Comments on: Best Personal Financial Software http://frugaldad.com/2009/02/22/personal-financial-software/ Money Saving Insights: Coupons, Smart Spending and Promotional Codes Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:23:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: John http://frugaldad.com/2009/02/22/personal-financial-software/#comment-46001 John Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:13:57 +0000 http://frugaldad.com/?p=1802#comment-46001 I've tried quite a variety of desktop and "cloud-based" solutions, and still keep coming back to Excel. The one prerequisite is that you need to be very familiar with Excel, or at least have the time to learn. However, I've found that between the graphs, pivot tables, data tools and functions offered by Excel, you can get whatever information you need out of it (cash flow forecast, spending trend graphs, etc.), and in some cases get reports that the other packages are not able to generate. I’ve tried quite a variety of desktop and “cloud-based” solutions, and still keep coming back to Excel. The one prerequisite is that you need to be very familiar with Excel, or at least have the time to learn. However, I’ve found that between the graphs, pivot tables, data tools and functions offered by Excel, you can get whatever information you need out of it (cash flow forecast, spending trend graphs, etc.), and in some cases get reports that the other packages are not able to generate.

]]> By: Greg http://frugaldad.com/2009/02/22/personal-financial-software/#comment-40215 Greg Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:40:27 +0000 http://frugaldad.com/?p=1802#comment-40215 I'm a little late here, but anyway. Mint, Quicken, MS Money, Yodlee and many others are great tools for tracking where your money went (i.e. they track what you already spent). They are not so good at helping you determine where you want your money to go in the future (i.e. budgeting). For a budget (i.e. a plan for what you are going to use your money for) I definitely suggest You Need A Budget. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some of the other products, but it is exceptional for budgeting. It helps you set a budget and then you can import (or type in manually) your transactions as they happen so that you can see how much money you have left in each budget category. They also have a great forum and user community on their website. I’m a little late here, but anyway.
Mint, Quicken, MS Money, Yodlee and many others are great tools for tracking where your money went (i.e. they track what you already spent). They are not so good at helping you determine where you want your money to go in the future (i.e. budgeting).
For a budget (i.e. a plan for what you are going to use your money for) I definitely suggest You Need A Budget. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of some of the other products, but it is exceptional for budgeting. It helps you set a budget and then you can import (or type in manually) your transactions as they happen so that you can see how much money you have left in each budget category. They also have a great forum and user community on their website.

]]> By: KTK 98.5 » Thrifty Tuesday: What happens to the money you DON’T spend? http://frugaldad.com/2009/02/22/personal-financial-software/#comment-40028 KTK 98.5 » Thrifty Tuesday: What happens to the money you DON’T spend? Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:33:54 +0000 http://frugaldad.com/?p=1802#comment-40028 [...] of time (and money) finding ways to track our expenses, from elaborate home-made budgets to fancy personal finance software. However, we often fail to account for the money we don’t spend, something more important when [...] [...] of time (and money) finding ways to track our expenses, from elaborate home-made budgets to fancy personal finance software. However, we often fail to account for the money we don’t spend, something more important when [...]

]]> By: William http://frugaldad.com/2009/02/22/personal-financial-software/#comment-36591 William Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:38:18 +0000 http://frugaldad.com/?p=1802#comment-36591 I used Expenser till it went "must enter bank login details to proceed". I usually enter my transactions both from work and home. After quite some looking and trying, I found http://BudgetFix.net - which is simple, fast and ok on usability. I would also recommend this website for quite a few good reviews on personal finance software and sites: http://personalfinancesoftwarereviews.com/ I used Expenser till it went “must enter bank login details to proceed”.

I usually enter my transactions both from work and home. After quite some looking and trying, I found http://BudgetFix.net – which is simple, fast and ok on usability.

I would also recommend this website for quite a few good reviews on personal finance software and sites: http://personalfinancesoftwarereviews.com/

]]> By: American Express Blue Card: Our Everyday Credit Card | Frugal Dad http://frugaldad.com/2009/02/22/personal-financial-software/#comment-36431 American Express Blue Card: Our Everyday Credit Card | Frugal Dad Sat, 16 Jan 2010 09:02:17 +0000 http://frugaldad.com/?p=1802#comment-36431 [...] I could do the same thing using personal finance software, but this way I don’t have to download any transactions from multiple sources, or share any [...] [...] I could do the same thing using personal finance software, but this way I don’t have to download any transactions from multiple sources, or share any [...]

]]> By: Dennis http://frugaldad.com/2009/02/22/personal-financial-software/#comment-24612 Dennis Sun, 17 May 2009 21:13:03 +0000 http://frugaldad.com/?p=1802#comment-24612 I stuck with Quicken Online for a while, since I experienced banking account sync problems. I tried a few, including Mint and Quickbooks' free tool, but haven't found anything that fully matches my needs. I'm still evaluating products I found on that site: http://www.all-finance-software.com/expense_management/expense_management1.php. I stuck with Quicken Online for a while, since I experienced banking account sync problems. I tried a few, including Mint and Quickbooks’ free tool, but haven’t found anything that fully matches my needs. I’m still evaluating products I found on that site: http://www.all-finance-software.com/expense_management/expense_management1.php.

]]> By: My Tech Blog » Blog Archive » Software copyright inspection powers used for first time • Channel … http://frugaldad.com/2009/02/22/personal-financial-software/#comment-23268 My Tech Blog » Blog Archive » Software copyright inspection powers used for first time • Channel … Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:34:53 +0000 http://frugaldad.com/?p=1802#comment-23268 [...] Personal Financial Software Survey | Frugal Dad [...] [...] Personal Financial Software Survey | Frugal Dad [...]

]]> By: Ryan http://frugaldad.com/2009/02/22/personal-financial-software/#comment-18957 Ryan Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:48:50 +0000 http://frugaldad.com/?p=1802#comment-18957 Excel probably has more functionality than any other financial software available to consumers. The thing is, without proper training, many people only know how to use basic formulas. However, with the help of macros, you can make Excel do anything you want it. I would look into some free courses or even an inexpensive course at a local college. Once you learn how, you can have excel run any kind of statistic or data output based on your finances. Excel probably has more functionality than any other financial software available to consumers. The thing is, without proper training, many people only know how to use basic formulas. However, with the help of macros, you can make Excel do anything you want it. I would look into some free courses or even an inexpensive course at a local college. Once you learn how, you can have excel run any kind of statistic or data output based on your finances.

]]> By: Chris @ BuildMyBudget http://frugaldad.com/2009/02/22/personal-financial-software/#comment-18902 Chris @ BuildMyBudget Thu, 26 Feb 2009 01:40:05 +0000 http://frugaldad.com/?p=1802#comment-18902 Why use unnecessary software when you can get what you need from a free program like Excel. Also, the most important part of budgeting is being able to see where you are headed--which is easy to do in Excel and absent from many popular products such as Mint.com. Why use unnecessary software when you can get what you need from a free program like Excel. Also, the most important part of budgeting is being able to see where you are headed–which is easy to do in Excel and absent from many popular products such as Mint.com.

]]> By: obsolete29 http://frugaldad.com/2009/02/22/personal-financial-software/#comment-18868 obsolete29 Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:12:17 +0000 http://frugaldad.com/?p=1802#comment-18868 I'm a MS Money user myself. I've tried a few of the web based sites but I couldn't find any with the cash flow forecast feature that MS Money has. To me, the cash flow forecast is the single more important feature of the software. I’m a MS Money user myself. I’ve tried a few of the web based sites but I couldn’t find any with the cash flow forecast feature that MS Money has. To me, the cash flow forecast is the single more important feature of the software.

]]>