We offer options that fit a variety of users. Others take a broader approach, providing simple expense and income tracking. Some sites cater to detail-oriented types who want to know “how much they spent on Coke versus Pepsi over the past six months,” says Steve Shaw, vice president of strategic marketing for the digital banking group at Fiserv, a financial-technology company. No matter how you prefer to budget, you can probably find one to match your style and perhaps automate the task. Plus, budgeting doesn’t have to be painful if you take advantage of websites and mobile apps that help you get organized. It’ll also help keep you out of debt and give you a sense of control over your money. Developing a blueprint for how you intend to spend and save money is an important step to reach your goals, both in the short term and in the distant future. More likely, you have followed a budget in the past and then let things ride (and maybe slide).īut it’s a good idea to put yourself through the budgeting paces periodically. Maybe you already track income and expenses. But at the start of a new year, when people are brimming with resolutions to get organized, accelerate saving and all that, it’s a good time to talk about the B word.
We admit it: Budgeting is drudgery, a pain, the pits among personal finance tasks.
