Jan 01 2013

Aspiring to be financially RIPPED? Are you hoping for a “six pack” bank statement? Congratulations! Financial freedom can enhance so many areas of your life. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist, nor a major investment to baby step your way to a buff bank account! In fact, it really needs to be manageable whilst living your busy, professional life full of many burning priorities. That being said, here is a handful of FREE resources that you might find helpful in your quest to becoming fiscally fit (or more fiscally fit). Simply click on the image to explore the website:

Targeted towards women, this daily email keeps you focused on your finances without being annoying. Seriously, I always look forward to what the day’s content will be, unlike Bath & Body Works, who clearly thinks I have a daily burning need for body lotion. It only takes about a 30 second scan to get the gist of the message. Yet the education, thought provoking questions and shared resources are worth even a 60 second investment, promise. In fact, they describe their content as breaking down “complex financial concepts—from the emotional to the numerical—into simple, actionable tips.” Guys, if you can ignore the fact that it is female-centric I think you would also like the ADD-friendly “daily money email packed with actionable tips, insightful ideas … and the occasional kick in the pants.”

Remember back in the day when you plugged in every receipt and check into Quicken if you wanted an electronic tracking of your spending, saving and investing? No mas! Intuit, the parent company for Quicken, bought this handy website so you can have “Mint pull all your financial accounts into one place.” With Mint you can, “set a budget, track your goals and do more with your money.”

This FREE product can connect to your various accounts, track your saving and even give you recommendations on how a change in your behavior can benefit you. You can even set it up to nag you if you are overspending in a category or neglecting to make headway in a particular savings goal. Better your budgeting system than your spouse, eh?

The key is that it takes less than five minutes to set up, is very low-maintence (because it is highly automated) and it is super-customizable, so you can have as much or as little help as you’d like. Notably, there is an app for this service, to boot.

Hate paperwork? Me, too. Manilla s a FREE web-based service that keeps your financial statements, subscriptions, rewards programs and importantly BILLS on in one secure place. Sound interesting? How about this: THEY ORGANIZE IT for you, keeping all of your account information neatly “filed” and accessed via one simple password. <Phew!> You can even get text and/or email reminders when your bills are due. WOOT! *Paper clutter haters of the world rejoice!* Of course, there’s an app for that, too.

In addition to these three great, FREE services I also highly recommend being sure you have your bank’s smart phone app, as well as your payroll service’s app (such as ADP), if applicable. That way if you have a few minutes in between meetings to transfer money or verify your annual earnings to date, you can in a flash.

Now if you have the attention span and chutzpa to coupon, then I recommend you go over to A Few Short Cuts for her advice and bonus saving strategies. That woman has some serious savings hawk eyes! I don’t (and won’t) coupon, but her presence in my Facebook feed has saved me via many-a-posted-sale I wouldn’t have otherwise been aware of, including my son’s Fender guitar birthday present!

I hope you find these tools helpful. Please report back! And remember, we are tackling our goals three months at a time while finding easy ways to set ourselves up for success on our path to world domination. What financial tools would YOU personally recommend to a busy professional working towards fiscal fitness?