Comments on: Simple spreadsheet to track your budget

By: View Microsoft Excel files with native free app | Rarst.net

View Microsoft Excel files with native free app | Rarst.net — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:35:17 +0000

[...] my main (in a limited scope I need it) office suite at home is OpenOffice. It handles things like budget spreadsheet just fine but still lacks in Microsoft Office compatibility department. Especially when opening and [...]

By: Rarst

Rarst — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:22:28 +0000

@Akim

Look nice but I don’t use Excel for myself so not a fit. :) Maybe others will find it interesting.

PS for info that stuff is trialware

By: Akim

Akim — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:07:44 +0000

I use Arixcel Accounts ( http://www.arixcel.com/accounts ) a plug-in to Excel for budgeting and tracking expenses.

By: Rarst

Rarst — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:37:06 +0000

@magickthize

Bookmarked to check out properly, thanks for suggestion.

Which might be tricky. :) I figure it takes time to evaluate financial software and that means either using it in parallel or struggling to transfer data between those.

By: magickthize

magickthize — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:51:01 +0000

Like @Kelltic.
I tried Ms Money & then Quicken & then found the lightweight but excellent & easy to use AceMoney ( wich i’ve been using for ’bout a year)at http://www.mechcad.net there’s a free lite version for one account or paid for multiple accounts.well worth a look

By: Rarst

Rarst — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:53:39 +0000

@Jonny

Took a look at spreadsheet. I get impression that it is more for people that already roughly know what they spend and/or to plan budget in general.

Personally I am more interested to figure out what I earnd and spend exactly and how that fluctuates from month to month.

@JeeMan

Bookmarked that app, since your experience sounds so similar to mine I might find it just as fitting. Thanks for suggestion. :)

@kelltic

Hm, can’t you just request data on how you use your card from bank? I think electronic transfers are supposed to be easier to track, not harder.

By: kelltic

kelltic — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:30:34 +0000

Debit cards have destroyed the accountant in me, a part of myself that once ruled supreme. Back when I still used a checkbook, I always knew exactly where I stood. And, being mathematically challenged, I faithfully used Excel as my check register. I even enjoyed it. All those tidy columns, adding up and balancing assured me that all was well.

BUT THEN – my much younger friends (God forgive them) started laughing at me, telling me I had to get with the times, and next thing I knew – I was paying bills online. Then, I found myself with a cell phone – Next came the debit card. Now I’m in trouble. Card sliding is just too easy. It doesn’t come with a place to write down what you spent. A personal budget program? Don’t think so. I am out of the habit. Just can’t do it.

I should be better than that. I’m not. See how easily I was seduced? Not even thinking of a New Year’s resolution. I’ve given up my high principles forever.

By: JeeMan

JeeMan — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:53:57 +0000

Working with a spreadsheet to do my budget is what got me to start one for me. Tried MS Money and quicken, and it was really too heavy for me to understand, so went with Excel spreadsheet instead. It is extremely flexible and allowed me to view data in a way I never saw it before.

But after one year of entering data, it was becoming veeeeery slooooow to use a spreadsheet. I then searched for some open source software, and found KMyMoney2 (http://kmymoney2.sf.net). It is very easy to understand, and it is also continually updated, which is excellent for a free software! The reports/graphs that kmymoney2 have are also very good! Even with the flexibility that a spreadsheet allows, I don’t think I will be oing back.

By: Jonny

Jonny — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:48:46 +0000

Looks good Rarst, being in the UK I use the spreadsheet from MoneysavingExpert.com (a massive and free moneysaving resource here in the uk).

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/Budget-planning