Personal finance

A budget simply means matching the financial resources with the expenses and spendings. But it is important to understand that the personal budget is only one component of personal finance. In order to execute sound personal finance planning the budget isn't enough - one also has to plan in advance, set goals, find ways to achieve these goals and monitor the financial situation on an on going basis. For handling a personal budget you simply need a spreadsheet, but for a more comprehensive solution you can also consider using personal finance software.

The general interest in personal finance is overwhelming. This is because on the one hand the current financial difficulties and uncertainties in the rich countries drive people to be more calculated in there financial handlings, and on the other hand the fast development in third world countries means more people have financial means and thus need to plan ahead and set goals.
A good indicator of the interest in personal finance is the volume of searches In Google. the term "personal finance" is searched for in G approximately 800,000 times a month. other major search terms are personal finance software, personal finance budgeting, personal finance advice, and personal finance help.