Recession Busting Budgeting

It is that time of year for spring cleaning. As each of us finds ways to make the recession more manageable and we reinvent our financial education to function with frugality in mind, I would like to offer a few spring cleaning budgeting tools for you, your child, and your family. The Internet is an endless resource of tools, but often finding or even knowing what tool you want, can be overwhelming. I have listed below a few sites to help get your exploration started:

Many of us have children and we give them allowances and try to impart some financial savvy along with the funds. For those who struggle with the educational piece, take a look at:

financialliteracyquiz.com
giveme20.com
themint.org

The best way to control a budget is to know where the money goes in the first place. There is nothing so powerful as realizing your Starbucks habit adds up to $150 a month or that you spend $350 on your communication tools. Suddenly the light bulb is turned on so you can take back your priorities and breath again. The program I list below takes all your accounts on a daily and monthly basis and gives you a pie chart of where all your money is going, going, gone. A very effective tool for getting it all under control.

mint.com

To get the older kids and young adults focused on savings, look at this fun site that even has a Facebook add on:

smartypig.com

So pull up a chair around the computer table and see if you can spark a new financial path for your family. Happy hunting!

~ Come Gather Around The Table!