With the new year my goal is to get my finaces in order and get rid of my cc debt and save for a roof on the house... With that said does anyone on here use either quicken or mint.com or something of that nature? If so what do you think of them? I am looking for a program that I can input all my bills for the month and then tell it that I want to pay off all credit card debt in x amount of time and it tell me where I can cut back spending to make that happen. What do you guys use for money management, budgeting, and savings? Thanks for the help.
I use quicken.. it is great for orginizing infomation so you can see where your spending those bucks. It does have tools to help you budget and plan for the future. . I have never used mint.com
mint.com is pretty slick, easy to use and a helpful way for managing finances. I usually use my own spreadsheets to keep track of my moolah, just my own personal preference though.
I have a spreadsheet I am using now, but it does not help me save or see where my money is going, it just tells me when and what bills are do so I dont have late payments.
The general rule for any of them is, the info out is only as good as what you put in. It takes time to categorize and track your spending to the point where the opportunities are clear. Most programs can download bank statements which greatly simplify the task, but categorization is usually not what you want it to be. I use Quicken, but have tried Mint, GnuCash, moneydance, and others. I keep coming back to Quicken, even though I loath their sunset policy, so I can't give whole hearted recommendation. I'd suggest trying the cheaper/free options before plunking money down on Quicken, they might fit your need just right.
I use a spread sheet for all of my stuff. I use bill pay to make sure they aren't late. I don't do automatic payments, i send them all manual. I use the Bill Pay so I can see when I made my last payment and so I can get an idea of when my next one is due. I am always happy to lend a helping hand. I work @ a bank, not a banker... but I did work with consumer accounts/customer service/sales for 2 years and have a very good handel on things. I am always happy to go over options or ideas for getting stuff paid down. I am not going to push any banking products on you, because i really could care less about something like that. I get nothing from it. I would be happy to just go over what I learned about consumer accounts, paying off debt and good ways to manage it. Let me know if you need anything.
I like mint, but use You Need a Budget and Excel to do all my financial stuff. I used to work at a bank as well, was a teller and banker. Contributing to financial forums and blogs is a bit of a hobby of mine, and I would be willing to sit down and give anyone an objective third point of view on things.
We still use the ol sit at the kitchen table balance the checkbook and pay the bills technique, no apps, programs etc. A little determination to get things payed off/saved for can go a long way. As far as the roof, park the cars in the garage at all times and hope for a nice hail storm this summer.
