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Ask DN: Best app for money management?

almost 9 years ago from Ari Sawyers

  • Julie RobertsJulie Roberts, almost 9 years ago (edited almost 9 years ago )

    Mint + spreadsheet combo.

    Mint tracks all the purchases, but it's too passive and hard to tell what months I overspent on what at times (mostly due to rollover budgets). By imputing it all into the spreadsheet, I take a more active role in the process and can see a bit better where I overspent (or didn't overspend, even though Mint tells me I did because I spent too much last month).

    I also like Check on my phone to keep track of recurring bills (especially variable ones) so I don't transfer money out of an account right before a bill comes. Unlike Mint, which tells me after the money is out of my account, it links up with the bill itself so I know how much will be due. I also like it reminding me to pay recurring bills that either I don't want to or cannot set up on autopay.

    1 point
    • Bart Claeys, almost 9 years ago

      In Mint you can set goals - e.g. a maximum budget for lunch per month. You'll get notified when you're exceeding that budget and you can see nice progress bars on the app and on the web. So, you don't need a spreadsheet for that.

      0 points
      • Julie RobertsJulie Roberts, almost 9 years ago

        I am fully aware of that, I was specifically talking about the ones I have a rollover budget for. Have you ever overspent one month and for the next 5 months it tells you you're still over budget because it rolls over? Sometimes I want to know how did THAT MONTH underspending and staying within my budget. I could set it to not roll over, but I want to be aware of how past months should affect current spending... I just also want to see how I did that month.

        Also, if you notice, I started out by saying Mint was too passive. So yes, a spreadsheet is necessary for me to engage more with my finances.

        0 points