Personal Finance Budget Software

**Sian** · 12-01-2012, 08:04 PM

try ynab

i've heard a lot of good things about ynab (Personal Budget Software - Finance Software for Windows & Mac) which i will be gettin once i get back home.

they have a short preview of the software as well as free tutorials that you can check out. i even looked at reviews and ppl here on saving advice also use it.

i not only like the way it looks but i like the fact that it works for your future. not just tellin you your past.

i use mint as well and i'm definitely lookin forward to changin to ynab.

best of luck!

**Fast_Eddie26** · 12-02-2012, 12:10 PM

Thank you for the reply. I like the layout of YNAB, but would like for it to sync to my accounts like mint does. Also, I'm hoping for some software package which would let me itemize grocery store receipts. This way I can break down food, toiletries, etc.

**FrugalTexan75** · 12-02-2012, 01:06 PM

If you have a smartphone you can enter your purchases in the YNAB app right at the time of purchase.

Or you might be able to use something like Evernote to scan your receipts into if you really want to do that.

As far as synching your accounts ... if that is really important to you, then you can do that in YNAB. It won't be automatic, but it can be done. However, the philosophy of YNAB is more of a hands-on approach where you enter your transactions manually so you see how it affects your budget immediately.

**Fast_Eddie26** · 12-03-2012, 06:46 AM

YNAB, seems like something one could do with a spreadsheet. Am I missing something to justify a 60 dollar price tag?

**thesimplemoneyblog** · 12-03-2012, 05:30 PM

I am not currently aware of a product that will let you break it down into that much granular detail. It would be nice for someone to create a program or partner with credit card companies to get an itemized listing of items purchased, so you could also have an easy-to-reference sales tax summary at the end of the year for people who itemize sales tax on their receipts. Especially if you shop a lot at one store (Walmart for groceries, household items, etc.) it would be nice to have that breakout since a transaction could be for a lot of things. Mint.com does allow you to split transactions, and I do that a lot. I also use Quicken which allows you to split transactions and be very specific if needed.

At this time, the best thing I can think of might be the 'Neat Desk' organizer. It has a scanner that is supposed to be searchable and have the ability to export documents to Excel or other formats. It is quite expensive though.

**Fast_Eddie26** · 12-04-2012, 06:13 AM

For right now, I think I'm going to use the pear budget spreadsheet, free version.

Neat desk does seem like a great product, but way too expensive for me.

**Bades** · 12-04-2012, 08:05 AM

You can do this in Mint...

Say your Grocery Bill comes out to $100 and $15 of it was toiletries. Use the SPLIT function to split the Grocery Transaction as so.

"SuperMarket" $85 Groceries
"SuperMarket" $15 Toiletries

Is this what you are looking for?

**gostumpy** · 12-04-2012, 08:12 AM

Originally posted by Fast_Eddie26 View Post

YNAB, seems like something one could do with a spreadsheet. Am I missing something to justify a 60 dollar price tag?

I just bought YNAB last month, and I can't think of a single thing in my life that can provide the sheer ROI that YNAB can... It really is revolutionary in the way finances are handled.

Unlike pretty much every other budget, what you spent last month really doesn't matter... what you're required to spend this month matters a lot more! It's not a look-back approach, it's a 'lets move forward' type of budget...

Instead of projecting what you're going to spend money on this month, and sticking to it, you need to delegate what the money you have right now needs to do before you're paid again. If you have money left over after assigning all your money a 'job', then you can project forward and plan for next month's expenses.

The method and theory behind YNAB is what makes it incredible, without the theory it really is just a great budgeting tool... but using YNAB's software WITH the method & theory they teach is what makes it completely revolutionary. It is worth every penny.

Here's a 10% off link for YNAB's software: YNAB 10% Referral link (Disclaimer: This code gives you 10% off & gives 10% to me, win-win)

There is a 34 day free trial, so download it, try it out, make sure you only budget money you have right now, and see what you think before you buy it! Feel free to ask questions, I'm learning as I go and researching a LOT.

