All Financial Matters

Do Online Budgeting Tools Work?

Budgeting can be done in a number of ways. You can go the old-fashioned route and use ledger and pencil. You can invest in financial software for your home computer. There is still another option. Online tools are available for personal financing. Do online tools work?

There are many different tools available online to help manage your finances. The first tool is a free service of your bank. It is online banking. Before the Internet, the only way to check your accounts was to wait until the end of the month when the statement arrived or go to the bank and go through it line by line with an associate at the bank.

Online banking allows you to transfer money between accounts, verify if a specific check has paid on your account, and set up automatic payments for bills. You can check out interest rates and investment options that the bank offers. The ability to see what is going on with your finances is a powerful tool when trying to save money.

Financial websites offer tips for budgeting along with free worksheets to fit any budgeting style. The grids are already set up along with category suggestions. Step by step, they tell you how to track your income and expenses. Go to www.personalfinancebudgeting.com for free worksheets and informative articles.

There is an alternative to Quicken and Microsoft Money for those looking for something more. Try Mvelopes. It is an online budgeting tool that allows you to access your budget from another PC. If you are on vacation and want to check your finances or see how much you have used of the money budgeted for the vacation you can do that.

The software allows you to monitor your spending as you spend and not at the end of the month. The premise is that at the end of the month the damage is already done. Identifying problems as they occur instead of after they’ve occurred can save more money each month.

Your money is tracked as you use credit cards and bank cards. The system allows real time download of your information from banking institutions. Online payment of your bills is also an option with the Mvelopes service. The package offers live customer support and budget coaching for those using the system. They offer a free thirty day trial to anyone wanting to try the system.

I have not tried it myself but there are glowing testimonials. The bottom line is that online tools work. Ones that cost money offer more features but it is the person using the tools who dictates how compatible they are. There are financial calculators and forums online to aid anyone looking to change their financial situation. If you are committed to budgeting, free tools will support your goals.

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Do I Need Financing Software?

Aren’t personal budgets fun? Just kidding. We don’t like them but we could all benefit from setting up a budget for our home. Finances can get out of control if we aren’t careful and having a way to track spending is useful. If you don’t know anything about how to begin, financing software can be a help.

To answer the question of whether or not you need to use financing software, you need to look at your individual situation. For the most part, a budget is not hard to start. Keep your bill stubs and your paycheck stubs in an envelope for a month. At the end of the month, write them down on a piece of paper.

Financing software makes it easier to record your information. Programs like Quicken and Microsoft Money have categories built in so you just click on the one that applies to your needs. When you enter your beginning bank balance, they do all of the calculations for you. Computers that have Microsoft Office pre-loaded on them offer Microsoft Money.

Software does have drawbacks. There is the necessity of entering each and every transaction into the program. You can do it once a week, but it has to be done if you want the software to do its job. Some people don’t have the time to sit at the computer. If no one wants to do it you may have to draw straws.

The information is actually being entered twice. You write it down in your check register or jot a note on the ATM receipt to be copied into the computer. Most banking institutions offer online banking. You can check your account as often as you like. Since all transactions don’t post immediately, you will have to check them off in your register when they do post. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that there is more money in the account than there actually is.

Using online banking eliminates the need to wait until the statement comes to reconcile your account. It also lets you keep track of funds without the software. There are no categories listed but if you use general categories for your expenses this is not a problem. Record category names for each transaction in your check register.

People who do not have access to a computer can still track their spending the old-fashioned way. Use a lined ledger book to create a spreadsheet. They can be purchased at any store. You would still record checks and keep ATM receipts to record them in the ledger book. Using a pencil makes it easier to correct mistakes. Keeping the book in a central location allows family members to view it at any time. Be sure it stays in a hidden place so no one outside the family has access to personal information.

Financing software is a great thing to have but it is not necessary for most people. If your situation is complex or you are always on the go, financing software that you can access online from your PDA will help you to stay on track.

