Raising a family presents plenty of challenges, not the least of which are the financial hurdles of caring for children in a safe and pleasant household. Budgeting software can help you keep track of your spending so you know exactly where your income is going. It is easier to make adjustments to how you spend your money when you first analyze it objectively. Free family budget tools can help you accomplish this.
Budget Tracker
Budget tracker is free budgeting software that works for any household. You set up spending categories, including groceries, utilities, rent or mortgage, clothes and medical costs, and then see how much you spend in these areas each month. The programs keeps a continuous average month after month of your expenses in these categories so you can see if you are gradually spending more, or if any one month is significantly above or below average. If you desire, you can also print a monthly expenses report.
Mint.com
Mint.com is a free budgeting tool available online with a Web browser. The system analyzes your spending in different expense categories, and lets you compare your monthly spending to other months, or compare the entire year to previous years. The online program can automatically create a budget plan for you after it analyzes your spending habits. Mint.com offers features to prioritize your savings, so you know in advance how much money you'll have set aside over time. Everything is arranged graphically for an easy depiction of your financial behavior.
Checkbook Ease
Checkbook Ease is a free budget tool that helps you organize the finances in your household. A financial calculator, family budget details, a checkbook register and a calendar all display simultaneously on a single screen so you can manage your family's expenses quickly. The program has won the Editor's Pick and the Users Choice awards from the Free Downloads Center website.
Free Family Budget Planner
The Free Family Budget Planner is a spreadsheet style budgeting tool for use in Microsoft Excel or Open Office. You must already have one of these programs installed on your computer to use the program. Note that Open Office is available for free if you do not wish to purchase Excel. This free tool creates an entire year's budget, and it displays all months in the same window so you can see how your spending changes over time. It is a small download that offers basic budgeting features without many extras.
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