Are you looking for the best way to keep track of your finances electronically? Do you need a way to manage money on your phone or over the web? Whether you're at home or on the go, you need a way to make sure your money is spent wisely and saved prudently. We'd like to suggest five programs and apps to help you manage your finances in 2012.

1. Mint
Mint might well be your first stop on the road to personal financial organization. It's a free app that tracks all your accounts on one convenient site, categorizes transactions automatically, and provides powerful tools to make your budget and meet your savings target. Mint is accessible from the web or a smartphone. Best of all, it analyzes spending patterns and suggests other financial software that will serve your needs. Mint was recently acquired by Intuit, the makers of Quicken, and the two services will be folded together. If you use Quicken, soon you'll be using Mint instead.

2. Outright
Outright is designed for small business owners, to help lift the burden of book keeping. This program records, and arranges, all your income and expenses. This makes accurate taxes easy and maximizes deductions without pain.

3. Openpro ERP
OpenPro ERP is truly a complete business financial management system. It uses open architecture, so it is incredibly flexible and has implementation problems. If you are an advanced financial manager, or you engage in enterprise and research planning, you'll find Openpro indispensable. It handles financing, supply chain management, manufacturing controls, customer relationships, and e-commerce.

4. Moneytrackin'
If your financial needs are more personal and less business-related, Moneytrackin’ might be perfect for you. It is a free web app that tracks expenses and income without complication or distraction. Moneytrackin' is meant to be clear and understandable, and gives an excellent picture of your financial situation and budgetary needs. This app "shares" with multiple users, so if you are married or working with a partner it can be ideal.

5. Moneydance
Moneydance is a personal finance tracking program that eschews jargon for comprehensibility. The interface is well designed and unmistakeable. Moneydance uses a double-entry bookkeeping system to keep track of your accounting, but it is designed for people who are not accountants. The interface is nicely designed and versatile, and you can print checks directly. This may be best for beginning users.

Enjoy our recommendations and have financially successful 2012!

Emily is a financial blogger and she also frequently contributes to the paydayloans.org.uk site.

It is important for everyone to invest in some type of identity theft as soon as possible if it has not been done already. Identity theft is becoming more common as technology continues to advance. Consumers need to be smart, make use of free credit reports and proceed cautiously when receiving emails requesting personal information or when completing financial transactions online.

Secure Your Identity

Investing in a complete internet security package is often the best way to go when you need software protection from identity theft. A few different providers specialize in firewalls, anti-spam programs and anti-virus programs as well. There are also programs that clean the registry and check for corrupted files. The easiest solution may be to find utility software that completes all of the aforementioned functions,

Forming Good Habits

Practicing good habits is the best way to be successful in protecting your identity against hackers and spammers. Combining good habits with good software is the most practical recipe for success in these dangerous times.

Take the time to do the research and find the best software that will  fill all of your security needs at home or for the business. There are several specialty programs as well as overall solutions that help consumers protect their identity and crucial information and financial data.

When it comes to running any kind of office or business environment we quickly find that we are totally dependent on our software. Without it, we cannot do business effectively in this high-powered computing world. In fact, the small business software field is one of the most profitable, and consequently saturated, in the computing market. When it comes to meeting your business computing needs, there are tons of choices out there so how do you know what to invest in?

Applications to Begin With

Some things are obvious, of course, such as Microsoft Office 2010 or an equivalent suite such as Open Office. This suite of products takes care of needs so basic you hardly even notice them—except when they aren’t there. The office suite includes programs like:

• Access

• Excel

• Infopath

• Lync

• OneNote

• Outlook

• PowerPoint

• Project

• Publisher

• Sharepoint Workspace

• Vision

• Word

Basically everything from web browsing to cloud sourcing to word processing. This is the software that will form the backbone that supports your daily activities.

Further Software Necessities

Once you have the basics sorted out, you can take the time to build up your software base to meet your company’s specific needs. This is when software products to manage your accounting or your online presences or your office communication needs will come into play. Look for an appropriate financial management program such as the all encompassing QuickBooks Premiere Edition 2010 to make sure that the money matters will be taken care of smoothly and efficiently. You’ll also want to consider a strong CRM or Customer Relationship Management software to help you unify your interdepartmental attempts to create strong customer relationships. These programs will get you started, but you will want to take time to think about your company’s specific software needs, too. Do you need a web marketing management software program? How about one that lets you have remote access and control to your business computers? Or maybe you just need something to help you manage your network. The software is out there, you just need to find it

Don't forget to keep your hardware maintained and supplied, such as making sure your Lexmark No 60 ink cartridges are full.