Free Family Budget Tools
- Free budget tools exist with families in mind.Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
Families have unique budgeting needs that don't often get figured in when divvying out the monthly paycheck. School fundraisers, college savings, child care, sports fees, birthday parties and allowances are just a few expenses that arise in a family's lifestyle that aren't included in typical budget sheets. Families can benefit from planning ahead for such expenses in their budgets as well as doing the budget as a family to teach children money management and keep everyone accountable. - Mint.com is a free online program that is customizable for families. All sources of money can be siphoned into easy charts and graphs for the family to view on the computer screen. The most family-friendly feature is the savings analyzer that will help find areas in the budget that can be streamlined. The website allows families to plan and track any savings goals such as vacations, a trampoline or the newest video game platform. With more than 1 million users, this site became so popular that Quicken bought the company.
- Crown Financial is a non-profit organization that offers families a free online spending calculator. Geared for families, the yearly salary is entered and the result is recommended spending percentages for each category including clothing, medical, child care/school, savings and miscellaneous. The family will look at their current budget and shift around numbers until the total is balanced. The organization offers more than 30 additional free calculators to help pay off debts, analyze car loans, plan for college savings and figure out possible mortgage payments.
- Smarty Pig allows both parents and children to set up specific savings goals, figure out a timeline, and set up automatic transfers. As of 2010, Smarty Pig partners with Iowa-based West Bank to offer higher interest rates than typical savings or checking accounts for free. In addition, it allows choices for how to use the savings account, such as through gift cards that often include bonus percentage values. There is no limit to how many goals a family can set up through Smarty Pig; think everything from emergency funds to Christmas spending to money for an iPod. Families can set up individual as well as collective goals for free.
