Free Budget Software

February 26, 2006 6:01 PM

I'm looking for some free budgeting software I can use to keep track of all my bills.

I found this http://www.sleepless.com/budget/ one, does anyone have any experience with it? or are there any better ones?

posted by madmath to Work & Money (9 answers total)

I havn't used any specific software for budget tracking, but I have used a database in the past to track everything. If you have Microsoft Access or a similar program you can use something like this financial database.

It has all of the features of the software you linked to, and a bit more.
posted by monsta coty scott at 6:31 PM on February 26, 2006

PearBudget, perhaps? It's but a spreadsheet in Excel.
posted by Tufa at 7:23 PM on February 26, 2006

Perhaps Gnucash?
posted by mecran01 at 8:15 PM on February 26, 2006

We just shifted to PearBudget as an improvement over our hand-crafted sheets. Doesn't do much other than track and compare, but that's as much as we need. Simplicity can be a good thing. There are some more complex programs similar to Quicken (such as Gnucash, I think), but it might be overkill if you're just looking to budget.
posted by moira at 8:23 PM on February 26, 2006

I'm quite fond of jgnash.
posted by Caviar at 10:14 PM on February 26, 2006

Quicken is not all that complicated. You can make a category for each expenditure and ask for a report at any time. That will show you where your money went. Be sure to add a cash category if you pay cash for deductible items.
The version of Quicken that I have shows e.g., prescriptions purchased with check or credit card.
You can mark categories as tax-related, and at the end of the year follow the instructions to draw up a report that simplifies figuring taxes.
(In the event of IRS auditing, you probably still should be able to produce the paper receipts.)
posted by Cranberry at 11:29 PM on February 26, 2006

jgnash
posted by JohnR at 4:08 AM on February 27, 2006

I highly recommend Ace Money

I've been using it for over a year now - I bought the 'full' version (which is only $30 right now) but I think the free version lasts for ever (or at least for a long time...) It's easily worth the $30 though
posted by soplerfo at 5:46 AM on February 27, 2006

Hey there. I made PearBudget, so I'd suggest you check it out. Not that I'm biased or anything.

For what it's worth, I'm in the process of completely overhauling it and releasing a zippy Web 2.0 version of it. I can't really say more than that right now. But, as moira said, the power in PearBudget is in its simplicity. And, when the new version launches, it'll be even more powerful (and more simple).

As far as the current version goes, if you have any questions, e-mail me. My address is in my profile, and I'm friendly.
posted by Alt F4 at 11:47 AM on February 28, 2006