Mvelopes.com -  one of my favorite money management solutions for busy moms - was recently named one of PC World's "100 Best Products of the Year."  (Who's your SolutionDiva, Baby?!?)   Here's an updated product review for you.   If you've ever struggled to figure out where all of your hard-earned money is going -- you'll want to read this!  

The Problem:

You are determined to get control of your financial life!   So you read a book or see a financial advisor. The first thing they tell you is, "You have to keep track of EVERY PENNY you spend." So you buy a little notebook and try to write down everything you spend...but you also have to keep track of little Johnny, Jimmy and Jane while you're out running all of your errands. There are times when digging through the diaper bag to find the notebook and a pen just seems like a ridiculous task. (Especially when you keep hearing, "MOMMY! Can I have a treat PULLEEEZZZEEE!) Then, when you get home you have spend time entering all of your purchases into the computer to be able to analyze your spending habits and try to apply what you learned to next month's purchases.  Do you really have time for this?

 The Solution:  

 Forget Quicken and MS Money

 
This amazing web-based software will automate all of your money management tasks and show you EXACTLY where your money goes - and much, much more!

Description:

"When you sign up, the setup assistant walks you through the process of connecting the service to all of your online financial accounts--everything from your checking and saving accounts to your debit and credit cards. You enter your monthly income, and then set aside money in your own list of Mvelopes to pay for everything that you spend money on, from cable television to dining out, from toll booth fees to morning lattes."

Now you can forget about digging through your diaper bag to find pen and paper - Mvelopes tracks all of your out-of-pocket expenses for you. I mean, it makes sense - most of us use our debit card to make purchases nowadays - so Mvelopes gathers that information for you so you don't have to record it on paper and then enter it into the computer or even download it from your bank (which I always had trouble with.)  All you have to do is log on, look at what you've spent and put it the categories (or "mvelopes") that you've already budgeted.

"As you pay your various bills the transactions appear online, and you drag and drop them into their appropriate Mvelopes. At any given time, you can see how much you have left "available" in any category, for the rest of the month (that helps you stay on budget).  At the end of the month, you see which Mvelopes still have money in them and which ones are  in the red, and then you juggle the balances accordingly. If you play the game right, and you watch your Mvelopes closely, you'll likely stop spending more than you make AND be able to put some extra in the 'Credit Card repayment' Mvelope."

So you see, Mvelopes allows you to do so much more than just track your expenses, and create graphs & charts. It creates a completely interactive budget for you that you can access IN REAL TIME at your computer or with your PDA. It also allows you pay your bills & manage your investments online.  

In case that was at all confusing,  the best way to understand how Mvelopes works & why it is the best money management software for busy moms is to . It's short movie (about 7 minutes long) and you may have to turn up your speaker to hear the narration - but believe me - it's worth it.

Quoted Material from PC World's Review

Drawbacks:

Not too many... On the tour the talk about Unlimited support and budget coaching.  You don't really get a "coaching" as in "you should consider doing this with your money." It really is more like customer service help with the program.  But they have always been very friendly and helpful to me! You can use the service in Canada, but not the bill paying part. So I pay my bills online through my bank and I still think this service is well worth the low-cost. That's about all I can think of - really.

Summary:  

If you want to manage your money like a pro - Mvelopes is the way to go!

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