Financial Software Can Really Help Your Budget ... - Quicken Loans

When was the last time you had a ?really good? Monday morning? They are few and far between, but this past Monday exceeded my expectations. As I sat down to breakfast, I opened up some of my weekend mail. Hidden in the stack was a big, fat check that I wasn?t expecting. Can you say, ?Best Monday morning ever??

I spent the remainder of that Monday being productive thinking about how to spend the extra money. The possibilities are endless, but I?ve narrowed it down to a few options:

• Treat myself to a brand-new e-reader (new Kindle models, anyone?)
• Invest it all in the Powerball Lottery (makes sense, right?)
• Buy a new pair of boots (I?m a shoe addict, I?ll admit)
• Save it for my student loans (BORING)

For someone who writes for a finance blog, you?d think the ?save it? option would be a no-brainer? but I have two voices in my head. One always wants to save, and one always wants to spend. The spender keeps dragging me to DSW to look at leather boots. The saver, on the other hand, keeps telling me that I don?t have to spend every dime that makes its way into my hands. The saver also says that I should save for retirement, pay off my student loans, and save for a down payment on a house. Therefore, this ?extra? money isn?t really ?extra? money at all ? it?s a way to speed up the achievement of my financial goals.

To spend or not to spend? That?s the question here ? and I plan to use financial software to figure it out. Financial planning software can be your best friend, if you know how to use it. Knowing where your money is going can help stifle the noise from the ?spender? in your brain, and encourage you to spend and save better. There?s a lot of reasonably priced and awesome personal finance software out there, like AceMoney and YNAB. My fellow Zing blogger, Krissy, shared her favorite budget tracker a few months ago and now I?d like to share mine: I?m a huge fan of Quicken from Intuit. That?s why I?m so excited about Intuit?s latest product, Quicken? 2013.

I?m sure some of you are longtime Quicken users, so know that the 2013 version is worth an upgrade. Did you read my article about all those fabulous mobile finance apps? If you liked any of those, Quicken will surely knock your socks off. Intuit is rolling out all sorts of companion apps for mobile devices. The software is compatible with everything from your iPhone or Android tablet to your Kindle Fire. Tracking finances has never been easier, especially because you can do it on the go.

So what kinds of things can you do from the mobile app? Expect to be able to edit budgets, transactions, and have direct access to checking accounts, savings accounts, and credit card information. Need to edit something on your phone or tablet? Quicken will sync your information across all devices ? so if you?re a technology addict, you don?t have to worry about updating Quicken on your iPad, your PC and your Kindle Fire.

Besides the mobile apps, Quicken has added handy-dandy SMS and email alerts. I?m a big fan of this feature in other apps, such as PageOnce, since it?s helped me avoid many a late fee. If you?re a financial space-case, or even if you?re not, you?ll appreciate the alerts. They?ll update you on unusual spending, low balances, upcoming bills, and much, much more. It?s a great way to stay on track, pay your bills on time, and catch identity theft right away. What?s more, it?ll give you peace of mind to know that Quicken is going to catch any financial disasters before they strike.

While the new version is full of fresh goodies, it?s not missing the older features that we all know and love. It still allows you to get the complete picture of all your finances, and create detailed budgets. You can even roll over money from budgets if you did a better job saving than you thought you would! Quicken also allows you to create savings goals. From retirement savings to a vacation fund, Quicken helps you to set a goal, and see how well you?re making progress.

With all these features and more, Quicken is a great way to track your budget. Consider purchasing some financial software to boost your budgeting power.?I?m really looking forward to getting the 2013 version so I can download the iPhone app. I think it?s a better use of my ?extra? money than anything else!

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Source: http://www.quickenloans.com/blog/spend-spend-budget-financial-software

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