| Fact: tracking your spending is essential to working | | | | have a hard time setting them up. In fact, if you'll just |
| your way to financial freedom. Everybody knows that | | | | learn a couple of quick formulas, you'll easily be able to |
| your best defense against financial hardship is simply | | | | make your numbers automatically add up, multiply, |
| knowing how much money is coming in vs. how much | | | | subtract, and divide when and where you need them |
| is going out. You need to make sure you're making | | | | to. |
| more than you're spending. | | | | 3. Simple - In my experience using financial budgeting |
| How? | | | | software, they just aren't that simple! The first one I |
| Well- you can SPEND money to budget on programs | | | | ever bought was Quicken, and I found that it did too |
| like Quicken, Pearbudget, Mint, Mvelopes, or YNAB. | | | | much. All I needed was something that I could |
| Many can provide you with resourceful tools that will | | | | customize to build a budget that worked for me; |
| help you keep your finances in check; however, you | | | | Quicken complicated things to a point where I didn't |
| actually have to spend more money to use them! | | | | even want to use it. It was not user-friendly at all, and |
| Aren't you creating a budget to save money? | | | | that's what I needed when it came to a monthly |
| Solution: Use Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets | | | | personal budget. and do a pretty good job to keep |
| to create a monthly budget for you! | | | | things simple and if you ever did decide to pay money |
| Following are some of the advantages to making | | | | for a monthly budget, that's what I would recommend; |
| Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets your official | | | | however, using a free spreadsheet will save you the |
| financial planner: | | | | money period, and it's just as simple to use. |
| 1. Costs Nothing - Microsoft Excel is a program that | | | | 4. Fully Customizable - Why not use a budgeting |
| most of us own. And if you are one of the rare people | | | | software that enables you to completely customize |
| that don't have your own copy, don't go out and buy it! | | | | what you need?! Choose your own colors, categories, |
| You can easily do the exact same thing the an Excel | | | | sizes, fonts, styles, and structures to fit what you need. |
| spreadsheet will do with a Google Docs spreadsheet- | | | | After all, everybody is different and one standardized |
| and that's for free! The fact is a spreadsheet's | | | | budgeting software isn't going to work for all! Fit your |
| capabilities can do virtually everything you need them | | | | budget to your needs. |
| to. Most of your fancy financial software programs will | | | | In conclusion, my personal recommendation when it |
| cost you hundreds of dollars in the long run. Seems a | | | | comes to organizing your money is either a Microsoft |
| little funny that you're going to spend your money on | | | | Excel budgeting spreadsheet or a Google Docs |
| something that is going to save it. Be resourceful; use | | | | Spreadsheet. Don't waste your money on buying |
| a spreadsheet. | | | | budgeting software. You're pocket book will thank you |
| 2. Easy to Set up - Whether you're using Microsoft | | | | for choosing an alternative route- budgeting for free! |
| Excel or Google Spreadsheet, you're not going to | | | | |