Financial budgeting/forecasting app?

[Anonymous]

I've tried a bunch of budgeting apps- like Mint, but they seem useless to me. All they do is track my spending. I can do that with my bank's online tracking. I need a program that will help me budge for the future and update my cashflow forecast based on actual spending. Is there anything like this? Advice for budgeting and getting a handle on finances gladly received.

[Anonymous]

Make an Excel spreadsheet.

[Anonymous]

Is that really the best option? Why?

[Anonymous]

Why would you want a budget? Just don't spend money on shit you don't need. Ask yourself whether you really need it or want it with each purchase.

How is budgeting going to help you not spend the money that you should not have spent anyway. And if it was money you really needed to spend, how is a budget going to help you prevent the expenditure or spend less?

[Anonymous]

Uhm. I'm trying to figure out if, for example, I get the dryer fixed this month, I'll have enough to pay for an oil change next month. Or whatever. It's all about figuring out what today's spending will do to future reserves of money. That's what it's all about for me anyway.
That's why I don't find Mint (etc) very useful. I know what my fixed expenses are and I am pretty good about not spending beyond my means, but I'd like to be able to project into the future with saving and spending...
I'm not sure how this could possibly come across as irresponsible...

[Anonymous]

Have you looked at youneedabudget.com? This might be what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked at youneedabudget.com? This might be what you want.

This. YNAB is the bomb. Cloud syncs spouse's phones, computer. Great interface. Good stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked at youneedabudget.com? This might be what you want.

This. YNAB is the bomb. Cloud syncs spouse's phones, computer. Great interface. Good stuff.

+1 YNAB is really great. I even recommend doing their online training. My husband and I are both individually very financially savvy people, but YNAB provides a common framework for getting a grip on money priorities.

[Anonymous]

I made an excel spreadsheet. Populated it with all my estimated inflows (paychecks, child support, tenant rent, tax refunds, FSA reimbursement) and all my outflows (mortgage, insurance, utilities, extended day, summer camp, college savings, etc.) The inflows are positive numbers, the outflows are negative numbers.

Once I had all estimated inflows and outflows listed, I looked to see what balance remained. That was the disposable income I could expect to have for the year. I divided it into monthly amounts and assume that I can spend up to $X each month. Then I sorted it by date, so I could see when the balance was going to be lower or higher. Then if you put in the $600 for a new dryer in April, you see if you're going to run out of money at some point. Then you can adjust your spending as necessary.

As budgeted payments become actual payments, I update the budgeted entries with real dates and amounts and add in unbudgeted transactions. I check it against the bank balance about once a week.

I keep a $5,000 cushion in the account so that if the balance is negative at some point in my spreadsheet, it's not actually a negative balance at the bank.

I'm a financial analyst, so this is the easy way for me to budget and track expenses.

[Anonymous]

12:35 PP here - I also track all disposable spending by category (groceries, household, alcohol, entertainment, taxi fares, etc.) on a separate spreadsheet because I'm trying to be more responsible with that, and partly because it helps me budget for next year. Plus I keep track of all kid-related expenses for myself and my ex so we can adjust the child support he pays when needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've tried a bunch of budgeting apps- like Mint, but they seem useless to me. All they do is track my spending. I can do that with my bank's online tracking. I need a program that will help me budge for the future and update my cashflow forecast based on actual spending. Is there anything like this? Advice for budgeting and getting a handle on finances gladly received.

Well you just had a first budget fail. Stop spending on useless stuff like the budget app. If you really wanted to save money, you will find creative and free solutions. Use Excel spreadsheet or even on paper to track your spending. You only need to know how add and subtract. There is no magic app. It's really down to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked at youneedabudget.com? This might be what you want.

This. YNAB is the bomb. Cloud syncs spouse's phones, computer. Great interface. Good stuff.

+1 YNAB is really great. I even recommend doing their online training. My husband and I are both individually very financially savvy people, but YNAB provides a common framework for getting a grip on money priorities.

Based on this thread, I tried out YNAB. It is great! Previously, I had tracked in an xl spreadsheet as many have suggested in this thread. The power of YNAB is that it allows you to reconcile your actual account balances (checking, savings, credit cards) and to assign categories to spending from all sources. I'm a huge convert. Suggest starting with the on line training intro class. Well worth the hour.