Creating (and Sticking to) a Family Budget

Creating a budget and staying with it is hard work, so it’s no surprise that an estimated two-thirds of Americans don’t do it.  But if you'd like to be more in control of your finances, then it's a necessary evil. Fortunately there are ways you can make budgeting more fun!

We live in an era where your first thought involving any subject may be “is there an app for that?”, and as far as budgets are concerned, the answer is “ABSOLUTELY”. You've no doubt heard of Mint, which will help you create a budget, track your spending, and even pay bills for you. This app is highly recommended by experts, so it will probably do a great job... but if you are looking for a little more excitement in your budgeting apps:

• Urge. The best way to save money is not to spend it in the first place, and this app will challenge you to resist the urge to spend money.
• Digit. If you've always wanted someone to watch your spending, then grab your extra change and put it in a savings account for you, this is the app you need.
• Acorn. While not a budgeting app, Acorn will round up your purchases to the nearest dollar and invest the extra change for you.

Creating and using a budget doesn’t have to be some tortuous task only an accountant could love. With these apps in your pocket, the money you save may be your own.