Home Equity Loan Lowdown

10 Free Alternatives to Quicken

Sure, Quicken is a great personal financial tool; it comes packed with a whole load of features, and if you’re used to it, you may not want to give it up. Not until the bugs and advertisements get to you; or the newer features become too complicated to use; or the automatic aspects rub you the wrong way; or the cost weighs you down. Well, in that case, if you are on the lookout for an equally good alternative to manage your money, seek no further – your search begins and ends here, at this list of 10 free alternatives to Quicken.

1. Ace Money Lite: Perfect for managing individual or family finances, this freeware allows you to bank online, plan and set up payments, track your investments, and manage your accounts on eBay and other online market places, besides taking care of your normal budget and expense/income tracking needs. 

2. Accounts & Budget Free: If it’s just one account you’re looking to manage, this software should do the trick. It’s available in Italian, French, Danish, Polish, Croatian and Portuguese besides English, and provides you the tools to create a budget, and keep track of expenses and income. You can dabble in several currencies, and also import from and export data to QIF, OFX, OFC and CSV files.

3. Buxfer: This one’s web-based; just sign up to start tracking your transactions and printing out reports. Buxfer allows you to enter expenses from your mobile phone through a text message, a great way when you’re trying to keep an account of joint expenses that have to be split later. Setting up an online account means you are not tied to just one computer when you need to check the state of your finances. 

4. Clear Checkbook: Another free hosted software, Clear Checkbook lets you track your credit card purchases, set categories, spending limits and reminders, view past spending patterns, and print reports. What sets this freeware apart from the others is that you can manage any number of accounts. With the CheckBot feature, you can check your bank balance and arrange payments to or from your account using AIM, ICQ or text messages from mobiles.

5. Gnu Cash: Developed for Linux lovers, this software which runs on GNU/Linux, Solaris and Mac OS X systems, is now available for use on Windows as a self-installing file. Its list of advantages reads long – it’s a double entry accounting system, it lets you import data from both Quicken and Microsoft Money, and export data to many different formats. A cool open source tool, Gnu Cash also lets you monitor your investment portfolio (stocks, bonds and mutual funds).   

6. jGnash Personal Finance: Written in Java, this software can run on any OS that supports Java 1.4.0 or greater Runtime Environment like Linux, Mac OS X or Windows. jGnash is pretty feature-rich for a free application – it supports account and investment tracking, PDF report generation, account reconciliation using the double-entry accounting system, entry in various currencies, online updates of stock prices and currency exchange rates, and secure file encryption. You can also import files from Microsoft Money and Gnu Cash through a customizable UI.

7. Money Manager Ex: A nifty financial planning tool that works across various platforms (Linux or Windows), Money Manager Ex packs in all the features of a regular money management solution besides letting you track depreciation on your fixed assets, forecast your cash flow, set up reminders for regular bill payments, and maintain credit card accounts and investment portfolios. Also allows file imports from Money or Excel (any CSV format).

8. Money Trackin: Set tags for your transactions, print reports and access your account from any computer or mobile phone with this online money management tool.

9. Wesabe: If you’re into the social networking scene, you’ll love Wesabe. It combines the best aspects of online social life and financial planning into one great package that makes managing your money both fun and productive. Set up an account, transfer your transactions either manually or automatically, set tags for each expense or income, and view your spending patterns according to these tags. You can set targets to achieve, and compare notes and share information with others in the community with similar goals. Based on your tags, you can also see where to get the best deals or where you can shop for more and pay less.

10. Yodlee: Set up Yodlee through your bank and watch it manage your finances for you. All your transactions are imported automatically, and you can view your net worth at any given time. The software takes into account all payments due in and out of your account. Set notifiers for events that need your immediate attention, like the payment of bills or when an account is running low on money and you’re about to overdraw. Yodlee also keeps track of the reward points you’ve earned on your credit cards and the number of minutes left on your prepaid mobile phone. The best part of all this – Yodlee has a reputation for offering the highest security for your transactions.

10 of the Coolest Secret Passages in People’s Homes

--By Sushma Pradhan

Why or what is the purpose behind a secret? Secret could be anything, be it a way to a dream or surprise or a dungeon dark and deep. Nevertheless, secrets always create inquisitiveness. And inquisitiveness gives way to brainstorming. That’s why I believe we have so many wonderful discoveries today. However, I do not want to deviate from what I want to focus. Secrets.

