How Software Saves You Money

Sophia Belnap

The struggle of maintaining one’s personal finances is one that serves as a major conflict in the lives of many. For many, finances seem simple, and a common mistake is to think that things will more or less take care of themselves. On the other hand, even one with a mind to take control of their finances may just have trouble dealing with all the numbers involved. However, technology has always provided the solutions to age old problems, and the technology of today excels in the realm of clerical and administrative tasks. Here’s what you need to know about using modern tech to refine your personal finances.

Investing

Investing has long been associated with wealth, but there’s also an association with a certain level of success before investing, leading many to think that they’re not already wealthy enough to take advantage of investing. However, there are a variety of investment options available to a wide array of people from the already wealthy to the poor. For example, there are a variety of creative investment solutions, such as the infinite banking concept. IBC is a method of using a dividend paying whole life insurance policy as a means of generating additional wealth. On the other hand, investing in stocks is the most common type of investment made, and the buy-ins for investing in stocks are usually much lower than other types of investment. Investing in real estate or businesses, for example, provides a greater chance of success, but the bar is much higher in terms of the size of a given investment. Any form of investing is necessarily a gamble when all is said and done, however, so exercise caution. Despite that gamble, a skilled investor can minimize the risks and maximize the payouts.

Organizational Tools

One important way to make investing more accessible and more successful is organized recordkeeping. For that reason, it’s important to create a system by which you always know the state of your affairs and the exact amount of money you have, both in and out of investments. For starters, an app like Mint can help you get an overview of all of your bank accounts, among other important stats, and this can help to give you a more complete idea of your current finances. However, folding records of your investments into these financial records will require an additional solution. An app such as Excel can help you build a comprehensive and easy to read spreadsheet that will ensure complete knowledge of your assets, whether liquid or fixed. There’s also a place for automated recordkeeping solutions, such as the use of multiple apps to record your earning and spending as they happen, including the origins of payments or how money is spent.

E-Commerce

One of the most impressive trends in recent years is the rise of e-commerce. While the elevator pitch of instantaneous shopping was destined for success, it’s important to take a step back and consider just how impactful e-commerce technology has been. The expectation of e-commerce functionality is baked into multiple industries at this point, and many more are experimenting in order to find a way to take advantage of the explosive growth that e-commerce entails. However, one secret advantage of e-commerce is that it provides the tools with which to save money. For starters, ordering things online gives users insight into how their purchases are adding up in real time. This is an important part of understanding your spending habits in order to rectify any weaknesses, and that in turn leads to savings. On the other hand, online commerce involves digital coupons, making it that much easier to save, because there’s no need to find a physical coupon in order to get a discount. Likewise, apps like Honey seek to bring those coupons right to you, allowing you to save money here and there with minimal effort on your part. By thinking of e-commerce apps as a tool you can use to save, you give yourself immense power to build your wealth.