Managing your money is all about keeping organized and what better way to do so than an online software designed for your needs and accessible anywhere there’s Internet. Money is the leading cause of stress for Americans, so it’s worthwhile to build good money habits early. Make sure you’re not spending more than your income and save money whenever possible.
Try out one of these six free tools to help you track your money, pay your bills, budget and save:
- My Spending Plan
- Billster
- Budget Tracker
- Bill Monk
- Buxfer
- Money Trackin
This software’s motto is: “Plan Better. Save More. Live Smart.” You’ll be able to plan better by using their budgeting tools and templates, tracking both bills and tasks, and setting up reminders. You can save more by monitoring your progress and using My Spending Plan to quickly scour the web for the best online shopping prices and coupons. Finally, you can live smart by taking advantage of their online envelope system, allocating a certain amount of money monthly for your regular expenses.
With Billster, you can organize both personal and shared expenses. The software allows you to tag bills and later categorize them to get a snapshot of where your money is going. Don’t forget to regularly email yourself summaries. Use the calendar feature to see totals based on certain dates. You can also easily keep tabs on each person’s contributions and dues if you share a home or share costs during a trip as the software can handle 42 different currencies.

One of Budget Tracker’s key uses is to track bills and remind you of them via text message or email. You can log 15 bills and 50 reminders at a time. Use the software to monitor your bank accounts, including your PayPal account, by syncing transactions or entering information manually. Based on the pattern of your transactions, the software is also capable of forecasting your income at a specific time in the future, even taking into the account the amortization schedule of your credit cards.
Apart from money management, Budget Tracker allows you to keep track of your workout schedule, shopping lists, recipes, contacts and resolutions, among other features.
Using Bill Monk, you can easily track how much each of your friends owe you. Report your expenses even while you’re out by sending a text message and filling in the details later. This way, you can always split the bill evenly (or not) and your friends can pay you back through Obopay, a mobile payments service.
Bill Monk also has a library feature where you can list the shareable things you own, check out other libraries and track who borrowed what, whether it’s books, DVDs or clothes.
Buxfer will help you keep track of all your finances from your bank accounts to your credit cards, financially plan for the future and split group expenses. Control your spending by setting spending limits and let the software communicate with you through email reminders and real-time alerts to your mobile phone. You can access Buxfer with your Blackberry, iPhone, Twitter, Facebook or iGoogle.
The advantage of using Money Trackin is that not only will you be able to manage your finances on an easy-to-use dashboard, but you’ll also have access to a community of users with whom you can share tips and receive encouragement during your money-saving journey. This software also allows you to manage various accounts, handle different projects and collaboratively budget with others on the same account.
What are your favorite money management tips? If you use any of these tools, how have they helped you organize your finances? Do you recommend any other money management tools?
6 Comments
My tip is pretty basic: Simplify your life– Live below your means and pay for everything in cash. That will help to keep creditors off your back and give much needed peace of mind. For many, that will mean a redical change in lifestyle, but I guarantee that for most the sacrifice will be worth it.
You’re so right that it can be so simple, Vinny! It’s why building positive habits early can make all the difference. I lost the idea of paying for everything in cash — that’s what it’s like here in Peru where credit cards are rarely used and it has made all the difference! =) Thanks for your tip!! =)
I guess we’re still rather old-fashioned. A budget on paper, envelopes and cash. Money goes into the envelopes every payday. When the bills come in, the money is there.
Old habits die hard I guess. We taught our daughters to budget the same way
No judgments here on being old-fashioned! =) What’s important is that it works!! Thanks so much for reminding us all of this, Gracey! =)
I like ManageYourExpenses.com . It is very simple to use and it is FREE!. It has good features like budgeting, bill reminders and also feature for sharing expensese between roommates/friends.
Thanks for your input, KM! =) Love hearing personal experiences! =)