Have you ever thought of secret passages in your home? Don’t you think the idea is cool, well yes it does seem to, but these secret passages are not always cool, behind them may be story of agony or a saga of horror.
But beyond doubt, these secret passages in one’s home has been a fantasy ever since the birth of humankind. How would the fiction world survive without secret passages? Could castles be ever complete without a secret passage? Let us look into some of the secret passages in the homes that have made that age so famous.

A secret passage mostly signifies a concealed route to travel sneakily. These passages are somewhere where no one can detect the entry. The doors are camouflaged so that they appear as a part of the structure such as bookshelf, fireplace, etc. At times, these entrances are ornately designed functioning with a hidden mechanism.

The castles in the medieval ages had secret passages for the inhabitant to escape during a siege. The traditional Arabic houses have secret runaway passages with the concealed doors. These doors are called the “Bab Al Sirr”. Let us travel from down the ancient time through to the present age to few of the secret passages:

1. Egyptian Pyramids (1000 AD):  The Egyptian pyramids has lots of secret passages, which are more commonly called the booby traps. These booby traps are more like an anti-personal weapon to severely harm or kill encroachers. As the name suggests this trap is to ensnare the enemy soldiers and the main purpose behind such booby traps is to ensure the safety of the burial chamber and prevent grave robbers.  There are statues that hold the mechanism to the door opening and leading to the secret chamber.

2. The Passetto (1277):  The Passetto or Passetto di Borgo is a covert operational passage that interlinks  Vatican City and Castle of Sant’ Angelo. It is 800 meter long corridor. The Passetto looks like a wall from outside but it has tunnel inside, which over the time has served as a runaway route to the Popes during emergency. When Charles VIII invaded the Vatican in 1494, Pope Alexander VI crossed himself to safety similarly, Pope Clement fled to safety in the year 1527 during the Sack of Rome.

3. Speakeasies (1920-1930): During the age of US Prohibition, Speakeasies were very common illegal bars. A legitimate business front formed the mode of concealing these infamous bars. One such infamous speakeasies happened to be housed in the Bell Jewelry Store in Decatur, Illinois. Apart from speakeasies the store had a gambling parlor and brothel too.
The customers to the speakeasies or the other illegal corner accessed the place via the stairway that was in the street and entered a shop of the sporting goods. This shop acted like a veil to the dark world behind. The customers walked across the rows of shelves crowded with dusty sports merchandise to a secret panel. This secret panel was in the wall that slid open to bare the entrance of the brothel and speakeasies.

4. Secret passages for smuggling (2000-2002):  Stanislas Gosse used the secret passages to steal more than one thousand books from the library of Mont Sainte-Odile’s monastery. Stanislas Gosse found an old map that showed the secret entrance to the library. The route was a difficult one, it involved climbing the exterior walls, a series of steep stairs and then the secret chamber. The opening to the secret chamber was a special mechanism that was hidden behind one of the five cupboards in the room.
The authorities of the library got suspicious when there was a large disappearance of precious books in a short span of time. It was the closed circuit television that ultimately solved the problem and helped nab Stanislas Gosse.

5.  Tunnel for smuggling: Between US and Mexico there ran a 720 meter long tunnel mostly used for illegal purpose. This tunnel was discovered on January 25 2006. This tunnel not only served as transportation of huge quantities of marijuana but also was used for illegal immigration.

6. Panic Rooms: These rooms are also called the ‘safe rooms’. There are only handful contractors who specialize in constructing hidden doors in the UK and US. These secure rooms are camouflaged for security of the residents mostly for the top executives and celebrities, when there is an invasion or break-in.  These fortified secret rooms are well equipped for action during emergency and the inhabitants can call for help using cellular phones and land-line phones, stay within till the help reaches or normalcy retains.

7. Fictional uses: The secret passages have always formed the plot element for many fictional stories. Bookshelves and special mechanism wonderfully disguised behind common looking object of an ordinary home, form the opening device to these secret passages.
Two such examples of fictional passages are the 'Mysterious Chamber' in the story of Mark Twain.  A young lover cannot fathom how he gets entrapped in the secret passages for years, underneath the castle.
The superhero Batman resides in a bat-cave that is made up of series of subterranean caves that was hidden beneath Wayne Manor, his residence.

