Image by snail’s trail via Flickr
Money management has come a long way from the days of balancing a paper checkbook. You can use the Internet and smartphone apps to carry out a variety of functions and save you time standing in line at your bank.
Mint.com is a free online service where users can consolidate banking, investment, loan and credit card accounts. When you sign up for Mint.com, you can set up categories for frequent purchases or payments such as groceries or utilities. Users can also track goals for paying down debt or saving for a vacation or buying a home. If you have a 401K, stocks, or other investments, you can track them and find new ways to invest your money.
Many of the major banks, such as Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo offer online banking to their customers for free. You can register online to check your savings and checking account balances and even transfer funds between accounts with just a couple of clicks. Other features of online banking include paying bills, viewing check images and setting up account alerts that e-mail or text you when your account balance drops below a certain amount. Account alerts can also you let you know about unusual activity regarding your checking or savings accounts.
If you sign up for a service such as Mint.com or an online banking solution from your financial institution and have a smartphone, downloading an app gives you even more accessability to your accounts and include the same functionality found on the websites.
