Author Topic: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?  (Read 8575 times)

Case

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 834
tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« on: January 11, 2020, 10:05:39 AM »
Just curious what works for people.  I'm going to restart this effort.

My wife and I used to use Mint, but gave up on it because it didn't play well with dual-factor authentification (e.g. every day it tries to update, and you get a text/etc... asking for permission, you enter your dual-factor password for it, etc...).  There is no way tracking spending that much effort.

I have seen that a lot of people use YNAB, but I don't think I'm wiling to spend $10+/month on this... as that will just because cutting into my savings.

We are thinking about just following with a spread sheet entered manually... might be a lot of work.  Alternatively, I could just log into mint periodically (weekly or monthly, not daily), which might be sufficient as long as it keeps track of our spending, categorizes it, and tags the date.  Any thoughts on what is the most effective strategy?

NotJen

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1615
  • Location: USA
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2020, 10:12:59 AM »
I use the old 'sunset' version of Microsoft Money Plus.

I enter everything manually - that way I can reconcile all of my accounts independently.

I can enter things on a daily basis, or less often - whatever works with my current lifestyle.  Works well for me - I love to look at the data, so it's not a burden at all.

reeshau

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2508
  • Location: Houston, TX
  • Former locations: Detroit, Indianapolis, Dublin
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2020, 10:15:34 AM »
I bought Quicken 2017 to give me the longest runway possible before decided whether or not to start on their subscription basis.  With all its foibles, I am very pleased with how easily it handles the fact that my spending and earning are in both EUR and USD.  Mint doesn't handle EUR; YNAB can handle currencies separately.  For some reason, Quick3n seems to have gotten this right.

MDM

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 11477
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2020, 07:38:48 PM »
Quicken.

As the saying goes, it's the worst product except for all the others....

RWD

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 6527
  • Location: Arizona
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2020, 08:24:20 PM »
I'm using GnuCash (8 years of tracking now). It's easier than a spreadsheet but you still have to enter most stuff in manually.

Shane

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1665
  • Location: Midtown
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2020, 09:14:18 PM »

AccidentialMustache

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 927
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2020, 09:55:25 PM »
Google sheets. Our spending is probably the least interesting and sensitive thing they know about us. I built a form in sheets that is easy to fill in on the mobile. Send form to DW and myself and bookmark it on the devices. Been doing it on G since sometime around 2010. I built the form version in 2013 with categories and monthly totaling and the ability to (optionally) back-date a receipt.

You do have to actually put receipts in though. I run an approximate calculation that takes "recorded pay to bank" and "bank balances, start of year - end of year" vs "recorded spend" to estimate how much we actually capture. We're 100% +- 2% when I've done this (and yes, we've been over 100% -- eg, accidental double-entry or forgot to enter in an insurance reimbursement or similar) which is "good enough" to say we're capturing most of our spending.

SoftwareGoddess

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 140
  • Location: Canada
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2020, 09:24:29 AM »
I'm using GnuCash (8 years of tracking now). It's easier than a spreadsheet but you still have to enter most stuff in manually.

+1

I download my transactions from my bank accounts and credit cards and import them into GnuCash to reduce the amount of manual entry.

Retire-Canada

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8681
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #8 on: January 12, 2020, 09:58:38 AM »
I don't track spending. I track my savings using an Excel spreadsheet...which is dead easy since it is one or two transactions a month. If I am on target for my savings goal I am not particularly fussed what I spend money on. If your savings goals are pretty aggressive like most people's are here on this forum there isn't much room to get off track in terms of spending and still hit those goals.  Most spending is pretty routine anyways - mortgage/insurance/internet/phone/netflix/etc.. so once they are optimized no need to look at them often. If there is a specific area of my life that I am concerned about I'll just track that area in a spreadsheet for a period of time. Make any adjustments I feel needed and then stop tracking them once they are "fixed".

