Budgeting Archives - AKAMom Magazine

Spring Finance Advice for Families

wmanning — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 20:30:57 +0000

By: The experts at MoneyStream (www.moneystream.com)

Spring is a great time to start fresh and get organized with your finances. For families looking to save more money this year, MoneyStream is here to help! Staying on budget can be overwhelming and stressful so consider following these important guidelines to help you achieve your goals. We promise it’s that simple!

Categorize Past Spending

It’s always important to track where your money is going and the best way to do this is to create categories of spending. Examples include groceries, gas, bills, personal services, travel and more. This is a basic premise of budgeting. Once you understand how your money is spent, you can begin to set realistic goals for your budget. You can also begin to understand where your money outflows are concentrated and make decisions based on your needs versus wants. Most financial tools and services provide categorized spending which is beneficial because this is the first step in taking control of your budget and money.

Budgeting to live within your means

While it’s important to track where your money is being spent, it is also essential to understand where it’s heading in the future. Often the future budget is best laid out in a cash flow projection so you can see if you are living within your means. This is an important part of budgeting. In order to understand if you’re living within your budget, you need to know if your money inflows are greater than your money outflows. MoneyStream is one of the only services that analyzes your past spending to automatically predict your future money streams (inflows and outflows). You may be surprised to learn that many people are unaware if they are living within their means. There are many hidden costs that people don’t even know they’re spending. For example, credit card spending can mask your true money outflows because there are often recurring expenses that hit accounts based on online services that you don’t even know you’ve signed up for. MoneyStream takes into spending across all accounts so that the customer sees a realistic picture of their true money outflow and inflow.

Use Technology to Help Create a Budget

Budget with the latest technology! New online services such as MoneyStream are emerging that do almost all of the work for you. Most of the tools today have historically required that you input your budget items based on your knowledge of where you spend your money and your known income. Often, it’s unclear which part of your money outflows are recurring expenses. There are also fluctuations in your money outflows over time. A service like MoneyStream provides sophisticated mathematical formulas to your past spending to analyze what your future money outflows and inflows look like. Why try to figure it out for yourself? The service builds an automatic budget of future money inflows and outflows rather than asking the customer to input those items. It’s based on actual spending so it’s more accurate and it takes minutes to create. By mathematically finding the inflows and outflows – a budget is created automatically.

Find a Service to Monitor Your Budget

After your budget is created, it is important to then constantly monitor it. Finding easy to use online services to track and manage your budget is a critical step to staying on top of your money. Most people, with even the best of intentions, will abandon a system to help manage their money if it is not intuitive, easy, and built into the fabric of their everyday life. In fact, only 20 percent of households in the United States are known to track their spending judicially. These individuals are known as “trackers”. That means 80 percent of the population have not yet found a service that meets the criteria of seamless money management. The true secret is to find a service that keeps on top of your budget and manages it the way you manage your life already. MoneyStream uses a simple calendar based system to present when money is leaving and when it is coming into your accounts. It shows which days to expect your specific money inflows and outflows. This gives you more control over how and when you want to spend your money. Not only are you tracking your budget but you are controlling it.

Use Alerts Often

Once you’ve created your budget, made adjustments to live within your means, and picked a system to help monitor your money, you can then start to look for additional features that oversee fluctuations in your spending automatically. Often times, these will come in the form of alerts that are sent via email or texts. These alerts can notify you if your spending is showing inconsistencies from past spending or if specific recurring bills are higher or lower than average. Since recurring bills make up the majority of the monthly budget items, it’s good to look for services, such as MoneyStream or Mint, that provide alerts for upcoming bills and payments. Even better, MoneyStream provides smart alerts that allow you to decide if and when you’ll pay a bill based on how it relates to your monthly budget amount.

