Need recommendation on money tracking tool

[ysette9]

I have been trying to get a really good handle on our spending and have been attempting to use the USAA Budget and Track Spending tools that are integrated into their website. In theory they should work really well since all of the transactions are categorized. In reality the tools just don't seem to work well enough to give me the in-depth analysis I am looking for.

So.... I need your recommendations on what alternative tool to use. Quicken? Mint? Something else? I have most of our accounts in USAA but have some investments elsewhere (401(k), Vanguard, emergency fund at our local credit union). I need something that is EASY and won't take a bunch of my time since I barely manage to shower each day with my 6-month old. :)

I appreciate your tips.

[MrFancypants]

The USAA tools are ok, but they leave a lot to be desired.

I signed up for Mint and have been very happy.  The service meets my needs and it's free.

[WildJager]

I used to like the USAA budget tool, until they revamped it and there is no longer an "uncategorized" option.  Therefore, every time I send the majority of my paycheck into my brokerage account, I am "overbudget" because I "spent" that bit.  I sent them an email with my concerns a while back, but they fell on deaf ears.

I tried mint for a while, but the automation is a bit sloppy and I spent more time fixing the errors (and waiting for the accounts to sync for a week at a time when random connection bugs popped up). 

Decided to ditch automation and just do it manually with YNAB.  Works well for me, and the companion smart phone app works well for my wife and I at the point of purchase.  Nothing really revolutionary to me in terms of helping me make a budget (already had that figured out), but it is just a nice, clean interface.

[ysette9]

I realize now that I should have been clearer in my original post. I want something that will go back and help me make sense of historical data more so than keep track of current spending. Will mint take previous months' or years' worth of transactions and integrate them all in to a big picture? Will quicken for that matter?

[MDM]

I realize now that I should have been clearer in my original post. I want something that will go back and help me make sense of historical data more so than keep track of current spending. Will mint take previous months' or years' worth of transactions and integrate them all in to a big picture? Will quicken for that matter?

Quicken will do this.  We have 20 years of data.  Others have more.

You may (should) have questions about entering historical transactions by hand, vs. downloading them from your bank/broker/whatever.  The answer is "Quicken will take as much as the bank/broker/whatever will provide."

I suspect Mint (or any other such tool) is the same: the limiting factor will be the 3rd party, not the financial software.