In FIRE I'll just switch it around and track spending in the aggregate by looking at my monthly cash reductions/credit card charges if I am not spending more than planned I don't particularly care on what.

If there is a specific area of my life that I am concerned about I'll just track that area in a spreadsheet for a period of time. Make any adjustments I feel needed and then stop tracking them once they are "fixed".

« Last Edit: January 14, 2020, 06:57:54 AM by Retire-Canada »

MaybeBabyMustache

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5351
    • My Wild Ride to FI
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #9 on: January 12, 2020, 10:03:18 AM »
Google sheets. I have a template, and create a new tracker for each year.

ender

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7402
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #10 on: January 12, 2020, 10:20:42 AM »
Google sheets. Our spending is probably the least interesting and sensitive thing they know about us. I built a form in sheets that is easy to fill in on the mobile. Send form to DW and myself and bookmark it on the devices. Been doing it on G since sometime around 2010. I built the form version in 2013 with categories and monthly totaling and the ability to (optionally) back-date a receipt.

You do have to actually put receipts in though. I run an approximate calculation that takes "recorded pay to bank" and "bank balances, start of year - end of year" vs "recorded spend" to estimate how much we actually capture. We're 100% +- 2% when I've done this (and yes, we've been over 100% -- eg, accidental double-entry or forgot to enter in an insurance reimbursement or similar) which is "good enough" to say we're capturing most of our spending.

I've debated doing the google form too.

We used YNAB on the old version for tracking but that ended up not being great given the newer version.

Zikoris

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4536
  • Age: 37
  • Location: Vancouver, BC
  • Vancouverstachian
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #11 on: January 12, 2020, 11:29:00 AM »
I've used Mint for many years and really like it, but I'm fortunate that it works with my accounts - though I did ditch one credit card that decided to block it. If Mint wasn't an option, I think I'd probably go really low tech - a monthly cash budget for groceries (since we have a lot of transactions there), and a notebook with categories. I'd also try to reduce my number of transactions a lot to make it easier.

hops

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 393
  • Location: United States
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #12 on: January 12, 2020, 12:22:29 PM »
We aren't working the Dave Ramsey plan but are using the free version of his Every Dollar app this year and manually entering bills and purchases. Its capabilities are fairly limited but I like how easy it is to record split transactions.

Scotland2016

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 144
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #13 on: January 13, 2020, 08:20:13 AM »
We use the free version of EveryDollar and enter our transactions manually. I used YNAB and Mint in the past, and I like EveryDollar much more.

wellactually

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 141
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #14 on: January 13, 2020, 02:28:37 PM »
We've used EveryDollar for almost 3 years and it works for us. I like the simplicity of the website and application. We do all manual entry.

Before that we used a google sheet. I still use sheets to do an end of month summary of retirement and savings and networth. Used to be on personal capital, but it stopped syncing with over half my accounts and was thus more annoying than just doing it myself.


FIRE@50

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 553
  • Age: 46
  • Location: Maryland
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #15 on: January 13, 2020, 02:37:10 PM »
I've used Quicken for like 15 years. I see no reason to stop.

pegleglolita

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 122
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #16 on: January 13, 2020, 03:49:00 PM »
Love my multicolor Excel spreadsheets!  Yes, a little more labor-intensive but it's kind of fun.

geekette

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2550
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #17 on: January 13, 2020, 04:00:56 PM »
Quicken for almost 30 years.  Still hanging on to 2017, and probably won't deal with their subscription model.  The only thing I need to use their download service for is a half dozen stock/fund prices, and I can get them anywhere.

2sk22

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1487
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #18 on: January 13, 2020, 04:38:49 PM »
I am also a Quicken user for many years. Their Mac product is not outstanding but it has been improved a lot in recent years to the point it is at least fully functional.