8. Secret passages in detective stories: If you know Faulkner’s Folly,  you will also know of the ‘impossible crime’. Mostly a murder takes place is a upper class house and the murderers’ use the secret passageway and hidden doors to reach the victim.  Another character that uses secret passages is the Phantom in ‘The Phantom of the Opera House’. Phantom has his den beneath the opera house. James Bond, the famous character of Ian Flemming, too had hidden lairs and passages.

9. Secret Passages in hotels:  The Fairmont San Francisco that costs 10,000 dollars per night for a entire floor, is a penthouse. It has a two storey circular library, a Tiffany skylight, a 24- hours room service, tiled billiards room and four fireplaces.  In case, the resident wants to receive the guest discreetly one can push the bookcases and find the way through the suite secret passageway.

10. Secret passages in games:  How can one ever think of fun and excitement without secret trap doors and passages in the videogames. In the world of video games dungeon and traps are all around the castles and buildings.  The game Cluedo has two secret passages that the players can access to defend and make a move.
For example, computer and video games have many hidden areas that serve as an important part of the game. These secret passages mostly serve as a bonus or a reward to the player who discovers it.

10 Things Real Estate Agents Do For You That You Never Thought Of

--By Sushma Pradhan

Today is the world of technology. You just need to press the right keys, you will be inundated with information. You may never know while you flip across the sites, you may get some added information.

Similarly, how can the real estate world be aloof from the world of the web? you can get all the information you want over the internet, be it quotes or be it the right agent. However, as a client you may feel that when you can have all the information on the press of the right keys, why to hire a real estate agent? You may be lucky if you have made the deal but...? Yes, the question does come up at times.

In case, you have been unable to buy or sell a home through regular marketing or internet and advertising without any representative or a real estate agent. Here are ten reasons that might just give you that little feeling of approaching a professional real estate agent and know what they can do, that you never thought of.

1. Education and Experience that make a difference: It is not necessary that you know everything about the real estate, about the fall and rise or the gain or loss. Hiring people who know more than you do and who can figure out right, is a smart move that you make. However, the big question here is the right person. Though the fee that you need to pay is almost same with all of them, so why not go for a person who has a good education and experience. We all look forward to precious moments in our life, and knowing the fact that we do run short of time, why not hire a pro, and save that time for something better.

2. Agents serve as defense mechanism: Have you ever imagined how much time you need to spend for all that property showings and extra visits, in hope for a better deal and results. In case, you are a buyer, your agent will keep at bay all the unnecessary intervention of a builder’s agent. On the other hand, if you are a seller, your agent will filter for you the phone calls and messages and see to it that your selling process moves in the right track. This way you will save much unnecessary and unwanted interference from people.

3. A complete knowledge of neighborhood: Your agent will possess the entire knowledge of the neighborhood. They will be aware of the industry buzz and will have a better idea of the way the market works than you will. They can handle and convert a mere enquiry into sales, and pass on to you effective results. To quote an example, you may know that a particular home was for sale at a particular price, but the agent will know the actual price, the sold price, and the difficulties behind the sale of the house.

4. Perfect price guidance: There is a common belief, which says the agents allot the price for the sellers and the buyers. However, the right agent’s duty is to guide the client to make the right choice for himself or herself. If 7% is the listing, for example, the agent has a 7% stake in the sale. On the other hand, the client has 93% interest.  The agents on the selling end will request the buyers to evaluate all the supplied data and select a price. And then, depending on the market scenario and the demand for the same, the agents will prepare strategies that will give ultimate negotiation to a deal.

5. Detail market information: Real estate agents are the ones who can gauge the nerve of the market. They can evaluate the changing market and identify the right condition to sell or buy your property.  Many factors play a key role that will lead to your decisions. These are average and median sales prices, average per sq ft cost of homes similar to your selection, and average days of market to name a few.

6. Proficient field of networking: Real estate agents are capable of maintaining a very skilled professional network. They provide you with service network that will be beneficial during the sale or purchase. Many agents may hesitate recommendation to certain company over another because of legal liability. However, they are the ones who know the efficient, competent vendors with a competitive edge. They in fact, lay a network that will help you make a wise selection.

