Spending Diary | Track Spending
http://www.spendingdiary.com/

in these dire times it's good to know on what you spend so damn much money!

google docs trick for creating personal finance in gmail.

When it comes to money, the best defense is a good offense. The best way to avoid fallout from the national economy is to take control of your personal economy. By developing smart financial habits, you can remain calm even in the midst of a financial crisis. (Well, mostly calm, anyhow.)

Compare and discuss the %age budget breakdowns.

JD, writing at Zen Habits.

Nearly two years ago I filmed the first episode of what was to become “Great Depression Cooking with Clara”. At the time the episode was intended to help me remember how Clara created the meals I had enjoyed eating over the years. I wasn’t sure if I could capture the magic of her storytelling and the details of the cooking at the same time (there are no second takes with Clara, if she did it once she doesn’t feel the need to do it again).

DIY for the house

The best why-didn't-I-think-of-that ideas for shrinking your household expenses

need is an unlocked mobile phone — that is, a phone that’s not tied to one particular carrier. (In the United States, some carriers will unlock your phone if you ask; abroad, most phones come already unlocked.) whenever you arrive in new country, you can buy a local SIM card (sold at mobile phone stores and kiosks for $2 to $25, depending on the country) and make phone calls and send text messages without paying exorbitant international roaming fees. Simple enough. But for folks back home to reach you, you’ll need Skype. • Unfortunately, Skype does not exist for the iPhone. Instead, I use a free third-party application called Fring, which functions as a kind of Skype-to-cellphone phone gateway, letting me access my Skype account wherever I have a Wi-Fi signal. • Two weeks ago, Google announced a new service called Google Voice that operates much like Skype — only cheaper!

cool visual on where tax dollars are spent

A Visual Guide to Where Your Tax Dollars Go Interesting, detailed poster. Obama's budget requests.

Although I love to cook, I've always secretly, darkly, suspected it is costlier to craft at home what you can buy at Ralph's. Obviously, homemade bread tastes better than Wonder, but does playing Martha Stewart really save you money? While packaged food is

It's easy to find recipes for homemade yogurt, granola, and other common groceries, but far harder to know, cent for cent, if making them really saves money. One Slate writer did the math for us. Jennifer Reese is a dedicated home cook, but was suspicious that there were some home recipes on which she couldn't beat the big-time manufacturers for cost. So she tried out notable recipes for bagels, cream cheese, yogurt, jam, crackers, and granola, and compared her cost to a standard grocery store price, as well as noted how they tasted side by side. Here's Reese's revelation about Alton Brown's granola recipe pitted against even a premium brand like Bear Naked:

Another personal finance site. The company was not accepted by a Dutch bank as thay are not doing the core business, so they funded a start-up similar to wesabe or buxfer.

quash

Saving $ on travels

travel

online and print sources - how to use them well when jetting

Mashable social media marketing budgets

sweet for a slide

this bookmark brought from the different place.

"According to a new study released by Aberdeen Group (published today by eMarketer), 63 percent of companies plan to increase their social media marketing budgets in 2009, despite the current weakness in the economy. Digging deeper into the numbers, 21 percent of those surveyed plan to increase social media spending by 25 percent or more, while a mere 3 percent plan to shrink their budgets (34 percent responded “no change”)."

Nice blog post about social media marketing budgets - ups and downs

social media marketing budgets rise

"According to a new study released by Aberdeen Group, 63 percent of companies plan to increase their social media marketing budgets in 2009,"

Take a look at this.

online expense tracking

157 Investments Evaluated by Agency CIOs Arrow View detailed chart by agency Note: All descriptions, dates, and costs are as reported by agencies. Major investments (Investments Evaluated) represent only a portion of the agency's entire IT portfolio reported in Exhibit 53.

drupal site

Source: Consumer expenditures, U.S. department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2009

Durchschnittsverbrauch eines US-Amerikaners

Out of all of the blessings that have come into my life over the last two and a half years or so (a new home, my daughter, financial recovery, a new career, a lot of wonderful readers), the one that has truly helped me to sleep better at night is the move away from living paycheck to paycheck.

facts about the current economy.