Altons Bobs

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 339
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #19 on: January 13, 2020, 06:13:00 PM »
I just use a spreadsheet, I update it once a month. I don't micro track everything, I only put in $ amount for CC #1, CC#2, etc., I don't categorize anything. I just need to know approximately how much we spend each year.

charis

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3162
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #20 on: January 13, 2020, 06:22:21 PM »
Mint. 3-4 accounts need text message codes to update but it's way easy and even if I check daily, which I don't, it's like 3 minutes of my time.

seattlecyclone

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7254
  • Age: 39
  • Location: Seattle, WA
    • My blog
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #21 on: January 13, 2020, 06:52:53 PM »
I've used Quicken for like 15 years. I see no reason to stop.

This is basically me too. If I were starting from scratch I might try out a few different options and may well settle on something other than Quicken, but the fact that all of my data is already in there for so long has some value and I'm not really looking to switch.

BradminOxt19

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 69
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #22 on: January 13, 2020, 06:57:20 PM »
I used to use Microsoft Money until they killed it.  Now if I need to look something up, I need to fire up a very old PC with Money on it and try to look up data.

Lesson learned, I use spreadsheets (excel, google sheets, etc) to analyze my spending.  I will not be reliant on obsolete software to track my finances.

RWD

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 6527
  • Location: Arizona
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #23 on: January 13, 2020, 07:05:21 PM »
I used to use Microsoft Money until they killed it.  Now if I need to look something up, I need to fire up a very old PC with Money on it and try to look up data.

Lesson learned, I use spreadsheets (excel, google sheets, etc) to analyze my spending.  I will not be reliant on obsolete software to track my finances.
You can probably import it to software that runs on a modern computer. Example:
https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Microsoft_Money_Migration

NotJen

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1615
  • Location: USA
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #24 on: January 13, 2020, 10:25:44 PM »
I used to use Microsoft Money until they killed it.  Now if I need to look something up, I need to fire up a very old PC with Money on it and try to look up data.

Lesson learned, I use spreadsheets (excel, google sheets, etc) to analyze my spending.  I will not be reliant on obsolete software to track my finances.

Google Microsoft Money Sunset.  I’ve been using it for years - currently running on Windows 10.

I use spreadsheets for analysis and planning, but Money for tracking.

beltim

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2957
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #25 on: January 14, 2020, 12:46:04 AM »
I am also a Quicken user for many years. Their Mac product is not outstanding but it has been improved a lot in recent years to the point it is at least fully functional.

How does the current version compare to the 2007 version?  I've been using that since it had more functionality than the current version, but with the loss of downloading quotes to 2007 I find myself in the market for new software.  I checked out Moneydance, SEE Finance, and Banktivity a few years ago, none of which had all the features of Quicken 2007, but all of which have been updated in the meantime.

I'm particularly interested in things like custom reports - ROI or IRR reports for specified time periods, using an arbitrary selection of securities or accounts.  That was something that is trivially easy to do in Quicken 2007 but that none of its competitors could do as of a few years ago.

2sk22

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1487
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #26 on: January 14, 2020, 02:50:00 AM »

How does the current version compare to the 2007 version?  I've been using that since it had more functionality than the current version, but with the loss of downloading quotes to 2007 I find myself in the market for new software.  I checked out Moneydance, SEE Finance, and Banktivity a few years ago, none of which had all the features of Quicken 2007, but all of which have been updated in the meantime.

I'm particularly interested in things like custom reports - ROI or IRR reports for specified time periods, using an arbitrary selection of securities or accounts.  That was something that is trivially easy to do in Quicken 2007 but that none of its competitors could do as of a few years ago.

The reporting facilities in Quicken 2020 for the Mac (just checked the version) are not great. My own needs are fairly simple - I mainly track net worth over time.

To answer your question, I tried to see if I could track the value of an arbitrary selection of securities over time and I don't see an obvious way to do it unfortunately. No mention of ROI at all. This is a stripped down product compared to Quicken of old but at least it does seem to handle account updates properly.

raimonrobert

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #27 on: January 14, 2020, 05:53:20 AM »
Google sheet + WhatsApp (A group with my wife)

Enviado desde mi SM-J415FN mediante Tapatalk


DadJokes

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2360
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #28 on: January 14, 2020, 07:06:45 AM »
We use EveryDollar to manually enter transactions and ensure that we are staying on budget. I'm not a big fan of software automatically downloading transactions and trying to figure out where to put them.

