It can feel like a Herculean task if you’ve never budgeted before. This is one place where the right software can make a world of difference.
Instead of creating spreadsheets or relying on pen and paper, you can use a tool developed with someone like you in mind: A person who wants to get a handle on their finances without all the pain of hard-to-use software and endless Excel docs.
So, how do you begin the journey to financial wellness? For your personal life, we recommend using the free Mint app and website. When it comes to your business, we recommend NetSuite, a sponsor of Kim’s national radio show. Keep reading for the reasons we love both, and you will, too.
What is Mint?
Intuit’s Mint is a web-based personal budgeting program available for desktop use or as an app for both Android and iOS. In addition to allowing you to view all of your accounts, including bank, credit cards, loans, and investments, in one place, Mint has several other features:
- Budget creator with alerts
- Bill payment tracker
- Financial goal tracker
- Ways to save money
- Free credit score
During the setup, you will need to enter details for each account you want to be included in your Mint records. Concerned about the security of your information? Mint uses two-factor authentication in addition to password protection, keeping your financial data guarded.
Budgeting with Mint
When it comes to creating a budget and tracking expenses, Mint surpasses its competitors. Once you download and sync your transactions and enter your expenses, Mint will place them in preset categories.
If needed, you can create subcategories. Using Mint’s budget tracker will help you keep an eye on your income and spending to safeguard against going over your set budget.
Budget alerts – With Mint’s budget alerts, you can avoid unnecessary fees. In addition to informing you when your balances are low or large, or suspicious transactions occur, Mint will show you how much you are spending on ATM fees, send you bill reminders and notify you if you exceed your budget.
Bill payment tracker-Managing and paying your monthly bills through various sites and apps can be time-consuming. You can eliminate this hassle by scheduling to pay all your expenses through Mint. The payment tracker will alert you when your bills are coming due to avoid late fees or penalties.
Want to view a graphical breakdown of categories including spending, assets or net worth, among others? Mint can produce graphs with optional filters to help you visualize your finances.
Meeting Goals with Mint
If you want to pay off debt, purchase a home, save for retirement, education, or dream vacation, Mint will make meeting your financial goals more manageable. After choosing your desired objective, Mint will ask you a few questions specific to that goal and show you how much you need to contribute monthly to meet your target.
Ways to save money with Mint
Looking for ways to save money? No need to scour the internet for the right banking, investment, insurance, or lending options when Mint matches you up with providers of these services. In addition, you can check your credit score and read tips on how to improve it through the website or Mint app.
Between the convenience of handling all of your finances in one program and the wide selection of features Mint offers, taking control of your finances has never been easier. I am confident that once you utilize Mint, you will understand why it is considered the best by its 15+ million users.
The Mint app is free for both Android and iOS. Tap or click here for iOS. Tap or click here for Android.
The best option for your business
If you run a business, you need the right software. Are you fed up with QuickBooks?
That’s where our sponsor NetSuite comes in. It’s the world’s No. 1 cloud business system for good reason. If you’re bogged down in spreadsheets stored locally on your computer, you’ll love the fact that you can access all your data in one place, whenever you want.
It’s so much more than just accounting software. NetSuite gives you visibility and control over your financials, HR, inventory, e-commerce and more — all in one place, instantaneously. Whether you’re doing a million or hundreds of millions in revenue, you can save time and money with NetSuite.
Stop paying for multiple systems that don’t give you the information you need when you need it. Ditch the spreadsheets and all the old software you’ve outgrown. Now is the time to upgrade to NetSuite.
See it in action for yourself –> Head to Netsuite.com/kim and get a free product tour.
