We have all heard that getting onto a budget is the best thing you can do to keep your spending on track. This is absolutely true. But in these modern technological time a pencil and paper budget is unheard of, and highly unpractical. So how are you to get on and stay on a budget?

The first place to look is your bank. Some banks with online banking have budget features included. That’s a great free option, if you are in fact pinching pennies. If you are a smart phone user there are hundreds of apps available to help you balance and budget. My personal favorite is called Day Bank. I like it because you can have it installed on more than one device. This way my husband can post to our ledger, and so can I and at the end of the day we can sync, and be perfectly balanced. Day Bank also graphs your spending, and can help you categorize things if you want it to.  This way you can see how much money you are spending in any area like eating out, on gas, any thing you decide.

A quick Google search will find you plenty of desktop budgeting software as well. I like having mine with me in my phone so that I can always know what’s going on inside my accounts when I’m out shopping. Another plus to an app is keeping your personal information out of the equation. If you use your banks software and sign in from your phone your bank account info is now there, and if you lose your phone to could be ion trouble. With apps like Day Bank, your account numbers are never put in. Once you get the hang of budgeting and find a system that works for you the key is to stick with it.

-Stephanie Wright