Fantastic Finance: 3 Ways Technology Has Encouraged Better Budgeting Habits
Thursday, November 16, 2017, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
Having the ability to manage your money is a necessary skill to have in life. If you can’t budget, it may be harder to get and maintain a good credit score or pay your bills on time each month.
The good news is that technology has made it easier than ever to learn good financial habits such as budgeting your money properly.
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Keep Track Of Your Spending
Most banks and credit card providers will provide you with a spend analyzing tool that shows you exactly where your money went in the past month. It will typically have categories such as retail, groceries or other. It may also include any tax payments that you made in the past 30 days.
By keeping track of your spending, you get a better idea of where your money goes and why. If you notice that you are having trouble paying the rent on time, it may be because you are spending too much when you go shopping for shoes.
Now that you know why you are always short each month, you can make adjustments to ensure that there is always money for that payment when it comes due.
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Online Deal Sites Save Money
If you are looking to save money, coupons from online deal sites like this groopdealz coupon, or others that offer similar discounts may be worth checking out.
It may be possible to find deals on everything from bowling to massages. It may also be possible to save money at the grocery store or the next time that you visit your favorite retailer. Discounts may be as high as 50 percent or more depending on the offer made.
In addition to helping you save money on each purchase that you make, smartphone apps make it easier to put money into your savings account. Typically, these apps will round your purchases up to the nearest dollar and put the change into a savings or similar account.
This is a 21st century version of saving your change in a jar before taking it to the bank. Using such a technique may be a fun and easy way to get your children or grandchildren interested in saving money as well. For those who live paycheck to paycheck, it could serve as a way to create an emergency fund.
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Tools Allow You To See Savings Over Time
If you have a credit card with a balance on it, you are likely paying interest rates as high as 20 percent or more.
However, more and more credit card providers are giving cardholders access to tools that show how much they save by paying down their balances faster.
If a person sees that he or she could save $1,000 by paying down a credit card balance in a year as opposed to two years, it may provide the motivation needed to do so.
Calculators also allow individuals to see how fast their retirement savings may grow based on how much they contribute today.
For those who already contribute on a regular basis, it may be nice to see how secure their retirement may be in 10, 20 or 30 years from now.
For those who aren’t contributing, seeing the magic of compound interest may provide what they need to get started.
The tax advantages of saving for retirement may also compel individuals to start concentrating on their nest egg.
If you find it hard to budget your money, using smartphone apps or online calculators may be tools worth looking into. You should also see if your bank or credit card company offers tools to help analyze yours spending habits.
In many cases, it is hard to make sound decisions about your money unless you know how well you are doing from a financial standpoint right now.
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