Best current budgeting apps?

[Callitaday2022]

I know budgeting apps in the past have had some problems, but we are 5 yrs out and need to get a hold on spending.
What apps are the best and why? Mint, USAA, every dollar, etc.
Married couple with 2 kids.
In the past we did the pay yourself first saving over 25% of gross income, then send the rest!

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

I can tell you with a pencil and paper we did a wonderful job budgeting. The first few months we just threw numbers around, then we got to be real pros.

 

[Rustic23]

I used Quicken, not an app, but MINT might do. I never used it. All our money went into one bank account, so it was easy to see where everything went using Quicken. It was worth the $50. Still use it today, but don't update it as much.

 

[savory]

Started with Mint. It was OK but eventually had trouble tracking accounts. Then Yodlee, which worked OK especially for spending but weak on investments. (Fidelity offers Yodlee, I think with a Fidelity brand name).

Now, Personal Capital. For me, it has been the best. Better for tracking investments but still very good for expenses. It has worked as promised for the last 18 months.

 

[Ready]

I use Personal Capital to view data, but I've never found a way to download the data for historical purposes. Maybe there is a way that I haven't figured out yet.

And with Personal Capital, Mint or any of these apps, if you stop using a credit card and the account gets closed, the data just disappears from your view. So I don't think they are all that practical as a long term solution.

I've been using Quicken for 20+ years and have found it to be just fine for budgeting and expense tracking. I would still go with that even if you have to spend a few dollars on it.

 

[Midpack]

Like many here, I use my own Excel spreadsheets for all budget, spending, investing and asset allocation tracking and calcs. I don't have to a) wonder what the underlying assumptions are (as with package software), b) unlimited customization and c) it's free - I have Excel for many purposes. You could use Numbers or Google Docs/Sheets for free if you don't have Excel.

 

[Fedup]

I use Excel. My husband and I can understand Excel.

 

[candrew]

I can tell you with a pencil and paper we did a wonderful job budgeting.

+1

We used a #2 pencil and calculator. We like to live large.

 

[Scuba]

Like many here, I use my own Excel spreadsheets for all budget, spending, investing and asset allocation tracking and calcs. I don't have to a) wonder what the underlying assumptions are (as with package software), b) unlimited customization and c) it's free - I have Excel for many purposes. You could use Numbers or Google Docs/Sheets for free if you don't have Excel.

+1

 

[Richard4444]

For six months I entered every transaction in the App "Spending" and then I realized that I was spending a good amount less than I had thought I was, so then I stopped.

Rich

 

[Senator]

I use Quicken. I log every receipt, at least the total amount. I manually reconcile all statements.

When I was getting ready to leave the workforce, it helped me understand what I was spending.

I also did the spending calculation in reverse. I calculated what I saved the year before, that is relatively easy (401K, HSA, investment accounts, etc.). I knew what I had in income, mostly. I then assumed I spent everything else. It was a great double check on what I was spending.

 

[RonBoyd]

The most powerful (yet user-friendly) personal finance program that I have fond is Moneydance -- https://infinitekind.com/moneydance.

Moneydance is an easy to use personal finance software that is loaded with all the features you need: online banking and bill payment, account management, budgeting and investment tracking.

Moneydance handles multiple currencies and virtually any financial task with ease.

 

[braumeister]

The most powerful (yet user-friendly) personal finance program that I have found is Moneydance.

+1
It does have a bit of a learning curve, but once you get used to it (couple of weeks), it's great. Also has terrific online help for questions. I've used it exclusively for nearly five years.

 

[IMATERP]

a. I also use Quicken 2017. Been using Quicken for the past 20 years and I download my transactions once a week. After a while saving money becomes rote behavior.

b. The other method I use is to deposit my net paycheck once a month into my savings account, pay all bills prior to the end of the month - and the amount that I spend is subtracted from the Income. That gives me a fairly good picture of how much I spend. One additional step is to transfer some monies into a separate savings account each month and use the account as a personal escrow account (Once a year payments, like car insurance, property tax, etc.)

