Online Finance Tool Wishlist

November 19, 2010 6:16 AM

Does the online finance tool of my dreams exist?

Last year I asked a similar question, but I still haven't found anything that fulfills my wishlist.

In short, I'd like an online finance tool that:

• Allows flexible projection of your finances into the future; in other words, I'd like to be able to look at a list and/or chart of where my finances are heading if my budget remains constant over a given period of time. Obviously this requires some sort of scheduling system for recurring bills and such.
• Doesn't require integration with my banking and credit card accounts. I'm flexible on this, but would prefer that this not be a requirement.. or if it is a necessary component, manual entry should also be supported.

I'd like this to be online so that it's easily accessible anywhere. Bonus points if there's a mobile app available or if the website is mobile friendly.

posted by Raze2k to Work & Money (2 answers total)

I've never seen anything like this. If you're planning on doing manual entry anyway, you might consider setting up a Google spreadsheet. There are tons of sample budget spreadsheets available on the internet. Here's the basic layout I use - you can save it by going to File > Make a Copy.
posted by chrisamiller at 6:24 AM on November 19, 2010

I think You Need a Budget is the closest thing since it does both of the things that you require, but critically, it is not online. It is also not free--after a 7 day trial period, it costs $60.

Previously, I had tried out MoneyStrands, Mint, Mnvelopes, and Pearbudget, but in the end, YNAB was the clear winner. The offline aspect was something I waffled about in the beginning, but having the software not be online actually forces me to set aside a short time at the end of the day to think and reflect over my spending and take a look at where I am with my budget.

There *is* an iPhone app, but I have not tried it since I do not have an iPhone (yes, we still exist out here).
posted by so much modern time at 7:27 AM on November 19, 2010