Wednesday, October 27, 2010

personal finances help


If navigating the murky waters of credit scores and debt leaves you scratching your head and wishing someone would just tell you what to do, you’re in luck. Credit Sesame is a new startup launching in private beta today at TechCrunch Disrupt that’s looking to help do just that — give the site access to your financial data, and it will present you with a handful of options, along with bulletpoints explaining why they work for you. If you’d like to try the site out for yourself, head to CreditSesame.com/TechCrunch and use the password OpenSesame.


Credit Sesame doesn’t take long to set up — the company says it takes a couple of minutes — but it does require sensitive information including your social security number (which the site needs in order to access your credit history). That may make some users wary, but the site is aware of potential privacy and security issues, and has a FAQ that talks about how it protects your data here.


Once you’ve entered your information, the site will visualize key data like your credit and debt (it’s clearly taking some design cues from BillShrink and Mint’s pretty graphs). It will also offer recommendations for how you can save money — the company says it analyzes thousands of financial products to determine which are the best fit for each user, and Credit Sesame says it saves an average home owner up to $600 per month. Proposals are based on pre-qualified loans, and Credit Sesame says that it uses the “same pricing engine that top banks use” to find those products.



Q&A:

GT: I get consume value proposition. How are you going to compete with and what’s your advantage vs. Mint, BillShrink, etc.

A: Companies out there like Mint do a great job helping with finances. But what really helps.. most companies lack ingredients. One is consumer intelligence. Second is product intelligence. Our core competence is product intelligence. Analytics that brings it all together.


SP: I think it’s well designed. Hard to get distribution. Broader questions that founders here need to ask themselves: why am I founding a company in the first place. Might be that you want financial independence, build lifestyle business. Third reason which is bad: you think you’ve spent your career in Silicon Valley and highest level status is to be a founder. The founders who fall into first two categories, sometimes lifestyle businesses become incredible industries. Founders see a problem that desperately needs solving. Third class doesn’t usually succeed. I think everyone needs to ask which they are. Not saying you guys are the third.

A: I’m a serial entrepreneur. I sold to a lot of banks and had a good exit. I noticed that banks are great, but their objectives aren’t aligned with consumer’s best interest. When consumers go to a lot branches, they want to know if they should be worried, if there is something they should do different. And the answers they get aren’t sufficient.


VR: What is the user experience. How much info do I need to give to get started. WIth recommendations, how hard is it to do those?

A: Takes two minutes, answer 5-6 questions. Once you enter information we aggregate everything. We refresh that data for you. Our system knows enough about the client/market that if an opportunity arises we’ll present the option and the system can do it for them.






'When I married Donna, I could get both hands around her waist,' said my husband's grandfather. Pointing at his full-figured wife, he boasted, 'Now look how much I got. That's what I call an investment!' — Katherine Eby, via Reader's Digest.com


In essence, that funny anecdote is right. Of course it doesn't sound very flattering to Katherine's grandmother-in-law, but that's exactly what investment is all about: making sure that your accounts and net worth grow bigger over time.


Investment is that exercise of putting money in a financial account, in your business, in a friend's business, or even in some other companies' business, for the pursuit of growing one's money. Investment is an effort to get one's money to "grow."


Investment works on the principle of "compounded interest." Interest that is added to your principal, or initial investment, itself gets to earn interest. So if you've initially invested $200, at the interest rate of 2.5%, at the maturity term of one month, you'll be earning $5 at the end of that month. If you renew the term of your money, your $205 will then earn $5.13 ($5.125) when another month is over. Certificates of deposit accounts or time deposits work exactly like this.


On the other hand, mutual funds work on the principle of snowballed profits. Mutual funds are as good as stocks and bonds, only you don't manage them yourself. Rather, trained financial experts are hired to manage your money. To invest in mutual funds, you can look into a broker that charges low commissions and check out their offerings.


Basic Tips For Investing In A Business


Investments could also mean those things you purchase or put money in, in order to further your business. Most people take additional studies in order to get the credentials needed to help them advance in their chosen careers. Other people invest in machinery, gadgets and equipment in order to make their lives easier. Then, most businesses invest in people which make up their workforce — their much-needed manpower.


Here are three informal rules of thumb by which you can measure your investments and purchases:


Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo Wii <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Wii news of Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: In Afghanistan, &#39;The insurgency seems to be <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

Exclusive: Yahoo Courts Former <b>News</b> Corp. Digital Exec Ross <b>...</b>

He's baaaaaack. Former Fox Interactive Media President Ross Levinsohn, that is, who is the top candidate to replace Hilary Schneider as Yahoo's US head, according to several sources close to the situation.


bench craft company complaints
bench craft company complaints

The Shack by kateraidt


Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo Wii <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Wii news of Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: In Afghanistan, &#39;The insurgency seems to be <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

Exclusive: Yahoo Courts Former <b>News</b> Corp. Digital Exec Ross <b>...</b>

He's baaaaaack. Former Fox Interactive Media President Ross Levinsohn, that is, who is the top candidate to replace Hilary Schneider as Yahoo's US head, according to several sources close to the situation.


bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

If navigating the murky waters of credit scores and debt leaves you scratching your head and wishing someone would just tell you what to do, you’re in luck. Credit Sesame is a new startup launching in private beta today at TechCrunch Disrupt that’s looking to help do just that — give the site access to your financial data, and it will present you with a handful of options, along with bulletpoints explaining why they work for you. If you’d like to try the site out for yourself, head to CreditSesame.com/TechCrunch and use the password OpenSesame.


