Whether you’re a business owner trying to organize the finances of your business, or an individual trying to save for retirement, managing your money is crucial to financial freedom. But creating a budget can be overwhelming, and maintaining it is even more difficult.
Unfortunately, the economy also plays a huge role in your budget, even if you don’t see the affect directly. Whether the economy is looking up or down, you should budget your money carefully in order to secure a future for yourself – regardless of the state of the economy.
The good news is that technological advances have made staying on track with your budget easier than ever. With these mobile financial apps and the help of a great banker, you’ll gain – and keep – control of your money at all times.
Make The Most Of Your Money
One of the best ways to increase your income is to intelligently invest your funds. With so many options and varying levels of risk, though, many people shy away from investing. The Acorns app takes the guesswork out for you, giving you peace of mind.
Acorns – With this app, you link your debit and credit cards, and each purchase you make helps you invest. When you buy something, the app rounds up your total to the next dollar and put the extra cents into a professionally managed portfolio. The funds in the portfolio are then invested in whichever way you’ve chosen. With low administrative fees, this is a great option for those people seeking professional-level advice and money management without the high cost of a financial advisor.
Make A Budget And Stick To It
Creating a budget is only half the battle. It doesn’t matter how great your plan looks on paper if you can’t easily maintain it. These two apps are designed to make your life easier and keep you on track with your budget. Forget pen and paper, spreadsheets, and other old-fashioned methods. Simply download one of these apps and never stress over your budget again.
You Need a Budget. (YNAB) – This app syncs all of your accounts into one place, so that you can see all your money at once. It can also export your data to a desktop computer if you so choose. Additionally, it provides a four-step method and advice for managing your money, allows you to record spending, and immediately shows your available spendable money. As if that weren’t enough, YNAB allows you to sync the devices of all your family members, so that everyone has instant access to the budget.
Level Money – With Level Money, you are shown weekly and monthly allowances after your income and bills are calculated. Each purchase is immediately deducted so that you can easily see what you have left in your budget to spend.
Never Pay A Late Fee Again
Perhaps the most destructive thing to your budget is paying late fees. Let’s face it, we’re all human and have occasionally forgotten about a bill. Take a look at Mint Bills to see how the app can help you remember to pay all your bills on time.
Mint Bills – This app not only keeps track of your bills, but it also allows you to pay all bills from one place. After a one-time set-up during which you link all of your bank accounts and bills, you’ll receive reminders, get alerts when your balances are low, and be able to see your available funds.
Manage Necessary Expenses
If you’re a business owner or an independent contractor, keeping up with your business expenses is complex – to say the least. To stay organized, you need to be able to track all your expenses, from gas mileage to business lunches, in one convenient place.
Expensify – Expensify photographs and categorizes your receipts, or allows you to enter them manually if you’d prefer. With this app you can track your time and gas mileage, wiping out the need to keep a glove box full of paper receipts or a notebook log for mileage. Additionally, Expensify can convert currencies, offers an offline mode, and provides IRS-approved e-receipts.
Choose Your Bank Carefully
Just as important as a budget is for managing your finances, so is finding the right financial institution in which to put your money. Your bank can help or hurt you, based on their service fees, how personal the service is, and what kind of tools they offer. Choosing a bank that goes above and beyond to help you manage your money is the best way to go. You should also consider the convenience of banking with the institution. Is mobile banking available and user-friendly, for example? How willing are the bankers to discuss and meet your needs? Do they offer educational tools to help you make the best decisions? These are all things to think about when deciding where to bank.
Florida Capital Bank offers a small bank feel with big bank capabilities. With business banking, personal banking, loans, mortgages, and treasury management solutions, we have something for everyone. Contact us today to get on track to financial freedom.