Where does it all stop? The time wasted in search of whatever. I have seen hours, days, even months wasted on line. The internet is a vast sea of information and yet to look at one thing can take weeks.

Take for example personal finance. I have found millions of websites articles and products claiming to help you. When are you going to say enough with the searching and ground some discipline, rules, and measurable action steps to gain control of your financial situation?

Oh your addicted and can't stop the clicking you say but what if I told you you'd have more time to click on meaningful topics such as where to vacation on $25,000 for 1 week or How to get your next luxury sports car for free. Instead of how to consolidate bills or reduce my mortgage payment.

You need a plan of action; a course to plot and a map to guide you on your way.

Ask yourself do you have a financial plan is it 1 part or 2?
do you have enough funds for a contingency or diversion of regular scheduled life? Are you a savvy investor who needs some diversification in your portfolio.

Or are you asking what a portfolio is? What savings? How can I save $50 - $100 per month every month.

Well the matter of fact is it's very easy. Take 1 day and analyze your current state of affairs. Use your current PC or MAC to devise a 2 column list.
side 1 is your revenue or income stream(s). Column 2 is for your expenses.

Now I know this is boring 101 level finance but you need to review the basics. Once you have completed this task you can move onto the next daunting task of analyzing your personal p&l statement. (Profit and Loss) [does your income exceed your income or do your expenses exceed your income]?

Most American's live in the second world of the debt driven society. I mean who doesn't if you can't charge it who need's it right? WRONG!! That's the mindset of an idiot.

Once your profit and loss statement has been compiled you now have one last quest to conquer your net worth.

While uncovering the dirty little secret of your finances you will undoubtedly uncover any assets you have acquired just subtract them from your liabilities and wallah, presto, abracadabra, and hokus pockus you are now sitting on your current financial picture.

Lately I've seen a bunch of articles in which the author explains his favorite few tools and why. Rather than duplicate what has already been done well, I thought I'd cover an area that has been my biggest small business hassle as of late, getting a hold of finances and money.

It seems like banking and financial services are either designed for individuals or giant corporations, with very few options for those small business owners in between. Thankfully there are a few good new and old tools and tricks that work especially for the small business owner. I rely pretty heavily on these 10.

1. Mint.com

   Mint is an extremely new online program that quickly integrates your bank accounts and breaks them down in order to show you where you’re spending your money. I’ve only been using this for a couple of weeks and already found myself relying on it heavily to plan out my personal and business savings. As an aside, this service is ridiculously easy to setup, so even if you don’t have a lot of extra time, this one may be worthwhile.

2. The Perfect Calculators

   I’m in love with the CCH Calculators. They’re the small businessman’s version of an actuary. I use them to plan out the feasibility of taking on a new loan, the long-term expected ROI on a short term project, or just to play around with things like my retirement plan. Literally everyone I’ve shared my enthusiasm for these things hasn’t felt the same, so I don’t blame you if you disagree. But I would encourage you to go ahead and spend a few hours with these calculators just because putting hard and fast numbers to your ideas is a good way to weed out the really crummy ones.

3. Quickbooks OE

   This is the mother of all small business finance tools. The online edition is frequently updated and will pull in all of your various business accounts (with the notable exception of PayPal). I use this tool to constantly have great documentation of all our company’s activities and it saves me a lot in year end accounting fees, b/c everything is done for me.

4. Wells Fargo Payroll Services

   Not so much an online tool as an online service, Wells Fargo payroll service is the cheapest on the market (at least among the 5 different services I quoted). Having checks made out and sent through them is not only a lot more professional than signing your own checks, it also saves a ton in end of the year accounting fees because they keep track of all of your withholdings and prepare your quarterly tax returns for you.

5. Continental's Frequent Flyer Program

   I live and work out of Houston (which is Continental Airlines hub) so that program works really well for me, but you can basically find an airline rewards program for whatever company is biggest in your city. I only fly about twice a month, but since I always do it with the same airline that’s enough to get me free first class upgrades almost every time I fly, and I get to bring a free guest on some of my flights. I know that a airline rewards plan isn’t specifically a finance tool, but it is a means that I rely pretty heavily on to make my business’ travel dollars go a lot farther.

6. Basecamp

   I realize that its trite to rely on Basecamp, and I sort of hate the fact that I give them $20 something dollars a month to use their software, but using Basecamp has literally saved our business thousands by keeping us organized. I’d suggest that you setup a number of different projects and different to-do lists for each site rather than trying, as most users do, to utilize just a single to-do list.

7. Freshbooks

   Again, it isn’t original, but it is vital. I used to rely heavily on freshbooks for invoicing and time tracking. While I use the service less now that the company has grown, it remains one of the only tools designed for small business owners that actually works the way its supposed to.

8. Google Docs & Spreadsheets

   Why are you still using MS Word and Excel. If you’re a small business, especially an online business, there’s usually tons of collaboration taking place between people in different offices. I use Google Docs and Spreadsheets on a daily basis to collaborate when researching new domains or website niches, as well as to collectively draw up specs on a new project.

9. My Small Business AMEX Card

   I originally thought that only millionaires had AMEX platinum business cards. Not true. Basically if you have good credit you can get one no matter how small your company is. The benefits are a lot better than any other comparable card in terms of the travel rewards as well as the fact that you get into the executive lounges in all major airports for free (many have free liquor BTW). From a finance perspective, AMEX also prepares a complete end-of-year rundown for you for free which provides you with a good foundation if you plan on doing your own taxes.

10. Top Blogs

    There are a number of really bad small business finance blogs on the internet. Thankfully there are also a few really good ones.

Obviously there are different tools that work for different people and different companies. So take the 10 recommendations I've made with a grain of salt. They've worked for me, but all I can really say is that you should consider giving these a try because I can attest that they're proven techniques for getting a handle on your small business finances.