Hulu Or Netflix: Which One Is More Worth Your Dollars?

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Most consumers used to just sign up for cable without thinking about the alternatives, but the era of cable bundles may be coming to an end soon. Many people are finding that they would rather watch television online using their mobile devices as well as their gaming consoles and computers for a flat-rate that is much lower than cable. Read more on ways to save money this summer.

So Hulu or Netflix? Well, netflix currently has about ten times as many subscribers as Hulu, but their service has also been around much longer. Netflix has pledged to spend five billion dollars on acquiring new content throughout the next five years. They will be focusing on acquiring all of the most popular movies and television shows.

Hulu is owned by ABC, NBC and FOX. They currently offer customers the current season of shows from these networks for streaming. In addition to their large selection of television offerings, Hulu is currently experimenting with the addition of movie titles.

Hulu & Netflix – Accessibility and Content

Hulu or Netflix can both be streamed on many different devices, including smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles and Blu-Ray players. They both allow customers to stream content over mobile broadband 4G and 3G networks.

Netflix is currently stocked with about 100,000 streaming options and their movie collection is constantly growing. They offer a variety of television shows, however most of the shows they offer have been cancelled. Their options for current television series usually don’t include the current season.

Hulu offers many current television shows and most current episodes are available the day after they air on television. Most people who watch Glee and other current television shows opt to subscribe to Hulu. The have shows from many networks, including ABC, BBC America, FOX, The CW and USA. The movie selection at Hulu is sparse, but their selection of television shows is excellent.

Hulu and Netflix Users Watching Habits

Pricing for Hulu and Netflix

Netflix streaming costs just $7.99 per month for unlimited streaming of any of the content on their site on any supported device.

Hulu offers customers many shows for free at Hulu.com, but these shows are interrupted by substantial advertisements. Customers can choose to subscribe to Hulu Plus, which costs $7.99 per month and allows customers the ability to download mobile apps and access Hulu content through gaming consoles. The amount of ads is substantially reduced for Hulu Plus customers, but a few ads still appear during streaming.

The Bottom Line On Hulu or Netflix

Many people who get rid of cable spend $15.98 per month to subscribe to both Netflix and Hulu. This gives you the best of both worlds, with a variety of movies and television shows available for streaming at any time. Netflix is generally the best option for customers who want to keep their cable bundle while giving themselves the option of instant streaming and more movie choices.

Using A Budget Planner Template

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I recently received an email from John about using a budget planner template. He wrote:

“Hello, I’m feeling a little lost and have some questions in regards to budgeting and saving. 1. Which budget planner template should I use? 2. From the total salary what percentage is ideal to spend for various needs, and how much to be saved for future? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.”

It’s a question that we all must answer. Even if some of us would prefer to ignore it! Because, with rare exceptions, we all have to deal with having just so much money to cover all our expenses. And, if we spend more than we take in for very long we get into trouble.

Let’s look at a “typical” budget planner template. Then we’ll discuss it.

Category	% of Income
Housing	35%
Food	15%
Auto	15%
Insurance	5%
Entertainment	5%
Clothing	5%
Medical	5%
Everything Else	5%
Savings	10%

Understanding The Budget Planner Template

The first thing you’ll notice is that I didn’t include any taxes (either income or Social Security). You can choose to do that if you like (in fact, it’s a real eye opener). But for our purposes it’s easier just to deal with your ‘take home’ pay. The second thing to notice is that this is a guideline, not a straight jacket. The truth is that very few of us will fit into this exact framework. So if your spending doesn’t match, don’t despair! Analyze the situation before you panic! Try our excel budget template!

Customize the Budget Planner Template To Fit Your Wants & Needs

For instance maybe your entertainment spending is closer to 10%. Is that a problem? Maybe not, if you’re young, single and sharing an apartment with three friends. In that case what you save on housing is going for entertainment. So overall you’re not spending more than you’re making. Or you may be a city-dweller where housing is very expensive (think NYC). But because of public transportation you don’t own a car. So the extra you spend on housing is offset by the reduced spending on transportation. You get the idea. Tailor your spending plan to your needs. And, adjust it as you go through life and your needs change. One other thing to notice is that housing, food and auto make up the lion’s share of the expenses. That’s true for almost everyone. It’s in those three areas that most families get into trouble. Most often by buying a home or vehicle that they cannot afford. But once the commitment is made it’s very hard to undo.

Categorizing Your Expenses

You might wonder where a certain expense goes. For instance, household cleaning supplies. Many people buy them at the grocery store. So are they a housing or food expense? The answer is: it doesn’t much matter. Put them wherever it seems best to you. The key is always putting them in the same place, so you can compare results from month to month.

Another common question is what should I do with charitable contributions. You can either take it off the top (like taxes) or create a separate category for it. If you believe that contributions should come before your expenses you’ll want to take it off the top. If you think that it’s part of your regular spending then include it as another expense category. For a budget planner template to be effective you must continuously follow your progress.

How Much Should You Save?

