What tech tool can’t you live without? For some, it’s a smartphone. For others, a laptop or tablet. For us, it’s financial software.
What tech tool can't you live without? Here's a hint; financial software can make every aspect of your money management tasks easier and more accurate.
Financial software can make every aspect of your money management tasks easier and more accurate. Whether you’re tracking expenses or building a household budget, you can find free software to help with the task. A simple web search for the type of software you want will yield hundreds of free results.
Here are a few money-saving tech tools that everyone should check out:
- Budgeting software – You can find plenty of static budgeting worksheets online, but budgeting software takes your money management efforts to the next level. This type of software allows you to create a budget, link bank and credit card accounts, and keep track of how well you’re actually sticking to your budget. Some programs can even make suggestions for how to adjust your budget to better meet your personal financial goals.
- Expense trackers – If you’re running a small business or need to keep track of expenses for an employer, this type of software can be valuable. But it’s also useful for private individuals to keep track of just how they’re spending their money every month. Since some types of personal expenses (like child care or medical costs) may be tax deductible, this software may even help you at tax time.
- Debt calculators – A debt calculator can be useful in several ways. Some programs can help you understand how long it will take you to pay off an existing debt at your current rate of interest and varying monthly payments. Others can help you project the total cost of a new debt you’re considering taking on.
- Investment trackers – While you probably have different ways of accessing your various investments from stocks to CDs, a single tool that helps you keep track of all of them from one point of access can simplify things.
- Retirement savings calculator – If you have a 401(k) or IRA, you probably have some idea of how much each will yield at retirement given your current level of investment. But you can find free online calculators that can help you better understand whether the amount you’re currently saving will be enough to carry you through retirement. These calculators can also help you understand how much you’ll need to sustain the lifestyle you desire based on the number of years you can reasonably expect to live in retirement.
Isn’t technology great?