**gostumpy** · 12-04-2012, 08:17 AM

Originally posted by Fast_Eddie26 View Post

Also, I'm hoping for some software package which would let me itemize grocery store receipts. This way I can break down food, toiletries, etc.

YNAB does have a 'split transaction' feature when inputting transactions.

If you had a $100 Walmart receipt for instance, you enter the transaction, and instead of picking "Groceries" category, you select "Split Transaction", and enter the total $100 for the transaction. The split transcation gives you two more lines, and you can add as many as you need. So you select category "Groceries" and put $60 towards that, next line you select "Toiletries" and put $20 towards that, and next line select "Clothing" and allocate the last $20 from that receipt.

That allocates the transaction to the specific categories you created, and you can add categories on the go if you need to.

I prefer to keep things a bit simpler, so I put toiletries in with groceries, bumping my grocery budget by a bit to account for that... I'm of the opinion that too much granular detail makes one lose focus on where the big money is going (restaurants) by focusing too much on smaller transactions (Toilet Paper)...

My two cents!

-edit-

There is an import from bank function to reconcile your month, but I find 10 minutes MAX at the end of the day, or in the morning with my coffee, is more than enough time to quickly import your spendings.. I just open my online banking & double check that I remembered everything

**sblatner** · 12-04-2012, 08:37 AM

I've used Quicken since 1992 so it is all I know. It also allows you to use a split function. I categorize all of our spending down to the penny. Someone mentioned sales tax. You could create a category for sales tax and break it out of each receipt.

You can also attach documents (PDFs/jpg or any other document that you can view in a browser) to transactions so you could scan in/take a picture of a receipt and attach it to the transaction in Quicken. I have never done this but am starting to think about it to cut out paper. Not every transaction but important ones like car repairs, charity.

**Fast_Eddie26** · 12-04-2012, 09:37 AM

I guess I should have made it clear I know how to split a transaction and have been using it.

I would like something to automate this and then some, but it may just make the budget too granular.

**Bades** · 12-04-2012, 11:29 AM

How could this be automated?

The Point of Sale system the grocery store uses would have to have the functionality of being able to itemize an order, and then somehow export that order data to like a Mint or Quicken piece of software. Credit Cards companies like Visa, record transaction price, location, business, date and time, not what you buy.

This isn't necessarily a limitation of Mint/Quicken but something that is being tracked at the source POS.

You would have to manually key in each transaction line from a receipt into Excel and track yourself. I don't know of any piece of software that can get that detailed.

**neatdesign** · 12-05-2012, 04:03 PM

I use YNAB and I love it. I first got it 5+ years ago when Jesse Mecham, the guy who created it, used to participate in these forums and first mentioned his budgeting method. It was decent (and primitive) then but now it is amazing! The system is unique, the software aesthetically pleasing and easy to use, and the customer service and support are terrific. Jesse also has a YNAB podcast which I listen to now and then, also quite interesting and motivating.

Ironically, one of the things I didn't like about Mint.com was how it automatically pulled all of my transactions from my bank accounts. I realize that might sound crazy, but I have found that having to manually enter my transactions makes me more mindful of my spending habits and my budget. The tactile nature of it makes the process more concrete. And like someone else said, I only spend a few minutes each day updating my transactions in YNAB.

As for your desire to have budget software automatically itemize and categorize your transactions for you, I'm afraid that technology doesn't exist yet; who knows if it ever will. Credit card and debit card transactions aren't always categorized correctly at the POS anyway; I noticed that all the time when I worked at a Capital One call center.

A work-around would be to actually divide up your purchases in the store and then pay for them separately. But I don't think that would be really practical, not to mention that it would probably annoy the people standing in line behind you.

**gostumpy** · 12-05-2012, 09:54 PM

I also used mint.com and REALLY didn't like how it was linked to my bank... that didn't seem like a smart idea no matter how 'secure' the site was... as well as it violated the terms of service for my bank, meaning if something DID go wrong, I'm out of luck!

As well I agree that entering transactions yourself makes sure you're fully aware of each transaction coming from your available money, not just another purchase!

Personal Finance Budget Software