Judie’s Gear Diary – 2003-04-05

A couple weeks ago, I was surprised with an “out of the blue” package from Landware. Inside was a CD containing the Money Magazine Financial Assistant for Palm Powered Handhelds. I have to admit, my first thought was, “I have an accountant, what do I need this for?” Little did I know!
After running the CD on my laptop and installing the software to my Palm, I was very impressed to find a group of tools that everyone can benefit from. For $24.95, you get a list of forms that can do everything from telling you how much money you will need to save per year to retire in the style you would like, to informative worksheets that compare leases and loans.
In all, there are over “150 everyday financial decisions” that this software can help you make. There is an extensive financial glossary built into the software, as well as a popup calculator that you can use when needed.
Here is a partial list of some of the available worksheets: Analyze your cash flow, decide how much cash you will need to buy a home, figure compound amounts and interest, perform currency conversions, figure out a bonds price and yield, plan your retirement, plan your child's tuition, decide how much life insurance you need, decide whether it is better to rent or buy, and figure the differences between a standard and balloon mortgage – just to name a few! Best of all, the entire program will run from a memory card. Anyone want me to help them figure out their net worth? ;0)