Comments on: Help me with budget software!!

Question: Help me with budget software!!

nataliecay — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:36:11 -0800

I need help finding a mac-friendly budgeting software to assist in getting my act together! (I've tried mvelopes and iBank!) More details inside...

I'm having trouble finding a budgeting software that meets my needs. I use a mac at home and a pc at work and I have an iphone. (Home is where I will be doing the majority of the budgeting).

I have tried mvelopes before and I loved the accountability of having to move money if I overspent in one category, but it didn't work with Wells Fargo and did this weird double entry thing where I would have to delete entries once it went from pending to final.

I looked at iBank and loved the fact that it would be compatible with my iphone and the aesthetically pleasing interfaces, but when I went to set it up it wouldn't allow my to import anything from Wells Fargo or Bank of America. Some people said I had to call to get the financial institutions to grant access, but that seemed like a pain in the butt and kind of weird to me since no other program I've ever used had me do that.

A basic excel spreadsheet is out since I'm not handy with excel by any means.

I would love something that is internet based so I can access it from home/work.

Suggestions? Thank you in advance!!

By: rhizome

rhizome — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:02:46 -0800

mint.com
wesabe.com
quicken.com

I know banks are trying to get into this game, so you might try calling Wells Fargo themselves to see if they have anything, or if it's planned.

By: u2604ab

u2604ab — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:09:14 -0800

I've been using yodlee.com for this, and it's working reasonably well.

By: icebourg

icebourg — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:07:18 -0800

I use ChaChing. It's pretty good.

By: cdmwebs

cdmwebs — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:17:02 -0800

Haven't tried it out yet, but Buxfer might be cool. It's hooked up with Google Gears so you can use it offline, too.

By: dyslexictraveler

dyslexictraveler — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:27:15 -0800

I use Budget by snowmint software. They have both a Mac and a PC version, although no iPhone support at this point.

Instead of just being a glorified check register, Budget is based on the "envelope system" of budgeting and forces accountability and planning your spending. I've been using it for 4 years now and it's totally changed the the way I spend money. I really can't recommend it highly enough. I will say that the interface does have a little bit of a learning curve, but if you stick with it, once you understand it, you'll never want to go back.

By: zachlipton

zachlipton — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:38:27 -0800

I'm using iBank 3 now with Bank of America. I did need to call an 800 number to get OFX access enabled, but it was quite painless (took maybe 30 seconds). Wells Fargo would likely be similar.

By: syzygy

syzygy — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:05:31 -0800

I have been using Buxfer (mentioned above) for a couple of months and am pretty happy with it, so far. It allows you to categorize a transaction as "pending", then recategorize it as "paid" when it goes through.

It also synchs up with quite a few US banks. I don't use the synch feature, so I can't really comment on it.

By: cschneid

cschneid — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:27:09 -0800

If iPhone support is important to you, it might be worth waiting a few months (making due with a spreadsheet or something) until the SDK apps start rolling out. I'm guessing that ChaChing will make one, but I haven't seen anything to that point.