MoneyStream is a new online service that puts people in control of their money today so they can have the luxury of planning for their tomorrows. MoneyStream is the only free online service that provides insights into a customer’s money, gives them the control levers to set, and then does the work for them, on their behalf. The service does this by linking to all bank accounts, credit card account, and biller accounts to provide the necessary data (statements, bill payment details, payment instructions, history) and then presents this in an easy to user calendar interface that allows customers to actively see where their money went, where it’s going tomorrow, and set when they want to be notified about it. MoneyStream’s smart technology quickly learns what the customer needs and acts accordingly. It’s like putting your money on “auto-pilot” making managing the day-to-day easier and enjoyable. www.moneystream.com

The post Spring Finance Advice for Families appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

Simple Ways to Improve Personal Finances

wmanning — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 01:03:12 +0000

As more Americans make strides towards responsible spending and debt management, there are still ways to improve the control of family finances.

According to a survey recently conducted by Bank of America, which asked respondents about their credit card usage, balance and rewards, less than half of cardholders always pay their entire credit card balance. With more than half of individuals carrying credit card debt, Jason Gaughan, card products executive for Bank of America, said to think about personal spending before taking on a credit card.

“Credit cards provide consumers an efficient and protected way to make purchases,” said Gaughan. “They are more convenient than cash and they are incredibly useful in an emergency. The key to successfully managing your credit card account is to understand your budget and stick to a plan that works for you when borrowing. You want a card with a rewards program that fits your lifestyle and how you manage your finances. If you typically carry a balance, look for a card that has low interest and reinforces good payment practices.”

Along with these practices, there are other ways to promote good spending and personal finance habits, such as:

Limit Number of Credit Cards

According to the survey, three out of 10 respondents carried four or more credit cards. Limiting the number of cards you own can help limit your spending and increase the likelihood you can pay above the minimum balance. Before you start cutting up your plastic, remember having more than one credit card can have merits. If you need money for an emergency, the immediate buying power of a credit card can be a lifesaver. Try a card with no annual fee and a generous credit line to cover unexpected expenses. One idea is to have three cards: one in a safe place at home for emergencies and two with you at all times.

Reap the Rewards

With so many rewards programs available for credit card holders, it’s important to do your homework so you can cash in on things your family really needs. While some credit cards will offer rewards to use at your favorite hotels and airlines, others will give you special discounts for the purchases you make on a frequent basis. The most popular of these programs is cash back for spending. Some cards, such as the BankAmericard Cash Rewards credit card, let you earn more cash back where you spend the most money, like gas stations and grocery stores. The BankAmericard Better Balance Rewards credit card helps customers responsibly manage their credit card balance. Whatever rewards you are seeking, there is likely to be a card suitable for you.

Track Spending Habits Now

If you’ve been lax about keeping track of your spending, take the first step towards tracking as soon as possible. Include info on where you spend, when you spend and how much you spend. Making note of all of those little purchases — a cup of coffee here or a gift store trinket there — will help you see how quickly they add up. Whether you’re the old-fashioned, pen-and-paper type, or if you prefer a more modern, digital form of tracking, the importance is in the act itself.

Evaluate All Debts

Many carry debts beyond credit cards, including student loans, car payments and mortgages. While some may consider these types as necessary debts, it is important to keep track of the balance due for each as well as the interest rate you are paying. According to the survey, when respondents were asked what they would do with $1,000, nearly half (44 percent) revealed they would pay off debt. Evaluate your debts and decide which ones have the highest interest rates. Making it a priority to pay down these debts first will save you more money in the long run.

Create a Budget

It’s never too soon to put yourself in control of your money and stop letting it control you. A budget will give you financial peace of mind and it can help you stretch the income you have. First, write down the financial goals you want to achieve in the next few years and the ones you want to accomplish for the long term. Then, gather all of the purchasing information for the household and categorize each type of spending. Divide your expenses into fixed expenses (those that stay the same from month to month, such as a mortgage payment or cable television bill) and variable ones (those that may change, such as fuel bills or entertainment). Be sure to also set aside some money for personal savings and an emergency fund. Once you’ve calculated your income and expenses a month ahead of time and set your budget, you can focus on the most important part — adhering to the plan. Find ways to decrease spending. Adopt just one new way of trimming expenses each week and you’ll find your overhead shrinking fast. Though you may not be on-point every month, the simple act of tracking and communicating your family’s finances will be a huge step forward in your quest towards responsible spending.

For more information, visit www.bankofamerica.com/creditcard.

Feature photo courtesy of Getty Images

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