Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with moneymanagement

What's the safest possible thing that I can do with my money?

Afroblanco — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:18:24 -0800

What's the safest possible thing that I can do with my money? Anyone who's seen me around the finance threads knows that I take bearishness to an extreme. Having witnessed the 2000 tech crash, I have no faith in the stock market or the US economy. I keep all of my money (USD) in a savings account. However, with the recent financial turmoil, I have a few questions :

1) Is it conceivable for the FDIC to fail?
2) If so, is there a place where I can put my money that will be safer than a savings account?
3) What's the safest, most risk-free way for me to save money and not get killed by inflation and the tanking US dollar?
4) If there is a safe way for me to save money and not be punished by inflation and the depreciating dollar, is there a way that I can do this without having to stress out and micromanage my finances? I don't want to be checking the finance page and making adjustments every day.

One thing that I must ask of you all - please do not turn this into a political debate. I know that issues of economics are often politically charged, but I ask you to please not address that aspect of the situation. Also, please take it easy on me. Even though I follow finance news, I've never done any investing or money management other than socking money away in my savings account. I'm a n00b, I admit it, so please don't talk down to me.

Any links to relevant articles or informational resources - especially those readable to the layman - will be appreciated.

Thank you.

Accounting software for dunces

MasonDixon — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 10:22:38 -0800

I need accounting software that will help me manage 20-30 people's income and expenses. I am not an accountant, and write this question as a complete babe-in-the-woods in terms of accounting software.

I work in an organization that helps those on different types of government assistance manage their money. We receive their funds and then disburse it to rent, bills and personal spending.

All of the checks however are written through a single account not 20 different ones.

Which software do I need? Being able to track all of the transfers and to categorize expenses is absolutely necessary.

Account Aggregators

nathan_teske — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 19:06:12 -0800

My bank (Wells Fargo) is discontinuing its account aggregation service. I'm looking for recommendations for a replacement. Mostly I want to find a company that I can trust as much as Wells Fargo - they must have an acceptable privacy policy and must be secure. Other than that, my only concern is that their web site plays nice with Macs.

How should American living overseas handle inheritance

planetkyoto — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 06:51:27 -0800

Expat American hates money, inherits share of house, perhaps $100,000. Do I need an accountant, a lawyer or something else to advise? I have no debts, but a 1-year-old baby I'd like to sock away education money for. Should I keep money stateside and invest, bring it to Japan, send it to Jersey Isle shysters? What kind of accountant/financial adviser keywords should I be looking for?

What are annuities?

spicynuts — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 08:41:11 -0800

What are annuities and why should I be wary of them? My mom has inherited a good amount of money in a trust and has been approached by a good friend who is a financial advisor and wants to put her money in an annuity. This person says that the principal is guaranteed and can never be lost. Number one, I don't believe that for a second. Number two, I'd heard bad things about annuities, but don't really understand what they are. What are they, what should I look out for and what are the specific risks?

Question number 4668

jare2003 — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 09:23:28 -0800

I'm a college student, and I was looking for a (cheap) money management software package to manage my loans, credit card, and income from work. Does anyone know of a cheap one that works well? I was looking at Quicken, but that's 80 bucks and seems like overkill.