Managing Your Money With Tech

Money management

Have I lost you already?! STOP it doesn’t have to be that way. What if I told you there’s something you’re using every day, right now in fact, that can help you set up healthy money habits, save time and manage your day to day finances?

We use technology for e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. booking a taxi, ordering pizza, getting directions, controlling calories, tracking exercise. And, it will help make managing your money so much easier too.

Those Days Are Gone!

The days of laying out all your monthly receipts and matching them to entries on your bank statement are gone my friend! You no longer need a complex spreadsheet or even a pencil.

This is great news (not for pencil manufacturers maybe) because the less of a headache it is, the more likely we are to do it. And the more available those figures are to you, the less likely you are to hide from them (tip: please do NOT do this!)

If you can keep on top of your day to day money management with the phone in your pocket – BRILLIANT.

Habit Forming

What I love about using tech to help manage money is that it sets you up with great habits, really quickly.

1. Getting to know your finances
   This is a key habit – if you hide away, never really knowing how much you have (or don’t have) you’ll never get on top of things.
2. Automating your finances (Read more about this here)
   So you don’t need to sweat every grocery shopping trip or restaurant check.
3. Planning ahead
   Easier than you think with a bit of tech help.

Time Saving

I know it seems like ANOTHER thing to get done but it’s actually going to save you time – I promise!

1. Set up your bills to be paid automatically, even if you pay them online you’re still logging on and paying them – 10 minutes a month is 2 hours a year don’t forget!
2. Set up a regular payment to you savings account – you aren’t seriously still going into an actual bank are you?
3. Get your balance straight to your phone app. No more going to the ATM to check whether you can go for that glass of wine Friday night.

So, now we’re all agreed that managing your money with tech is a great idea let’s get down to nitty gritty. Which apps can help you set up the systems you need to get control of your finances.

The classic:

Mint
It’s been around for years and it’s FREE! Mint is hugely hardworking and takes on a lot of the leg work for you. It integrates with most banks and financial institutions (US & Canada) and calculates your average spending (warning, you could be shocked by some categories).

You can use it to create a realistic budget and see exactly where you could make a few small changes for massive rewards.

Oh, if you want to signed up for their paid bill service as well it can automates your bill payments too – one less thing to think about! But it is less expensive to just use your own bank’s bill pay features, so that is usually what I recommend.

The Teacher:

You Need a Budget
YNAB are all about breaking the pay check to pay check cycle.

It’s a paid system ($60 or free to college students) but has regular free classes and an awesome online community.
There’s no sync with your bank account because the folks over at YNAB believe that by inputting your spending your awareness increases (along with your bank balance!).
Their philosophy is underpinned with 4 rules:

1. Give every dollar a job
2. Save for a rainy day
3. Roll with the punches
4. Live on last month’s income

The Paper Eliminator

Quicken
Quicken have always had a great desktop system but you can now sync with your mobile device too and it allows for taking a quick snap of your receipts – handy!

You can split transactions and categorize spending to easily keep track of expenses.

The Debt Buster

Ready for Zero
Don’t just snowball your debt, avalanche it! This is SO cool, we love it at Team Turrell!

Ready for Zero collects all of your debts and sets up a payment plan for you based on the information you input, that will organize your payments to save you the most money possible on interest.

Seeing it all laid out and the huge differences that small tweaks make is game changing – I promise.

Make These Non-negotiable

These apps are great but they can only help if you USE THEM. Schedule in 20 minutes at the same time every day at first to get into the habit of using them. Treat it like you would a Dr appointment or a client meeting – it’s totally non-negotiable.

Keep it up and you’ll begin to see a clearer picture of where you’re spending and where you could save. The folks at YNAB claim that after one month, the median net worth increase is $200. After nine months, the median net worth increase is $3,300!

Surely that’s worth 20 mins a day?

Psssssst! Did you miss it?

Your Ultimate List Of The Web’s Best Resources On How To Save Money And Feel Wealthy is here.

Saving money and feeling wealthy is easier than you think.

This guide will give you practical steps to finally taking control of your finances and start saving money.

Need a little more help and accountability, check out my Mastering Money Matters monthly membership group right here.