Finally, let’s look at John’s question about saving. There probably isn’t any single right answer, because saving isn’t really an expense. It’s an investment for a better future. So I prefer to think of savings in terms of priorities. Before I can put money aside for savings I need food and a reasonable shelter. Probably also need dependable transportation to get to my job. But after those basic needs are met, it’s time to begin saving some money. Not necessarily the 10% in our guidelines, but 2, 3 or 4%. Enough so that there’s some money set aside for the so-called unexpected expenses that happen to us all (dead appliances, home and auto repairs, unexpected sickness, temporary lack of work).

One other comment about savings. Paying off debt (especially credit card debt) is a little like savings. Consider payments used to reduce the amount owed as if they were savings or a Bank CD. Finally, for those of you who don’t want to bother with any of this. I know what you’re thinking: I’m fine and don’t need any help monitoring my money. Just remember that most people who are in trouble today said the same thing when everything looked good to them.

Financial Resources For Improving Your Financial Situation

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Managing your funds well throughout these times is of utmost relevance. Individuals are having a hard time making ends consult the raising cost of products as well as the rising interest prices on home mortgage as well as vehicle findings- the honest truth that a number of companies, and economic titans at that, are either folding or minimizing workers. You can improve your financial situation greatly by using the right financial resources.

Much uncertainty waits for the air in today’s financial scene triggering the need for useful finance assistance not simply for huge financiers yet right to typical individual trying to endure the day-to-day grind. It would certainly seem like employing an individual economist to help you make likelihoods and ends of your present situation would certainly be pricey as well as can perhaps lower your readily available financial sources likewise even more down.

Financial Resources Suitable for Road to Your Economic Success:

First is investments. There is no warranty that you’ll generate cash from investments you make. Yet if you obtain the basic realities about saving as well as investing and also adhere to using with an intelligent plan, you should certainly manage to obtain economic security as well as safety and security for several years and also indulge in the benefits of handling your money.

No individual is birthed recognizing exactly how you could conserve or to invest. Every effective investor starts with the essentials. A few individuals might stumble into economic protection – a wealthy loved one might die, or a business may eliminate. For great deals of people nonetheless, the only technique to obtain financial protection is to conserve as well as invest over a lengthy amount of time.

Discover if there is any money that could be spent. If so, then consult with financial resources such as an investment broker to check out if precisely what you need to invest is worth the trip. If it is large as well as it is put appropriately, then perhaps there will certainly suffice to use towards your retirement.

When you obtain your entire ducks right, make sure your tax obligation lawyer or accountant realizes your complete monetary development. They can assist you much better plan for the future by recognizing where you go to the present moment. They can additionally supply you some terrific recommendations relating to the very best ways to proceed in your investments.

Time and again, individuals of also moderate means which begin the quest reach financial security and also all that it assures: buying a home, academic chances for their children, as well as a comfy retired life. If they could do it, so might you.

Savings & Budgeting

Second of all is making to get just your basic needs as well as save as much of your incomes as you can. Include your cost savings in your regular monthly budget strategy. It is likewise a good idea to examine your investing methods and also you will be able to check out where you need to make decreasing or you could possibly source for an additional income. If you use bank card, it is very important to manage your investing. They are hassle-free yet at the same time they can land you into a stack of monetary difficulty.

It is vital that you entirely realized just exactly how it works to make sure that you could utilize it appropriately. If you acknowledge that you could not have the discipline as well as you put on not would such as to carry cash around, you can go with a debit card. It functions merely like cash and has a limit relating to simply just how much you can invest.

Moving Out of Parents House & Dealing With Money

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Guide to Moving Out of Parents House & Dealing With Money

People do not stay at home in the entire life. The life must go on. And to build up the career and to make success in life you people need to focus on moving out of parents house. For education, job or business, they must have to face the reality of life. But, most of the people often get stuck or fixed in the times of managing the money.

Staying at home, actually keeps people tension free from the tense of money management and dealings. Especially, when people stay with parents they don’t have to care for anything. The problem arises when they leave home. Leaving home leads people in huge problem as they will have to manage each and every financial aspect in their own way. And often they fail to manage that.

So, what they need to do is to know and learn to manage the money so that they can get out of financial problems. Here you get to know the ideas about the ways to manage the money and budget so that life can run smoothly.

Planning a budget:

This is actually the most important part of money management. People need to make a budget about the expenses in every month. They must know how much they earn and how much they can expense. With this assessment, they need to set up a budget.

One thing must be performed and that is you should not spend more than you earn. You should spend less than your earnings. This habit can save you from all odds in the management of the life after leaving home. In fact, people must maintain this and exceed the budget.

It may happen for some month that you need to spend exceeding the budget. If you will have to do that, make sure you can recover that in the next month. If you can manage to make some savings in every month, you may not have to face problems even if you have to exceed the budget in a month. You can manage to make that possible with using the saving account.

Avoiding taking loans:

After leaving home, most of the people make this mistake. They depend on payday loan no credit check. This habit can lead them to huge problems. The problems are associated with the default as they can not manage to repay the debts. This can harm the future financing as well. So, people should avoid taking loans.

Instead of taking bad credit loan, they can do an added job. Utilizing the vacation or weekends can make you generate some money so that you do not need to go for a loan. Whatever you do, you should not go for applying for a loan.

