For the rest of us, making–and sticking to–a meaningful budget can be an essential tool for ensuring that our money gets used where it’s needed.  Even if you’re in the fortunate situation of having plenty of income, the homework involved in creating a budget can be instructive.  You may find that you’re spending more than you wish (or need) on things like groceries, entertainment or eating out.

Taking the time to sit down and draw up a budget used to be pure drudgery enlivened only by the reality of staring your unwise spending habits in the face.  In fact, one of the biggest obstacles to creating a meaningful budget is that most of us would rather not know how we really spend our money–because we know that to follow a budget requires sacrifices we may not be willing to make.

But have courage.  With the great (and often free) online tools available today, budgeting can be as easy as a few clicks and setting some basic goals. As for the sacrifice part, a realistic budget will help you find the areas in your spending where you can afford (and are willing) to sacrifice more–or less–according to your desired goals.

If you’re not sure where to start, use a free tool like FinanceWorks to help you take a quick snapshot of where you’re income is going.  Simply categorizing your expenses is often motivation enough to hunker-down and make a meaningful budget.  And you can use the goal setting features of a program like FinanceWorks to take your budget to the next level.  These automatic features will help you monitor and adjust your spending, and reach your goals more easily than programs that only allow you to categorize expenses.

 Tip #1 – Communicate with the other account signer(s).

This simple tip can be the difference between earning interest and paying non-sufficient funds fees.  When account signers keep open lines of communication, each will know when deposits are made or when to anticipate or record withdrawals.  It’s a good idea to show each other receipts and talk about balances on at least a daily basis, especially if it’s a very active account.

Tip #2 – Take equal responsibility for the account.

Each signer of the account signature card is equally responsible for the account, no matter the account status.  When things are good, this is usually not a problem.  But when things go bad, all signers are equally responsible for making it right, regardless of which signer may have caused the problem.  If you are constantly fighting over who is responsible for making a deposit or keeping track of this or that, then a joint account might not be right for you.  All account signers are equal owners in the eyes of the bank.

 Tip #3 – Monitor account activity effectively.

Ever wonder what that thing is that comes with your checks that has the calendar on it?  It’s a check register.  A register is the traditional way to keep track of account deposit and withdrawal activity.  Using it will help you avoid fees and headaches related to bounced checks.  Don’t write many checks or occasionally forget to record ATM withdrawals or debit card transactions?  Home Banking may be a better solution.  Regularly logging-in to Home Banking and checking your account activity and balance is a great way to keep up on your account activity.  For really effective account monitoring, check-out our FREE FinanceWorks^TM tool.  It’s easy to use and can be configured to help you manage accounts at over 5,000 other financial institutions and creditors across the country-not just Western Community Bank accounts.

Tip #4 – Communicate with the bank if you need help.

It may surprise you, but we often help people balance their checkbooks and teach them how to manage their accounts.  Other places may charge you for this kind of service, but not Western Community Bank.  This is just part of what we do.  When you’re struggling to manage your finances, it’s worth your time and effort to contact your bank for assistance.  This can help you avoid overdrafts and returned check fees, and demonstrates to your bank that you are tying to manage your account and putting forth the effort to keep your account in good standing.

Was this post helpful?  Please leave us a comment below and tell us what you think of our blog, or to request information on another subject.

Sites like mint.com and wesabe.com offer a wide range of tools and services that are definitely useful, but they lack the important data and information security requirements your bank strives to adhere to in order to provide you FDIC deposit insurance.  These are pretty cool sites, but they could be better with some regulatory oversight and requirements.

Recognizing the opportunity to better serve its customers, Western Community Bank was among the first 20 banks in the country to launch FinanceWorks^TM powered by Quicken® in September 2008.  FinanceWorks is a FREE online money management tool, protected inside of the bank’s Home Banking system security, which allows users to manage not just their Western Community Bank accounts, but accounts at over 5,000 financial institutions and credit card companies.  It’s the best of both worlds-the awesome tools to manage your finances, with the security of a trusted and regulated online banking system.  Checkout this cool FinanceWorks tour to see how you can use this simple but powerful tool to help you manage all of your money from one trusted site.

Was this post helpful?  Please leave us a comment below and tell us what you think of our blog, or to request information on another subject.

This ability to track and transfer funds has also made it remarkably easy to save money.  Chances are your bank has a feature in its online banking system to set up scheduled automatic transfers between checking and savings accounts.  (If not, we know a great bank that does.)  You can easily set-up these automatic transfers to move nearly any amount of money from your checking to your savings-and you won’t ever have to lift a finger after the transfer is set-up.

After time you may find you don’t ever really think about it either.  Try it for a month to see how easy it is.  Set-up a $5, $10, or $25 (or whatever amount you can afford) automatic transfer from your checking to savings account.  Set it to be a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly transfer.  After the month passes, examine your finances.  Did you miss the money?  Maybe you need to set a lower amount.  Perhaps a more aggressive amount is appropriate.  Soon you’ll be building up your rainy day or vacation fund without a second thought.

Was this post helpful?  Please leave us a comment below and tell us what you think of our blog, or to request information on another subject.