For the cost of a cup of coffee you can save thousands over the years!

For the cost of a cup of coffee you can save thousands over the years!

We all know that we need to save money for our future. We never know when we may need some extra money. For example, I am a money saver. I took after my grandmother and I am so grateful to God that it is in my genes. Since I was a little kid, I used to save my chocolates and candies. I never remember eating them on the same day. If my parents gave us 2 pieces of chocolate, I would save the second piece for another day. Sadly, my younger sister would know it and would steal it from where I had hidden it. I would be so upset, but still continue saving everything I had and tried to find better hiding places.  I was saving my chocolates and candies because I did not know when I would get more.

I have not changed a bit.  I save In the same way today, because I can’t predict the future and we all should. Not to mention the economic unknowns and fluctuations, and the circumstances we may face, we need to save more than ever. It is not only that we may need some money, but also to have a decent life, to feel secure with our finances, it is necessary.

On the other hand, saving by itself is not an answer. Most of us do not know how to spend our money wisely. Many of us, including me, do not have a budget plan. We just spend our money according to our mood. For example, if we do not feel like cooking, we eat out, or when we see something new or trendy, we buy it without thinking.  We also have our upbringings that influence our approach to money. Even though I know the value of money, I still sometimes overspend.

Above all, new technological developments, online shopping opportunities and paying with the credit card is not really helping us. For example, we do not carry cash anymore.  Most of us use credit cards and we are not aware of the amount we spent. The credit card transaction or payment methods are exactly the same when you spend $1 or $100. We spend little by little and at the end of the month, all our income pays our credit card debts.

In the past, when we used to pay with cash, we would end up counting while paying which would give us some warning and make us think again before we purchase anything. I’m not saying that everyone is spending their money and not saving, but things can get better. We can get better results with some minor changes.  So, I decided to use a program called Account Patrol ‘https://www.accountpatrol.com/’ where you get notifications about your spending, the amount of money you have in your account, your out-flow and in-flow, and credit card updates.  It has a nice dashboard that can give you a big picture of your financial status. It is really eye-opening and very helpful. You can see the trends, categories, daily, weekly, monthly spending, and utility bill reminders. Furthermore, Account patrol sends you e-mails and text messages periodically. Another benefit of having this program is if there is any suspicious credit card transaction, it warns you and sends an alert.

It motivates to see my spending and savings in a graphical form. It summarizes and categorizes the expenses, and creates more awareness for me about where my money goes.

So far, I love using this website. I heard that its app is coming out in September. I believe that it will improve my financial status and I feel better when I am paying my credit card bills.

I highly recommend this website to anyone who wants to benefit from this amazing tool. The website also gives you a chance to try it for 30 days for free. And later on, it is only $5 a month; the same price as a cup of coffee.