For everything else, I just use a spreadsheet. It's very soothing to create something that fits the exact purpose I need.

Monkey Uncle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1740
  • Location: West-by-god-Virginia
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #29 on: January 14, 2020, 08:06:48 AM »
I use an Excel spreadsheet.  Raw data goes in one tab, with each row representing an individual item purchased.  Fields (columns) are date, vendor, type (recurring vs. discretionary), category, subcategory, item, and amount.  I use a pivot table on a separate tab to summarize amount spent by type, category, subcategory, and item.  I can then calculate monthly expenditures and percent of total by category. 

It's very easy as long as I keep up with data entry on a daily or near-daily basis, and I can get as much or as little detail as I want out of the summary.  It's also easy to slice and dice however I need to based on information needs at any point in time.  For example, for a while I was tracking a rolling 365-day total by category/subcategory as a way to smooth out lumpiness in the monthly totals.  It's also easy to compartmentalize large one-time expenditures, such as when we spend a lot on travel early in the year, and then use the remaining daily "base" spend to project anticipated spend for the entire year.  This is important because I am FIREd and need to make sure annual spending stays within an overall limit.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2020, 12:42:02 PM by Monkey Uncle »

GettingClose

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 108
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #30 on: January 14, 2020, 10:16:27 AM »
Quicken - we have about 15 different accounts, a personal loan out to a family member, a wide variety of investment types, and nothing else can properly download all the transactions and handle a correct calculation of net worth across all the accounts.  So we use it for tracking spending, but only because we need it for all the other features.  Also, the lifetime planner is pretty cool.

Simpli-Fi

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 328
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #31 on: January 14, 2020, 05:40:57 PM »
I'm surprised no one has said Personal Capital. 

I'm ditching both my travel cc's and trying Apple Card.  DW and I are both accountable and separate (in case she wants to surprise me with a gift) and this puts each transaction in our face AGAIN via notifications.  Each month review and maybe put a chart on the wall (step 3 YMOYL)...put the past in our face.

Personal Capital sees the balanced payment so it's tracked there as merchandise.

Pro: added security as no card #s to steal, simple charts and tracked against past months and nice map of where transactions took place of need to dispute, builds cash (maybe when I get enough I'll upgrade to the new SE...2016 phone still kickin)

Con: no way to export transactions...but do I really need to?

This decade I've stopped manually updating a spread sheet I've had my entire working career = more free time

MountainFlower

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 282
  • Location: Colorado Mountains
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #32 on: January 15, 2020, 02:52:27 PM »
I use YNAB and love it. I'm convinced I pay for the cost of it through mindful spending and budgeting. 


robartsd

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3342
  • Location: Sacramento, CA
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #33 on: January 15, 2020, 04:56:35 PM »
My wife and I used to use Mint, but gave up on it because it didn't play well with dual-factor authentification (e.g. every day it tries to update, and you get a text/etc... asking for permission, you enter your dual-factor password for it, etc...).  There is no way tracking spending that much effort.
I haven't had this experience with Mint (yet?). My main deposit accounts (Capitol One 360) and a primary credit card issuer (Citi) both have systems that Mint uses to get my data without my login details (I wish all my accounts did this). Of course I've also avoided setting up access that requires a text each login. I do have accounts that require such interaction the first time I log in on a new device, but Mint seems to simply be treated as another device so I've only experience this when working with account settings in Mint.

I'm surprised no one has said Personal Capital. 
I would imagine that any online aggregation would have the same experience as Mint regarding authentication. Of course PC uses Yodlee while Mint uses an in house aggregation service by Intuit.

