If your purpose is to gain control of your finances and stick to a family budget, then it is now time to grab some of the tools that make family budgeting possible.
You like the nature of online tools and apps, but you still reach for pen and paper whenever it comes to making decisions and setting goals. Using a variety of budgeting tools for the family, instead of only one, is found to be more effective.
Just using one tool won’t make a delicious meal or cultivate a nice garden. Every tool you use has a function. To accomplish your goal, here are some family budgeting tools you can use.
Spreadsheets
Even if you’re not an Excel or Google Docs master, spreadsheets are a must-have tool for family budgeting. Many individuals still rely on using a spreadsheet to plan even with all of the online apps available for budgeting.
You can download templates for budget spreadsheets and modify them to suit your unique needs. It will be a summary of how cash comes and goes from your household every month by manually adding your income and expense data from your notebook.
YNAB (You Need A Budget)
If you are trying to make real sense of your financial structure, the YNAB app is a life changer for you. Synchronize all your bank accounts in one location in this family budget app and have a clear picture of your finances.
Have a real-time view of the income and expenses and know your most up-to-date financial situation. You can also share with your partner your budget and financial planning, and be aware of the finances of your family.
It’s effortless to grasp through its interactive reports and graphs. You can also speak out to their group of specialists via email and live chat if you need help. Their free workshops are instrumental, as well.
Simple
Free online banking with Simple is yet another fantastic family budget tool. There is no monthly fee for this all-digital checking account, and no minimum balance requirement.
If you use the envelope system for variable spending per month, you can set up direct deposits and enable automatic payments for your rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, and student loans by managing your monthly bills in a Simple account.
On the Simple website or via their mobile app, you can also set and track progress on different savings goals. After subtracting future payments or pending transactions, they have a great “Safe-to-Spend” function showing your available balance.
This avoids your account from being overdrawn, even if Simple does not incur overdraft charges. You will also get a Visa debit card that can be used at ATMs to access cash.
Spendless
Using this expense tracker budget and money manager, you can classify expenditures and impose limits when excessive indulgence is found in any specific category. Adding customized messages to expenses and marking locations are also nice features.
You can easily check your goals and realize how far away you are. Sync the app with the devices of family members and let your child play a crucial role in the family finances as well. Additionally, even while you are offline, you can work on it.
In one platform, you can have numerous wallets and monitor all inter-family transactions through these wallets. With interesting and creative reports and charts, it is a beautifully designed app.
Conclusion
It might seem difficult to use a range of numerous family budget tools. But putting a variety of tools to use will help you understand the fundamentals of family budgeting, expense monitoring, achieving key goals, and increasing your wealth if you are committed to understanding your money.