Personal Finance Apps

[digmo]

Hi all,

I am still struggling to find the right personal finance app. I have the search down to a possible 4 applications. Squirrel, Cha-Ching, iBank and Money. They all have their strengths but the more I play the more weaknesses I am finding.

The first two apps are still in beta but both offer iPhone sync. Although Cha-Ching has a different budget system on the Mac than on the iPhone that is baffling me. Anyone use any of the apps for a first hand view ?

I have blogged my initial impressions on my blog (http://www.digmo.co.uk/featured/personal-finance-for-osx/) but I still can't chose one of the apps to stick with.


David

 

[waffles123]

I've tested all of those out, and personally, like Squirrel the best. However, I'm on a budget and use the free Cashbox. It's not the best but it gets the job done

 

[digmo]

thanks I will check it out. If I could get the best aspects of all 4 apps and make a single solution I'd be happy.

Checking out cashbox now.

David

 

[mongrol]

If you want effective budgeting then you want an Envelope Budgeting program, like Snowmints Budget or Moneywell (the more modern of the two). All other "do-it-all" finance managers are record budgeters. They are only any use at showing you what you've spent after you've spent it. Envelope budgeting forces you to plan your budget and stick to it before you've overspent.

If budgeting is most important look at Moneywell.

 

[ruinfx]

i just use www.mint.com

 

[rock.ponting]

My first personal budget I ever made was done using an Excel sheet. Then later I have tried many offline and online money management software's like Quicken, mint and moneyStrands is the one I'm using right now for budgeting, managing financial accounts and generating personalized money-saving ideas.

 

[chandsa]

Moneywell....

....seems to be a pretty nice piece of software. But again, I am yet to try out the trial version. I hope that their trial version will not limit the number of transactions you can enter. I like their website, but again I do need to keep in mind that I can't judge a book by its cover. I will post a review once I've downloaded Moneywell and tried it out.

 

[danny_w]

....seems to be a pretty nice piece of software. But again, I am yet to try out the trial version. I hope that their trial version will not limit the number of transactions you can enter. I like their website, but again I do need to keep in mind that I can't judge a book by its cover. I will post a review once I've downloaded Moneywell and tried it out.

I thought MoneyWell looked like a good option too, so I downloaded the trial and proceeded to set it up. Unfortunately the amount of effort required to set it up properly initially and to maintain it is just too much for me to handle. Although I like the envelope/bucket idea, in practice it is just too much trouble on an ongoing basis the way MoneyWell implements it (for me at least). I am still looking into iBank and will probably go with that, since it seems to be one of the very few financial apps that shows a running total of your accounts; I can't understand how you can get a good picture of your accounts and balance them if you can't see this. Even Quicken Online doesn't provide this must-have feature!

 

[mongrol]

I am still looking into iBank and will probably go with that, since it seems to be one of the very few financial apps that shows a running total of your accounts; I can't understand how you can get a good picture of your accounts and balance them if you can't see this. Even Quicken Online doesn't provide this must-have feature!

Can you elaborate a bit on this? I'm the developer of an envelope budgeting app and I'm obviously interested in what makes things more usable for people. What exactly do you mean by "balance" your accounts and what information do you need visible at the time to do this?

 

[danny_w]

Can you elaborate a bit on this? I'm the developer of an envelope budgeting app and I'm obviously interested in what makes things more usable for people. What exactly do you mean by "balance" your accounts and what information do you need visible at the time to do this?

It may just be me (but I have seen others requesting running balances too), but I am used to the paper checkbook and keeping up with the balance after I write a check or use my debit card. I just find it very frustrating to look at a financial app with only a final total and not a running balance. If the final balance does not agree with what I *think* the balance should be, I find it very difficult to spot a missing (or extra) transaction unless I can see balances after each transaction that I can visually check off with my checkbook. I am just used to going back in time to where the balances agree, and then going forward until they don't, and in that way spotting what is extra or missing. Mint.com, QuickenOnline.com, MoneyWell, and others are less than useful in this respect. Perhaps it is just a new paradigm that I can get used to, but I would much rather have a tool adapt to me instead of the other way around.