what you know and what you are comfortable doing. If you know a lot about personal finance and planning why would you pay somebody to reiterate old information? But if you don’t have any knowledge it may be in your best interest to hire a financial planner who can guide you.

Don’t let anybody make this decision for you. If you need a financial planner, hire one. If you don’t, take care of your money on your own but make sure you are open to this idea if your situation changes.

If your mortgage interest rate has been reduced recently, you might be enjoying paying less each month. But what are you doing with the extra money? Since most of us were surviving before while making a higher mortgage repayment each month, we could continue to survive on the same income - and we should find a good way to invest the extra money we’re saving.

One obvious thing is to continue paying the mortgage back at the same repayment level - or depending on your loan set-up, paying the extra amount into an off-set or savings account to use to make a lump sum payment on the mortgage at some stage. This will help you save interest and years off your loan.

Alternatively, if you have credit card or other personal debts, use the extra money you are saving to pay off these debts more quickly. If you are in a better position and are debt free, then the money you are saving by having lower repayments on your mortgage could also be directed into your retirement savings accounts. It’s up to you to decide where the money is most needed, but the most sensible thing is to choose one of these options rather than just spending it as an unexpected windfall.

The small decisions on how exactly you set up your mortgage seem to be changing, according to a CNN Money report. Should you pay up-front points to reduce your rate? Should you make more than the minimum down payment? And should you lock in your mortgage interest rate?

These questions used to have fairly standard answers, but these days things look a little different. This is what some of the experts are now saying:

• Up-front points: Now, it’s often worthwhile to do this with lower interest rates in the offing. In particular, if you are fairly sure you will keep this loan for some years - which is more common at times like this, because refinancing is less likely - then do the math and paying a point up-front will often pay for itself within a couple of years and then the money you save is all a bonus.
• Minimum down payments: Some home buyers have been burnt by making large down payments and then seeing their home equity (and their cash down payment) shrivel up. That means if you’re buying in a market that is still in decline (or could be), don’t make more than the minimum down payment to start with.
• Locking the mortgage rate: Surprisingly, many say that locking in now, even though rates are falling, is actually quite smart. Rates go up much more quickly than they go down and you’re likely to get caught out over the life of your loan.

If you’re trying to cut your grocery bills then you might benefit from reading this list of “cash trap” items - stuff that we are commonly buying these days, but we can definitely do away with. Apparently grocery bills make up about 30% of the average American’s monthly budget so saving money at the checkout is going to help with your financial situation. Check whether you really need to buy these things:

• Bottled water - in many places, the water from your tap is just as healthy (and sometimes healthier!) - and it is cheaper to use a filter to change the taste than buy it all bottled.
• Tomato pasta sauces - instead, buy a tin of tomatoes and throw in your own herbs and spices, and it will come out at less than half the price.
• Spice mixes - avoid “barbecue spices” or “Spanish spices” or whatever kind of mixes you see - check what the main ingredients are and they’re likely to be spices already sitting on your own kitchen shelf, and you can mix your own.
• Energy bars - in most cases these aren’t much healthier than chocolate bars, and they’re incredibly expensive. Take a piece of fruit instead.
• Bagged salad - yes, it’s quick and easy, but how long does it really take to wash a few lettuce leaves? Don’t pay someone else to do that unless you’ve got money to burn.

If your aim is to save money and stick to a budget, you might be surprised at how useful a credit card or a debit card can be. If you really can’t trust yourself with a credit card - that is, you run the risk of spending money you don’t yet have and not being able to pay the full bill at the end of the month - then definitely stick to a debit card. But the following principle applies in both cases.

The thing is, if you are paying for pretty much every item you buy on your debit or credit card, then at the end of the month you’ll get a handy statement from the bank that itemizes (at least) every store where you spent money, and how much. This is an excellent way to keep track of your money and see where you could cut down some of your spending.

Others agree that spending money with debit or credit cards helps you track your spending, in comparison to spending cash - there are often a lot of holes in the “where my money went” budget at the end of the month if you tend to use cash. So consider this when you’re contemplating cutting up all your cards - they might actually be helping you in some ways.

Do you know a lot about investing your money? If so, you are in good shape. But what if you are like most people and don’t know much? In this case you have two options. You can hire somebody who knows more than you to handle your investments, or you can learn on your own. Which one sounds better to you?

The knowledge you have of investing is very important. Those who don’t know much should be careful about where they put their money. After all, you don’t want to take too much of a risk. If you do there is a chance that you could lose a lot of your hard earned money. Is that a risk you want to take? You work hard for your money so you should take your investments seriously.

To learn more about investing you can turn to one of the many books on this subject. Of course, you don’t want to overlook the knowledge that is available online. One tip to keep in mind: only gather knowledge from reputable sources. In other words, learning from Warren Buffet is much different than picking the brain of your next door neighbor who works at the local grocery store.

Before you begin to invest your money you should take note of how much knowledge you have. If you know a lot, move forward. If you don’t, either hire a professional or take the time to learn before you make your next investment.