7. Confidence level and negotiation skill: The agents who are remarkably well in their job know the art of negotiation. They easily know how to detach themselves from the emotional phase of the transaction. Their professionalism helps them present the client’s case in the best front and maintain the confidentiality of the client’s information from competing interests.

8. Paperwork blues: Today if you go through the purchase agreement, you really will feel the pressure on your eyes. One cannot help it, the purchase agreement runs right from page one to ten or more. One mistake and you had it, who knows you might just land in the court or cost you many thousands. However, in many states, there are lawyers who look after and handle the disclosures. If you have an agent, then that is really a wow factor for you.

9. Post closing queries: There may be smoothest transactions which do not carry any complication, but post sale it may come back with certain difficulties. A good example can be, the tax collecting authorities knocking your door for the assessment of property tax, transfer tax or doc tax may follow soon and mix up invoices. In such cases, one can quickly call the agent to clear all the confusion regarding the new tax web formed around your new found home.
During the closing of the deal, there may be points that one may overlook in mere excitement and these tiny issues at times pop up later. And it is the agent who stands by you ready to assist you. A good and reliable agent will never leave you half way to fend for yourself. It is during these trying times you will thank your stars for choosing an agent for yourself.

10. Agents help you to develop healthy future business: The success of an agent’s in the profession of real estate is the quality of referrals. It is very likely possible for few agents to make a good living if they can consistently pulsate up new business. There lies a chance of high incentive if they are successful in pleasing a client and writing their success story. This can also mean that in case in future you want another business you know the agent to hire. However, there are many real estate agents, who will update you with their periodic mail and keep you informed as means to be in touch.

Ten Thousand Leagues: Profiling the World’s Underwater Homes

--By Sushma Pradhan

Centuries ago, perhaps no one ever imagined that life ten thousand miles down under could be conquerable. Times changed and so did technology, impossible became ‘I m possible’, and the world started moving an inch nearer each day.

However, after conquering the air and land, it was now time to head towards the water. No doubt enough technological advancement have been made in the water world, like connecting one land to the other through the underground means of transport, from pipelines to telephone cables, the world of  technology is moving at a supersonic speed.

On the other hand, we also know that fairy tales still rule our mind to a great extent. The cascading waterfalls, the colorful water animals, the adventures of Nemo, the playtime of princess Ariel that so much capture and enthrall not just the innocent minds of children but an adult's mind too. Just imagine sipping the hot cup of coffee and enjoying the scenic blue beauty. Imagine all the glossy Walt Disney like characters swimming right over your head and below your feet.

Thanks to all the brains that work faster than the computer. Thanks to all the brainstorming, that has created a unique world for humans in the water world. Here are few such creations that have sealed the gap between the two worlds.

Ithaa: Ithaa is the name of the underwater restaurant that is brought to you by the Hilton Maldives Resort and Spa. Ithaa, according to the natives of Maldives, Dhivehi means ‘pearl’.  Indeed a pearl resting in the nacre and no wonder dining here would be a rich experience.

This restaurant undersea created and designed by the design consultants MJ Murphy Ltd, New Zealand. It costs less than 5 million dollars and is part of the project Rangalifinolhu Island. This restaurant is five meters below the Indian Ocean waves, and is amidst the vibrant coral reef and provides a 270 degrees enthralling scenic beauty of the blue sea.

The creators have used the aquarium technology. The crylic curved transparent walls and roof,  serve as the aquarium.  There are colorful coral garden, and the diners can enjoy the scrumptious meal and enjoy the view the underwater Maldives environment with the variety of sharks, rays, and other colorful fish, without getting their feet wet.

The Hydropolis Underwater Restaurant, Dubai: Dubai is a place where flamboyance thrives, be it malls, artificial islands, adding a dash of glitter makes the structures even more prized. It is here that the 500 million dollar Hydropolis Undersea Resort is promoted. This resort will cover a sprawling area of 1.1 million square foot complex, with the luxurious facility. This Resort will have lavish suites, a shopping mall for the residents to indulge in a shopping spree.  It also has a ballroom, and to let you continue to feel safe and secure as long you are at the resort, the commercial developers have planned defense systems to ward off any terrorist attacks. This ambitious vision of construction wonder and luxury placed at 60 feet underwater is a wonder worth a wait.

