We review Paytrust and several other ways to pay your bills online and manage your money. We also discuss how you can teach your kids about money using VisaBuxx.

1. Pay bills with Paytrust
We pay all of our personal and family bills with this service. All bills are received over the Internet, so you eliminate paper if you use the service. You can easily call up and see bills you paid and at the end of the year, the service will place all of your transactions on a CD. All data are easily transferred to Quicken or Microsoft Money too. See detailed reviews of Paytrust.

Paytrust is also a great way of managing the finances of our elders. I used it to pay bills for my mother (recently deceased). I live in Virginia and mom lived in Florida. She could no longer deal with paying bills and balancing checkbooks, etc. Before using Paytrust, I was literally drowning in paper. My bills and my mother's just overwhelmed me.

When I opened my account with Paytrust, I had my own check book and my mom's on the account. All bills were received over the internet. The paper disappeared and I was able to keep better track of my own bills and those of my mother. When paying a bill, I could choose the account to pay it with. I was also able to see when checks cleared.

2. Manage your finances with Quicken or MS Money
Both of these personal financial packages are easy to use and will get you organized. Quicken has been a main stay for us. The product is easy to use and can easily be integrated with other software packages such as Paytrust and income tax software.

MS Money has improved greatly. In some respects, it has a much better interface and is easy to use, especially if you are tracking investments.

3. Calculate income taxes with TurboTax
We have used TurboTax to prepare our Federal and and Sate income taxes since 1998. The program just keeps getting better. We have not used the online version of the TurboTax yet. However, we do use Quickbooks Online Accounting software to maintain our business.

4. Kids and Personal Finance
Newspaper articles in the Mercury News and Los Angeles Times discuss some great ways of teaching your kids financial responsibility. This is a good concept. They are a great way of keeping tabs on how that allowance is being spent.

Unfortunately, the M2Card mentioned in the Mercury News article is no longer available. However, VisaBuxx is. Visabuxx is not a credit card or debit card. It is what's called a stored value card. You transfer cash (your child's allowance) into the account and that's the limit.

The fees for exceeding the limit are high. We think this teaches kids to be more responsible. This is especially relevant if you require kids to pay the $15 fee for exceeding the limit. That for each time it's exceeded. Ouch!!

We just ordered a VisaBuxx for Ryan, our youngest helper (14 years old). He was so eager to get it that he took the VisaBuxx quiz. You might find it useful too. Also check out Visa's primer on credit and on debit cards for kids of all ages.

5. Invest and Save your money with the following services
The Motley Fool or fool.com is still the place to go for the individual investor or those who just don't trust the more established investment houses. The service has matured a great deal, although they are still irreverent. We think the independence, good doses of common sense, tools and humor are worth it. If you need greater detail or want to use the tool on the site, then Join the Fool Community! The best place for investors on the web to get answers to their questions.

Fidelity Funds- a very comprehensive and helpful online service packed with information and advice. All your statements are accessible online to simplify record keeping.

E*Trade- we have been with E*Trade since the early days of the company. As investors, we have never had a problem with executing our orders. E*Trade requires that you have cash in your account before you trade. They serve investors in 10 countries besides the U.S.
Harris direct- we have been with this company since 1998 when it was called DLJdirect and CSFBdirect. In many respects it is comparable to E*Trade. We like the service of Harris direct. Why two brokerage accounts? We were able to purchase $15,000 of stock without having cash in the account and found that attractive.

6. Obtain Insurance
Progressive Insurance is one of the best auto insurance carriers. They also insure motorcycles, boats, and recreation vehicles. You can get a free online estimate of insurance and compare it to other insurers' quotes. Progress also allows you to access your policy online and to make modifications to it.

Allstate Insurance was rated number 2 and is one of the largest insurance companies. You can get an agent or a quote for auto, home and life insurance online.