Creating a Personal Budget

Where does all that money go each month? Everyone wants to know but no one wants to tackle the one thing that can answer the questions: create a personal budget. For some, you might as well be strapping the handcuffs on them. A personal budget is tedious at the outset, but once it is in place, you’ll be glad you did it.

Let’s start with the basics. A personal budget needs to have a listing of all the money coming into the house on a monthly basis. This includes salaries from work, child support, alimony, income from real estate investments, and pensions. All of these sources make up your monthly income that can be used towards household expenses.

Add these up. This is the amount you have to start with. You probably can’t believe you have that much money coming into the household when you open your wallet at the end of the month and nothing but moths fly out.

Now we tackle the debt. What are the expenses that you pay each month? This includes mortgages, utility bills, other loan payments, child support, alimony, credit card payments, child care, entertainment bills, car insurance, and car payments. If the price of these bills stays the same each month your budget will be easier to figure out.

Money also needs to be allocated for variable expenses. Clothing, food, gas, medical co-pays, and entertainment fall in this group. This type of entertainment includes going to the movies, a play, or out to dinner. Monthly cable television bills would go in with the recurring bills.

Add up all of the recurring debt and subtract that from your income. The remainder will create monthly allowances for the variable expenses. People who send money to their savings account each month can record that amount as an expense. If you are having trouble saving, this is the perfect time to allocate an amount for that purpose.

Keep a log such as a check register, or use finance software aids in tracking where the money goes. One way that money disappears is through the ATM machine. It is easy, convenient, and the number one way to ruin your budgeting efforts.

Creating a personal budget is a family affair. Parents don’t have to go it alone. Let everyone in the house contribute to the final product. After all, each person will be governed by it in some way. Children can benefit from the financial habits that they see you implement in your daily life.

Budgets are not quick fixes. Just like any other habit it will take time to become second nature. Before it is all said and done, you may find that you have to change the original budget several times until it fits your lifestyle. An ideal budget should allow wiggle room but provide structure to keep to your goals.

Creating Categories for Your Budget

No one likes budgets. They’d rather have a root canal. But a budget does help us to spend less and save more. One way to customize your budget to fit your needs it to create categories for the different expenses that you have.

Categories keep expenses organized. When you look back at ATM receipts, you can tell when you withdrew the money but not what it was for. The same goes for entries on a statement. Paper and online statements don’t put deposits and withdrawals into categories. The added information lets you know where to subtract the money from in your budget.

Start with a few simple ones. Don’t make things complicated right away. Most people are already less than enthusiastic about putting together a personal budget so the more painless the better.

List all of the income and expenses from the last full month. Go one by one and decide what would best describe that item in a budget. For example, a payment to the water company would go under “Utilities”. Your son’s soccer uniform payment can fall under “Entertainment”. If you have more than one child, you can create a category under each of their names for any expenses related to their hobbies.

Broad categories let you fit things in place easier. Words like “Income”, “Insurance”, “Housing Costs”, “Entertainment”, “Living Expenses”, and “Savings Account” are appropriate. Subcategories can be created for each of these to leave a place to record specific bill amounts.

This is actually the fun part. There is no limit on categories. In fact, the more specific you can be the better it will be when the time comes to choose between needs and wants. Unnecessary expenses can be eliminated over time to streamline your spending.

If you use a check register to record ATM withdrawals and checks written, leave a space to enter the category name for the entry. Later, when you review spending, you can pinpoint where the money is going. Finding points of overspending is part of the reason for creating a budget in the first place.

You may want to stick to broad categories if you are tracking spending in a specific area. That one area can be more detailed and the rest of the expenses lumped in bigger categories. Even if you don’t think that you need a budget because you don’t spend much money, it is a useful tool.

Setting up a personal budget for your home teaches valuable organizational skills. This is a help when tracking investments or growing your business. Bad spending habits here can cost you profit dollars.

Since reconciling categories can be a tedious job, set a time once a week or once every two weeks to enter these figures in a spreadsheet, a ledger book, or into a software program designed for personal finances. After a month or two, when you have started to make changes in spending, you can reconcile your entries on a monthly basis.