Hey moms. I am trying to get our finances organized and was wondering if anybody uses any budgeting software that they can recommend. Has anybody tried mint.com or myspendingplan.com (both free)? I actually have Microsoft Money on my computer and tried to use it in the past but didn't seem to stick with it. When I tried to go back in to try it again I can't remember my password and can't seem to get it reset (probably since the email address I was using back then is no longer valid). I also have Quicken on my computer and can't get past the 1st step of reconciling with the bank. I don't know if the problem is with my bank or with Quicken, but I get errors every time, and Quicken always tells me to try again later! Argh. Thanks for your input!
We use Microsoft money at home, and I use Quickbooks at work, which may be overkill at home, but I like then both
OK, well at least I know we are not the only ones experiencing that problem with quicken!! My husband is trying to use that program, and has called several people at our bank, and quicken, and we are not getting anywhere. I know that does not help you much, but at least you know it is not just you, or you ability to work a computer:) If we discover an answer, you will be the first to know!! ~A.~
When I bought Quicken last year (for a new computer that didn't have it, but I've been using an older version for MANY years), I started having problems when I tried to do the software "update". It would freeze or crash my computer or just give me error messages. My husband (a computer expert) researched the problem and found that there is a bug in the downloadable "update" from Quicken, so he reverted the installation back to the way it came in the package and it's worked great ever since. Any time it asks if I want to update it, I just say no.
I also don't connect Quicken with my banks because that never seemed to work right. I just input my bills manually and reconcile the statements every month and it works great. I track where we are with all of our spending categories so I know whether we need to cut back or not this month. I also track things like loans (auto, mortgage, etc), as well as investments like my 401(k). (I do connect with my 402(k) company through quicken and haven't had any problems yet).
If you've given up on special software, what about just using excel. You can create the spreadsheet to match whatever your needs are. You might also try looking on Microsoft Templates online - there may be an excel or other template that you can use for your particular situation.
Or, the most basic budgeting tool is to just use cash. For example, if your monthly grocery budget is $400, then get $400 cash, keep it in an envelope marked "groceries" and then you'll know how much you have left at any time during the month.