Michael

 

[RE2Boys]

I still use Microsoft Money (the free Sunset edition), but since it has been abandoned by MS, it no longer will download transactions. Started in 2000.
Use it much more now to track investments and reconciling the checkbook. Only track specific categories that are helpful in preparing income tax returns (charitable, medical, state taxes, etc.) Most household expenses go into the giant misc category as I have been retired for some time and little value added by tracking all expenses.

 

[ejman]

I've been using Quicken since 1992. I currently use the 2010 version and have no need to update since I manually enter and reconcile all transactions. It is a wonderful and very useful tool not only for budgeting but also for looking up all kinds of information i.e. when did I buy something, how much did I pay for it, what have I spent on repairs etc. etc. The ability to drill down by clicking on an entry in a report and finding out what individual expenditures make up that value is invaluable to me.

 

[T-Minus]

I've used both Quicken and an Excel spreadsheet successfully for years. A couple of years ago, I discovered that YNAB had successfully combined both into a single program, so I purchased it and was in the process of running it in parallel with my Quicken/Excel combo...when they changed their model from "buy" to "subscribe". I deleted YNAB that day, and have been using Quicken and a spreadsheet (recently switched from Excel to Google Sheets) since. What a shame - YNAB looked to be a very good solution.

 

[pacergal]

+1

We used a #2 pencil and calculator. We like to live large.

We use an old fashioned ledger book, has worked for almost 40 years.
Our bank and credit union have online budgeting tools that I utilize also.

 

[RonBoyd]

I still use Microsoft Money (the free Sunset edition), but since it has been abandoned by MS, it no longer will download transactions. Started in 2000.
Use it much more now to track investments and reconciling the checkbook. Only track specific categories that are helpful in preparing income tax returns (charitable, medical, state taxes, etc.) Most household expenses go into the giant misc category as I have been retired for some time and little value added by tracking all expenses.

I, too, used MS Money (for about 15 years) and was greatly disappointed when it was orphaned -- angry even. In looking for a replacement, the only program that came close to matching Money was Moneydance... that it imported my Money files with (very) few issues was a bonus.

Sixteen years later, Moneydance has surpassed everything that I expected from MS Money. The $50 buy-in is a very small price to pay for what it provides.

 

[FIREmenow]

YNAB.
Still using "classic". Need to find some time to convert to the new model.

 

[Surewhitey]

For longer term (4+ years) data, Excel (Google sheets too) for me. Mint is an awesome tool for shorter term (1-2 years) and seeing actual spending habits.

I put larger event notes in a monthly spreadsheet to give our spending more context...

 

[Carol1862]

Just my own excel spreadsheet. Been doing it for years.

 

[Independent]

I know budgeting apps in the past have had some problems, but we are 5 yrs out and need to get a hold on spending.
What apps are the best and why? Mint, USAA, every dollar, etc.
Married couple with 2 kids.
In the past we did the pay yourself first saving over 25% of gross income, then send the rest!

You haven't said what you want to get out of the software.

You say "budgeting", do you really mean "spending tracker" ?

You know that you can live on the after-tax-and-savings $X you're currently spending. Suppose you are planning for a retirement income that give you the same after tax amount (no savings to consider), isn't that enough? If you want more detail than just a total of X, do you know which categories of expense seem important?


We track spending. When we started, we both used paper and pencil. Eventually, I moved up to an adding machine. Then to Excel and Quicken. Quicken for collecting data, Excel for organizing it into information.

My retirement "budget" was very simple. "What we have been spending, except that ___ and ___ will go up and ___ will go down."

 

[ncbill]

excel for investments.

for budgeting, I like to be hands on: Dome Home Budget Book - Dome Company Store

 

[eastnortheast]

YNAB.
Still using "classic". Need to find some time to convert to the new model.

Another YNAB user here. Input everything manually. At the moment, dont see any benefit moving to their subscription based "new" YNAB.