TORONTO — Tired of overspending? Confused about where all the money is going? A new iPad app aims to help users manage their finances.
Mint, a web-based personal finance manager, released the iPad app last week. It provides a snapshot of a user's financial profile by aggregating and categorizing data from banking, credit and trading accounts, as well as information on loans, mortgages and assets.
The data is displayed in sleek graphs and charts, which provide insight into financial balances across accounts, remaining budget allocation and spending habits across categories such as food and dining, shopping, movies, and travel.
"Eating out and shopping are the two areas of discretionary expenses that people will cut back on first," said Aaron Forth, vice president and general manager of the Intuit Personal Finance Group, which owns Mint.
The technology also allows users to get more granular information on their spending. They can investigate, for example, how they are faring with their monthly budget, or which transactions resulted in an unusually high food and dining expenditures last month.
The new features include new ways of visualizing and interacting with the data, which Forth said is especially conducive to tablets.
The app also includes a newsfeed that notifies users when they have gone over their budget and provides other personalized reminders and financial tips.
Cash transactions can also be entered on the app, which uses GPS to automatically determine location and categorize the transaction. So, if you're standing in line at shop and enter a transaction, the app will pick up the location, according to Forth.
Forth recommends three steps to manage finances.
"Pay down your debt. Create an emergency fund, at least six months, and contribute to your 401K (pension plan)," he said.
One drawback of the app is that it is not possible to split transactions. Purchases in a department, whether it is food or clothing or books, are not attributed to a particular category.
Forth said the company is aware of the problem.
The iPad app comes almost three years after Mint launched the iPhone app in 2008. A similar app called PageOnce also allows users to track their finances and to pay bills through the app for a monthly fee.
iPhone and Android apps are also available but Mint only supports financial institutions within the United States and Canada only. — Reuters
Source: gmanews.tv
Showing posts with label Debt Ceiling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Debt Ceiling. Show all posts
Monday, November 7, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Senate shelves Reid bill as final debt-ceiling plan comes into focus
The Senate failed to advance debt-ceiling legislation moved by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, even as lawmakers say progress is being made on a final agreement that they hope can pass before the Aug. 2 deadline to avoid a federal default.
The vote, initially planned for late Saturday, ultimately proved inconsequential, with leaders working to agree on terms of a new plan. The Senate could return to vote on it Sunday evening if an agreement is reached.
"We're cautiously optimistic," Reid said earlier of talks with his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. But he added: "As we know, one problem can stop the whole agreement from going forward."
Reid said he's also spoken with Vice President Joe Biden, who is playing a key role in the frenetic final days before the nation could lose the authority to continue borrowing money to pay its bills.
The discussion centers on a $3-trillion package that includes cuts in discretionary spending, capping future spending and a vote on a balanced budget amendment. A special joint committee would be formed to consider further cuts and entitlement reforms that could be considered in Congress this fall.
The debt ceiling would be raised until after the 2012 presidential election -- a key priority for Obama.
House Speaker John Boehner was to hold a conference call with fellow Republicans later Sunday to discuss that framework and gauge support. McConnell may also meet with the full Senate Republican conference.
"This deal has not been finalized but I think we're very, very close to something I could comfortably recommend to my members, and I believe the Democratic leadership will be doing the same," McConnell said earlier Sunday on CBS' "Face The Nation."
But White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer tweeted after the vote that, "despite all the reporting, no deal has been reached" and that there were "still [important issues to work out]."
Added a House leadership aide: "Discussions are moving in the right direction, but serious issues remain. And no agreement will be final until Members have a chance to weigh in."
Lawmakers need to act by Tuesday to ensure that the government continues to meet its obligations. Senior advisor David Plouffe said that if that final plan cannot be moved by then, the president would be open to signing a temporary debt-ceiling increase.
Lisa Mascaro, Kathleen Hennessey and Peter Nicholas contributed to this report.
source: latimes.com
The vote, initially planned for late Saturday, ultimately proved inconsequential, with leaders working to agree on terms of a new plan. The Senate could return to vote on it Sunday evening if an agreement is reached.
"We're cautiously optimistic," Reid said earlier of talks with his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. But he added: "As we know, one problem can stop the whole agreement from going forward."
Reid said he's also spoken with Vice President Joe Biden, who is playing a key role in the frenetic final days before the nation could lose the authority to continue borrowing money to pay its bills.
The discussion centers on a $3-trillion package that includes cuts in discretionary spending, capping future spending and a vote on a balanced budget amendment. A special joint committee would be formed to consider further cuts and entitlement reforms that could be considered in Congress this fall.
The debt ceiling would be raised until after the 2012 presidential election -- a key priority for Obama.
House Speaker John Boehner was to hold a conference call with fellow Republicans later Sunday to discuss that framework and gauge support. McConnell may also meet with the full Senate Republican conference.
"This deal has not been finalized but I think we're very, very close to something I could comfortably recommend to my members, and I believe the Democratic leadership will be doing the same," McConnell said earlier Sunday on CBS' "Face The Nation."
But White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer tweeted after the vote that, "despite all the reporting, no deal has been reached" and that there were "still [important issues to work out]."
Added a House leadership aide: "Discussions are moving in the right direction, but serious issues remain. And no agreement will be final until Members have a chance to weigh in."
