Budgeting software

ShortyX on 25/08/2011 - 23:24

Hey guys

Thought I'd let everyone know about budget software I recently purchased - http://www.youneedabudget.com/

It's a bit pricey at $60 but it's great.

It's even stopping my usual impulse purchases from OzBargain so beware. :)

Cheers

General Discussion

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 25/08/2011 - 23:33
    +2

    Why not just use excel?

    http://consumerist.com/2010/11/download-our-free-easy-excel-…

    You can also try Buxfer, which is a free budgeting webapp:
    http://www.buxfer.com/

    click here for a live demo:
    http://demo.buxfer.com/

  • joannatan on 25/08/2011 - 23:49

    reps?

  • andy19363 on 26/08/2011 - 00:33

    I use neobudget https://neobudget.com/ it's a subscription service (?25? A year….can't remember exactly)
    It's very good, and has a free version for small accounts….
    Based on the envelope system…

  • battler on 26/08/2011 - 08:41

    a good spreadsheet:
    http://www.assetplan.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Budge…
    (but the tax rates might be last years)

  • ShortyX on 26/08/2011 - 08:54

    Sorry if the original post was a little spammy. Forgot to mention that I was interested in what others are using.

    Those web ones look good…now that I think of it, it's a shame that YNAB isn't web based. I like the YNAB iPhone app though that allows you to enter transactions then sync them up when you get home.

    • andy19363 on 26/08/2011 - 09:09

      with neo budget, i just import all my transactions from my bank once or twice a week. I can then share it out amongst the various envelopes. I also quite like the fact that it doesn't actually store any bank details, nor link back to the bank in any way.
      For the free account, you can create 1 account, and have up to 10 envelopes in that account….. could create envelopes for savings, bills, fun, etc and allocate your income accordingly :)

  • quop on 26/08/2011 - 16:02

    i looked for free ones some time back, tested a few and settled on acemoney. i started off with an older free version (the last one to support more than 1 account) but decided to fork out money for the full version once i felt i was too far behind with the bug fixes and enhancements.

    cost is a one off payment of USD$30 for lifetime upgrades and free technical support. it gets cheaper per licence if you buy more than 1.

    the free version acemoney lite now supports two accounts, and is a good way to play around with the software to figure out if it suits you. alternatively you can download a 30-day trial version of the full program.

    • GafferFish on 30/08/2011 - 10:13

      I use AceMoney as well. Started with the free version and loved it so much, I quickly paid for it. Well worth it. I've been using it for years now and have an accurate record of where the money has gone. There's graphs and custom reports and it's easy to drill down into certain time periods or categories for more details.

  • zhenjie on 26/08/2011 - 17:03

    Do you guys find budgeting useful? Its something I look at but I feel like I would get lazy with data entry and end up not using it.

    • andy19363 on 26/08/2011 - 18:40

      definitely….. as mentioned, I use neobudget
      even though I have, for example, just one account….. I have 'envelopes' in that account for mobile bill, internet, car rego, electricity, etc etc. So when I get paid, I can automatically allocate set amounts to those 'envelopes', (20 to electric, 20 to mobile, etc etc).
      Even though, when I look at my bank statement it will give me one total, when I look in neobudget, that figure will be broken into envelopes, so i know how much i have for mobile bill, internet, etc….. I can then make sure I have enough when the bills come in. I import from the bank to neobudget once or twice a week to make sure I'm up to date.
      works for me….
      works even better if it's a high interest account :)

      give it a go….. it's free for the basic 1 account thing…. see what you think….

      review (ish) here…
      http://financialsoft.about.com/od/budgetingsoftware/gr/Neobu…

    • quop on 26/08/2011 - 22:40

      yes. first step in budgeting is tracking (and categorising) your expenses, so you know where your money is going. this gives you a starting point for your budget. that's mainly what i'm using my software for - it does have budgeting functionality though i don't use this as diligently as entering expenses.

      i do get lazy about data entry, especially with cash expenses that don't have receipts. i try to make a point of getting receipts for everything - their presence in my wallet becomes a physical reminder to enter them in. i also try to use credit cards wherever possible, so the monthly statements are another good way of keeping my records up to date (ie reconcile the statements against what's in my records).

      • andy19363 on 26/08/2011 - 23:10

        I too use the credit card for more or less everything, then download and import the statement…. tends to work better than memory :)

      • zhenjie on 28/08/2011 - 22:34

        thanks for the input andy and quop. I'm going to give it a shot for a week and see how it goes. certainly do need a keep a more thorough tab on my spending these days.

  • inherentchoice on 27/08/2011 - 11:22

    Do you need to budget if you can just be a tight ass? Lol sometimes i'm not motivated to spend my money on anything.

  • [Deactivated] on 28/08/2011 - 22:27

    I once bought a PC user magazine with "300 must have programs" for $14.95 and the only program I found useful was a freeware budgeting program. The irony was not lost.

  • mindapoocha on 30/08/2011 - 15:30

    Try https://pearbudget.com/spreadsheet. It is free to download and use.
    I use this. I have customised to my liking.

    • andy19363 on 30/08/2011 - 16:34

      I used this one to set up my budget in terms of incomings and outgoings
      http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/monthly-household-bud…

      I changed it to fortnightly, (I get paid fortnightly)….. I then review it every couple of months as necessary.

      I created sections as follows
      Fixed expenses - for stuff that is the same or similar every month eg, mobile, internet, car rego, etc
      Variable expenses - stuff that might vary…. petrol, shopping, clothes, etc
      Irregular - Money for stuff not covered by any other section….. 'irregular' buying (a lot of ozbargain buying goes on from here)
      Savings - for, erm…… savings

      Took a bit of work initially, working out what my yearly expenses were, then chopping them up into 24 bite sized pieces….. (i know it doesn't work out to be exactly 24 :))

      I don't work from this document, (use neobudget/bank combo), just used it to set up my initial budget, and work out how much to put away for particular expenses.

      This one is similar, but slightly less complicated
      http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/personal-monthly-budg…

  • binscab on 30/08/2011 - 23:04
    -3

    i use notepad.exe and calc.exe

    • hfhf on 31/08/2011 - 03:32
      -1

      Cool story, bro.

  • Jabba the Hutt on 31/08/2011 - 15:54

    Quicken 2002 was one of my best purchases ever. Its activation demands made me feel like such a dependent child or grovelling puppy dog, I rebelled and spent some years in the F/OSS world, saving a lot of money not buying proprietary software. Am back on Windows nowadays but it left a strong legacy and I still use GnuCash for managing my finances.

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