# How to raise capital besides loans and saving? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 21, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-raise-capital-besides-loans-and-saving/679343 "2014-01-21T04:05:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-raise-capital-besides-loans-and-saving/679343/61 "2014-01-26T22:33:10Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I was wondering about [mint.com](http://mint.com). Does it let you enter transactions through the app, then later match up transactions you entered to entries from your bank statement? That’s been a surprisingly helpful feature in YNAB–it keeps me thinking about what I’m doing with my money right now (by entering the transaction here and now as I spend the money) rather than letting me focus on what I did with my money in retrospect. The transactions are matched directly based on your bank/credit card statements but only if you link the accounts. Otherwise you’ll have to enter them in by hand, which you’ll have to do for cash transactions too. They get categorized based on where you spent it, but you can change it by hand too. It lets you set budgets based on category and lets you know if something happens out of the ordinary like… “unusually large expenditure of cash this month” or “reaching the upper bounds of your credit limit” etc. It also keeps a bar graph through the months of when you went over budget and when you went under budget. You can create savings goals like… have $30,000 in 5 years for a new house and lets you know how much a month you should be socking away to whatever savings you have. You can sync your online brokerage and it’ll manage those finances too. I’ve been seeing ads for “Simple bank” which is an all-online bank that does a lot of the same things Mint does. It takes in your cash reserves, factors in what you’ve said to be recurrent payments like rent/mortgage/insurance/bills and lets you know how much “actual” money is in your account. ---
**Author:** ![Gateway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dbc845/32.png) [@Gateway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gateway)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-raise-capital-besides-loans-and-saving/679343/62 "2014-02-03T15:25:15Z")
Frylock, sorry for the late reply. I have had the flu for the last couple of weeks. It’s an interesting budgeting idea, but I think I may try it manually first, or at least with envelopes. Perhaps in the future I will try the actual program. Yeah the, “I probably have enough to cover it” idea would probably be stopped (at least when it’s wrong) if I use this system. _ **I am now much less likely to do it because I now know I’m going to have to take that money away from Christmas, or car registration, or whatever–not just away from some vague “savings” amount.** _ This is a good point. It’s interesting too that its about how you are looking at it that leads to the change… _ **Well… did all that seem to communicate sense?** _ Yes it did and thank you very much for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Gateway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dbc845/32.png) [@Gateway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gateway)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-raise-capital-besides-loans-and-saving/679343/63 "2014-02-03T15:31:04Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > Get rid of debt -\> get “free” money through 401-k matching -\> Stockpile your savings until you have a good safety net -\> Look to own rather than rent -\> minimize recurring payments (car, cable, phone, etc) -\> invest. Thanks for the ideas. > [@](#): > > This is a pipe dream. You need to lower your expectations and understand that what investments are, and what the reasonable returns on them are. It’s hard enough to save enough to retire at 65. To live a retirement lifestyle before retirement age on passive income alone requires millions invested. Hmm, why is it a pipe dream? I mean, I am unfamiliar with the investing world to a large extent so I am not saying you’re wrong, however I have heard of people making it rich in stocks. Also, I checked the Forbes 400 and most of the people on there were rich through owning their own business or playing stocks. It has been seeming to me that it’s a good vehicle to get rich. Thank you for your reply ---
**Author:** ![Gateway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dbc845/32.png) [@Gateway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gateway)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-raise-capital-besides-loans-and-saving/679343/64 "2014-02-03T15:32:09Z")
In case anyone missed it in an above message, I have been sick lately and so I have not been answering the most recent posts on this thread. I am still sick but less so, and am getting to them now. Thank you all for the info 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gateway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dbc845/32.png) [@Gateway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gateway)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-raise-capital-besides-loans-and-saving/679343/65 "2014-02-03T15:42:32Z")
(Oh yeah, btw, I now realize that ‘raising capital’ is more about having something specific in mind, rather then making more money for stocks) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-raise-capital-besides-loans-and-saving/679343/66 "2014-02-03T17:16:50Z")
> [@Gateway](#): > > Hmm, why is it a pipe dream? I mean, I am unfamiliar with the investing world to a large extent so I am not saying you’re wrong, however I have heard of people making it rich in stocks. People have also made it rich via the MegaMillions lottery. That doesn’t make it an investment strategy. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-raise-capital-besides-loans-and-saving/679343/67 "2014-02-03T18:33:12Z")
Re: slowing impulse buys - > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > One suggestion along these lines. I recommend that you participate in your employer’s 401(k) plan. One reason is that the money is taken out of your paycheck before you ever see it. Or have your bank automatically move money from checking to savings each month. It may sound silly but if you can’t see it, you can’t spend it. You might want to look into what you can do with a personal retirement account. I’ve heard that some accounts allow you to purchase stock within the account. I haven’t looked into it, so someone else will have to confirm. And what’s allowed here wouldn’t necessarily be available in Australia. You may be able to set up other deductions, depending on your employer. I used to be able to assign X dollars to buying savings bonds, which are harder to spend than cash and earn some interest. No clue what might be available for you, but sometimes something as simple as having your automatic pay deposit put 10% into savings and 90% into checking can help. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-raise-capital-besides-loans-and-saving/679343/68 "2014-02-03T22:54:25Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Re: slowing impulse buys - > > You might want to look into what you can do with a personal retirement account. I’ve heard that some accounts allow you to purchase stock within the account. I haven’t looked into it, so someone else will have to confirm. … Yes, in the US at least, you absolutely CAN do this - while my personal IRAs are all in mutual funds vs. individual stocks, you can invest in a fairly wide array of choices (including real estate!). The beauty of an employer-sponsored plan (401(k) and so on) is that the investment limits are a lot higher (e.g. 15,000 a year or more versus 5,000 for an IRA - figures not the most current but you get the idea), and also the employer match which is basically free money. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-raise-capital-besides-loans-and-saving/679343/69 "2014-02-04T02:19:39Z")
> [@Gateway](#): > > Hmm, why is it a pipe dream? I mean, I am unfamiliar with the investing world to a large extent… That is why, for you, it’s a pipe dream. > [@Gateway](#): > > …so I am not saying you’re wrong, however I have heard of people making it rich in stocks. Also, I checked the Forbes 400 and most of the people on there were rich through owning their own business or playing stocks. It has been seeming to me that it’s a good vehicle to get rich. You’re basically asking how to get people to give you money so you can invest it. Well, why would anyone do that? Are you going to guarantee them a return on that investment? Why should they believe you? Do you have a Series 7? An MBA? Do you know how to perform a valuation or even read financial statements? If you were to open a business, what sort of business would it be? Do you even know how to run a business? Typically people who raise capital do so by having something people want to invest in. A business or a piece of software of some other way to make money that will give them a return on that investment. No one is going to put money into your Kickstarter account so you can speculate on the market. I don’t think it’s even legal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-raise-capital-besides-loans-and-saving/679343.md?page=3)