Please recommend your easy budget software program

[Anonymous]

We are trying to get a handle on our finances and want to try to actually budget. Novel idea, right? There seem to be lots of things out there. Any recommendations? Thank you.

[Anonymous]

YNAB

[Anonymous]

Mint.com to track spending but the philosophy from You Need a Budget.

[Anonymous]

NP here but I have NOT found YNAB to be easy at all. Especially as someone who has multiple accounts. I get that they want people to have only one account and do all their budgeting in the software, but that's not realistic for us for a variety of reasons and every time we've tried it, it has just been far too complicated for us to set up and follow through on.

OP - I just started using Quicken for Mac recently (the new version is SO MUCH better than the old version now that they have separated from Intuit/Mint.com).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here but I have NOT found YNAB to be easy at all. Especially as someone who has multiple accounts. I get that they want people to have only one account and do all their budgeting in the software, but that's not realistic for us for a variety of reasons and every time we've tried it, it has just been far too complicated for us to set up and follow through on.

OP - I just started using Quicken for Mac recently (the new version is SO MUCH better than the old version now that they have separated from Intuit/Mint.com).

I’m not sure what you mean by YNAB wanting people to just have one account? We use YNAB and highly recommend it. We link multiple accounts and it has helped us immensely. We’ve been using it for 1.5 years and have paid over 100k off of student loans and our car loan and are now debt free except for our mortgage in addition to have building up our EF to a more healthy level. We’re now working on another big financial goal. It’s been a huge help in making sure we have money set aside for future expenses. There is definitely a learning curve and we had to participate in some of the webinars at first to get started but once it clicked, it worked well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here but I have NOT found YNAB to be easy at all. Especially as someone who has multiple accounts. I get that they want people to have only one account and do all their budgeting in the software, but that's not realistic for us for a variety of reasons and every time we've tried it, it has just been far too complicated for us to set up and follow through on.

OP - I just started using Quicken for Mac recently (the new version is SO MUCH better than the old version now that they have separated from Intuit/Mint.com).

I’m not sure what you mean by YNAB wanting people to just have one account? We use YNAB and highly recommend it. We link multiple accounts and it has helped us immensely. We’ve been using it for 1.5 years and have paid over 100k off of student loans and our car loan and are now debt free except for our mortgage in addition to have building up our EF to a more healthy level. We’re now working on another big financial goal. It’s been a huge help in making sure we have money set aside for future expenses. There is definitely a learning curve and we had to participate in some of the webinars at first to get started but once it clicked, it worked well.

I meant multiple bank accounts vs. one bank account. Multiple credit cards (that we pay off each month) vs one credit card (or none). We did many of the webinars, too, and I guess it's great for some people, because a LOT of people love it, but its not for us. That said, we also don't have any cash flow issues or debt outside of our mortgage, so maybe it's not as valuable for us as it is for people who really need some form of discipline around their spending.

[TwistdMike]

Look at the templates in Excel as a basis, then you can modify or make your own Cash Flow, Finance sheets. Easier to make it meet your specific needs.

You can add instruction, formulas, and graphs, much like the purchased programs, to get the same data or results.

You can make it as simple or complex as you like.

Maybe a little work on the front end, but worth it in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here but I have NOT found YNAB to be easy at all. Especially as someone who has multiple accounts. I get that they want people to have only one account and do all their budgeting in the software, but that's not realistic for us for a variety of reasons and every time we've tried it, it has just been far too complicated for us to set up and follow through on.

OP - I just started using Quicken for Mac recently (the new version is SO MUCH better than the old version now that they have separated from Intuit/Mint.com).

I’m not sure what you mean by YNAB wanting people to just have one account? We use YNAB and highly recommend it. We link multiple accounts and it has helped us immensely. We’ve been using it for 1.5 years and have paid over 100k off of student loans and our car loan and are now debt free except for our mortgage in addition to have building up our EF to a more healthy level. We’re now working on another big financial goal. It’s been a huge help in making sure we have money set aside for future expenses. There is definitely a learning curve and we had to participate in some of the webinars at first to get started but once it clicked, it worked well.

I meant multiple bank accounts vs. one bank account. Multiple credit cards (that we pay off each month) vs one credit card (or none). We did many of the webinars, too, and I guess it's great for some people, because a LOT of people love it, but its not for us. That said, we also don't have any cash flow issues or debt outside of our mortgage, so maybe it's not as valuable for us as it is for people who really need some form of discipline around their spending.

MP - we use multiple bank accounts and multiple credit cards without issue in YNAB. We even have budgets in different currency. YNAB doesn’t want you to carry credit card debit that isn’t allocated for but having multiple accounts isn’t an issue.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the great suggestions, everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here but I have NOT found YNAB to be easy at all. Especially as someone who has multiple accounts. I get that they want people to have only one account and do all their budgeting in the software, but that's not realistic for us for a variety of reasons and every time we've tried it, it has just been far too complicated for us to set up and follow through on.

OP - I just started using Quicken for Mac recently (the new version is SO MUCH better than the old version now that they have separated from Intuit/Mint.com).

YNAB is not easy until you get the hang of it. I use it with multiple accounts and multiple credit cards, and it took some time (3-4months) to really understand and get good at using. That said, it has completely turned around my financial situation and I have saved more money than ever and I’ve only been using it 6 months right now. It has a steep learning curve, but it’s fantastic once you get the hang of it.

[Anonymous]

YNAB. Going strong for 3+ years. Huge learning curve but worth it once you get the hang of it.

[Anonymous]

Another recommendation for YNAB

[Anonymous]

I have also never been able to get the hang of YNAB. I get the concept, but just too much work.

[Anonymous]

NP, YNAB for Life! I had failed 3 times before finally committing to getting it (it took 3 days and 4 webinars but I got it!). Game changer. I've paid off so much debt, pay cash for everything and I don't stress about money.

I was one of those "idiots" who had a decent amount of $ in the bank, made a decent salary but still carried unnecessary debt and hadn't planned for known expenses. Never again. NEVER AGAIN.