Do you use a budgeting app? What do you like/dislike about it?

[Adam Zapple]

Do you use a budgeting app?  What do you like/dislike about it?

[Kapiira]

I use Mint.  I like it because it's easy to categorize transactions as I make them and because it puts all of my transactions in one place (and they can be many places since I've been doing some cc churning).  It doesn't summarize information in the way I prefer, but I export transactions  and do the rest in excel.

[lilsaver]

I use YNAB classic (the version they had before the monthly subscription). It has a mobile app, so it's nice to be able to add transactions while you're out and before you forget it. Very easy to use interface too.

[NoVa]

I just use an Excel spreadsheet, every month is it's own sheet and one for the totals. Categories I picked out that fit me personally (food from grocery store is a separate column from eating out). Takes very little time to just pull it up and fill in, maybe 60 seconds a day? Every year (sometimes earlier) I adjust the categories based on what I want to track. I divided my hobbies into separate columns this year to see how much each one costs.

[DS]

Some other posts on the topic for reference:

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/favorite-app-to-track-spending/

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/reader-recommendations/how-do-you-track-your-spending/

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/best-software-for-tracking-finances/

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/best-spending-tracker-app/

[OurTown]

I'm tracking now (using the free "everydollar" tool online) just to impose some self-discipline but you don't necessarily need to track at all.  You can allocate a set amount for fixed expenses and/or other necessaries that you pay online.  You then can allocate certain variable necessaries (like gas and groceries) to rewards cards and set aside whatever you need to cover those.  Then for the remainder of your discretionary spending, just use cash.  It's not so much the amount that matters, it's that you decide in advance how much you are going to take for discretionary spending.  Then when you run out of cash you are done.

[hadabeardonce]

"Wife" is pretty good. Lots of features, add-ons, extremely portable, cross-platform, intuitive, friendly interface, great support, etc. Notifications can be a little abrupt and startling, but they are accurate most of the time. Remembers everything, so be careful. Overall a big help in meeting budget goals. Requires flowers, which is kind of weird.

[robartsd]

I could say I use Mint, but really it's just that I use Mint's automatic reporting features. Mint fails me because the mobile app doesn't allow me to record transactions without a data connection.

I'm currently exploring tracking expenses in Google Sheets. Google Sheets meets the criteria of 1) ability to enter transactions offline and 2) ability to sync with wife's devices. Not thrilled with Google Sheets for data entry though, so I might build an AppSheet App for personal use to interact with the budget workbook.

[inline five]

Personal Capital

[EngineeringFI]

I just use an Excel spreadsheet, every month is it's own sheet and one for the totals. Categories I picked out that fit me personally (food from grocery store is a separate column from eating out). Takes very little time to just pull it up and fill in, maybe 60 seconds a day? Every year (sometimes earlier) I adjust the categories based on what I want to track. I divided my hobbies into separate columns this year to see how much each one costs.

I do something very similar. I started out with an excel spreadsheet but switched to a google sheet so I could access it from any device. It's really nice to be able to pull out my phone and add something to the budget immediately, rather than waiting until I get home later.

[jnw]

I use an envelope for "Grocery" budget with $500 per month cash in it.  The rest is tracked in Personal Capital.  I don't use a ton of categories.  For all optional expenses I recategorize them to "Discretionary".  I currently have a $150 per month Discretionary budget (working on bringing that down to $100 per month).  This Discretionary category includes things like: gifts, hair cuts, clothing, eating out, household items, electronics, software, apps, etc..

For the rest of the stuff I don't budget it, because they are usually fixed amounts.  I do use a spreadsheet , a worksheet I called "bills".  Where I enter in all the bill payments for the month, checking them off as I pay them, and will see how much I'll have leftover in checking account by the end of month.  Example:

[ChairmanFIRE]

My wife and I have been using "Goodbudget" on our phones for years.  (https://goodbudget.com/)

What I like:

- App is free
- Free version allows up to 10 customizable "envelopes" to track monthly spending
- App syncs all transactions between wife and I as we separately input expenses (this is the best feature!)

At the beginning of every month I run previous month's report and manually transfer that data to a Excel spreadsheet.