Budgeting: Lessons from the Recession
Last week I wrote a about how teenagers are more money savvy since the recession. Turns out adults learned some important lessons too and are now more careful with their spending. Indeed, nearly 50% of consumers say keeping a budget is a bigger priority for them, according to a recent survey by USAA Bank. And 40% consider themselves penny pinchers.
I wasn't too surprised to read that more people are now keeping to a budget. After all, most Americans must realize it's time to tighten our belts and live within our means. But that isn't to say that I found all the findings in the survey predictable.
USAA Bank found some gender differences related to money that did surprise me. Despite women having a reputation for spending, men are actually more likely than their female counterparts to stray from a budget (28% vs. 22%). But females are more likely than males to feel guilty (63% vs. 47%) and anxious (47% vs. 27%) when they overspend. Perhaps this explains why most of the mothers I know hold their families' purse strings.
The survey also uncovered another interesting fact: 70% of respondents say they wouldn't buy a $40 pair of jeans if they knew they only had $20 left in their clothing allowance. (They would know this thanks to looking at a budgeting app for a cell phone.) And 24% argued that having access to their budgets on their mobile phones may be enough to get them to develop a spending plan.
As for me, I'm not convinced that keeping to a budget is as simple as having a family CFO in your pocket. But I'll admit that it could be helpful when shopping for nonessentials. And for when couples are trying to coordinate their spending while working off of one spending plan.
As you probably guessed by now, there is a reason USAA Bank released its survey. It recently launched a mobile app for iPhone and Android users to go along with its budgeting tool USAA Money Manager. As apps go, this one seems to offer some cool features. It allows USAA customers to keep track of their account balances (even ones not with USAA). It offers spending charts to help you visualize where your money is going. And those charts are updated in real time so you can see where you stand financially while you're out shopping.
Not a USAA customer? Don't despair. There are plenty of other budgeting apps that you may find helpful. My personal favorites come from Mint.com and Pageonce.
Do you use a budgeting app?
Stacey Bradford is the author of The Wall Street Journal Financial Guidebook for New Parents.
Money 5 USD image courtesy of Flickr, CC 2.0.
More from CBS MoneyWatch:
Teens and Money: Lessons from the Recession
Food Safety: Shopping Tips for Families
College Savings: Common Mistakes Parents Make
Financial Lessons for College Grads