Avoiding using credit cards a lot:

If you have the habit to purchase everything with credit card, avoid that if you have left home for making career. This habit can lead you face credit card debts which can harm you a lot. So, use the credit card as less as you can. It would save you from many dangers. Now you’re ready to start the process of moving out of parents house.

Budgeting Methods Using Debit Cards

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Introduction Of Budgeting Methods Using Debit Cards

Check and debit card budgeting methods are refinements of the Budgeting Cash Envelope System. When I say “refinements” in this case, I don’t mean that a cash based budgeting system cannot work or be an effective budgeting method for some people, because it absolutely can. However, cash based budgeting systems do have some notable shortcomings which I discuss in more detail below, and the use of checks and/or a debit card is intended to shore up those weaknesses while still maintaining the integrity of the budget process. As a means to illustrate how checking and debit card budgeting methods work, assume that your financial situation for the month is as follows.

What this illustration shows is that after you pay all of your bills, you have $1,000 left to cover your day-to-day living expenses for the month. It’s important to clarify before going any further that there are distinct advantages and disadvantages of making payments with checks, debit cards, and cash, and to learn about that in more detail you can see the article, “Comparing Paying with Cash, Checks and Debit Cards.” However, for purposes of this budget-related article, I am going to treat the use of checks and debit cards as essentially the same, because both payment methods draw funds directly from your checking account each time you make a purchase.

The Advantages Of A Debit Card Vs. Cash Based Budgeting Methods

There are distinct advantages to managing your budget with checks and/or a debit card as opposed to cash.

Convenience and flexibility – If all you have is cash and you’re out and about then you’re your spending is limited to the money you have in your purse or wallet. However, if you’ve got a debit card or a checkbook then you have immediate access to all of the money in your budget (which is $1,000 in our example).
Security – If your checkbook or debit card is lost or stolen there are steps you can take to limit your risk of loss, but if cash is lost or stolen then it’s likely gone forever.
Better record keeping – When you make purchases with cash you only have your receipt from the transaction, and in some cases you may have no receipt at all (paying a babysitter, for example). On the other hand, when you pay with a check or debit card you not only have the receipt from the transaction, but you have other records as well (entries on your bank statement or, in the case of checks, check carbons).

The Disadvantages Of A Debit Card Vs. Cash Based Budgeting Methods

While there are certainly advantages to managing your budget with checks and/or a debit card, there are drawbacks as well.

1. Discipline – While I don’t pretend to know all of the psychological reasons why, people tend to take spending cash more seriously than writing checks or handing over a debit card. Somehow spending cash “hurts” more, or makes the cost of a transaction more “real.” As a result, some people have an easier time respecting and staying within their budget using a cash based budgeting method as opposed to a check/debit card based budgeting methods.

2. Math Errors – If you make a math error in tracking your budget while using a checking or debit card money budgeting method there is a real possibility you could overspend, thinking you have more money in your account than you actually do. With a cash based system it’s unlikely you’ll go long thinking you have more money than you do. For example, you might think you have $100 of cash left, but if you open your purse or wallet and you only have $60 then that’s it – you’ve only got $60. Granted you may not be able to remember where the missing $40 went (which can be frustrating), but after counting the money in your hands there will be no doubt how much you have to work (which can provide a sense of certainty).

“Remember Time Is Money. Simplifying Your Budget Will Give You A Better Chance Of Sticking With It!”

3. Losing Receipts – When using debit cards in particular, it’s not difficult at all to lose track of a receipt, and thus forget to account for it in your budget. For example, if you get gas with a debit card and fail to take the receipt then it’s very likely you’ll forget to deduct the purchase from your budget. As with math errors, if you miss recording a transaction such as this then you’ll think you have more money to spend than you actually do, which will put you in danger of blowing your budget.

4. More Complex Record-Keeping – While it’s true that using checks and debit cards technically provides you with better record-keeping, it also makes your record-keeping more complex. Think about it, if you convert the remaining $1,000 in your account for day-to-day living expenses into cash then you will have very few transactions to account for on your bank statement when you balance your checkbook. On the other hand, each check and debit card transaction will hit your bank statement, and all of those transactions can be difficult to reconcile unless you’re diligent and organized.

Combining The Debit Card and Cash Based Budgeting Methods

It’s important to note that the check/debit card method of budgeting and the use of cash basis budgeting are not mutually exclusive. In fact, you can combine the two methods in a myriad of ways, and doing so can provide you with a lot of flexibility and can be tremendously effective. To illustrate, in our example you have $1,000 to manage your day-to-day expenses for the month. That being the case, you might elect to take $100 in cash to spend on miscellaneous things over the course of the month, leaving $900 in your account to cover checking and debit card transactions. Thus, as you go through the month, you have the flexibility to pay for things with a check, debit card, or cash as you see fit. Again, that’s just an example.

There are almost limitless ways you can combine checking and debit card based budgeting with cash based budgeting to manage your finances. The important thing is to develop a system that meets your needs, that you’re comfortable with, and that best enables you to live within your means.

Related article “Cash Budgeting Method Explained“