Further adding to the suspense, the deputy chairman of the board for Crescent Hydropolis Resorts LLC in Dubai, says that the pending completion of this marvel may be slightly delayed as of target date for 2008. But rumors tell different version of the story, it has been heard that the project is on hold due to lack of funds.

This under construction hotel includes three elements. There will be the land station, where the guest will receive a warm welcome. The second will be the connecting tunnel, which will transport the visitors to main hotel area. The third part will be the complex of submarine leisure comprising 220 suites and this will be the main attraction of the hotel.

Till the time this resort is complete, we can keep our fingers crossed and simply wish that the blueprint takes the form of the completed form.

Poseidon underwater resort, Bahamas: The Poseidon, underwater Resort of UK, will be the world’s first sea-floor luxury resort. This undersea resort off Eleuthera Island, will be for the non scuba divers, a beautiful chance to experience life underwater, without any gadgets attached to the body and additionally, without getting wet too.

The Poseidon, will be depressurized to sea level and submerged 50 feel below into the sea. Further, it will also be connected to a onshore reception circle via tunnel. This 40 US million dollar project will comprise of 22 rooms underwater prepared with transparent acrylic, so that the visitors can take full panoramic view of the blue world.

Additional to the panoramic view the guest can take back the rich memories of diverse seawater fish on artificial reefs, which will glow even more when lights are lit underwater through the switch controllable from outside. At present, the charge for the suite per night will stand at $1,500 a night, but the scenic beauty underneath out feet is worth all the money.

L. Bruce Jones, the President of US Submarines has done his brainstorming for this project. Sure Captain Nemo, the Jules Verne creation of ‘twenty thousand leagues under the sea’, must have inspired him.

Trilobis 65: This is a semi submerged lodging environment. Trilobis is 20 meters in length and can habitat six people at the sea. It makes an ideal living in bays, maritime parks, and atoll.

The main purpose of this project is to allow an individual reside in a unique environment, through non-polluting, self- sufficient environment as one with the ocean surroundings.

Trilobis was designed by Giancarlo Zerna, and has four separate levels that are connected to one another via spiral staircase. The top level stands 3.5 meters above the sea level. The immediate next is 1.4 meters above sea level and has a daylight zone and other services that facilitate outdoor access. The third level lies 0.8 meters below the sea level and is a night life zone. However, it has underwater observation bulb, which makes it a meditative and intimate place.

This circular habitat allows aggregation of creating island colonies and modular units. The maximum length of the entire vessel is 20 meter and it expands 13 meter wide. With the capacity of accommodating six beds, this vessel has a maximum speed of 7 knots.

These habitats below the sea level are no wonder a wonder to behold, a home of fantasy. But what do all the creatures under water call them I guess??

The 10 Biggest Homes in the World, and Who Owns Them

--By Sushma Pradhan

Home is where the heart is, gone are the days when one dreamt of a house with a cozy little fire place, a little corner for study, a welcoming living room etc. Today stands for those who challenge to be who’s who in the world of towering concrete structure. What do we call them palace? Bungalow? Or World’s expensive homes? It has always been a fantasy of a common person to fathom how and where these richest men of the world lived and how they live?

Here we have taken ten homes of the world’s top towering personalities. In other words to say, we have a list of ten homes of the billionaires in this planet.

1. Bill Gates, Medina: Bill Gates is world’s riches man, therefore forms the first choice in the list of homes too. The home of Bill Gates, located in the suburb of Medina, is a 21st century very modern house, well equipped with hi tech electronic systems in every corner.

The house is a huge earth-sheltered, overlooking lake Washington. It has a large private library  and many unique qualities, for example, the lights turn on automatically once home, the wallpaper are designed to allow the music follow you from one room to other. There are portable touch pads, which controls everything, from lights to room temperatures.

The house of Bill Gates according to National Association of Home Builders is a little more than 2,000 square feet. However, the assessed value of the total property stands at $113 million. 

2. Warren Buffet, Omaha: He is the mastermind behind the Berkshire Hathaway, the person who stands second in the list of the richest people in the world.

