Budgeting app/software?

[wanderingback]

I think I need to bit the bullet and get back to more purposeful general tracking.

I've tried You Need A Budget in the past and I just did not like it. Don't think I'm willing to try again so please don't recommend it, haha.
Way back in the day I did Mint.

Anything else you'd recommend?
I guess I just want a way to track and categorize and actually make a budget

Thanks!

[ohgillian]

I have used Excel my whole adult life, but a lot of people here use various programs; maybe it would help them make a rec if you can say what you didn't like about YNAB?

[lessel]

I've been using Simplifi for the past year and I like it quite a bit. My one complaint is sometimes when I categorize a purchase on the mobile version it doesn't seem to stick. I'm only just now starting to use the spending plan feature and it's handy... mostly I was just tracking spending for awhile.

[ellipses84]

I use mint, but I don’t love it for daily budgeting and I don’t spend much time managing it. I like it for the income / spending over time features where it can create a quick graphic with various data. It’s a big picture budget view, like in august we were over budget but September we were way under budget, we’re in the green for the past year but we’ve spent way more on groceries this year compared to last year. I also use it as a place to view all of our accounts, make sure an auto payment was processed or find a specific transaction if I can’t remember how DH or I paid for something or what card a subscription is linked to (rather than look through transactions on several different accounts).

[wanderingback]

Oct 3, 2023 18:57:04 GMT -5 ohgillian said:

I have used Excel my whole adult life, but a lot of people here use various programs; maybe it would help them make a rec if you can say what you didn't like about YNAB?

It’s been so long since I used it so I don’t remember exactly but I do remember having to watch multiple you tube videos to understand how it worked and still was a bit confused. Something that complicated is not realistic for me to keep up with.

[wanderingback]

Oct 4, 2023 8:08:56 GMT -5 lessel said:

I've been using Simplifi for the past year and I like it quite a bit. My one complaint is sometimes when I categorize a purchase on the mobile version it doesn't seem to stick. I'm only just now starting to use the spending plan feature and it's handy... mostly I was just tracking spending for awhile.

This looks promising!

[Roc A Bee]

I don’t know the name of this, but my method is: pay all my bills, move money to savings (or pay off debt or whatever the goal is), live on the rest. I don’t really care about categories as long as I don’t spend more than X that month.

Other than that, I’ve tracked on good ole pencil and pen because I like writing it down. But again, I keep my categories vague: food, misc.

[wanderingback]

Oct 4, 2023 16:12:55 GMT -5 Roc A Bee said:

I don’t know the name of this, but my method is: pay all my bills, move money to savings (or pay off debt or whatever the goal is), live on the rest. I don’t really care about categories as long as I don’t spend more than X that month.

Other than that, I’ve tracked on good ole pencil and pen because I like writing it down. But again, I keep my categories vague: food, misc.

This is pretty much what I do haha.
But I haven’t tracked in a long while and now with daycare payment and student loan payment starting back up I wanted to keep a bit of a closer eye on things. I’m def with you on the broad categories and won’t be breaking it down more than the basics like "house necessities" for target trips for example.

[wanderingback]

lessel I downloaded your rec, thanks!

One thing I can’t figure out is how to make it recognize that a purchase always falls under 1 category. Is that possible? Or I have to manually change each one every time.

Otherwise it looks pretty promising. Thanks!

[lessel]

Oct 4, 2023 20:15:49 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

lessel I downloaded your rec, thanks!

One thing I can’t figure out is how to make it recognize that a purchase always falls under 1 category. Is that possible? Or I have to manually change each one every time.

Otherwise it looks pretty promising. Thanks!

You can do it two ways... in the category drop down menu when you're looking at all transactions, when you click on category and see the list of options, you can check the box at the very top that says 'Create a rule to also use this category for future transactions'. OR, you can click on the transaction and open its popup window and when you click 'category' that same option pops up as a checkbox. I think when you click that box either way it searches through past transactions and changes those too, then the rule is set for future transactions.

You can also edit the categories too in settings. I have a category for my husband eating out so I could show him just how much not taking his lunch to work was costing us. 🤣

[wanderingback]

Oct 5, 2023 6:22:16 GMT -5 lessel said:

Oct 4, 2023 20:15:49 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

lessel I downloaded your rec, thanks!

One thing I can’t figure out is how to make it recognize that a purchase always falls under 1 category. Is that possible? Or I have to manually change each one every time.

Otherwise it looks pretty promising. Thanks!

You can do it two ways... in the category drop down menu when you're looking at all transactions, when you click on category and see the list of options, you can check the box at the very top that says 'Create a rule to also use this category for future transactions'. OR, you can click on the transaction and open its popup window and when you click 'category' that same option pops up as a checkbox. I think when you click that box either way it searches through past transactions and changes those too, then the rule is set for future transactions.

You can also edit the categories too in settings. I have a category for my husband eating out so I could show him just how much not taking his lunch to work was costing us. 🤣

Hehe love it.
Thanks so much!
I’m gonna work on it more today, kinda excited