The idea of this site is to build a number of free, easy to use, on-line calculators to help you calculate the cost of various financial products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages. Rather than going to a debt management company, or consolidating your loans, this site contains financial tools to help you get debt free yourself!

The idea of this site is to build a number of free, easy to use, on-line calculators to help you calculate the cost of various financial products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.

Financial Calculators. Good for Skills class.

calculator to learn true cost

Top 10 Travel Gadgets Under $50

RESPECT

"A list of 100 hotels, culled from readers' suggestions, that represent some of the best bargains for travelers headed to one of 14 European cities in the next few months."

A list of 100 hotels, culled from readers’ suggestions, that represent some of the best bargains for travelers headed to one of 14 European cities in the next few months.

ck or two here and there may not seem like a big deal. But if you're frequenting ATMs outside your bank's network

Over 190 of the most useful money saving websites, online guides, and tools that help you expertly manage your personal finances. There are budgeting tools, job and career resources, rate comparison sites for bank accounts, credit cards and phone bills, budget travel websites, money resources for students, and lots of deals & coupons!

Great list of resources for the penny-wise

Here's the ultimate guide to 190 of the best budgeting tools, deals & coupon sites, rate comparison engines, and personal finance resources online. This list has everything you need to start saving money immediately.

Recipes and how much they cost. The blogger adds recipes and breaks down the cost of food down to individual portions.

interesting article to read

Financial Literacy for Everyone

NY情報

what, a nyt article names itself on delicious? anyways, good stuff

"For visitors, however, these can be seriously intimidating numbers. Even if you’re not aiming for high-end Manhattan indulgence, the basic costs of lodging, transportation, food, shopping and entertainment are the most expensive in the nation."

Referred to from Shirley Chong's Twitter post.

Interesting stuff here if we end up going to NYC for New Years.

Until recently, I hadn’t traveled much. I grew up in and and around Portland, and that’s where I tended to spend my vacations. But after my wife’s parents took us on a few trips (to Alaska, to San Francisco, to London, Dublin, and New York), the travel bug bit me. I’d like to see more of the world, and I’d like to do it without spending a lot of cash. Travel full-time for less than $14,000 per year

Very helpful article for travel-lovers!!!

Ooh lala -- I like these sites and would gladly move to France for a year to take care of a cat

I am not rich. I am not a trust child, nor do I have rich parents, a sugar daddy, or a stream of income that allows me to live the high life on the road. Full time travel doesn’t have to be expensive, and after two years on the road, I’ve learned plenty of tricks to travel the world without breaking the bank, and without an end in sight.

You're always hearing about off-season, post-peak times to save money on purchases and food, but it always arrives too late. We've compiled a timeline and lots of best-time-to-buy suggestions into one post to help you plan a more frugal 2010.

shopping, purchasing, discounts, sales, year

travel planning

tips and websites - See tips 7, 8, and 9 for hotel options Priceline.com, Hotwire.com and Lastminutetravel.com discounts if willing to pay first. To find best rate, Biddingfortravel.com and Betterbidding.com provide advice and tips from travelers on how to navigate the system. Getaroom.com tells the hotel and price before booking, even lower rate through call center if willing to pay for the room before finding out. Rentals: Homeaway.com, Zonder.com and Rentalo.com. Some specialize in specific regions like Rentvillas.com for Europe or Wimco.com for the Caribbean. 6 to 12 % fee, AirBnB.com connects budget travelers with locals. It's a cross between CouchSurfing.com and vacation rentals section of Craigslist

Read Entire Package Here

Provides a high level breakdown of how much money is allocated to each agency

Stimulus Spending Breakouts

see very bottom for foreclosure information

29 Resources for Freelance Designers Operating on a Tight Budget

of highly-useful resources and web apps that have been created with freelance designers and developers in mind. But for many freelancers, especially those who are just getting started, pricing can be an issue. In this post we’ll feature 29 resources that are not only very useful fore freelancers, but also extremely affordable. Many of them are free or offer a free plan, and the others are priced below the competition. Hopefully you will find some resources here that will help you to save time and make your work more efficient and effective. If you have suggestions of other resources asi

There are plenty of highly-useful resources and web apps that have been created with freelance designers and developers in mind. But for many freelancers, especially those who are just getting started, pricing can be an issue. In this post we’ll feature 29 resources that are not only very useful fore freelancers, but also extremely affordable. Many of them are free or offer a free plan, and the others are priced below the competition.Hopefully you wil

In this beguiling Pacific Northwest city of artisanal cafes, offbeat museums, funky neighborhoods and food carts from every corner of the world, the good life comes cheap.

