written by Kade Alexander, teller, Lewiston State Bank

One of the most popular and well-known methods for maintaining your finances is the “envelope method.” This essentially involves dividing your physical cash into separate envelopes in an effort to control your budget. But with all of the readily available technology we have at our fingertips, why not make some improvements to this method? After all, this method involves keeping a large amount of cash on hand, which can be risky.

APPS

There are some popular apps to help organize and budget your finances electronically such as: Mvelopes®, Mint™, Goodbudget™, Every Dollar®, You Need A Budget®, or the Albert™ app. It seems like new applications are popping up each day with different, and sometimes better, functions. Take some time and try browsing the app store. You might find the perfect app to fit your finances.

MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS

Some people prefer to rely less on apps and information sharing, which is understandable. For those people, there are other ways. One way that works well is to have multiple accounts at your bank. This performs a sort of virtual envelope method. Most banks will allow you to name your accounts, which allows you to label them as “college fund” or “vacation,” and specify their intended use. Once the money is in that “envelope” you can choose to use it only for the labeled purpose.

CLASSIC BUDGET

Lastly, if none of the previous methods work for you, try a budget sheet on Excel. There are quite a few templates that you can plug your financial information into without allowing others to view it, which is a possible drawback of phone applications.

Whatever your method is, start budgeting, and start saving. Consider setting up an automatic transfer into a savings account each paycheck. With an automatic transfer, it is much easier to part with some of your income. It is easier because you are expecting the same amount to leave your checking account each month. After a few months, you’ll be glad you started your automatic savings transfer as you see your money grow. We’re all saving for something in our lives, so make it happen today.

Mvelopes is a trademark of Fincity Corporation.

Mint is a trademark of Intuit, Inc.

Goodbudget is a trademark of Dayspring, A San

Francisco Web Design Company specializing in Mobile App Development and Salesforce Consulting.

Every Dollar is a registered trademark of Lampo Licensing, LLC.

You Need A Budget is a trademark of You Need A Budget LLC.

Albert is a trademark of Albert Corporation.