Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Should You Use an Online Money Management Program?

By: Samantha Asher
If you have been looking for a way to more easily manage your money, you have probably come across the many online money management programs. There are several now available. You used to have to buy a software program in order to manage your money on a computer, but now you can do it online for free with many programs.

Should you use one of these programs? Are they worth your time or will they just make things more confusing? The truth is, now that most of these programs are free, it is worth your time.

If you have been using a software program, it depends on what program whether or not you should switch. If you have been using a program with a lot of great features that you are already very familiar with and you can use proficiently, you might want to stay where you are. Chances are you are looking for a change if you are reading this article.

I currently use Quicken Online. It is now a free program and I love it. I have an online savings account, a checking account from my local bank, and an online investment account and I was able to hook them all up from Quicken. You can also hook up any credit card accounts you may have. It is great to be able to see all my money in one place updated automatically without having to do anything myself.

They also have a great budgeting feature. If you have trouble sticking to a budget, this will be a huge help for you. It works by setting up a spending limit for a particular category such as 'auto' or 'utilities'. You are then able to see yourself reach that limit. It's a lot easier to keep within your budget when your account tells you you're done spending.
Just fill out your limits for the month and follow it regularly to make sure you don't overspend.

Managing your money in a notebook is better than not managing it at all, but now that Quicken is free, you might as well go for it. I love that I can see all my accounts in one place and know exactly how much money I have in total. This is a huge help when you are trying to figure out the ideal budget and setting your financial goals. Don't let your money sit unmanaged any longer, set up your account today!

If you want to sign up for Quicken Online and find out more about money management tools, go to FinancialPlanningMadeEasy.infofor more information.

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