Lawmakers need to act by Tuesday to ensure that the government continues to meet its obligations. Senior advisor David Plouffe said that if that final plan cannot be moved by then, the president would be open to signing a temporary debt-ceiling increase.
Lisa Mascaro, Kathleen Hennessey and Peter Nicholas contributed to this report.
source: latimes.com
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Symbolic House vote on debt ceiling approaches
The Republican proposal calls for deep spending cuts. Negotiations to avert a federal default continue behind the scenes.
Reporting from Washington— The House prepared to vote on a Republican proposal to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for steep spending cuts, in defiance of President Obama's vow to veto the bill if it passed both chambers of Congress.
The standoff underscored the largely symbolic nature of the Republican measure amid ongoing behind-the scenes negotiations to avert a federal default.
The talks revolved around a Senate-led plan to let Obama act alone to increase the debt ceiling through 2012. The plan also would include as much as $1.5 trillion in budget cuts identified by Republican and Democratic negotiators after weeks of closed-door debate.
Senate leaders said Monday the chamber would stay in session through the weekend as negotiators scrambled for a deal to increase the government's borrowing authority. Without an increase by Aug. 2, Treasury Department officials have warned of a possible default, with financial upheaval rippling worldwide.
U.S. and overseas stocks stumbled Monday in the face of the deficit uncertainty as well as unsettled European debt woes, analysts said.
The House vote, scheduled for Tuesday, centers on a GOP plan known as "cut, cap and balance" legislation. The proposal would cut spending by $111 billion in 2012 and cap future outlays to 19.9% of the nation's gross domestic output. It also would require that Congress send a balanced-budget constitutional amendment to the states for ratification, a lengthy process.
The proposal is expected to pass the House but stall in the Senate. Even House endorsement of the package would not ensure that the proposed amendment, which would be formally introduced later, could win the two-thirds approval required for passage in each chamber.
Still, the vote Tuesday carries political significance by giving voice to the conservative majority that has refused to compromise with the White House on raising the debt ceiling.
The White House attacked the Republican cut, cap and balance plan, portraying it as a radical response to the deficit problem that would dismantle Medicare and other aspects of the federal safety net.
"It's dodge, duck and dismantle," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said at a news briefing.
As the floor action plays out this week, private negotiations are expected to continue. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) held an unannounced meeting with Obama on Sunday at the White House.
The $1.5 trillion in cuts in the still-forming Senate plan would probably include cuts to agricultural subsidies and federal pensions, and would bring in new revenue from communication spectrum leases.
It also would set up a committee of lawmakers to recommend future cuts for an up-or-down vote in Congress by year's end.
To attract Democratic votes, the package may include a proposal to swap the extension of an expiring break on workers' payroll taxes for the closing of tax loopholes for corporate jet owners and others.
Obama is still seeking a bigger and grander package, White House officials said.
Source: latimes.com
Reporting from Washington— The House prepared to vote on a Republican proposal to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for steep spending cuts, in defiance of President Obama's vow to veto the bill if it passed both chambers of Congress.
The standoff underscored the largely symbolic nature of the Republican measure amid ongoing behind-the scenes negotiations to avert a federal default.
The talks revolved around a Senate-led plan to let Obama act alone to increase the debt ceiling through 2012. The plan also would include as much as $1.5 trillion in budget cuts identified by Republican and Democratic negotiators after weeks of closed-door debate.
Senate leaders said Monday the chamber would stay in session through the weekend as negotiators scrambled for a deal to increase the government's borrowing authority. Without an increase by Aug. 2, Treasury Department officials have warned of a possible default, with financial upheaval rippling worldwide.
U.S. and overseas stocks stumbled Monday in the face of the deficit uncertainty as well as unsettled European debt woes, analysts said.
The House vote, scheduled for Tuesday, centers on a GOP plan known as "cut, cap and balance" legislation. The proposal would cut spending by $111 billion in 2012 and cap future outlays to 19.9% of the nation's gross domestic output. It also would require that Congress send a balanced-budget constitutional amendment to the states for ratification, a lengthy process.
The proposal is expected to pass the House but stall in the Senate. Even House endorsement of the package would not ensure that the proposed amendment, which would be formally introduced later, could win the two-thirds approval required for passage in each chamber.
Still, the vote Tuesday carries political significance by giving voice to the conservative majority that has refused to compromise with the White House on raising the debt ceiling.
The White House attacked the Republican cut, cap and balance plan, portraying it as a radical response to the deficit problem that would dismantle Medicare and other aspects of the federal safety net.
"It's dodge, duck and dismantle," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said at a news briefing.
As the floor action plays out this week, private negotiations are expected to continue. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) held an unannounced meeting with Obama on Sunday at the White House.
The $1.5 trillion in cuts in the still-forming Senate plan would probably include cuts to agricultural subsidies and federal pensions, and would bring in new revenue from communication spectrum leases.
It also would set up a committee of lawmakers to recommend future cuts for an up-or-down vote in Congress by year's end.
To attract Democratic votes, the package may include a proposal to swap the extension of an expiring break on workers' payroll taxes for the closing of tax loopholes for corporate jet owners and others.
Obama is still seeking a bigger and grander package, White House officials said.
Source: latimes.com
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