He still resides in the modest home at Omaha house. The estimated value of the house is around $700,000. Buffet has been living more like a millionaire than a billionaire.

This gray stucco home is a expanse of 6,000 square feet and it has been with Warren Buffet ever since he bought it at $ 31,500 in the year 1958.

3. Lakshmi Mittal, London: The third richest man in the world set a record when he paid $128 million to a Formula One racing’s Bernie Ecclestone’s townhouse.  A mansion that is placed in-between the landed property of Sultan of Brunei and Kensington Palace. This posh locality better known as the Billionaire’s row now include Lakshmi Mittal’s residence too. This mansion can boast of garage that can accommodate 20 cars which is embellished with marble that have come from the same quarry as that for the Taj Mahal.

This Steel Magnate formed Mittal Steel in 2004, the largest steel producer of the world, by combining Ispat International and LNM holdings.

He is supposed to have another home in London and in few metropolitans of the world. 

4. Larry Ellison, Woodside: With net worth of $18.4 billion, this oracle co-founder tycoon lives in Woodside. Ellison styled this estate after imperial Japanese architecture. This marvel has man-made lake and seismic retrofit extensively as per the latest technology.

Ellison is quite known to make drop jaw deals on property, and one such expensive residential transaction happens to be the Malibu’s five beachfront properties, which he purchased to create custom compound.

5. Michael Dell, Austin: Born in Houston, Texas, this founder and CEO of Dell Inc. Dell had attended University of Texas at Austin with every intention of becoming a physician, but destiny had something else in store for him instead he came into the world of computers. While still at the university, in Dobie Center, his room he started with PC’s Limited a computer company. Ever since, he has never said bye to this place because it is here he also later started his eponymous company dealing with computers.

Today, he lives in a 30,000 sq foot mansion, an estate, which is perched upon a hilltop at Austin and supposedly, Dell spent millions of dollars in late 1990 building the huge mansion.

The towering property of this possession of Dell is estimated to be more than $18 million.

6. Sumner Redstone, Beverly Hills: The multi billionaire, Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone the unsurpassed king of the media world is the controlling shareholder of CBS Corp. and Viacom.

The media tycoon supposedly spent around $15 million for this mansion. His estate exclusively spreads across Beverly Park in Beverly Hills. The sprawling prize was once the possession of Sylvester Stallone and now it measures around 15,000 square feet and comprises of three bedrooms, a gymnasium, a screening room, a tennis court, a billiards room, and an outdoor pool.

Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, and Paul Reiser happen to be the famous next-door neighbors of the gated community.

7. Michael Bloomberg, New York: The New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused the mayoral estate Gracie Mansion as he felt the Mayoral estate did not meet his standard of luxurious mansion.

The Bloomberg townhouse built in 1889 stands tall with five floors. The area covers 7,500 square feet in total, which includes the extra area that Bloomberg purchased later to expand and enhance his dining space. Bloomberg purchased this property for $3.5 million in 1986, but the City records claim that the market value of this mansion at present is more that $7.50 million.

8. David Geffen, Beverly Hills: Call him a philanthropist, a film producer, a theatrical producer or a record executive, David Geffen is all these and much more. But, one thing that is there is all the facets is that he is a billionaire and lives in a home that stands out from the rest.

This emperor of the music world made the world’s eye nearly pop out when he paid $47.5 million for the hundred-room mansion.  This house includes sprawling gardens, fountains and a three-hole golf course.

9. David Koch, New York: David James Koch is an Australian television personality and a financial commentator. At present he co-hosts a popular television morning program called the Seven Network’s Sunrise.

Last year, Koch bid $17 million for a eighteen duplex in 740 Park Avenue to list into his share of property and make a mark amongst the opulent houses of the world. This building with seventeen storeys is one of the exclusive buildings of Manhattan and a sure pride of the billionaire, David Koch.

10. Steve Jobs, Woodside: He is known to be the brain behind Apple, and the owner of the 17,000 square foot mansion built in 1926. This building, which was designed by architect George Washington Smith, is more of a fantasy for others than the owner himself. There were actions taken by Steve Jobs to demolish this mansion and instead build a smaller house, but the objections from Preservationist have put a halt to Steve Jobs idea.