Best Bank for Organising, Tracking, Budgeting etc.

jonnielately

I'm looking for a (UK) bank that will help me keep on top of my finances. Organising everything and being able to see at-a-glance impact would be the top of my list. I'm aware that this is a bit of a wish list (!) but the features that I'm looking for are as follows:

• The ability to categorise individual transactions - so you can see at the end of month where your money has gone (groceries, insurance, mortgage etc.)

• The ability to create graphs/charts with this information (maybe a third party app - did Mint/Egg do this once?)

• Internet Banking with multiple accounts/cards on the same screen for easy account balance monitoring.

• Internet Banking with custom names for accounts (Savings Car, Freelance Work, Everyday Account etc.)

I'm sure there are some more features that I might not have heard about. Essentially I have too many accounts with similar names and I'm struggling to keep up with tracking my finances externally on an Excel spreadsheet. If anybody knows of a bank that offers any or all of these services, please share.


Equally if anybody has any advice relating to the above - that would also be very, very welcome.


Thanks in advance,


JL :wave:

guesswho2000

Don't know whether any offer all the above, but Barclaycard allow you to create charts categorising your spending and whatnot.

All my Internet banks show multiple accounts in one place, with the exception of Tesco.

Nationwide and Halifax let you rename your accounts (probably others too?).

Www.ontrees.com provides a service for current accounts and credit cards, you can have everything in one place, similar to egg money manager. Has a free iPhone app too.

Archi_Bald

Don't look to a bank to help you keep on top of your finances. Its not in their interest. They like you to go overdrawn and out of control, that's how they make money from you.

You need a spreadsheet, or a paper and pen, or a money management tool such as MS Money or one of the follow-on products.

jonnielately

The ontrees.com website looks pretty good - I'll probably give that a trial. HSBC won't let me rename my bank accounts, which is a nightmare - so I'm thinking of switching.

I've tried spreadsheets, but I have so many transactions that if I don't remember to record everything from the day, on the day - I end up spending hours a month trying to balance everything.

opinions4u

Lloyds Money Manager is the nearest I can think of to this.

http://www.lloydstsb.com/online-banking/benefits-online-banking/money-manager.asp

Archi_Bald

jonnielately wrote: »

I have so many transactions that if I don't remember to record everything from the day, on the day - I end up spending hours a month trying to balance everything.

No software, ran by the bank or anyone else, will remove that issue.

I am not sure why you would not be able to keep a record of all your spending, but if you are not, you need to find a way to get on top of your spending. May be use cash rather than cards, and you will soon know when you have run out of money?

jonnielately

Archi,

It's not so much that I run out of money - I just want to track it and see where/if I can cut down. What I want is to be able to categorise my transactions directly through Online Banking - so then I can see that 35% of my monthly outgoings has gone towards travel, 20% towards groceries etc.

To itemise every individual transaction - it takes a long time for me and if I don't go it every day, it piles up and I end up head scratching trying to find the discrepancies. Automating this, or at least linking it somehow with my account; seems a much simpler and easier option.

gt94sss2

guesswho2000 wrote: »

Www.ontrees.com provides a service for current accounts and credit cards, you can have everything in one place, similar to egg money manager. Has a free iPhone app too.

Lovemoney also provides a similar service.

Regards
Sunil

jonnielately

Does anybody know which banks allow you to change account names through Internet Banking? I want to assign custom names for ease-of-use.

dotdash79

Would you really give a 3rd party website access to your bank accounts? It looks like these sites are asking for access.

Massive security no no.

mgdavid

jonnielately wrote: »

Does anybody know which banks allow you to change account names through Internet Banking? I want to assign custom names for ease-of-use.

Barclays definitely do.
To track your money better it sounds as if simplification would help; why do you have umpteen accounts?