Now let me confess straight away I am terrible at maths and not the world's best when it comes to finance. I hate thinking about budgeting and wish I could win the lottery if only to never have to think about how much money we have or how best to use it ever again.
When I were a lass (imagine me saying that with a northern accent if you will) we had to rely on monthly bank statements and emergency trips to the bank or cashpoint to check the balance if we wanted to know how much money we had -or hadn't got mostly in my case.
I remember spending time poring over the fairly useless ATM mini statement print-out showing what was (to me anyway) a complicated system of balance and available balance. Had I been paid and it wasn't showing? Had I got more than I thought or had the electricity bill not gone out? And more to the point could I afford some special chow mien?
I am sure I am not alone in being baffled by the figures and consequently humiliated as your plastic card of loveliness turns into the plastic card of embarrassment when the message "declined" flashes up and the checkout operator/takeaway owner announces your fiscal uselessness to the waiting punters.
Luckily nowadays I have access to online banking services and a very useful app on my phone which clearly shows me what I have (or haven't got) and allows me to see at a glance exactly where my money has gone.
It comes in handy for a spot of international online banking too as even at the age of 45 (46 this week!) I still have to resort to borrowing twenty quid off my mum in Cyprus every now and again. You can run, Mum, but you can't hide!
It amazes me that with the click of a few buttons she can send me birthday money almost instantly and if I was ever in a position to send her money (hahahhahahaha) I could do it in return.
The main benefit of online banking has been for me the ability to really keep an eye on what little funds we have so we can use them wisely. I check our balance at least once a day and if I am out, sometimes check it again to be absolutely sure I can afford whatever shiny trinket has caught my eye.
I can move money about and even put any extra into an online savings account - not that that happens very often TBH!
Still, of all the many reasons I love my smartphone the ability to stay in the black is one of the biggies. If you haven't tried your bank's app yet make it it a priority!
Disclaimer: This post contains a paid-for link
When I were a lass (imagine me saying that with a northern accent if you will) we had to rely on monthly bank statements and emergency trips to the bank or cashpoint to check the balance if we wanted to know how much money we had -or hadn't got mostly in my case.
I am sure I am not alone in being baffled by the figures and consequently humiliated as your plastic card of loveliness turns into the plastic card of embarrassment when the message "declined" flashes up and the checkout operator/takeaway owner announces your fiscal uselessness to the waiting punters.
Luckily nowadays I have access to online banking services and a very useful app on my phone which clearly shows me what I have (or haven't got) and allows me to see at a glance exactly where my money has gone.
It comes in handy for a spot of international online banking too as even at the age of 45 (46 this week!) I still have to resort to borrowing twenty quid off my mum in Cyprus every now and again. You can run, Mum, but you can't hide!
The main benefit of online banking has been for me the ability to really keep an eye on what little funds we have so we can use them wisely. I check our balance at least once a day and if I am out, sometimes check it again to be absolutely sure I can afford whatever shiny trinket has caught my eye.
I can move money about and even put any extra into an online savings account - not that that happens very often TBH!
Still, of all the many reasons I love my smartphone the ability to stay in the black is one of the biggies. If you haven't tried your bank's app yet make it it a priority!
Disclaimer: This post contains a paid-for link