Have you ever wondered where all your money went? You haven’t bought any thing memorable, but the $100 you just had the other day is down to $5. Why is it important to manage your money well? The better you are at managing your income and expenses, the more money you’ll have left over – and you’ll be able to see the rewards of your hard work. If you’re currently on assignment through Adecco, we offer several tools to help you be financially successful:
- Direct deposit ensures that you always receive your check on time, with immediate access to funds. Having direct deposit can eliminate checking account fees that add up at many banks.
- Paperless pay allows you to view your pay stubs online – reach out to your local branch for more information.
- As an Adecco contractor, you are eligible to contribute to a 401(k). These contributions are taken out of your check before it is taxed, which saves you money.
But wouldn’t it be nice if there was also an app or website that could track your purchases and show you all of your accounts in one place – instead of logging into 18 different websites? There is; and they’re free. Check out these 5 tools for financial success:
1. Mint.com is the most commonly known program. With Mint, you can link your debit card, credit cards, checking and savings accounts, retirement accounts, car payments and other accounts; so you can see all of your balances in one place. You can also see investment performance for each type of investment in your portfolio. Each time you make a purchase, the website records it and categorizes it, allowing you to see a graph of your spending each month. Cash purchases can be recorded to break down ATM withdrawals.
You can also set up bill reminders, savings goals and budgets for each spending category. You can see trends over time to determine which areas you are spending the most money in, and an overall summary for each month to determine if you are “in the red” (spending more than you make) or “in the green” (bringing in more than you spend).
Based on your spending, Mint will even suggest advice – lower rates for car insurance or credit cards with better reward programs. You can use the traditional website, or you can add an app to your smartphone. Click here for a sample video.
2. Adaptu is a similar service that gives users a virtual wallet to manage cash flow. You can easily see which percentage of your budget you are spending on each category. Investments are grouped by type of fund – stock, mutual fund or money market. However, with Adaptu, there are no budgets, so you won’t receive alerts if you are overspending in a certain category. Click here for a sample video.
3. Personal Capital is a great tool for investors. Users can view asset allocation showing which percentage of their money is in stocks (domestic and international), bonds, cash and alternative investments. Although it focuses on investments, it also compiles data for debit card and credit card purchases. Click here to see a sample video.
4. DebtFree is an iPhone app that uses the snowball method. It summarizes debts and helps users create a payoff strategy. Once the strategy is created, it shows the date the user will be “debt free”. It shows the amount of interest that will be saved by paying debts off early, generates reports on debt by account or category, and allows users to make payments and see payment history from the app. Click here to view a sample video of the app.
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