I only initially tried Mint with my Capitol One 360 account (then ING Direct) because I didn't want to trust them with login credentials. Eventually I decided to trust Intuit with the login for the other accounts. I think I could extend the same trust to PC / Yodlee, but so far inertia (especially when it comes to aggregating my wife's accounts) has kept me from switching to PC.

Simpli-Fi

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 328
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #34 on: January 15, 2020, 05:40:14 PM »
I used Mint awhile ago, and it became troublesome as others have agreed. PC is the first that actually can capture all my accounts and Yoddle actually acts as just another device so set up required dual auth.

Analytics alone seem worth the effort with PC, I was impressed with the fee analyzer, and investment check up.  It actually gives dollar amounts when advising a rebalance.  Lots of good bits about risk/returns, etc.

The retirement planner seems nice too.  You can let it assume your saving & expenses/per month via transactions, model different spending events etc.  has budget widgets.  Could possibly be a tool for HSA tracking as you can add tags to transactions.

Been fun and free

Case

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 834
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #35 on: January 15, 2020, 07:21:19 PM »
My wife and I used to use Mint, but gave up on it because it didn't play well with dual-factor authentification (e.g. every day it tries to update, and you get a text/etc... asking for permission, you enter your dual-factor password for it, etc...).  There is no way tracking spending that much effort.
I haven't had this experience with Mint (yet?). My main deposit accounts (Capitol One 360) and a primary credit card issuer (Citi) both have systems that Mint uses to get my data without my login details (I wish all my accounts did this). Of course I've also avoided setting up access that requires a text each login. I do have accounts that require such interaction the first time I log in on a new device, but Mint seems to simply be treated as another device so I've only experience this when working with account settings in Mint.

I'm surprised no one has said Personal Capital. 
I would imagine that any online aggregation would have the same experience as Mint regarding authentication. Of course PC uses Yodlee while Mint uses an in house aggregation service by Intuit.

I only initially tried Mint with my Capitol One 360 account (then ING Direct) because I didn't want to trust them with login credentials. Eventually I decided to trust Intuit with the login for the other accounts. I think I could extend the same trust to PC / Yodlee, but so far inertia (especially when it comes to aggregating my wife's accounts) has kept me from switching to PC.

So it looks like mint had this problem in the past (like 5 years ago?!?) but doesn't seem to have it currently.  We gave it a try this weekend and it seems to be functioning alright... so maybe, problem solved?

reeshau

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2508
  • Location: Houston, TX
  • Former locations: Detroit, Indianapolis, Dublin
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #36 on: January 16, 2020, 02:40:29 AM »
For Personal Capital users:  how hard is the upsell for paid services?  I have always subscribed to the adage, "If you aren't paying for it, then you're the product."  And while I understand a freemium business model, I think I would be picked out either way:  either they get annoying with upsell (where LinkedIn was, just before MS bought them) or they are doing something with my data to monetize, if they are too quiet...

habanero

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1145
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #37 on: January 16, 2020, 03:24:02 AM »
I use a simple iPhone app called "Spending". It works for my use, I enter transactions manually, it handles recurring expenses ok and is flexible enough for my use. My bank has an automated tool but it sucks big time and I also use a small portfolio of credit cards it doesn't handle very well anyway. We buy groceries out of a joint account so I just track how much I transfer to that one + anything extra groceries I buy in case I buy something on my own.

The real proof is index fund I buy on the 1st every month - I buy for whatever is left in my bank account when the month is over. I get paid mid-month and credit card bills are due when they are due, but I transfer whatever I have put on the cards during the month into a separate bank account from which I pay the cc bills. I do the same for various quarterly expenses that stay fairly stable (insurance, utilities ex-electricity etc).

I do the end-of-month status in Excel with one sheet per year. Here I track net worth. 

DadJokes

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2360
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #38 on: January 16, 2020, 05:47:03 AM »
For Personal Capital users:  how hard is the upsell for paid services?  I have always subscribed to the adage, "If you aren't paying for it, then you're the product."  And while I understand a freemium business model, I think I would be picked out either way:  either they get annoying with upsell (where LinkedIn was, just before MS bought them) or they are doing something with my data to monetize, if they are too quiet...

