When visiting Shrewd'm with a laptop, it can be pleasant to hold Command (or Ctrl with Windows) and '+' a few times. The site scales to allow any font size, and the larger font can be pleasant to read even for Shrewds with perfect sight! For luxury Shrewdness, you can combine that with setting the browser to full screen. You'll then find yourself Shrewding a lot.
- Manlobbi
Personal Finance Topics / Retirement Investing
No. of Recommendations: 1
Need some budget software for my notebook. I was going to get Mint, but that's phasing out and there new Credit Karma doesn't work well from what I understand. I've beeN looking at Lunch Money, but I'm not sure it will let you split charges - trying to find out.
I just don't feel like making up my own spread sheets. I've done it before and it seemed time consuming. Seems people are downloading from their banks, investment brokers, and credit cards and that idea intrigues me. I like that, and am a little wary because I'm no PC pro. But, 1. is it safe? 2. Do they allow you to make month end adjustments, so you can add in transactions, and fix screw ups? 3. What don't I know that I'll find out soon after I start using one?
Thanks in advance. :)
No. of Recommendations: 0
I've never been a fan of sites that aggregate data by logging into sites and downloading stuff for you. Some places do it in a way where you don't directly give the 3rd party your login info which is better but still for me the benefits just aren't there.
I guess what do you really want? If you got a ton of credit cards and accounts you use, then there may not be any easy option other than use a 3rd party to get your data.
Right now we are trying to use one card and put everything on it and see where we are spending money. It wasn't a concern while working but now married and retired I'm trying to get a handle on our expenses (better late than never).
While some people seem to obsess over monitoring their investments and net worth, I never thought it was that important. The ups and downs can be painful to watch.
I can recall years ago trying to use Microsoft Money and I just gave up because it seemed like too much work. Kind of like when I was a kid and my mom would spend a ton of time trying to balance her checkbook because she was off by a penny. I just glance at the statements to look for anything that looks suspicious.
Good luck.
No. of Recommendations: 3
For some reason recently youtube tossed a few Dave Ramsey videos as suggestions. I have absolutely no need for his help, but many of the videos were interesting & entertaining.
They have a free budget product called EveryDollar.
https://www.ramseysolutions.com/ramseyplus/everydo...They also have a paid version with more features, for $80/yr.
I have already figured out how to cut expenses by $80 a year. :-)
No. of Recommendations: 0
Yes, I understand that concern and am reticent over safety. The women in my wife's family are long lived, her Grandma is 104. My wife has never kept track of her money. I'll be dead in the nest 8 years and I think she'll have 40 to 50 more to live. I only can keep up spreadsheets for about 3 months. :) Looking for something I can keep up easily, gives good info, and you can adjust it for errors. Still reviewing Lunch Money.
No. of Recommendations: 7
I use Quicken. They have a yearly subscription now, which is annoying. I used to buy the software only after they obsoleted the old one (i.e. didn't "support" bank downloads). Which was about every 3 years. Now I have to pay annually.
It's fairly easy to use.
No. of Recommendations: 3
I use Quicken
As do I; aside from the subscription price, it's entirely satisfactory for my needs.
Additionally, my first criterion for budgeting and investment tracking software is that it be entirely downloadable and entirely usable without any further connection to the Internet. I don't have anything in any third party cloud; that way I have nothing in the wind when (not if) the cloud gets hacked. If I get hacked, I know what I've lost and when, and I have a responsive person with whom to deal to plug the gap.
Eric Hines
No. of Recommendations: 3
I use Quicken. They have a yearly subscription now, which is annoying. I used to buy the software only after they obsoleted the old one (i.e. didn't "support" bank downloads). Which was about every 3 years. Now I have to pay annually.
Same. Was annoyed with the subscription only but we were so used to it and so many years into it we didn’t want to stop. We had both used it when we were single, and we merged our two files when we married…sickeningly cute, I know.
My bride has a ritual of putting in all our credit card receipts and such. We don’t budget. It’s nice to know where we are at.
We have a secret little handshake we use to celebrate the bottom right hand number going up. What we will do with all this dosh I don’t know.
No. of Recommendations: 11
my first criterion for budgeting and investment tracking software is that it be entirely downloadable and entirely usable without any further connection to the Internet. I don't have anything in any third party cloud; that way I have nothing in the wind when (not if) the cloud gets hacked. - Eric
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Exactly, security and peace of mind are reason enough to forego these packages. even with the advertised ease of data collection. I don't care, even if the software is free, there is no way I give it all my passwords. I am the one and only entity that has access to my entire financial universe and my gut tells me to keep it that way.
No. of Recommendations: 5
I use Quicken 2008 Starter Edition, from back in the day when you could buy a $20 DVD at Costco and have forever software. For all I know, you could probably buy a disc on eBay.
While I still have the disc, the program (and data) have transferred seamlessly from (Windows) laptop A to B, and then from laptop B to C over the ensuing sixteen years.
It's a standalone with no input to or from my financial institutions. It's actually pretty trivial to balance bank statements monthly (high throughput accounts such as household checking) or semiannually (for low throughput accounts e.g. HSAs)
What I now have is a pretty robust database wrt spending. Electric bill seem high? It's a few seconds to tell me what it was in January 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.
Christmas expenses? Xmas 2023 was exactly halfway between 2022 and 2021.
Did I remember to pay estimated a state income tax payment last June? Again, twenty seconds or less to tell me exactly how much and on what date.
It's worth it to me to not have that info on some corporate database, much less my bank/brokerage login info
FWIW YMMV
--sutton
No. of Recommendations: 2
Woke up from a nap after surgery and stumbled back to here. Ebay Vista $40, Win 10/11 $120. I never used quicken, but it can't be that hard. Thinking it over. Thanks everyone!
