If you like to use technology to improve your life in every way, don’t neglect your personal finances. There are some excellent tools that anyone can use to make their money management better. You don’t need to spend long hours trying to work out your budget or do your taxes when you have apps and websites that you can use on your computer, phone or other mobile devices. Good financial management today doesn’t have to be carried out on paper. In fact, it doesn’t really make sense for it to be on paper at all. You can do everything digitally with the right tools.
Online Banking
Anyone who doesn’t already use online banking tools needs to look into how to sign up with their bank. You can access online tools for an existing account or open an account that’s specifically intended to be managed online. The capabilities of your bank’s online offering can vary, depending on which bank you use. But even when you only have a few simple actions available, they can be extremely useful. Being able to check your bank balance whenever you want and make payments online can save you a lot of time, and make sure you stay on top of your finances.
Personal Financial Management Sites
There are several useful websites that you might want to start using if you haven’t tried them already. Personal financial management sites give you the tools to manage your budget and watch over your bills. Some of the popular options include Mint, and You Need a Budget. These sites give you the tools you need to create a budget, track and pay your bills, and even check your credit score. It’s useful to have one place where you can do several tasks and keep your most important financial management together.
Bill Paying Apps
Getting your bills paid on time is a vital part of responsible budgeting. You need to prioritize paying your bills, or you could end up in trouble later on. If you want to make sure you always pay your bills on time, there are several tools that you might find useful. Services like Mint sometimes include a bill paying option, but you can also get apps that are only for helping you to manage your bills. BillMinder is one example of an app that can help you out. It reminds you when your bills are due, and you can set it up to pay your bills automatically too.
Online Financial Plans
Sorting out your financial planning isn’t something that you should neglect. You need to plan for now and the future. You might not use a tool that manages financial planning on its own but instead look for financial advisors who use digital tools. When you’re looking for someone professional to help you manage your money, check out how they create and deliver financial planning materials. If they use interactive and collaborative tools, you can view, edit and interact with the materials more easily.
Saving and Investment Apps
Saving your money can be tricky. Even when you try to create a budget, you can still find you have less to save than you hope or you accidentally spend too much. Investing your savings can be even harder, especially as it sometimes seems like you have to be a financial expert to get started. Savings and investment apps can make it easier for you to manage your money. In fact, you can set up your requirements and then forget about it. Some apps help you save and invest at the same time, while others are just for one or the other. For example, Acorns will round up your “spare change” from transactions each month and invest it for you.
Tax Software
Do you always dread tax season? Having to sort through your finances and report everything can be stressful, and many people choose to hand it off to an accountant instead. But that costs money, even though there’s a chance it could save you some by helping you to avoid mistakes. If you want to make it easier to do it yourself, using tax software can help you out. However, it’s important to keep your tax software updated if you want it to be as effective as possible. By updating your software, you can ensure you’re using the latest tax codes and information. This might not matter if you’re only managing run of the mill finances, but if you do anything that has a significant impact on your finances, it’s essential to have the most up to date information.
All-in-one Money Management Software
As well as software for doing your taxes, you can benefit from software that’s designed to help you manage all aspects of your finances. Even simple software like GnuCash can help you to manage your personal finances, allows you to import data from other apps, and can even be used for small business finances. A tool like Buxfer will help you to manage different accounts and has support for lots of different banks. Personal Capital helps you to track savings, investments and assets so that you can look beyond your current accounts. Mvelopes helps you to use the envelopes method to split up your income for different purposes so you can enjoy better money management.
Online and Mobile Payments
Everything is becoming more mobile and is increasingly based online, and money is no exception. As well as mobile apps that allow you to check your bank balance or manage your investments, it’s always useful to have a mobile payment app. Rather than use it for paying bills, it can be handy for giving money to friends or making purchases both online and in stores. PayPal has long been used for various payment purposes, but other apps have become popular too. In particular, Venmo is a top choice for payments between friends, offering a quick and easy mobile option.
Managing your personal finances is easy with the right tools. Find the ones that work best for you to get your finances on track.