A financial crisis is the worst time to change the foundations of American capitalism.

an insane article, on this day there were videos of tent camps in Sacramento, CA filled with people who had lost jobs. The editorial is by Michael Boskin

This year's edition of the $800 gaming rig is an order of magnitude leap over last year's edition.

This year's edition of the $800 gaming rig is an order of magnitude leap over last year's edition. Gaming on an $800 PC now needs few compromises.

Corn Chowder; Crab Cakes; Pear Crisp

Make a gourmet meal with just four cans of food. And some other stuff, of course -- cheaters.

date with erin

Rectangles in the chart are sized according to the amount of spending for that category. Color shows the change in spending from 2010.

President Obama's proposal for the 2011 budget.

Nice graphical representation of Obama's 2011 budget proposal, and how the budget changes from 2010.

Beautiful infographic.

The stretchability of a whole chicken is a frequently discussed topic among food and frugality bloggers. It’s commonly accepted that a single fowl will feed a family of 11 for weeks, years - even millennia. Even after 20 months of keeping CHG, I’m constantly gobsmacked by how moms and dads can create dinner after dinner from the same bird. Here’s the thing: sometimes, those dinners aren’t the healthiest meals in the world. There tend to be a lot of quesadillas and casseroles whenever these type of posts pop up, not to mention chicken salads drenched with full-fat mayo. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this whatsoever (except the mayo - blech), but I wanted to see if I could put a healthier spin on it.

Estimate travel costs by country, city, and category. Use the Estimate Trip Costs search form to plan your expenses, or browse the list of countries. The trip expenses entered by other travelers help us calculate daily averages by location and category.

Recommended by Lifehacker

Track Find out how you spent your money with charts, tables, categories, and daily averages. Sign Up and start a trip to find out how easy it can be.

Lista de filmes marcantes feitos com menos de 1 milhão de dólares

Behind every outstanding Hollywood blockbuster, there’s a film director who had to work their ass off to helm that project. And though their early work is not often seen by the public eye, that doesn’t mean it’s not accessible to those who are interested in seeking it out. The following movies all had budgets under $1 million, some of them reaching as low as $7,000. Let this act as a reminder: you don't need to be backed by studio financing to make a great film.

would love to watch most of these some day

Pour 100 briques, ben t'as encore des trucs pas mal...

http://www.alwayswatching.org/features/8-eye-opening-movies-remind-you-your-life-isnt-so-bad

If you're buying a used car, it would behoove you to consider cars on this list.

Here's the problem for states that want to pry more money out of the wallets of rich people. It never works because people, investment capital and businesses are mobile: They can leave tax-unfriendly states and move to tax-friendly states.

Why states need to cut taxes: http://tr.im/lEOG #tcot [from http://twitter.com/Underdown/statuses/1836031711]

It's already happened in Maryland.

The cleaning aisle at just about any grocery store is stocked with a dizzying array of options—and when it comes down to it, there are a lot of expensive, toxic, superfluous products crowding the market. Chances are, you already have one of the…

If you're looking for a greener, petsafe cleaner, look no further than your own pantry! This article lists 25 ways to clean with vinegar

TripLittle is aimed at both personal and business travelers alike, providing simple to use tools for all of your travel planning and organizational needs. Easily manage and share your plans with anyone. // Features Budget // Itinerary // Packing lists // Sharing options

用来计划一次旅行的好工具，从金钱，计划，到协作等。当然是要付费的！ 目前这个网站感觉有些不稳定，大概是突然增加了很多用户吧。

線上行程、預算計算

The "problem" with these posts is that they make it seem as if the poor have no excuse for not eating well...

Fascinating blog about coupons and urban foraging.

21 Things You Should Never Buy New - Yahoo! Finance - http://goo.gl/8CWU