Well, if you find the right home budgeting software, staying on top of your finances will be easy.

So what should you look for?

Well, first of all, free is good. I mean, if you are planning to live on a budget, why set aside part of your money just to  have a tool to track your money. Know what I mean?

Secondly, I think you need a mix of a powerful spreadsheet software and a easy to use financial calculator.

Lastly, the software needs to be easy to access, use and provide relevant information to help you make decisions in your money management.

There are 3 online tools that I think are the trifecta of budgeting software awesomeness.

First is Mint.com. Here you have all of the most important features at hand. It’s free. It is easy to set up. It let’s you track by category, expense and nearly any other method that you want. It even let’s you compare your spending habits with those of other Mint users.

Second is IsDueOn.com which is a free bill notifier. You never have to worry about being late on a bill again because you legitimately forgot. Is Due On send you a text or email message just before your bill is due.

And third but definately not least, Xpenser.com, similar to mint give you all of the power of standard budgeting software, but one really cool feature is that you can log your expenses by email, voicemail, IM or twitter. So you never have to worry about loosing a receipt again. Just email your account as you are walking out of the store.

Well that’s it for free online Christian budgeting software. Let me know what you think once you have tried them out.

Chad

So what is it?

A budget!

Eeewwwh. I know. Budgeting is probably the worst part of money management, at least to me. I mean cutting back… no problem. Saving a little for a rainy day… easy. But sitting down to develop a budget that I actual live with… horrible.

And yet, if you want to succeed at consolidating your credit cards or any other obligation that you have… you must take the time to layout a realistic plan to ensure that you are going to be able to keep your new promises.

I mean a consolidation loan is just that, a loan, so if you don’t want to be under even greater stress in six months, you really have to be sure that when all is said and done, you can afford to pay the new consolidated payment that you are agreeing to.

So now you know.

I would suggest that you look for some free counseling and get help setting your budget from a professional counselor. If you pick one of the no obligation services online, you can get their input before you even sign up with them.

Good luck and let me know how budgeting works out for you.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Chad

So it is up to us to take control of our own financial management plan and learn the basics that will ensure that we understand credit, debt, budgeting and spending. If we don’t, no matter how much work we do to eliminate our debt, we will fall right back into the same debt trap we have worked to get out of.

So what are the basics of good Christian money management?

First, you have to get on a budget that helps you understand where your money is, where it is going and how you can plug up any holes that are letting your hard earned cash leak away. This will let you maximize getting out of debt and just as importantly, staying that way.

Next once you are out of debt, protect your credit at all costs. If you can’t stop spending on credit cards, then don’t take them with you shopping. If you still can’t stop, get rid of them.

After that you need to build up your cash reserves that will be there in an emergency. How much? Well that’s up to you and what your financial goals are. But you should consider, if you lost your job, how long would it take to replace?

Along the same lines as reserves, you need the rainy day fund. Think about the potential big expenses in you could run into. Whether it is an accident in your car or a major appliance breaking down, do you have enough in your savings to cover at least one of these common occurrences?

And lastly, as a Christian, you have to educate yourself about what is important in your life. All of your money management problems can be solved when you have buying “things” in the right perspective. Knowing what is important will stop those out of control spending sprees and the impulse “just gotta have it” buys that can take all of your attempts to manage your money.

With just a small amount of Christian money management education and a few simple tool and worksheets, you can be a pro at keeping your personal finances in check and on track!

Trust me, if I can do it, so can you.

Chad