Financial Education
Online Tool Makes Budgeting a Breeze
Oct 31, 2016, 13:49 PM
by
Krista Olson
If you ask someone about their family budget you are likely to hear them reply with a “loud grooooan”. Does anyone actually follow a budget and track spending anymore? You’re thinking…who has time, plus it’s too complicated, right? WCCU has an online tool to make this a breeze, so keep reading!
Budgeting doesn’t have to be time consuming or complicated. The most important question you need to ask yourself is “where is all the money going!” To simplify things and get started just track your spending for one month and then total each category. I guarantee you…some of your spending totals will shock you! Like dinning out, gas for the cars, interest on credit cards, grocery bill; you get the idea.
But, information is power and as a stay at home Mom – I may not be the major income contributor – but I can make major contributions by insuring our funds are well spent. So I spend time looking for ways to cut back on expenses we can control.
Here are four simple steps to get started:
1. Understand your income – how much money do you have to work with each month.
2. Determine how the income is being spent.
3. Calculate whether you are running a surplus or deficit.
4. Establish a goal of where and how much you want to cut back.
Now for the best part…Winnebago Community has a personal finance management tool called Moneylink which places all this information at your finger tips. Look for the Moneylink tab in the Online Branch.
Moneylink is simple to use and will automatically import your checking account spending, place it into categories and plot easy to understand graphs. Plus, you can also import information from financial accounts you have elsewhere to get a full picture of your family finances!
Good luck getting started – I’m guessing you may also be shocked at how easily your family can get their spending on track!
Budgeting doesn’t have to be time consuming or complicated. The most important question you need to ask yourself is “where is all the money going!” To simplify things and get started just track your spending for one month and then total each category. I guarantee you…some of your spending totals will shock you! Like dinning out, gas for the cars, interest on credit cards, grocery bill; you get the idea.
But, information is power and as a stay at home Mom – I may not be the major income contributor – but I can make major contributions by insuring our funds are well spent. So I spend time looking for ways to cut back on expenses we can control.
Here are four simple steps to get started:
1. Understand your income – how much money do you have to work with each month.
2. Determine how the income is being spent.
3. Calculate whether you are running a surplus or deficit.
4. Establish a goal of where and how much you want to cut back.
Now for the best part…Winnebago Community has a personal finance management tool called Moneylink which places all this information at your finger tips. Look for the Moneylink tab in the Online Branch.
Moneylink is simple to use and will automatically import your checking account spending, place it into categories and plot easy to understand graphs. Plus, you can also import information from financial accounts you have elsewhere to get a full picture of your family finances!
Good luck getting started – I’m guessing you may also be shocked at how easily your family can get their spending on track!