We recently published an article on the Basics of Budgeting, and would now like to show you some free ways to keep track of this new budget of yours. I know how hard it can be to keep up with a budget, so here is a list of 7 free online budgeting apps to really get things going. These are very easy to use and can do a lot more that just manage a simple college budget. Because time is money, without further delay here is the list.
1. Mint.com
“Mint.com calculates your average spending in any category, and can turn it into a budget with one click. Compare your spending year-to-year or month-to-month. Rollover extra cash each month. Whatever your style, Mint.com makes it easy to create a budget that works for you.”
With mint.com, you can also link your checking and saving accounts to your profile so you can keep a close tab on how you are saving and spending money. Don’t worry, mint.com has bank level security and you register anonymously.
2. Buxfer.com
“Our goal is to create the best personal finance application on the web. Money is typically not the topic of discussion for a group of twenty-somethings wanting to have fun with their lives. But that’s only because today’s finance applications make it difficult and boring. That’s what we have set about to change! We want people to effortlessly understand their finances. And have fun while doing so.”
3. Budgetpulse.com
“BudgetPulse is a free online personal budgeting tool that offers the perfect combination of simplicity and functionality. It was designed so that anyone can quickly and easily take control of their personal finances. There are no downloads. No complicated software. In addition, by not requiring personal credit card or bank information, BudgetPulse effectively eliminates the risk of identity theft. BudgetPulse does not sync account information with banks, so our members finally have a useful tool for online budgeting.”
4. Money.Strands.com
“Don’t waste your precious time monitoring multiple bank sites and maintaining painful spreadsheets anymore. We know you have better things to do with your time. moneyStrands automatically pulls together data from your bank, credit card and investment accounts to provide an accurate, up-to-date picture of your financial life broken down by meaningful automatically identified categories along with flexible user defined transaction types. Best of all, moneyStrands is 100% FREE.”
5. Billster.com
“Billster is a totally free online application developed to organise your personal and shared expenses. Shared Bills: If you share a house with other students or professionals, or perhaps you’re organising a holiday with a few people, we can take the stress out of sorting out who owes what and when – you can even record standing orders and direct debits so it is possible to let the system keep itself up-to-date with bills that are paid at the same time every day, week, month or year.”
6. JustThrive.com
“Thrive is where smart personal finance decisions start. With a unique blend of management and advice tailored just for you, we make financial decisions simple and fun. Whether you want to pay off a credit card, improve your credit score, buy a home, or track your expenses, Thrive will make the process easy and enjoyable.”
7. Rudder.com
“Rudder is designed to minimize the effort required in managing your money. Whether you pay all your bills systematically from one checking account or have more credit cards than your wallet/ purse can fit, Rudder helps you stay on top of your finances.”
Conclusion
With 7 great options, there is no reason to not keep a budget. These web apps will save you the hassle of writing everything down on paper, and they really do make it easier to keep up with all of your money. I hope these are helpful.
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Jay Willingham
Mint is awesome. I'm a huge fan. I even have the Mint iPhone app. If I could recommend one thing to students who are trying to manage their money, it would be to use one of these programs to really see how much you spend on food/beer. It's surprising how fast it adds up!
Dan Northern
I have to agree, Mint is awesome, and it really does help when managing a budget. It sure does beat the paper and pen method. I also agree that it is a good idea to visualize how you are spending your money by using an online app like mint.com
Phil
I agree Mint is awesome how it automatically tracks everything. I use it in combo with BudgetSimple http://www.budgetsimple.com to actually budget out my expenses… largest expense is loans and credit cards :
Dan Northern
Hey Phil, I just checked out BudgetSimple. It looks like a good way to keep up with all of your expenses and income. I'll have to look into it more. Thanks for a good resource!
Leonard Desir Jr
I stumbled upon Mint in the past but I think that now since I am paying for rent, utilities, and other things. I will definitely download on my iPod.
Charlie@Online Colle
Great article. Budget planning is really a way to saving for future (as my personal view only). By way of budgeting, I could spend my money in a properly way. Thanks for this free online applications for budget planning. A great help.
Olive Sommers
Utilization of free online budget planning application would really help people in managing their finances, especially those who are schooling through online schools. Since they are more often online, they have easy access to this kind of online budget application.. Thanks for this post.
Olivia Unise
I once tried using Mint and that was awesome. It gives a hassle free budget plan for my finances. I highly recommend it to those who would like to try some online budget plan application. I further recommend this to my fellow online university student.
Tracey Madsen
I really like Mint’s ipod app. I had real trouble keeping within my budget a couple of years ago. Too much freedom and not enough paying attention to what I spent, I guess. Mint has helped me get my budget under control. I’ve now paid off my credit cards, and am actually saving a little bit each month. Check out Mint. You won’t be disappointed.
Tracey Madsen
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Luann Williams
I found a program called “Budget Tool”, you can use it for free, it works and without all these bells and whistles – budget tool
Hareiana
Not sure how many like to budget online anonymously without giving out bank accounts info and how many heard about this website but I used Out Of The Dark (OOTD) Budgeting for over a year now and it really changed my life financially. It has budgeting and expense tracking on one page side by side which I love, it has cash put-aside and personal stock management built in, and it has something called Credit Card Debt Terminator which I have not seen anywhere else which is great if one wants to get out of any credit card debt situation, it is completely anonymous to use, does not require me to give out any of my bank accounts information and it’s unconditionally free. Find it at: myootd.org
Olivia Unise@Online Universities
I tried that budget tool also it works great!