INVEST IN A COMPUTER
When personal computers were first invented, back in the 1970s, it was tough to imagine that someday, there would be more computers in each home than people. We may not be there yet, but many of us have personal computers on our desks at work, on our tables at home, in our libraries and schools, and in our hands as we buzz about in our daily lives. (As of this writing, I confess to having five desktop PCs and a laptop in our home.)
But we`re not all just playing games. We`re e-mailing, shopping, browsing, learning, and, of course, playing. And those of us who are the most money-savvy are managing our money electronically.
If you don`t already have a computer, you should spend the $500 it will cost to buy a fairly decent one (check the sale ads in your local paper on Sunday: I paid $400 for each of my most recent two computers). If you own a computer but aren`t using it to track your finances, you`re missing out. A computer can help you track your spending, balance your budget, mind your investments, and keep you abreast of the latest financial information.
In fact, there`s more financial information online right now than you could ever use in a lifetime. Best of all, most of it is free!
So get online. Choose a money-management soft- ware program that suits you. If you choose Quicken (or QuickBooks, if you have a small business), you can automatically download all of your information into Intuit`s TurboTax program, which will help you do your own taxes quickly and easily.
But don`t stop there. Get online and start tracking your investments electronically. You can sign on with a discount online broker, or go online with your regular brokerage company. You`ll soon see that the time you spend maintaining your finances is minimal, but the rewards are well worth it. And using a computer is a whole lot more fun than trying to keep track of everything with a paper and pencil.
