Budgeting Tools

Looking for easy-to-use budgeting tools to help you budget and manage your money more efficiently? Do you need a fast, inexpensive solution that does all the work for you - stress and hassle free?

While it is difficult to argue the merits of traditional cash budgeting methods like the envelope and money jar methods they are not always ideal or even practical.

Throwbacks from a simpler time? Perhaps. Nonetheless, cash budgets are still an effective way of managing money. Bottom line, cash budgets work just not for everyone.

The problem with low-tech, cash budgets like this is two-fold. First, they are time consuming and secondly they are just too inconvenient for most people - not practical if your always busy and on the go (that's basically everyone these days).

Let's face it, budgeting just isn't all that exciting. In fact it can be down-right boring and tedious! That's why the best budgeting tools are those that do all the work for you - because there are about a million other things you'd rather do than juggle your finances!

So, if you don't have the time or the inclination to create and manage a budget the old fashioned way here are a few budgeting tools that aren't free but might make your life a little easier. I have listed a few budgeting tools I've used myself; one of which I still use almost every day. None of them are free but they all offer free trials.

Without further ado...

3 Great Budgeting Tools that do all the work for you!

1. Mvelopes Personal - Mvelopes is a great little web-based budgeting tool I've been using for a while now. It is a little pricier than the other tools on this list but worth every penny if you ask me (membership plans cost between $7.90 - $13.00 a month). Like anything else in life, you get what you pay for - this is especially true when it comes to bugeting programs.

Mvelopes tops my list of budgeting tools for several reasons:

• It's fast, convenient and really easy to use (it took me just a few minutes to get comfortable with it).

• It's based on the old envelope budget (hence the name) so you get all the benefits of the traditional envelope budget minus the hassle of fumbling with all that cash and those tiresome envelopes.

• It tracks your spending in real-time which means you no longer have to add receipts or keep track of every dollar you spend! Mvelopes does all that for you - instantly.

• It's Canadian friendly! Mvelopes is one of the few online budgeting tool that integrates directly with Canadian banking institutions for those instant transaction updates.

Who is Mvelopes for? Mvelopes is great for anyone looking to track and control their spending, get out of debt fast and free up additional money to maximize savings. If you don't mind paying a little extra for the best and most popular online budgeting tool then you really should give Mvelopes a try.

Mvelopes 14-Day Free Trial

NOTE: I have not personally experienced any problems with them but some people have reported problems cancelling their Mvelopes free trial memberships. If you do sign up for the Mvelopes free trial don't wait til the last minute if you decide to cancel. Give yourself plenty of time to cancel, atleast a full day or two before the 14 days is up to avoid any unwanted subscription charges on your credit card.

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2. Quicken Deluxe 2010 - Quicken is the most recognized brand in personal finance software. It's a very good budget-conscious alternative to pricier budgeting tools like Mvelopes. Feature-wise it stacks up very well to other bugeting tools, it even has a few unique features that are really nice (more on those features below). What really sets Quicken Deluxe 2010 apart from the rest however, is affordability - for a mere $40 it's a real bargain!

Aside from price, there are other nice features I really like about Quicken:

• It has bill payment reminders so you don't ever have to worry about missing a bill again. Quicken let's you see what's been paid, what needs to be paid and how much you have in your accounts to cover it.

• It has a debt reduction planner to help you get out of debt faster. Quicken will suggest which debts to pay off first and give you an idea of how long it will take you to be debt free.

• It tracks all your investments in convenient place to help you get a more complete picture of your finances.

• It's Canadian friendly! Quicken integrates with over 12,000 financial institutions, Canadian banks included. Double check here to make sure your financial institution is on Quicken's list of supported banks.

• It integrates seemlessly with TurboTax for hassle free tax preparation. TurboTax is sold separately.

Who is Quicken for? Quicken is for anyone that wants to get their finances in order. Quicken is an efficient, all-in-one solution to track investments and manage personal finances at a very reasonable price.

NOTE: Quicken does not offer a free trial but If you've already decided to buy it you can get Quicken Deluxe 2010 for $39.99 from their website but you can sometimes get a little cheaper on Amazon One thing you should know about Quicken, if you need to contact their technical support department do so via email or chat first both these options are 100% free - contacting them by phone may cost money (although they now advertise that telephone support is free). Support hours are Monday - Friday, 5:00 am - 5:00 pm Pacific time.

