There’s a new budgeting tool out there: NeoBudget.  NeoBudget uses the envelope method of budgeting.  Traditional budgeting methods set a monthly goal for each category, but reset your spending in each category to $0 at the beginning of each month.  So if you have a bad month in one category, you lose that information the following month.  The envelope method allocates money to each category as your paycheck comes in.  The category amounts carry over month to month.  So if you have a surplus in car repairs one month, you know that money is available next month to spend on car repairs.  Or if you overspend on gifts one month, you know the following month that you should take it easy (you still have a negative balance in your “gifts” envelope!).

Traditionally, envelope budgeting actually involved getting cash out of your checking account and putting it into real envelopes, one for each category.  But this is cumbersome in the age of credit and debit cards.  NeoBudget makes envelope budgeting easy because it keeps track of your money using virtual envelopes.  Your money stays in your checking account, but as you enter your paychecks and receipts int NeoBudget, it  keeps track of how much money you have in each virtual envelope.

Try NeoBudget and see if it works for you — it’s free!  If you’ve ever tried Quicken or MS Money and given up on them because they were too complicated or didn’t fit your needs well, then NeoBudget might just be the right tool for you!

Tags: budget, budgeting, envelope, envelopes, neobudget, tool, Tools

Free money finance is giving away a copy of You Need a Budget Pro budgeting software. To enter you need to write a comment sharing the number one reason a person needs a budget. Here’s what I wrote:

You need a budget because building wealth is not possible without self-discipline.

A budget is an essential tool for setting goals; establishing reasonable boundaries that are necessary for meeting those goals; and measuring your performance and holding you accountable to those boundaries. If you lose ground, a budget will alert you to this fact, and you can adjust your budget to compensate. If you exceed your goals, a budget gives you some freedom to enjoy any excess you are blessed with.

A budget is an essential tool for exercising financial self-discipline!

Tags: accountability, budget, discipline, finance, giveaway, goals, money, personal-finance, self-discipline, technology, tool, wealth

Several years ago it was getting increasingly difficult to work from home (which I typically do 1-2 days per week) using dial-up internet access, and I was considering broadband service. It was much more expensive, so I was reluctant to spend money on it. But I asked my manager if my employer would reimburse broadband service — and he immediately agreed to partial reimbursement since I use it so much. As a result, we now pay less out of pocket for home broadband service than we did for dial-up.

Similarly, on three separate occasions I have indicated to my manager that the speed and memory capacity of my work-issue laptop were growing inadequate for work. Twice it was replaced on the same day with a newer model, and more recently the turnaround was a month or so.

In every case I was pleasantly surprised at the readiness, even eagerness, to make sure I had adequate tools to get my job done well. Several friends have had similar experiences, from getting their work-issue cell phones upgraded, to getting their work-issue computers upgraded or replaced.

If you have aging technology tools that you use at least in part for work purposes, consider asking your employer for an upgrade. If you are able to justify how this will help your work, you might just be surprised at how quick your employer is to respond!

Tags: broadband, budget, cell-phone, computer, dial-up, employee, employer, internet, laptop, manager, memory, money, Penny pinching, personal-finance, repair, replace, saving-money, technology, tool, upgrade, work

When it comes to saving and to giving, there is no substitute for just doing it. If you are not saving, find some way to begin right now, even if it is a very small amount. I am a Christian, and have the same conviction on giving to my local church — if you are not giving to your local church, find some way to start now. You will find that disciplining yourself in this way is very helpful — not only are you starting to work on one of your financial goals, but you are building healthy habits that will continue to serve you over the long haul.

But once you have started, I have found that the best way to continue saving and giving is to practice incremental improvements. Every time my income changes (either from a raise or due to additional withholding exemptions) I strive to increase my rates of saving and giving by an incremental amount. For example, if I am saving 6% and giving 11% of my income, when I get a raise I might adjust my saving to 7% and my giving to 12%. This means that I’m regularly growing my rates of saving and giving, but I’m doing it in a way that is relatively painless.

Of course, if you’re able to discipline yourself carefully and make more room in your budget, you should grow your rates of saving and giving at that time too. But when you earn a raise is a very natural and important time to increase your saving and giving.

Tags: budget, discipline, finance, giving, income, investment, Penny pinching, personal-finance, raise, salary, Saving, saving-money, wealth

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