Former financial planner Nora Dunn knows that lots of folks are itching to do something after seeing their latest investment statements—maybe to the point of axing their advisor. Not a great idea, she writes, unless he or she is unresponsive, pushy, or, even worse, trying to sell you a fortune-telling service:

If they call you wanting to make drastic changes based on what they think the market is going to do, run. What they should really be focused on is you, your goals, and a plan (and portfolio) that will weather the good times and the bad. Sure - small adjustments here and there may be prudent, but moving everything in and out of different asset classes is a losing game. They may get it right a few times, but all it takes is one bad calculation to lose everything you have gained.

Dunn's got eight other no-nos to watch for with any advisor. Any of them ring call up a familiar story? Warn your fellow readers (or praise the good advisors) in the comments.

Personal finance blogger Donna Freedman details how (and why) she engaged in a 10-minute argument with an Office Depot manager over $3. The gist: While $3 may not seem worth the headache and extra effort of an argument, it's important to hold companies to their word. In her anecdote, Freedman came to the store because of the coupon, so leaving without that savings means more frustration than not. With that in mind, this sort of confrontation isn't for most, especially for those who aren't comfortable haggling in the first place. The Get Rich Slowly post is about both principle and saving money, but it got us wondering: How far will you go (and have you gone) to save an extra buck? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments. Photo by sittered.

If you got paid today and you seem to have more money than usual, don't be in a huge rush to spend it. Australian IT reports that a technical error by Westpac meant that a large batch of payroll transactions were processed twice, resulting in double the amount of money going into bank accounts. (Non-Westpac customers are also significantly affected, as the pay could potentially go into any Australian bank account specified by the recipient.)
Westpac is working to reclaim the money, so if you go out and spend it before it gets redrawn, you'll just end up with a slanging match with your bank next week. Of course, if you've got a well-organised budget system that includes moving money automatically into relevant accounts as it arrives, there'll be less to worry about.

The Simple Dollar personal finance blog posts a great idea for anyone looking for a deal on a particular item or group of goods who doesn't want to be tempted by other deep discounts at a place like Amazon's Gold Box section. Using an RSS-filtering tool like Feed Sifter (or any keyword-search tool, like Feed Rinse), you can get pinged only when the specific item you really can buy shows up at an affordable price. For local deals, try setting up Craigslist feeds using boolean operators.

Read More »

It's June 30 and the financial year is officially coming to an end. Any day now you'll be getting your payment summary from your employer, possibly planning a meeting with your accountant, and trying to work out if you'll be getting a nice refund from the Australian Taxation Office. Whatever your situation, the right software can help make this process a bit less tedious -- and you don't necessarily have to spend a fortune to get it. Check after the jump for our fast guide to the three key tools you'll need for a pain-free tax experience.

Read More »

You already know that a healthy home cooked meal is better than prepackaged and fast food, but when it comes to the double crunch of money and time how do you find room for healthy cooking? Frugal blogger Trent assembled some tips from his own days as a college student and bachelor on how to prepare healthy food cheaply with minimal cooking gear. Trent writes:

I'm assuming that all you have are just a tiny fridge, a hot plate that can generate enough heat to cook on, a single pan, a plate, a bowl, eating utensils, a source of water, and a knife to cut with. Nothing else - you could have this equipment in the corner of a dorm room.

Read More »

The annual publication of the BRW Rich 200 ranking of Australia's wealthiest individuals gives us all a chance to bicker, make envious comments and reflect on the state of our own bank balance. However, while you might not have much chance of reaching the $200 million cut-off for entry into the list, that doesn't mean you can't pick up some useful tips from the people who have made it. Here's some hints direct from the mouths of the rich folks  themselves to the team at BRW that can help you organise your own money matters better.

Read More »

Web-based account manager Zefty helps kids understand spending and parents manage what they owe the little ones. Manually or automatically "deposit" money into kids' accounts, and they (and you) can see what they've saved. If your tyke's tech-proficient, they get their own login to enter what they withdrew and why, but parents get a super-user account as well. There's also "Zefty Checks" kids can request money with, and an allowance calculator that determines a reasonable pay rate. Zefty is free to use, requires a sign-up.

Read More »

Guest poster Cathy of the Chief Family Officer blog writes on Get Rich Slowly about how she saves serious cash on household essentials by playing "The Drugstore Game." The Game is actually a wise combination of manufacturers' and store coupons from Sunday circulars, drug store rewards programs, and buying items you don't think you need right now to get the most value out of your savings. Here's the Game in action:

In the toothbrush example above, a Drugstore Game pro would never pay the full $2.99. Instead, she would probably have a $1.50 off manufacturer coupon. So she'll pay $1.49 and receive $2.99 that she can use to buy more items.

Read More »

Personal finance blogger J.D. Roth is on the road towards making his money system completely paperless. Direct deposit, automatic savings transfers, Quicken, and auto bill pay gets most paper out of the way. Then Roth scans any paperwork that does come in to PDF with our favourite scanner—the Fujitsu ScanSnap—and then he shreds it. Nice to see how several parts of his paperless system has also evolved into an automated finance system, too. How do you make your money go without too much paper (or intervention)? Let us know in the comments.

Read More »