From my understanding, once you have $100k in investments (might just be IRAs), they start calling and offering active management services, which is how they make their money.

seemsright

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 490
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #39 on: January 16, 2020, 07:09:21 AM »
We use Quicken to manage the accounts.

We have a elaborate google spreadsheet to track spending. We know where every dollar has gone since 1998.

Hubby used Quicken historical info to build the spreadsheet. There has been times that info has been really helpful.

Spitfire

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 302
  • Location: South Florida
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #40 on: January 16, 2020, 07:49:00 AM »
Google sheets. Our spending is probably the least interesting and sensitive thing they know about us. I built a form in sheets that is easy to fill in on the mobile. Send form to DW and myself and bookmark it on the devices. Been doing it on G since sometime around 2010. I built the form version in 2013 with categories and monthly totaling and the ability to (optionally) back-date a receipt.

You do have to actually put receipts in though. I run an approximate calculation that takes "recorded pay to bank" and "bank balances, start of year - end of year" vs "recorded spend" to estimate how much we actually capture. We're 100% +- 2% when I've done this (and yes, we've been over 100% -- eg, accidental double-entry or forgot to enter in an insurance reimbursement or similar) which is "good enough" to say we're capturing most of our spending.

I use google sheets also. It's manual entry but it does what I want it to and I don't have a crazy amount of transactions.

MountainFlower

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 282
  • Location: Colorado Mountains
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #41 on: January 16, 2020, 08:13:45 AM »
For Personal Capital users:  how hard is the upsell for paid services?  I have always subscribed to the adage, "If you aren't paying for it, then you're the product."  And while I understand a freemium business model, I think I would be picked out either way:  either they get annoying with upsell (where LinkedIn was, just before MS bought them) or they are doing something with my data to monetize, if they are too quiet...

From my understanding, once you have $100k in investments (might just be IRAs), they start calling and offering active management services, which is how they make their money.

Yes.  I setup personal capital and the NEXT DAY they were calling me.  I decided to delete my account.  I just don't want to deal with that.

oswin

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #42 on: January 16, 2020, 08:29:38 AM »
I bank with Simple, which has awesome budgeting features. Basically the envelope system on your phone - you can set up a funding schedule that fills up the envelopes (they call them Expenses) every time you get paid (if you get paid regularly anyway). Then auto-associate different categories to expenses and most of it is automatic. The main drawback is that you have to spend with their debit card, but honestly, the ease of using Simple and allowing us to track how much money we have left to spend has more than paid for the lost credit card points. With a shared account, you and your partner can track everything together (I find Mint to really suck for this).

thesis

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 407
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #43 on: January 16, 2020, 08:59:09 AM »
I feel so old-school now. I use a $10 bound ledger I bought from Office Depot, which is almost the only place you can find them these days.

My grandma gave me one before I went to college and I thought it was really cool so I used it to track my college loans. Sometime after college, I bought another and started tracking my expenses. Have been doing it every since. Each ledger lasts about two years, space-wise.

Of course, I'm not a spreadsheet guy, and I have no need for graphs. I just like keeping track of all my expenses and seeing which categories I was over or under in, and by how much. Works for me.

Shane

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1665
  • Location: Midtown
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #44 on: January 16, 2020, 03:36:52 PM »
For Personal Capital users:  how hard is the upsell for paid services?  I have always subscribed to the adage, "If you aren't paying for it, then you're the product."  And while I understand a freemium business model, I think I would be picked out either way:  either they get annoying with upsell (where LinkedIn was, just before MS bought them) or they are doing something with my data to monetize, if they are too quiet...

