Why Money Management Apps Are Better Than Old-School Money Management

Wherever your money goes, a budget app lets your financial plans follow.

Money management apps are trendy right now, but they have what it takes to last for the long haul. Old-school budget practices are based on sound financial principles. You add what you earn, deduct what you spend, and make financial plans for the future based on what’s left. None of this is lost with a budget app, and more is gained that makes life simpler.

Although a smartphone or tablet might seem like strange devices for managing something as important as your money, Mint.com gets it right, and you reap the rewards. Here are three of the many reasons why a budget app should be in your future.

Real-Time Information Anywhere You Go

Gone are the times when budgeting was dedicated to certain days of the month. Almost as bad as doing your taxes, but not quite, budget days meant setting time aside to get it over with, and then going back to what you’d rather be doing. With mobile apps, your whole budget goes wherever you do. That might sound intimidating. It shouldn’t.

Instead of a looming presence that you can’t escape, mobile apps streamline the whole process and make budgeting work in real time. You won’t need to gather a month’s worth of receipts, bills, pay stubs and other documents and add them to your ledger or software all at once. You’ll update your budget on the fly, entering information as it happens.

A few minutes here and another few there mean everything is always up to date. Because many updates happen automatically, such as credit card charges appearing on your account when they’re made, a lot of the busywork is either reduced or eliminated.

Never Risk a Late Payment

When bills come due at different times of the month, it’s easy to forget what’s due when. But you don’t need a calendar on the wall to keep track of payment dates when a mobile app does the remembering for you.

Alerts are available for a number of things, including upcoming bill due dates. Set the alerts that you want, and you’ll automatically get a text, email, or both at a time that you determine in advance. With alerts, you’ll know days or hours before it’s time to pay an important bill, and you won’t have to worry about late fees again.

Using a smartphone or tablet, budget apps do the hard part for you.

Automatic Calculations and Updates

Math might be the universal language, but a surprising number of people just don’t speak it. Adding machines and calculators can go in a closet or drawer when you use a mobile budgeting app, since the math is done for you.

When you enter a cash purchase or a transaction appears on your checking account, your budget updates accurately in all areas that the transaction alters. Not only will the direct account increase or decrease, depending on the transaction, but your budget overview reflects how the transaction affects your goals.

Mint.com has its finger on the pulse of personal finance. With intuitive budget software that you can access any time and any place, the only thing that might hold you back is the potential cost. But they’ve got that covered, too. Sign up for your free account today and never spend money to save money again.

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