Personal Finance Software and Mobile App Reviews and Help

Personal Finance Software and Mobile App Reviews and Help

The email says there's suspicious activity on your account and provides a link to check on the activity. This email is not actually from PayPal.

Never click on any link or attachment in an email from a financial firm. Ever. Most banks and financial institutions know better than to include such a link. Instead, either go out to the website yourself to follow up on what the email says, or call to find out if what the email tells you is true.

Don't get phished, spammed or lose your money.

4 Ways Managing Money Online is Safer

Is Online Bill Pay Safe?Once your income taxes are filed, don't just put taxes on the back burner until next year. Start doing some tax planning throughout the year to be sure that you're having enough tax deducted from paychecks to avoid paying taxes next April or to get a bigger refund.

Tax planning apps for Android and iOS really help with tax planning by providing tax information and advice and doing many calculations after you plug in a few numbers for tax deductible expenses, self employment and other taxes. Some track tax related receipts or do a what if analysis to help you come up with a plan for reducing taxes.

Check out my picks for tax planning apps for iPhone and iPad and Best Android Apps for Tax Planning.

Image: TaxMode Pro / Tax Guide 2013 / TurboTax TaxCaster / Intuit PaperTrailI've been suspicious of Bitcoin ever since its inception and have never used in the electronic currency myself, only doing research to write What Is Bitcoin?, although thousands if not millions of people have used the currency and even profited from it. However, the glory days of Bitcoin are over after two massive hackings robbed hundreds of millions of dollars from Bitcoin users in the past week.

Bitcoin digital currency storage site Flexcoin announced on March 3, 2014, that it was shutting down after being hacked and robbed of all coins the day before. Cold storage coins, which are held offline and are not connected to the Bitcoin network, can be returned to Flexcoin users. But if your coins weren't in cold storage, you're out whatever you paid for your Bitcoin currency given that there's no insurance taken out as stated in Flexcoin's terms of service.

The equivalent of somewhere around $600,000 (Bitcoin value fluctuates continuously) were stolen when, according to Flexcoin's March 4, 2014 update, the hacker "successfully exploited a flaw in the code which allows transfers between flexcoin users.

Last week, Mt Gox, which hosted the majority of Bitcoin transactions worldwide, was hacked and the value of the currency dropped to $440. The value had gone over $1,000 just three months ago in November, 2013, however, a month prior the value dropped to $110 after an FBI shut down. The amount stolen from Mt Gox is reported as being $460 million after last week's hacking. Mt Gox has filed for bankruptcy. The only information currently posted on the Mt Gox website is a legal document detailing its bankruptcy filing.

Tech For Anyone has a great explanation with some wise advice at the end of the article, Why Bitcoin is in Trouble after Mt Gox Shutdown. Bitcoin users and anyone who is interested in this currency should give it a read.