Where does all my money go?

Estelle Scholtz- Mare Head of Marketing for Financial Wellness at Momentum.

This is the refrain of many individuals trying to make ends meet and keep up with the demands of modern life. We spend like a rap star when we see our salaries hit our bank accounts but are sulking like scrooge when the middle of the month comes. Technology has been a massive aid to our productivity and the convenience of internet banking is revered by all. However easy access to money does have a down side. Using virtual money in the form of debit and credit cards removes us from the reality of burning through our cash. It is way easier to spend money when you don’t see the notes fly from our wallets or purses. This overspending impacts our ability to save and compromises our financial wellness.

Budgeting can be a bore and it takes up a lot of time, it also requires a lot of discipline. However budgeting is the only way we can realistically keep track of our cash. Once again technology has provided us with a solution. Momentum have developed an innovative budget tracking tool called MyFintrack. It is housed under the Financial Wellness tab on Momentum’s website, www.momentum .co.za and it is free to all members of the public.

MyFintrack: is a practical and easy-to-use online budgeting tool that shows you all your income and expenses from your different bank accounts on one page. The transactions on these accounts are automatically categorized to give you a budget based on your spending patterns. Estelle Scholtz- Mare Head of Marketing for Financial Wellness at Momentum says “The days of scribbling a budget on the back of a serviette have long gone, today we have some sophisticated tools to assist us with the process”. She says “Momentum has realised that people need to be encouraged to budget, it is not something that we do naturally. It is much more fun to spend and deal with the consequences later” The consequences can be particularly harsh if they prevent us from saving.

The tool works by allowing you to automatically download your bank statements into an online, customisable budget template and it updates the budget every time you transact. This effectively takes the guesswork out of budgeting and highlights the inefficiencies in your spending. If you see that you spend R2000 on fast food but cant afford to save for retirement, you may be prompted to change your behaviour. MyFintrack shows you all of your income and expenses from different bank accounts in a single view. The transactions on these accounts are automatically categorized so you can clearly see “where your money goes”.

Scholtz-Mare says “This takes all the drudgery out of budgeting and it is a true- real time picture of your spending habits-the good the bad and the ugly”

Budgeting can be a difficult discipline because it makes you feel like losing something or making a sacrifice. If you tend to live above your means. In order to really ace your budget you have to focus on the positive aspects of what smart budgeting brings you; the ability to free up cash to pay off debt, the ability to save and peace of mind; knowing that you can cope with financial curve balls.

While budgeting is as an integral part of a successful financial strategy the real benefits come from the ability to free up cash for saving. It is the mismanagement of funds and reckless spending that prevents us from saving and building wealth.

Q & A

Where does all my money go?

Q: Why do we find it so difficult to save?

Ans: The reasons are numerous but perhaps the biggest reason is we do not budget for savings. While. Technology means we now have easy access to money -the convenience has a down side. Using virtual money in the form of debit and credit cards removes us from the reality of burning through our cash. It is way easier to spend money when you don’t see the notes fly from our wallets or purses. If we spend to our limits there I nothing to save.

Q : Budgeting can be a bore and it takes up a lot of time, how do we resolve this barrier?

Ans: Momentum have developed an innovative budget tracking tool called MyFintrack. It is housed under the Financial Wellness tab on Momentum’s website, www.momentum .co.za and it is free to all members of the public. MyFintrack: is a practical and easy-to-use online budgeting tool that shows you all your income and expenses from your different bank accounts on one page. The transactions on these accounts are automatically categorized to give you a budget based on your spending patterns.

Q: Why is budgeting so important.

Ans: If we do not keep tabs of our cash, we end up spending it. We often fail to see the inefficiencies in our spending habits and at the end of the month we are left scratching our heads, trying to figure out where the money went. People complain that they can’t save when the reality is that they could easily save if they eliminated the inefficiencies I their spending habits.

Q:How does MyFintrack work?

Ans: The tool works by allowing you to automatically download your bank statements into an online, customisable budget template and it updates the budget every time you transact. This effectively takes the guesswork out of budgeting and highlights the inefficiencies in your spending. If you see that you spend R2000 on fast food but can’t afford to save for retirement, you may be prompted to change your behaviour.

Q: Can you see all of your different bank accounts?

Ans: Yes MyFintrack shows you all of your income and expenses from different bank accounts in a single view. The transactions on these accounts are automatically categorized so you can clearly see “where your money goes”. This tool takes all the drudgery out of budgeting and it is a true- real time picture of your spending habits-the good the bad and the ugly”

Q: Why do so many people see budgeting as a difficult task?

Ans: Budgeting can be a difficult discipline because it makes you feel like losing something or making a sacrifice. If you tend to live above your means. In order to really ace your budget you have to focus on the positive aspects of what smart budgeting brings you; the ability to free up cash to pay off debt, the ability to save and peace of mind; knowing that you can cope with financial curve balls.

Q: What is the biggest benefit of budgeting?

Ans: While budgeting is as an integral part of a successful financial strategy the real benefits come from the ability to free up cash for saving. It is the mismanagement of funds and reckless spending that prevents us from saving and building wealth.