In the beginning, PC pushed a little bit to get me to sign up for a "free financial evaluation." Eventually, I agreed. It wasn't that bad. The guy looked at my retirement plan and gave some suggestions, then told me a little about PC's financial advisory service. I think PC charges something like .8% of AUM/year, which is better than most advisors out there, but still 16X what VTSAX charges. I told the advisor, honestly, that I preferred index fund investing to what PC does and, also, that there was no way in hell I was going to pay a financial advisor .8% of AUM. He argued with me a little bit and then just said, "Okay, if you change your mind, let us know." A while after that, a woman from PC called to follow up. I told her the same thing, that there was no way I was ever going to pay PC thousands of dollars a year to do something I could easily do myself. I also told her that I didn't like PC's whole investment strategy. PC has come up with, what to me seem like, a bunch of arbitrary categories - Energy, Technology, Banking, etc. - and they claim investors should be equally invested in individual stocks in all of those categories. To me, the categories themselves are artificial and completely subjective. I told her, I'd rather invest my money in all of the publicly traded companies in proportion to each company's market capitalization, not some arbitrary groups thought up by PC. At the end, I told the woman from PC that I might consider letting PC invest my money according to their investment philosophy if they paid me, but there was no way I was ever going to pay them anything to do it. She laughed, thanked me for my candor, and I've never heard anything from PC since then, and it's been going on 4 years now.

Simpli-Fi

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 328
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #45 on: January 16, 2020, 04:54:40 PM »
After creating the account, a human called and left me a message.  A week went by and another voice mail.  I don't intend to call them...been two weeks no more calls.

BlueHouse

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4136
  • Location: WDC
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #46 on: January 17, 2020, 08:08:12 AM »
I use Quicken for Mac. 
I don't know how anyone could NOT use some kind of tracking that let's you look up past purchases, etc.  Everything is downloaded for me and I check every purchase and every credit card at least weekly.  It's scary how much I forget (what did I buy with my Amex card? I don't remember that..oh yeah, I paid the plumber).

At the end of the year, I run a report and send it to my accountant -- for both my business and my personal.  It's really pretty easy!

Shane

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1665
  • Location: Midtown
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #47 on: January 17, 2020, 08:18:56 AM »
I use Quicken for Mac. 
I don't know how anyone could NOT use some kind of tracking that let's you look up past purchases, etc.  Everything is downloaded for me and I check every purchase and every credit card at least weekly.  It's scary how much I forget (what did I buy with my Amex card? I don't remember that..oh yeah, I paid the plumber).

At the end of the year, I run a report and send it to my accountant -- for both my business and my personal.  It's really pretty easy!

Wait...what? For some reason, I thought you were the accountant, lol.

coynemoney

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 35
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #48 on: January 17, 2020, 08:30:30 AM »
I reread 'Your Money or Your Life' (arguably the number 1 source of inspiration for the FIRE movement) recently and I'm surprised none of these trackers have the Income Vs. Spending Vs. Investment Income by month that is very much key to the math of FI or the Fulfillment Vs. Global Impact Rating assigned to transactions which is pretty key to the motivation and nature of FI.

That being said, I use Mint for it's automatic pulling in of things (nothing sneaks by) and EveryDollar as a budgeting device. I also have a very simple Google Sheet I use to visualize the Income vs. Spending Vs. Investment Income which I can use to forecast my FIRE date really easily.

Zikoris

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4536
  • Age: 37
  • Location: Vancouver, BC
  • Vancouverstachian
Re: tracking spending; what software do you use in 2020?
« Reply #49 on: January 17, 2020, 09:43:41 AM »
I reread 'Your Money or Your Life' (arguably the number 1 source of inspiration for the FIRE movement) recently and I'm surprised none of these trackers have the Income Vs. Spending Vs. Investment Income by month that is very much key to the math of FI or the Fulfillment Vs. Global Impact Rating assigned to transactions which is pretty key to the motivation and nature of FI.


I plug my numbers into my Mad Fientist Laboratory graph once a month, which is basically that. I have like seven or eight years worth of data stored there, so it's pretty good for forecasting.