Upon discovering that ClearCheckbook has created a free online service that will allow anyone to develop a budget and then be able to monitor their performance against this budget, one should immediately check out their 8 ½ minute video that explains just how this free service works. Easily accessed at their tour page, many of the elements covered in the video explain the tools available to help one perform budgeting such as:

•    Bill Tracker
•    Budget Calculator
•    Reminders / Recurring Transactions
•    Spending Reports
•    Import Transactions
•    Transaction Register
•    More Financial Tools

One of the keys to developing a sound and manageable budget is taking a good hard look at what spending limits to set for various categories. In the Clear Checkbook Budget Calculator one has the ability to easily:

•    Add a spending limit
•    Change (edit) a spending limit
•    Delete (remove) a spending limit

When a spending limit is created, one enters a maximum amount that they want to spend for the period, generally established as one month, and then expenses or purchases against that category are summed together as the month progresses. One can then view the percentage of the budget that has been allocated to date in both dollars and as a percent, and color coding (red, yellow, and green) will “at a glance” let you know just how much room is left in the category for future use.

With additional options to establish a specific reset day (default is the first of the month) for each budget category and to also rollover any used funds from the previous period, one has some built in flexibility when it comes to fine-tuning specific spending limits for every defined category.

Adding a spending limit is as easy as using ClearCheckbook’s standardized fill boxes, drop-down lists, and toggle check boxes to input and select the proper choices for a specific category to set a spending limit, and the day you want to reset it. Editing a spending limit is as easy as setting one up, and should you payoff your car note, deleting that “car payment” spending limit and category is a breeze as well.

Straight forward and intuitive, the free ClearCheckbook Budget Calculator is great for setting up your entire household budget, but one can always take advantage of this service for a wide variety of reasons other than just for their personal household use. Some examples of other areas where one can put this free service to great use would be:

•    Detailing association financial activities
o    Boy Scout / Girl Scout Troops
o    PTA
o    4-H Club
o    Etc.
•    Setup special categories for major one time events like vacations
•    Use to track business travel expenses for reporting against expense reports.
•    Setup to independently track your financial portfolio investments
•    Those that like to go to Casinos, Racetracks, etc. can set spending limits and keep track of winnings and losses.

This free budgeting and expense recording tool can be used for a wide variety of reasons other than its originally intended purpose. The feature of being able to setup spending limits for any function is exceptionally powerful all in itself in terms of establishing financial discipline, and for free, you can’t beat the price!