Family Budgeting Tools
Creating a family budget is a wise financial decision. A budget is a monthly spending plan. This plan includes dates and amounts to be paid for bills, groceries, rent and other living expenses. Planning when to pay your bills and other expenses helps to ensure that all needs are taken care of. Working a savings plan into any budget is also highly recommended. Basically, you would budget out a set amount each payday to put into savings. Sticking to your budget can help to provide security and financial stability for you and your family.
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Quicken
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Quicken is a software tool that can be used to track every single dime that is spent. The nice thing about quicken is that it can make future budget planning much easier. For instance, if you find that you are spending too much on coffee, you can make an effort to reallocate that money somewhere else next month. There are several different versions of Quicken software. Quicken online is free. This version allows you to track your expenses, but you have limited functions with the managing a business and investment tracking. Quicken Premier allows you to do more because the software helps you to optimize your investment portfolios. The software can connect directly to your online banking and monitor exactly where your money is going for you. Built-in reminders allow you to never miss a bill, and you are able to set up a monthly budget while also checking to see where all your extra money is going. The software helps you to watch every penny by categorizing expenses. You can then view graphs to see how much money is going to certain things.
Online Banking
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Online banking is another budgeting tool that can help to make life easier. Online banking helps you to organize your bills online and pay them as they are due. You simply click a button, and your bank or credit union will send the bill out for you. This can save you time and postage. If you are a very busy person, online banking may be right for you. It takes time to sit down and write out several checks to be sent in the mail. When you utilize online banking, the work is done for you with the click of a button.
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Simple Paper Method
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You can also figure out your monthly budget by using a notebook and a calendar. Some people also decide to use the paper method in addition to the electronic method, just so they have a backup. It can be harder to track where every penny goes with the paper method, but you can generally get an idea of what your money is being spent on.
Printable Budgeting Worksheets
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Printable budgeting worksheets can be created on Excel software, or you can also find pre-made worksheets on line. These worksheets are broken down into several categories, such as food, entertainment, housing, gas and other bills. If you are a very visual person, this type of budgeting tool may really help you. You can plan your weekly or monthly budget and paste the worksheet on the fridge.
Automatic Savings
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Automatic savings is a great way to fit savings in to your budget plan. When you set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account on set dates, the money is moved for you. This can help make family budgeting so much easier and keep you on track. In order to benefit from automatic savings, you would need to call your bank or credit union to set this up. The savings can function on a weekly or monthly basis with most banking institutions. You decide how much money you would like taken out of your account on certain dates each month. The bank will automatically transfer the money from your checking account to your savings account for you.
Budget Calculators
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Budget calculators are also a great tool because these calculators help you to track and record your expenses with an electronic hand held device. Some people have budgeting calculators incorporated in their iPods or cell phones. If you are always on the go, but want to take charge of things yourself, budgeting calculators might be the right tool for you. A budget calculator is very different from a regular calculator. A budget calculator is basically like Quicken in a calculator version. The main difference is that you will need to enter in the amounts into the calculator rather than having the information automatically transferred from your bank account. The calculators will add up your monthly income and how much is going out for bills. You can view your budget on the calculator and make adjustments when necessary. Everything still needs to be manually entered, but if you would rather use an electronic device than a notepad, a budget calculator might be the way to go.
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