The key to using financial software to manage and save money is to use the software regularly. If you don’t use the software, it can’t do the work for you. This sounds obvious, but if you don’t use SMS or email alerts to get daily or weekly account updates it’s easy to forget about using the software until a bill goes unpaid.

The amount of time spent using software for money management can range from a total of 15 minutes up to an hour a week, depending on how intricately you set up budgets and other financial tracking tools. But, when you think about it, isn’t this time worth the cost of an overdraft charge or a late payment charge?

•Look over Personal Finance Software Features to learn more about selecting and using financial software.