Best Budgeting Website/Software

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usernamenobodyhas
usernamenobodyhas Posts: 2 Newbie
in Budgeting & bank accounts
Hoping someone can advise on budgeting software or websites. I used money dashboard years ago and liked the transaction importing and categorization. I then began using You Need A Budget software. YNABs powerful budgeting abilities quickly became something myself and my partner simply can't live without.



Manually entering every transaction was extremely tedious. With the promise of "Direct Connect" to bank accounts, I went over to their Web based subscription service. Unfortunately, it's two or three years on and they still don't officially support "international banks". My PayPal hasn't connected for a long time and Lloyds has only been connecting sometimes. Lloyds has also been locking me out and making me reset my credentials. All would be resolved if YNAB would go down the Open Banking route but, allas, they are dodging the question and seem keen to continue with screen scraping.



Now I'm looking out for an alternative. It's important to me to be able to manage credit card payments, have each category have it's own balance, and be accessible from the PC. I have looked at the websites of Yolt and Emma but they are only available as an app. I like to do my budgeting on the PC.



I am a sole trader, making small amounts of money. My income is any amount and on any day. A lot of these solutions depend on a fixed payday, which I don't have. I have a separate bank account and credit card, which I use for invoice payments and expenses. I use Quickbooks for generating invoices etc. I then have two separate budgets in YNAB, one for the business side and one for personal.



Perhaps there's nothing out there that fits my needs, but I'd be very grateful if you have any ideas you'd like to share.

Comments

  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882 Forumite
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    Once set up MSMOney is probably still the best tool for the job.

    It models the real world very well. including things like multiple categories in single spends, cash account etc.

    I can have categories like food, booze, household and cashback as a single debit entry payee tesco on the bank account.

    most tasks/spends can be automated and the manual stuff you need to do is good for being on top of the financial picture anyway


    It will also handle the sole trader and personal finances in the same tool.

    no app interface and direct downloads may not work but import should.
  • itsnevertoolate_2
    itsnevertoolate_2 Posts: 2 Newbie
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    Problem with MS Money is its more of a finance assistant than a budget tool and the appeal of YNAB is the zero based budget system.
    I've been, and still am, using YNAB 4 for the past few years. It has transformed my mind-set and my finances.
    I've tested most of the available alternatives in the UK, there are many expense trackers, spending trackers, finance software etc. but I've not found anything that compares to YNAB.
    I manually import statements weekly and although it is sometimes laborious I find the juice is worth the squeeze.
    I'm pretty sure I have exhausted all alternatives and if you can live with the importing I would stick with YNAB. I will be.
  • tempus_fugit
    tempus_fugit Posts: 1,189 Forumite
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    getmore4less wrote: »
    no app interface and direct downloads may not work but import should.
    As does YNAB and it also has apps to boot. It seems that manual entry is the main issue the OP has with YNAB, well most applications will have the same issue. I use a combination of manual imports and manual entry (it's easy enough to do via the app once you come out of the shop and takes seconds) and this works fine for me.
    Retired at age 56 after having "light bulb moment" due to reading MSE and its forums. Have been converted to the "budget to zero" concept and use YNAB for all monthly budgeting and long term goals.
  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882 Forumite
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    edited 5 August 2018 at 6:58AM
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    MsMoney has full budgeting and planning features with forecasting cash flow and net worth.

    Zero based budgets just mean every penny is allocated
    Standard practice for budget/planning forever.

    You can also track any asset values(saving, houses, cars,...) to give you a full picture.

    It can also cope with multiple income streams, scheduled on any time base and semi predictable/random ones.
  • tempus_fugit
    tempus_fugit Posts: 1,189 Forumite
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    I've tried lots of finance applications, including MSMoney, Moneydance and Moneywiz, and whilst they all had "budgeting" options none of them seemed to work like it does in YNAB. They are invariably clunky and have no carry over from one month to the next, and if you overspent a category you just upped it but there was no requirement to take it from another "envelope". YNAB was and is the first app that I have come across that handles it properly, i.e. if you overspend it has consequences, none of the others handle it in quite the right way.
    Retired at age 56 after having "light bulb moment" due to reading MSE and its forums. Have been converted to the "budget to zero" concept and use YNAB for all monthly budgeting and long term goals.
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