In the world of managing your money you need a good piece of budget planning software. These tools are essential for managing your money, and with today's economy you need to keep track of every spare penny.

Why would you need budget planning software? Planning and managing a budget is important in order to find money that is being wasted or not used to its full potential. Unfortunately this skill isn't something that most people know how to do. This is where a budget planning software package comes into play and can actually pay for itself within the first month.

I have tried and used several different packages and talked with others who know what they like and works for them. So our knowledge can be given to you without the headache of researching which is the best option in the crowded field budget planning software packages.

If your budget planning software isn't easy to use, you will not use it. If you aren't using it then there isn't much point in talking about it. The better packages have well laid out interfaces with intuitive options. You also should be able to easily import your banking data into the budget planning software so as to not have to manually type out numbers and transactions. This would run counter to making the software easy to use, and it would be more like a chore. If it is a chore, you simply aren't going to do it.

I used to swear by Quicken. It definitely has some very good points about it and is one of the most powerful products out there. You can do almost anything with it and it includes several calculators to help you work out the kinks in your budget and decide how to have goals for your money. The primary reasons I cannot recommend it any longer as my favorite is because:

• Even though you get a lot with it, it is almost too much to use and can cause you to be overly obsessive about your money.
• It's gotten too big in terms of the system resources on your computer it uses.
• They are always trying to get you to upgrade every couple of years. They even make it to where they no longer offer support for older versions and they force banks to use new formats for downloading transactions, so it won't work if you don't have the newer versions.

The web address in this video below is not mine, and I am not benefiting from this.

My choice for the future use of budget planning software is YNAB (You Need A Budget). YNAB starts with giving you a money managing methodology they call the “Four Rules”. The rules are:

1. Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck
2. Give Every Dollar a Job
3. Save For a Rainy Day
4. Roll With the Punches

Now, I don't want to get into the details of each of those rules here as there isn't the space. Let's just say those are pretty clear meanings without the detail, but you catch the drift. If you want to check out video and a fuller explanation you can go to youneedabudget.com and learn more about that. You can also download the software from there after you pay for it, so no need to burn gas or wait for it to arrive in the mail. See, they're saving you money already!

The YNAB budget planning software has an easy to follow quickstart guide and simple tutorials to get you up and running fast. As I said before, the easier it is to use and the smaller the footprint, the more likely you will incorporate it into your lifestyle. You have to stick with it for it to do you any good. Budgeting is sort of like exercise: you don't see results on the first day or even the first week, but if you keep at it you will stop recognizing the old habits.

Once you have followed the instructions and set up your accounts, then YNAB will have the information needed to help you start planning your budget. You can set up categories or the software will auto-categorize your transactions. This is useful and necessary if you really want to get the most out of your budget. The categories show you where your money goes, what percentage is spent in what category, and where you can cut money for things that aren't completely necessary.

The software will also allow you to export your data in user-friendly formats and is usable in a spreadsheet application such as Excel. This way, you can get the info to your accountant come tax time. It also has the ability to add notes to transactions and categories as well as an active community forum so you can get support from other users and the development team.

So, the reason YNAB is the best budget planning software is because the user doesn't get bogged down with a lot of extra stuff that is not moving you toward the goal of making better use of the money you do have and not spending the money you don't have. After all, that is the fine point of having a budget in the first place. Extra gadgets and bells and whistles are nice, but not when they distract you from what you want to do.

You can download the package from youneedabudget.com as a 7 day full trial, but you will need to pay the purchase price to continue using it after that date.  It is worth it, and as I said before, you should be able to see the price of the software coming back to you in savings once your budget is in use.

For a good free tool you can also try Mint. Mint is a website that uses Web 2.0 technology to help you download your bank information and create a budget with a very clean set of tools. You can find this budget planning software package online at www.mint.com.

I have not been compensated in any way by YNAB, nor am I part of any affiliate program they offer.  Mine is an regular person's review of a helpful product.