Bankruptcy may have helped you get out of debt, a budget will keep you out of debt!

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve seen it happen before. A client goes through the stress and pain of filing bankruptcy to relieve themselves of overburdening debt, only to land back into the same situation a few years later unable to pay their bills. Those are some of my most difficult cases. These particular clients were unable to overcome their spending. It can happen a variety of ways: not paying attention to what they were spending their money on; a desire for the latest and greatest fashion craze, new cell phone or other pop cultural necessity; or simple bad luck due to health or other issues outside of the persons control.

In order to stay out of debt (or at least give someone a chance at a debt free life), a budget is required. The internet has made it amazingly simple to track your finances and spending online to minimize the chance of falling into debt again. Here are 5 of the best FREE online budget trackers on the web:

1. Learnvest (www.learnvest.com)

Learnvest is a really nice service that allows the user to easily connect all of their financial accounts, which are tracked by Learnvest in one easy to view spot. The user is able to categorize transactions from all of the accounts in order for Learnvest to figure out your spending habits. The budgeting tools are divided among three categories: Essentials (rent, groceries, medication); Lifestyle (clothing, recreation, etc); and Priorities (vacation, new car, savings, etc). Learnvest does a really good job of making the whole process simple and understandable without a lot of work involved. The only downside is that they currently, as of February 2013, do not have an android mobile app, however, they do have a mobile app for iphone.

2. Mint (www.Mint.com)

Mint is similar to Learnvest, but does have the added benefit of an android mobile app along with an iphone app. Mint.com is ran by Intuit, the same company who runs the popular Quickbooks accounting software. For those who are aware, Intuit is notorious for discontinuing some popular features and charging for previously free features, so the user should be cautioned that while Mint is free now, it may not be down the road.

3. BudgetPulse (www.budgetpulse.com)

If the user is not keen on allowing an application to track banking, credit, and investment accounts by syncing to the users accounts, BudgetPulse might be the site to check out. Of course, by going this route, the extra step of having to provide the information from each of your personal accounts is required, which may lead to some apathy and procrastination to get involved in the process. There is more work involved with this service, but it still gets the job done.

4. EEBA (www.eebacanhelp.com)

For those familiar with the Dave Ramsey envelope budgeting system, EEBA takes the system electronic. The envelope system of budgeting essentially requires the user to have an envelope for each budget item and place a budgeted amount of funds into the particular envelope to spend from. If the user places $100 for the month in the envelope for clothing, the user can only spend $100 on clothing. EEBA provides the user with virtual envelopes that can be categorized to the user’s choosing. Using a mobile device or the web, the user can update the envelopes if any spending is done. The application is free for those using up to 10 envelopes, however, if you need more, it will cost you.

5. Budget Tracker (www.budgettracker.com)

While Budget Tracker does have a budget component, Budget Tracker refers to itself as a money management site that allows for incorporating a calendar for income and bill notices and links the user’s business accounting with personal accounting. Like BudgetPulse, the program does not automatically link to your accounts and the user will be required to input these in manually. There is a large learning curve, but the program can provide valuable information if the user puts in the time.

Don’t let your bankruptcy discharge go to waste. Use a budget to help stay out of debt.