When we add up the time we spend on our money matters, it can feel like enough to be \u201cbillable.\u201d From balancing the budget to income taxes to paying the mortgage, there can be a lot on the financial to-do list. Luckily, technology can save you time, energy, and yes money, too. We talked to a few financial experts, and here are what they deem the most useful technological tricks of the trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst and foremost, automate your savings and bill payments,\u201d says Brian Martucci, a personal finance expert at Money Crashers. \u201cAvoiding late or missed payments is critical for maintaining good credit, or to building good credit if you\u2019re not there yet,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd good credit opens all kinds of doors, financially and otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brian Cort, Certified Financial Planner at Quadrant Private Wealth in Bethlehem, PA, recommends taking advantage of the financial portals your banking and investment firms provide to ensure you are up to date with information on your investments and account balances. \u201cMonthly or quarterly account statements in paper or electronic format provide static account data that is often out-of-date by the time you receive it. Plus, paper statements often do not provide enough information to fully analyze your investments,\u201d he says. \u201cA portal, on the other hand, is constantly updated and key to making the best decisions in real time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Beyond these overarching tips, here are some specific tools that can help:<\/p>\n
A money management app.<\/strong> A good personal financial app such as Mint will allow you to track how you are spending your money by linking your credit and debit cards, Cort says. \u201cCurrent is a good app for parents to teach children about spending and encourage them to save,\u201d he adds. \u201cParents create an account that they link to each child\u2019s account, allowing for easy transfers of money to the child\u2019s account as well as monitoring the purchases they make. Each child has his or her own debit card and can create their own savings goals,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n A quick view.<\/strong> Many people have accounts with several different banks and institutions. To simplify things, Cort recommends finding a platform that consolidates all your accounts\u2014employer retirement plans, bank accounts, HSAs, investment accounts, etc.\u2014into a singular view. \u201cThis will give you a more holistic picture of your finances, so you can make the most informed decisions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n A high-yield savings account with an automatic savings feature.<\/strong> With automatic savings, you can set up regular deposits and transfer into your savings account, so you save money before you get a chance to spend it. \u201cThis eliminates the need for manual savings transfers so you can save without thinking about it,\u201d Martucci says.<\/p>\n Online payment providers.<\/strong> Cort recommends payment apps that allow to you leave your wallet at home. \u201cPayment providers like Venmo, PayPal, and Apple Cash, make it easy to exchange money instantly and securely,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n A digital savings account<\/strong>. Martucci recommends setting one up that automatically categorizes and tallies your spending. \u201cThis allows you to identify areas of problem spending and trim,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Digital expense manager<\/strong>. For personal income taxes, Martucci suggests you ditch the shoebox stuffed with receipts and use a digital expense manager to keep digitized copies of tax-deductible and business expenses instead. \u201cOr enter your receipts into a spreadsheet broken down by expense category and\/or deduction type (you\u2019ll still need to keep a physical copy of the receipts),\u201d he says. \u201cEither way, an online tax prep program can save a trip to the accountant\u2019s office and avoid the hassle of a paper return.\u201d<\/p>\n Tax filing websites.<\/strong> When it comes time to file your income taxes, Cort says popular websites like Turbotax and H&R Block can simplify the process by guiding you step-by-step, allowing you to download the necessary tax forms and providing live help when you get stuck.<\/p>\n Cort adds that no matter what kind of online financial tools you use, it\u2019s important to remember to keep the safety and security of your personal information in mind. \u201cUse unique passwords (best saved in an encrypted password keeper like LastPass) and enable multi-step authentication whenever you can,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s also important to understand what financial information will be stored, who has access to it, and how you will be notified if there is a breach of security.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When we add up the time we spend on our money matters, it can feel like enough to be \u201cbillable.\u201d From balancing the budget to income taxes to paying the mortgage, there can be a lot on the financial to-do list. Luckily, technology can save you time, energy, and yes money, too. We talked to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[123,124,125,126],"class_list":["post-1356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mindful-living","tag-apps","tag-financial-apps","tag-good-habits","tag-personal-finance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n