Budgeting software

[nicolet]

I used to use Microsoft Money. It was ok. I tried mint.com but that wasn't the best software for us either. When we tried YNAB although it is ok. I'm still looking for something better.

Anyother options out there??? What do you like to use? What don't you like?

 

[DawnM]

YNAB (You Need A Budget) is great.

 

[JandJ]

We use Quicken. I don't know how we'd budget without it, but that being said, we don't love it. It doesn't lend itself well to virtual envelope budgeting, which is how we budget (so much allotted for groceries, so much for gas, so much for home maintenance, etc.). Because of that, the end-of-month budget reconciliation is very time consuming. Quicken, IMO, is definitely the easiest way to track what you spent on what, where, and when (and even a memo space for why).

 

[bonoriffic]

Microsoft Money, how I miss you. Easily the best money management software out there. Once Money was discontinued I searched high and low for a replacement. I settled on Quicken, and while I dislike it compared to Money, it was significantly better than pretty much all the other options. I haven't looked around for choices in 2 years, so maybe someone will tell me if the landscape has changed.

Mint and similar options are reactionary. They lack the ability to forecast your finances with real inputs. For example my wife and my next paycheck are already added, despite pay day being weeks away. Bills have been accounted for that are months away. Knowing where my finances are today is important, but I need to see months into the future, and not just projections based on your spending trends. If balancing the cash flow is tight on a week to week basis, long term management obviously isn’t your primary concern and tools like mint will suit you just fine. I want the ability to have my monthly bills tracked as well as future non-scheduled events and have your balance reflect any day in the future accurately.

I’d love to ditch Quicken as it has some very annoying quirks, but still stands out as the best money management option out there. (If anyone has suggestions for other choices for me to try that meet the above criteria I’d love to try it)

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

We use Money to track our accounts and credit cards, but use Excel for our budget. It's just easier to see categories, we can get as specific or general as we want, and there's no splitting transactions when you buy groceries and underwear at super Target.

We've been using Excel for our budget for the last 12 years at least, and will go through in Nov./Dec. to create the budget for the following year. Then we track every dollar. Money just wasn't flexible enough for us to do that, or, if it is, the ability wasn't intuitive.

 

[vicki_c]

Another YNAB fan here - made especially for envelope style budgeting really.

 

[Jeff_G]

We use Quicken. I don't know how we'd budget without it, but that being said, we don't love it. It doesn't lend itself well to virtual envelope budgeting,

Are you using 2011, they have category buckets you roll money into each month just like a virtual envelope...

I also use MS Money since its first version, but had to switch to quicken once they dropped support and my bank stop allowing downloads. I now find Quicken to be much faster then MS Money and I love some of the features, however I feel their reporting capabilities are lacking...

 

[JoanneDisFan]

I've tried many of them out there. So far the one I like best is Moneydance. It's a good program and a great price. Not like some of the other ones that seem to cost an arm and a leg and require you to upgrade for a fee.

 

[minnie1928]

Are you using 2011, they have category buckets you roll money into each month just like a virtual envelope...

I also use MS Money since its first version, but had to switch to quicken once they dropped support and my bank stop allowing downloads. I now find Quicken to be much faster then MS Money and I love some of the features, however I feel their reporting capabilities are lacking...

If you are using an older version of Quicken, you can still do virtual envelopes. It just means opening another account and designating the account in such a way that you can easily see that the account is a virtual envelope. I have accounts like:

**auto
**groceries
**clothing

At the time that I created the envelopes, the ** helped clump them together at the top of my account list. Now, I think the newer versions allow you to customize the order of your account list.

So, with these accounts I just keep in mind that the balance is actually sitting in my checking account and use the balances when reconciling the checking account.

When I make a purchase of groceries using my checking account, I enter the charge to my checking account and then put in another entry to transfer the money from my **groceries account to my checking account in Quicken.

 

[bonoriffic]

It looks like Quicken 2012 when released shortly will incorporate more from their purchase of mint.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi...8-04-quicken-software-smartphone-access_n.htm

The key parts of the article:

Quicken 2012 will introduce a revamped budget feature. The feature will give users a single place where they can see, in a very graphical way, where their money is going and set goals to cut back spending.

Another new feature expected in Quicken 2012 is in the debt reduction area. A new debt reduction planner makes it very easy for consumers to see just how much living on credit is costing and provides tools to show how the debt load might be reduced.

 

[donaldandpirates]

Thank you to the people who suggested YNAB. I am using the trial version this week, but am really liking it so far.

 

[Karenj2]

I used to use Microsoft Money. It was ok. I tried mint.com but that wasn't the best software for us either. When we tried YNAB although it is ok. I'm still looking for something better.

Anyother options out there??? What do you like to use? What don't you like?

What did you like/dislike about each program? That might make it easier to help.

Personally, I love YNAB. But another program that I didn't notice being mentioned is mvelopes.

 

[neatokimmo]

I use excel. I put in calculations, when I spend something it subtracts it from that category and I know how much I have left for the year/month.