Expense / Budget tracking

[Bokomaru]

I have little idea how much money I spend and on what. It’s a bit all over the map. Knowing my income requirements is essential for retirement planning, so I’m trying Copilot Money, which is app based. It has been ok but not great.  The graphs look nice, but it doesn’t arrange the information in ways that I find very useful. 
 

How do others here track expenses? A favorite app? Spreadsheets? Do you even have a budget?

I’m interested in trying Monarch Money app, so if anyone has tried it, please speak up. The threads I’ve found online regarding these apps are clearly marketing driven, or administered by the companies themselves. 

Edited July 11 by Bokomaru

[Jim_n_NYC]

I've been using spreadsheets for decades to track my investments, taxes, etc.  Very simple and all right in front of my eyes.

I don't budget any more because at a certain point my earnings outstripped my spending by a healthy margin...and I keep a running total of how much I deposit on the 'investment' spreadsheet.

[Beancounter]

I use a combination of Quicken and Excel.  Quicken is my check register and serves many purposes: 1) can be tailored to meet your revenue and expense categories, 2) allow for split transactions (useful for credit card statements), 3) reports can be designed in many different ways, 4) allows for multiple accounts (checking, savings, investment, etc.), 5) reconciliation feature.  It can do much more but is a solid program that meets most of my needs.  There is a learning curve and requires you to input data.  
 

Im a retired accountant who used Excel extensively when working.  Excel is a powerful software program that allows me to build projection models, I.e, future and present value calculations, what if models.  
 

Also, there is a website calculator.net that has a ton of calculators that can help you answer a lot of financial questions.

 

Good luck to you.  It’s tough getting started but worthwhile in the end. 

[+ JamesB]

It really depends on exactly what you want or need which are not always the same thing. Personally, I use GnuCash, an open-source accounting software.

Compared to Monarch, GnuCash is free and offers more advanced accounting features like double-entry bookkeeping and reconciliation. Its customizable reports might solve the frustrations you had with Copilot’s limited data layout. That said, GnuCash does require more manual setup, and its dated interface can feel less user-friendly compared to Monarch Money’s sleek and automated design.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

I use the free tool Empower, formerly Personal Capital.  I've been using it for about a decade.  When I used credit cards for nearly everything, it helped me get a good understanding of my spending on each category and how it changed throughout the years.  Once the pandemic hit and I covered to cash-only, the tool has been less useful for spend tracking but still very good for tracking my net worth and dissecting my investments, which are mostly mutual funds.

For travel expenses, an Excel spreadsheet has been my best tool.  I've been keeping track of how much I've spent per night on cruises, on hotels in each city, and on flights to each city.  It helps me remember what should be a typical price to look for when booking so I can grab a good deal when I see it and switch travel plans if flights or hotel rates are too high for a particular city on a particular weekend.

[BrickBuilder]

I have found Quicken to be excellent in tracking expenses and other aspects of my financial life.  You can set it up to download everything from Banks, brokerages, credit cards, loan companies, you name it....then if you put a bit of time into using the categories and cross account transfers to their fullest extent, the reporting is quite robust.  I have used Quicken since the 1990's and slowly added everything financial to it.  I can track all sorts of things.  I am not as thrilled with its budgeting capabilities but its the only limitation I have run across.

[handiacefailure]

I really like Quicken.    Great for tracking my investments and a good tool at tax time the will integrate with Turbo tax.   I don't like it as much now that is subscription based and you have to renew it every year

[MikeBiDude]

Quicken/Excel combo like @Beancounter above. 

[TonyDown]

I have never tracked my expenses.

My financial advisor suggested it recently.

Sounds like Quicken is the preferred tool.

 

 

 

Edited July 19 by TonyDown

[Nightowl]

I do it all intuitively and from memory.  I use Quicken to log money movement but have developed an internal ability to know where my money is going, what my balances are, and where I need to be for the future.  I’m now in a situation where I have more than enough to keep me going each month, and a healthy balance that should serve me for the remainder of my days.  I’m not disciplined enough to create and follow a rigid budget; fortunately, my intuition does it for me.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

Having tracked my expenses and income and investments for 10 years, I get very frustrated when some of my data is lost due to a software glitch.  Now that I have a good idea of where my money goes, I plan on transitioning to a paper ledger for travel expenses, so I don't have to worry about data being lost due to software glitches.  I've transitioned to cash-only for all expenses other than travel, so I'm no longer tracking those expenses.