Thrifty and Thriving

I wrote a post last week about the increase in bank fees, and wouldn’t you know it, my husband and I got burned with an overdraft fee this week. We are usually very meticulous about checking our accounts online and making sure everything we have spent is cleared before we spend anything else. However, we lost track of the automatic billing date for something we order regularly but are only billed for every ten weeks, and the money was taken out at a really unfortunate time. Therefore, we were hit with a $35 overdraft fee.

The Consumer Reports Money and Shopping blog suggests that if you want to avoid unnecessary fees, you should try a free online personal finance service. These services help you create a budget, and some even send e-mail alerts if your account is getting close to being overdrawn. You can also find services that will help you track your investments and categorize your monthly expenses. The drawback to these services is you have to share your financial information with an online server. Find out how to ensure your information is secure.

Right now, we use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of our budget. Obviously, from reading this post, you can tell it’s not a foolproof system, but it does help us see what we’re spending each month and try to prioritize. Have you purchased or used free online software to manage your finances? Share what you think works best.