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3. YNAB (You Need A Budget) - YNAB is strictly a budgeting/cash flow management application. It's immensely powerful yet it is also one of the simplest and most intuitive budgeting tools you'll find anywhere. This is the perfect budgeting tool if you're very new to budgeting or know very little about cash flow management as YNAB will guide you every step of the way. It's also pretty reasonably priced at $59.95.

A few things I really like about YNAB:

• It has a really simple, easy-to-use interface so you don't have to spend alot of time trying to learn new software. YNAB is purely a budgeting and cash flow management application so the learning curve is very short.

• It's built around YNAB Methodology aimed at helping you better manage your cash flow. YNAB employs these 4 basic budgeting principles, 1) Stop living paycheck to paycheck, 2) Give every dollar a job, 3) Prepare for rain, 4) Roll with the punches.

• It's based on zero balance budgeting which basically means giving every dollar you earn a job (Budgeting principle #2 of the YNAB methodology).

• It's budgeting and cash flow focused. YNAB doesn't have all the bells and whistles of other bugeting tools because it's primary focus is on building up a cash buffer to pay for living expenses and helping you break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.

Who is YNAB for? YNAB is great for anyone who has never budgeted or knows very little about it. Beginners and experts alike can benefit from the abiding by the 4 budgeting principles which YNAB is designed around. If you aren't on a budget right now - there's no better place to start than YNAB.

YNAB 7-Day Free Trial

NOTE: One thing I really didn't like about YNAB was the manual data entry, YNAB does not integrate with financial institutions therefore transactions must be input into YNAB manually. However, I believe there is a plug-in you can buy for under $10 called scheduler that will give you the functionality of automatic transaction updates. YNAB as standalone setup does not integrate with other budgeting tools like Quicken does.

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Table of Content

Budgeting Tips - Looking for budgeting tips that work? Basic budgeting guidelines plus top 10 budgeting tips to help you set up your budget.

How to Create a Budget - Learn how to create a budget that not only works but one that you can actually live with! A good budget is one that allows you to easily manage your personal finances without cutting out any of the things you enjoy in life.

Personal Budgeting Strategies - Want to know which personal budgeting strategies are most effective? Here are three different personal budgeting strategies as well as the pros and cons of each strategy.

Living On A Budget - Think living on a budget is only for people on a fixed or low income and couldn't possibly apply to you? Are you worried that a budget will only reduce the standard of living you currently enjoy? Not worth the hassle?

Cash Budget - What is a cash budget, really? Does it involve getting rid of
credit cards and living on nothing but cash? Is there anyone under 65
living this way? The answers may surprise you.

Personal Budget Software - Need help finding quality personal budget software? How about a program that's both user friendly and makes budgeting fun? Oh, and you probably want
it to be cheap too, right?

Money Saving Tips -Looking for money saving tips you can actually use? Well if it's savings you want, it's savings you'll get - right here! Lots of money saving tips on everything from gas to groceries.

How to Save Money - How to save money in 4 easy steps. Reach your ultimate savings goal by following these 4 surefire, money-saving steps.

Household Money Saving Tips - Want to turn your home into a money-tight, energy-saving dynamo? You can by following a few practical money saving tips. Find out how you can save on everything from gas to groceries.

Frugal Living - Think frugal living is just for cheapskates and penny pinchers? Do you believe that living like a vagabond is the only way to be frugal? Frugal living isn't about cutting back on life's little luxuries just to save a dollar. It's about living within your means, moreover it's about living well within your means.

Debt Management Tips - Looking for debt management tips that'll help you get you out of debt faster? Want to minimize the amount of interest on your debts while your still paying them off? These simple, practical tips will help you do just that!

Getting Out of Debt - What's the best way of getting out of debt? Are you confused about all the different debt solutions available? If you're in debt and considering options such as a debt consolidation loan, credit counselling or restructuring your mortgage to include some or all of your debt...READ on!

Make Extra Money Online - Want to make extra money online? Here's is a listing of honest, legitimate ways to make extra money online - no get rich quick schemes here.

Recommended Reading - Here are some highly recommended books you might be interested in reading. I've learned so much from each and every book listed here.