Looking for envelope budgeting software

[zetta]

Is anyone using software that tracks their budget using an envelope-based method? I've found two website-based systems so far -- mvelopes.com and mysendingplan.com, but I'm wondering if there are any others worth checking out.

My main issue with these packages is that I want to download transactions from my bank and credit cards instead of typing them in manually.

MySpendingPlan is all manual entry of transactions. The main advantage is that it's free (paid for by advertising).

I'm on day 20 of my 30-day free trial with Mvelopes, and unfortunately they still are having problems with Bank of America (where I have a credit card.) Otherwise I love the software. If they had the ability to upload from a CSV file I would be willing to pay the subscription fee (about $10/month if you sign up for a year.)

Both of these companies keep all your transaction info on their servers. This does allow Mvelopes to offer a cool feature where you can check your envelope balances via your cell phone. Personally, I'd really prefer to have software that keeps it all local on my PC rather than on somebody else's server.

I've heard of something with a name like Crown MM, but haven't been able to find it.

[boefixepa]

Re: Looking for envelope budgeting software

I've been using mvelopes for a few years and have had very few problems with it. I could never go back to how I was doing things before, they have been my financail salvation in teaching me what a real budget is. Sorry to hear they have issues with BoA. I like the idea of the off site back up. I used quicken and was always having to buy the newer version of the software and my computer crashed once and took everything with it...not a good day. I know there is somone on this site who made a great spreedsheet I've heard about, but you have enter the transactions.

[zetta]

Re: Looking for envelope budgeting software

I found the 3rd package I'd heard of -- Crown Money Map at crown.org/cartproducts/product.asp?sku=MM966

The interesting thing I've heard is that they offer a web-based version that is really a Mvelopes back-end with a Crown user interface.

I'll report back after I play around with the demo version.

[Diolla]

Re: Looking for envelope budgeting software

Here is one I used for awhile, never downloaded with it though I think it can

http://www.tucows.com/preview/198092

[ren]

Re: Looking for envelope budgeting software

For Mac users, there's Budget, which I endorse without reservation.

[zetta]

Re: Looking for envelope budgeting software

Well, I promised to report back after trying Crown Money Map for awhile...

Overall the software will basically do what I want, but I was unhappy with the user interface for importing transactions. I'm a quick typist, and prefer to keep my hands on the keyboard instead of doing a lot of clicking with the mouse. The problem I had was that after importing a month's worth of transactions, I couldn't just arrow up and down and enter the envelopes -- with a lot of tabbing I could get to the catagory and envelope fields, but I had to keep going back and forth between the mouse and the keyboard to advance to the next transaction. It also has no mechanism for importing from a comma-separated-value file, so like Mvelopes I'd be stuck either entering all my transactions manually or waiting until the end of the credit card cycle for my BofA account (which defeats the point of envelope budgeting IMO.)

I liked the look and feel of Mvelopes better, as the main view is envelope centric instead of account-centric, and with Mvelopes I had more control over the catagories (Money Map has 10 built-in catagories that cannot be renamed or deleted, and these are displayed first.)

However, I will say that Crown Money Map is only half the price of a one-year subscription to Mvelopes, and once you've bought it it's yours, so that would be a point in its favor.

[zetta]

Re: Looking for envelope budgeting software

I plan to check out the trial versions of Home Budget and Budget (which is also available for Windows) after we get back from our Christmas vacation. I have high hopes for Home Budget, as it looks keyboard-friendly and has QIF imports (I have a CSV to QIF converter.)

Anyone else care to tell what they like or don't like about the various programs?

Here's a summary of the links for anyone else who is interested:

My Spending Plan: www.myspendingplan.com
Mvelopes: www.mvelopes.com
Crown Money Map: https://www.moneymapsoftwaresupport.com/default.asp
Home Budget: http://softperfection.com/hb
Budget: http://www.snowmintcs.com/products/budgetwin/index.php

[Broken Arrow]

Re: Looking for envelope budgeting software

For Mac users, there's Budget, which I endorse without reservation.

Ooh, that actually looks nice!

I've got a system that's good for me now, but if Apple ever releases that fabled iTablet, I'll gladly give this a try.

[jmjj215]

Re: Looking for envelope budgeting software

While you have to manually enter transactions with my system (at least for now, .csv thing is in the works), I think the concept it's built around will save you time in the long run.

[zetta]

Re: Looking for envelope budgeting software

I quickly checked out the free trial of Home Budget. The overall look and feel was pretty good, but I was unhappy with the transaction download -- some of the field tabs weren't set up so I had to use the mouse to save and move to the next transaction.

Mvelopes has fixed the Bank of America problem so I've decided to stick with them despite the high price.

[vishenda]

Re: Looking for envelope budgeting software

thanks for some of the resources mentioned, the one I currently use doesn't seem to work well for me