Credit Sesame doesn’t take long to set up — the company says it takes a couple of minutes — but it does require sensitive information including your social security number (which the site needs in order to access your credit history). That may make some users wary, but the site is aware of potential privacy and security issues, and has a FAQ that talks about how it protects your data here.


Once you’ve entered your information, the site will visualize key data like your credit and debt (it’s clearly taking some design cues from BillShrink and Mint’s pretty graphs). It will also offer recommendations for how you can save money — the company says it analyzes thousands of financial products to determine which are the best fit for each user, and Credit Sesame says it saves an average home owner up to $600 per month. Proposals are based on pre-qualified loans, and Credit Sesame says that it uses the “same pricing engine that top banks use” to find those products.



Q&A:

GT: I get consume value proposition. How are you going to compete with and what’s your advantage vs. Mint, BillShrink, etc.

A: Companies out there like Mint do a great job helping with finances. But what really helps.. most companies lack ingredients. One is consumer intelligence. Second is product intelligence. Our core competence is product intelligence. Analytics that brings it all together.


SP: I think it’s well designed. Hard to get distribution. Broader questions that founders here need to ask themselves: why am I founding a company in the first place. Might be that you want financial independence, build lifestyle business. Third reason which is bad: you think you’ve spent your career in Silicon Valley and highest level status is to be a founder. The founders who fall into first two categories, sometimes lifestyle businesses become incredible industries. Founders see a problem that desperately needs solving. Third class doesn’t usually succeed. I think everyone needs to ask which they are. Not saying you guys are the third.

A: I’m a serial entrepreneur. I sold to a lot of banks and had a good exit. I noticed that banks are great, but their objectives aren’t aligned with consumer’s best interest. When consumers go to a lot branches, they want to know if they should be worried, if there is something they should do different. And the answers they get aren’t sufficient.


VR: What is the user experience. How much info do I need to give to get started. WIth recommendations, how hard is it to do those?

A: Takes two minutes, answer 5-6 questions. Once you enter information we aggregate everything. We refresh that data for you. Our system knows enough about the client/market that if an opportunity arises we’ll present the option and the system can do it for them.






'When I married Donna, I could get both hands around her waist,' said my husband's grandfather. Pointing at his full-figured wife, he boasted, 'Now look how much I got. That's what I call an investment!' — Katherine Eby, via Reader's Digest.com


In essence, that funny anecdote is right. Of course it doesn't sound very flattering to Katherine's grandmother-in-law, but that's exactly what investment is all about: making sure that your accounts and net worth grow bigger over time.


Investment is that exercise of putting money in a financial account, in your business, in a friend's business, or even in some other companies' business, for the pursuit of growing one's money. Investment is an effort to get one's money to "grow."


Investment works on the principle of "compounded interest." Interest that is added to your principal, or initial investment, itself gets to earn interest. So if you've initially invested $200, at the interest rate of 2.5%, at the maturity term of one month, you'll be earning $5 at the end of that month. If you renew the term of your money, your $205 will then earn $5.13 ($5.125) when another month is over. Certificates of deposit accounts or time deposits work exactly like this.


On the other hand, mutual funds work on the principle of snowballed profits. Mutual funds are as good as stocks and bonds, only you don't manage them yourself. Rather, trained financial experts are hired to manage your money. To invest in mutual funds, you can look into a broker that charges low commissions and check out their offerings.


Basic Tips For Investing In A Business


Investments could also mean those things you purchase or put money in, in order to further your business. Most people take additional studies in order to get the credentials needed to help them advance in their chosen careers. Other people invest in machinery, gadgets and equipment in order to make their lives easier. Then, most businesses invest in people which make up their workforce — their much-needed manpower.


Here are three informal rules of thumb by which you can measure your investments and purchases:


bench craft company complaints

Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo Wii <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Wii news of Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: In Afghanistan, &#39;The insurgency seems to be <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

Exclusive: Yahoo Courts Former <b>News</b> Corp. Digital Exec Ross <b>...</b>

He's baaaaaack. Former Fox Interactive Media President Ross Levinsohn, that is, who is the top candidate to replace Hilary Schneider as Yahoo's US head, according to several sources close to the situation.


bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo Wii <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Wii news of Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: In Afghanistan, &#39;The insurgency seems to be <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

Exclusive: Yahoo Courts Former <b>News</b> Corp. Digital Exec Ross <b>...</b>

He's baaaaaack. Former Fox Interactive Media President Ross Levinsohn, that is, who is the top candidate to replace Hilary Schneider as Yahoo's US head, according to several sources close to the situation.


bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo Wii <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Wii news of Greenpeace dumps on Nintendo.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: In Afghanistan, &#39;The insurgency seems to be <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

Exclusive: Yahoo Courts Former <b>News</b> Corp. Digital Exec Ross <b>...</b>

He's baaaaaack. Former Fox Interactive Media President Ross Levinsohn, that is, who is the top candidate to replace Hilary Schneider as Yahoo's US head, according to several sources close to the situation.


bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

No comments:

Post a Comment