money

Vertex42 Money Manager is a free Excel spreadsheet template configured as a personal financial tool. However, unlike most free Excel templates, it's more than a single page of preconfigured cells and formulas. In fact, it's a full-featured financial planning, recording, and reporting tool that can help you keep track of everything from gifts to retirement savings. To use it, you must have Microsoft Excel 2003 or better.

We unzipped Vertex42 Money Manager's download and clicked it. Excel opened in protected mode with the template displaying the first sheet, the Help page, which serves as both the introduction … Read more

iBank is a full-featured financial management app that can help you track bank and credit card accounts, keep an eye on your investment portfolio, generate a variety of reports, and help with budgeting and planning.

iBank's interface has a very Mac-like feel: a toolbar sits over two panes, one for sources on the left and one for a transaction register on the right. Unlike the previous version of iBank, transaction editing happens right in the register view, with drop-down tools for categories, splits, and memos, and you can perform calculations when entering amounts. The right pane is also where … Read more

Quick housekeeping note: I'm traveling tomorrow, so I won't have another deal for you until Monday. See you then!

Tired of burning through pricey ink and toner cartridges? PretonSaver Home promises to cut these consumable costs by up to 70 percent. Best of all, it's free. (Note: You can use the previous link to download the program, but click here to go to Preton's site and register for the activation code.)

This Windows-only utility works its ink-saving magic by removing overlapping pixels (of which there are many, apparently) from the printed page, thus reducing ink consumption. … Read more

You remember the Bing Cashback program, right? It handed out cash rebates for stuff you purchased via the Bing portal. So, for example, if you were going to buy something like the 50-inch LG 50PK540 plasma HDTV from TigerDirect for $799.99 (a mighty nice deal today, by the way), you might get back 10 percent of the purchase price--just by clicking through Bing before placing your order.

Alas, Microsoft pulled the plug on Bing Cashback last June--but the concept lives on. In fact, before you buy another thing, head to CashReporter.com. The site aggregates rebate info from various … Read more

The bill organizing service Manilla launched at Demo this week. The pitch: it's a portal for your household bills. It will collect bills from your service providers, as well as bank statements and other financial data for you, and remind you what's due, to whom, and when. Furthermore, it'll keep records of all your bills and statements for you securely.

It should work with nearly any billing company, and in some special cases, you can use it to turn off your paper bills, doing your bit for the environment.

Using Manilla to receive and file electronic statements (… Read more

A former manager at Apple has pleaded guilty in a major kickback case that could land him 20 years in prison.

Paul Shin Devine, once employed at Apple as a supply manager, admitted guilt yesterday in federal court in San Jose, Calif., on charges of wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. He was accused of taking kickbacks from Apple suppliers in exchange for information, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Devine, who worked at Apple from 2005 through 2010, sent forecasts, roadmaps, product specifications, and other confidential information to Asian suppliers and manufacturers of Apple components, according to … Read more

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret: I love math. It may seem out of character for someone who spends her days manipulating the English language, but there you have it. This is a roundabout way of explaining that I actually enjoy tinkering with budgets, which is why I'm a big fan of the Mint app for Android and iOS.

I know financial software isn't the most titillating subject for most people, but Mint's mobile app is worth a download no matter what your predilections. This handy program lets you track all … Read more

WhatsApp Messenger has been around for quite a while, but it's still an app that's extremely useful to texting addicts. With this chat app installed on your iPhone, you'll save a considerable amount of money on text charges through your carrier. The only catch is that you'll have to persuade your most frequent texting partners to download the app, too, but once they see WhatsApp's advantages, they'll probably pony up a buck.

Much like the texting app that comes on the iPhone, WhatsApp Messenger shows your chats in little text bubbles, gives you a … Read more

Cybercriminals buy and sell stolen information using a vast network of online stores, forums, and even social-networking accounts, according to a report released yesterday by PandaLabs.

Posing as a cybercriminal to gain access to this online black market, PandaLabs researchers uncovered a world where the bad guys work together to buy and sell stolen bank account information, credit card numbers, passwords, and other products. Much of this illegal enterprise is done through online stores and forums, but PandaLabs found criminals using Facebook and Twitter accounts to set up shop as well.

Though this black market is relatively open, the security … Read more