Total financial ruin filter: I am terrible at managing my very small amount of money. How did you learn to manage your money better than me? I don’t buy a lot of extraneous crap and I don’t eat out much. But I don’t budget either, and I’m constantly paying for stupid crap like overdraft fees and parking tickets – stuff that has to do with poor planning, also having to borrow from friends to make rent, bouncing checks, etc. Part of the problem is that I just don’t make enough money to get by. I’m going to school to get a degree in a field that offers much better pay than what I get now. I’ve also checked out some web resources about budgeting etc, and am meeting with a financial counselor soon. But I’m worried that the next couple years in school will send me into some horrible crisis that I can’t get out of! It’s even scarier because I have kids.

Seeking guidance with financial planning (loans, down payment, more) I've searched through the questions already asked but didn't see anything quite like this. My situation: 1. I am graduating with a very large student loan debt (more than 50k, less than 100k). 2. I have excellent credit. 3. I have no other debt or loans. 4. I have some retirement savings. 5. I don't expect to have a huge salary. 6. I am considering going back for another degree in a year or two--probably one that would result in a significantly higher salary I'm going to move home for a year or two. I am considering using my cost savings to pay off a large portion of my loans. This appeals to me, except for a few reasons:

Family of four, moving to Bay Area, making $115K. Is this crazy? I live outside the US. I have been offered a job in Mountain View making $115K, which is a lot anywhere else except the Bay Area it seems. I have the potential to make $30K+ in bonuses annually, but bonuses don't pay the mortgage. I would have ~$300K in home equity to make a down payment on a house. So my question is two-fold: one, can I actually live a reasonable life on this much money in the Bay Area? 1100 sq ft 3-bedroom houses seem TINY to me. Is this really the best I can expect to be able to own? The second question I care less about, but of course the big question is whether buying a house in the peninsula in the next few months is bad timing.

We're expecting our first child in a matter of months. My wife's employer doesn't provide paid leave so we've tried to rearrange the budget so we can soften the blow of lost income. I had a thought... can you delay a mortgage payment 1 or 2 months and add those months on the end? My wife's employer requires a delivering mother to use their paid time off and any time after that is without pay. They comply with the Family Medical Leave Act where she is guaranteed her job upon return but without short term disability there won't be anything coming in terms of income. Granted, we're financially stable but our biggest bill (our mortgage) scares us a little and we're trying to find ways to pay it for 2-3 months along with medical bills and needs of a newborn. So, maybe we're just overreacting but we'd like to be better safe than sorry.

What's the best budgeting/personal finance for my Intel iMac running 10.5.1? It seems that Quicken doesn't work on Intel Macs and that it has terrible reviews on Amazon. Ideally, I would like: 1) Something that I can automatically import financial information from my banks/financial institutions and track capital gains and losses/savings and credit card rates, etc 2) Something that can help tailor a budget for me, makes suggestions, etc 3) Something that is very easy to use. My natural state is disorganization I am better at organizing things that are easy to KEEP organized.

What's the best budgeting/personal finance for my Intel iMac running 10.5.1? It seems that Quicken doesn't work on Intel Macs and that it has terrible reviews on Amazon. Ideally, I would like: 1) Something that I can automatically import financial information from my banks/financial institutions and track capital gains and losses/savings and credit card rates, etc 2) Something that can help tailor a budget for me, makes suggestions, etc 3) Something that is very easy to use. My natural state is disorganization I am better at organizing things that are easy to KEEP organized.

Am I ready to buy a house? Disgusting details inside. Me, in a nutshell. 27, male, unmarried, no kids, live in girlfriend. Making right at a whopping $30k a year. Debt-right at $14k in student loans, and about $9k on a car, that's it. I have about $2k in cash savings, accrued mostly in the last 6 months. I have never bought a home before and will most likely qualify for first time homebuyers incentives if the house meets the criteria. Monthly debt $250 car payment, $130 insurance, $50 cell phone, student loans in forbearance. No credit cards or other accounts. Houses in my immediate town are pretty well out of the question. I'd be looking at $100k to open a door. I'll be looking outside the city limits, where, for example, $65k will get me a house and 13 acres.

Am I ready to buy a house? Disgusting details inside. Me, in a nutshell. 27, male, unmarried, no kids, live in girlfriend. Making right at a whopping $30k a year. Debt-right at $14k in student loans, and about $9k on a car, that's it. I have about $2k in cash savings, accrued mostly in the last 6 months. I have never bought a home before and will most likely qualify for first time homebuyers incentives if the house meets the criteria. Monthly debt $250 car payment, $130 insurance, $50 cell phone, student loans in forbearance. No credit cards or other accounts. Houses in my immediate town are pretty well out of the question. I'd be looking at $100k to open a door. I'll be looking outside the city limits, where, for example, $65k will get me a house and 13 acres.

Help me micromanage my household money! What software program should I use? What Windows software programs are out there that will easily help me import bank statements (such as .qif files) and combine that with debts, small bits of stock holdings, etc, to show my equity and how it's doing? I'd also like something that can help me set budgets. Graphs and visualizations are great. I have a copy of Quicken 2000, which will probably work okay, though it's a bit on the side of bloatware and a bit kludgy to use, so I'm seeing if maybe there's a better approach to this that I've missed.

Help me micromanage my household money! What software program should I use? What Windows software programs are out there that will easily help me import bank statements (such as .qif files) and combine that with debts, small bits of stock holdings, etc, to show my equity and how it's doing? I'd also like something that can help me set budgets. Graphs and visualizations are great. I have a copy of Quicken 2000, which will probably work okay, though it's a bit on the side of bloatware and a bit kludgy to use, so I'm seeing if maybe there's a better approach to this that I've missed.