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By Richard Irons
Are you one of the millions of people that still use an Excel® sheet to organize and plan your budget? It is still surprising how many Americans continue to use Excel sheets, notebooks, check books, and other archaic ways of managing their budget in these modern times. If you are one of the many who continue to do their finances in one of these old-school methods then you will be pleased to know of a modern solution to help you plan your budget.
Online budgeting has caught on in such a way that many people are throwing away their old Excel sheets and notebooks in favor of an online solution. The advent of the Internet has given consumers the capability to view their financial information in a real time environment allowing greater control of how they manage their income. People no longer need to wait for their banking statements to come in or wait on the phone for their bank's customer representatives to answer simple questions. Though many find the usefulness of online budgeting, many are still suspicious and intimidated at the prospect of using a computer to access sensitive financial information.
In the late 90's and early this century, issues with transferring financial data across phone lines & via the Internet discouraged many from trusting applications that used features that connected to their financial institutions online. As online security increased and more people became comfortable with using the Internet as a medium of communication online budgeting programs began to take off and saw an increase in usage by consumers.
Why Budget Online?
Imagine tracking every transaction with a notebook or check book. This is how it still is in the twenty-first century. Evenings and weekends are set aside to balance checkbooks, collect receipts, remember what was spent and earned that week, and reviewing bills. All these compacted amount to a lot of time one must spend in budget planning and organization. This is no wonder why people dread the word budgeting and spend more time planning their vacations then planning their budget. The time required to effectively track one's finances can seem overwhelming. Budgeting online not only will save you time but may save you money!
Benefits of an Online Budget Tool
The capability to access your financial transactions at home, work, or traveling with a computer or mobile device is a huge advantage to those who track their finances via paper or documents saved just on their computers. The 24/7 access of information gives those who use an online budgeting program a significant advantage in how they track bills, spending, etc. Another advantage is some online budgeting tools programs, such as Mvelopes Personal, links to your financial institution which allows for automatic transaction retrieval. Each day, when you log in, you can view all the transactions made for that day. This information is incorporated into the program thus saving you the hassle of manually tracking your expenditures.
One incredible feature of online budgeting is online bill pay (if your program supports this). When a bill is due the tool will automatically pay that company or individual thus ensuring you are always on time with your payments. If your online budget tool supports bill pay make sure you use it. Not only do you gain piece of mind that all your bills will automatically be paid but you save on time, stamps, and will never pay a late fee again.
Summary of the Benefits of doing a Budget Online:
- Minimize the paper work
- Save time
- Track all your financial information anytime and anywhere with online access
- Automatic bill pay allows you to pay all your bills on time
- Automatic transaction retrieval allows you to see all your daily expenditures
- Easy to set up and maintain
As with any new way to do budgeting, test online budgeting programs that works best for you. If you are looking for alternatives to managing your finances try some of the different online programs & tools out there. You may find the right one that will make you a more effective budgeter. Re-evaluate where you are financially, do a gut-check if you are better off financially now then you were last year, and if you feel that there is need for change try doing your budgeting online and discover the freedom and positive change that it has given to so many people.
*Based on a 2-year membership plan, other plans available.
**To avoid being charged the full service plan fee, simply cancel before the free trial period ends.
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