Keeping track of your finances as an individual can be a difficult prospect. However, add in an entire family and the overall task of budgeting can become overwhelming. Many family budgeting tools are now available to help you with the process.
Bank Statement
Your monthly bank statements are an integral tool in planning a family budget. Bank statements allow you to see exactly how much money your family makes, as well as how much money your family spends on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis. Even more essential, most bank statements show detail of where the money was spent, allowing you to break down your monthly expenses by categories such as rent or mortgage, car payments, food or utilities.
Budget Worksheets
A budget worksheet is a tool that allows you to list out all of your income and debts to more easily see where your finances stand, and can help simplify calculating your budget. By using a budget worksheet you can file away the piles of bills and pay stubs in exchange for one or two sheets of paper with all the weekly, monthly or yearly financial information listed out together for an easy reference.
Online Tools
Several family budgeting tools can be found online to help with the budgeting process, including several free ones. For example, financial calculators can be used to help determine how to best pay off debt, or how much money you need to save to reach financial goals. There are also secure tools, such as mint.com, that automatically sync up with your bank and credit accounts to help you better keep track of your finances all in one place. Mint also allows you to set up email alerts to notify you when your bank account balances are low or when you overspend in a specific budget area.
Books
Hundreds of books have been written on the subject of family budgeting that can help you better reach your financial goals. There are many titles to choose from to guide you through the family budgeting process; from titles on how to cut your grocery bills by the nationally known Economides family, to financial guide books published by "The Wallstreet Journal."
Software
There are also many software options that can help guide you through the budgeting process. Budgeting software can vary in features but in most cases provide spreadsheets and calculators to track your finances, and plan for your financial future. Examples of popular family budgeting software include Mvelopes and BudgetMap.
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