Issue Date: February 15, 2009
MoneySmart |
WALECIA KONRAD |
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Track spending online
Tough economic times call for more careful budgeting. That means keeping better track of what you have and what you spend. Check out these money-management sites available mostly for free on the Web.
FOR THE BIG PICTURE: Yodlee MoneyCenter (yodlee.com) and Mint.com link to your financial accounts, including checking, savings, credit cards, loans and investments. Both offer expense-tracking tools and bill-paying alerts. Mint.com automatically downloads and categorizes your transactions every day.
FOR HIGH SECURITY: Budgettracker.com's format lets you manually fill in your daily transactions or use your cellphone to enter expenses as you make them. It does not link to financial accounts, making it a good choice for the security-minded. BudgetPulse.com, a similar site, is so new that it is currently in beta testing, adding new features and seeking feedback from users.
FOR GROUP SUPPORT: Geezeo.com and Wesabe.com offer not only basic budget tracking and personal finance tools, but also social networking and community support. The value added: An open, Facebook feel allows users to trade money-saving ideas and make some friends along the way.
Want to know more about financial budgeting software? Click here.
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