I found an interesting link through CNN.com. The article lays out a step by step lesson guide to organizing your finances and making sure you keep them that way. In times like this it’s very crucial that everybody understands how to manage their money. I’m going to go over a brief overview of what the website talks about, then I’ll supply you the link so your wonderful inquisitive eyes can go and look for yourselves at the more in depth guide.

First and foremost, before you attempt to handle anything regarding money, you should set your priorities. You need to know what ‘money drains’ are most important. IE: High interest cards & loans, outstanding payments, monthly bills etc. Paying off high interest cards & loans first will make your final payment smaller in the long run. Think about it… sacrifice- give up a little money and bite the bullet to pay more on your principle each month, or pay small amounts for the rest of your life. Seriously. You’ll probably be paying forever. Forever. Read more…

Zopa, funny name but great idea. The idea is this: Bring together a community of people who help each other financially using the tools of finance and social networking together. Confused? Don’t worry, I was too. I’ll break it down further for you, but first I’ll tell you a bit about Zopa, the global social finance company.

Zopa is a US company chartered in Delaware that also has operations in the UK and Italy. It first launched in the UK in 2005 where it now has over 87,000 users on its peer-to-peer lending website. It launched in the United States in 2006. Read more…