Seeing the Big Picture on Your Finances
What keeps you up at night? For many of us, the concern is finances. “How am I going to finance my
retirement?” Or, “How are we going to save the funds for that dream vacation?” Or maybe the narrative
is something like, “How am I going to get these debts paid?” The first step to managing your finances is
the ability to see the big picture. Managing your finances is not rocket science, but it does take
discipline. A good place to start is with an online financial management tool.
Online financial management tools are linked to your online banking account, and can provide the
necessary insight to help you manage living costs, and identify areas where you can save. Online
financial management tools give you the ability to view your investments (like 401k's) and loan balances
(like your mortgage) as well as credit card and bank accounts. What most people may not realize is the
full potential of online financial management tools, and how they can be a real solution to
comprehensive money management.
Create Budgets – See where and how you spend your money. Make smarter purchasing choices by
tracking spending and setting budgets.
Manage Cash Flow – Make informed choices on when to schedule bill payments. Keep track of how
much money you have available day-to-day for bills and spending.
Set Goals – Take control and make reaching your financial goals quicker and easier.
Stay Informed – Know immediately when you’ve exceeded a spending category, or an account balance
changes significantly. You don’t have to log into your online banking. You can stay informed with
account alerts via text or email.
Calculate Your Net Worth – Build your wealth --at your pace. An online financial management tool
helps you quickly add up and consolidate all your assets to provide you with an up-to-date asset
snapshot, including your home and vehicle.
The ability to access all your accounts in one place will aid in providing you with the Big Picture view of
your finances. With an online financial management tool, you can access every account from any
financial institution, in one online portal. First Bank & Trust Company knows the power of seeing the Big
Picture, so they’ve introduced their own online financial management tool called, My Finances.
My Finances is available to First Bank & Trust customers through the free online banking portal. If you are not enrolled in online banking, sign up here.
Learn more about My Finances.