Budget Now!
December 6, 2008
Holiday spending is analogous to holiday eating. People indulge in December and pay the price in January.
Stores are filled with offers for you to spend. The December ladies' magazines at the supermarket check-out lines feature photos of scrumptious desserts. The January magazines will feature lead articles on losing weight.
Unlike ladies magazines, the stores in January will offer after-Christmas sales and -- I fear -- going out of business sales. The story will not change: spend!
Don't.
To help you get control over your finances in December rather than January, I suggest that you use any of the following on-line budgeting and financial management sites. They are free.
WESABE. This site offers not only monthly budgeting software, it offers feedback from people who are trying to get out of debt. You get suggestions on how to spend less, either by not buying or paying less. It's a community. It's like Alcoholics Anonymous. This may help you.
MINT. This site offers a similar service. How they ever got www.mint.com is a mystery to me. Why they use an image of a mint leaf instead of a vault is also a mystery.
RUDDER. This site offers a useful feature. It warns you daily by email about bills coming due. It lets you know if you are running over budget. This helps people face reality before reality blindsides them. If you need to be nagged, Rudder is for you.
QUICKEN. The competition from these sites has forced Intuit Software to stop charging $3 a month to use Quicken online. Buy Quicken Deluxe for $50, which I recommend, or you can use the site. But the site, unlike the program, does not offer a budgeting feature. It is behind the curve. It is playing catch-up.
I strongly suggest that you use one of these services before you do your last Christmas shopping.
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