Best Budgeting Software

Discussion in 'Property Information Resources & Tools' started by The Stig, 25th Feb, 2008.

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  1. The Stig

    The Stig Well-Known Member

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    Hello people,

    One of the areas most people miss when they are talking about Wealth Generation on these forums is tracking your spending.

    Good stewards of their money track their spending. So if you want to get wealthy, do what wealthy people do. Track your spending and do a budget. If you are they type of person to spend 100% to 110% of your income on crap, and you want to invest money, first thing to do is spend less to generate cash you can invest.

    I coached a friend on mine in December and January on this subject and I got him tracking his spending. He is now saving $100 to $200 a week and putting that towards his investments. How did he do it? He tracked what he spent and worked out where he was wasting money and stopped the bleeding.

    So, I want to start a discussion on what software people use to track their spending and do their budgets with.


    I am hoping to talk about software from the most simplest to use, thru to Quicken and MYOB for the hardcore investors.

    Cheers
    The Stig
     
  2. islandgirl__

    islandgirl__ Well-Known Member

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    I'm an excel girl myself. Whilst I use MYOB for the accounting side. I prefer excel for my personal budget and for my cashflows etc
     
  3. voigtstr

    voigtstr Well-Known Member

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    I'm also a believer in excel.
    a couple of columns per month, incoming pay at the top, budgetted expenses and investments under that, room for adhoc expenses. overflow goes to the next month. My budget runs out till 2010 (when the sony bravia on 24 months interest free gets paid off) I try to leave approx 350 in the budget spare for adhoc stuff.

    I've got quicken 2008, but it doesnt really add a lot of value for me, except for evaluating net worth and being able to look at pretty graphs.
     
  4. Saskatoon

    Saskatoon Well-Known Member

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    See my post in Investor Resources forum for a possible alternative.
     
  5. Redwing

    Redwing Well-Known Member

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    Hmm..

    Not using anything at the moment, though glad to say more is coming in than going out currently

    Have looked at several, but can only think that the best way to do it is to record everything?

    PS: Noticed this on the sidebar http://www.5mmm.com.au/
     
  6. Simon Hampel

    Simon Hampel Founder Staff Member

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    I´ve been using Quicken for over 15 years now. From a data entry and budget management point of view, I find it excellent.

    I can go back and compare my spending on a category or class of transaction at any point in the past - very powerful for cashflow management purposes too.
     
  7. The Stig

    The Stig Well-Known Member

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    Sim, what version do you recommend I get?
    My wife and I are about to buy it. We have used MYOB all our lives but we don't have it anymore since we sold our business.

    I made up my mind to buy Quicken because my US brokerage account seamlessly imports all the information (so they say). And people say it is easier to use than MYOB.

    We are going to use it for personal budgeting and properties in our name, 2 companies ((for investing and trading)in our trust)) and SMSM.

    Appreciate any help you can give me considering your vast experience with the product.

    Cheers
    The Stig
     
  8. Simon Hampel

    Simon Hampel Founder Staff Member

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    I use Quicken Personal Plus (annual subscription so I always have the latest version) for my personal finances and Quickbooks Pro (again, annual subscription) for my trust and company bookkeeping.

    If you don't intend to upgrade regularly, buying outright will probably be cheaper in the long term.
     
  9. The Stig

    The Stig Well-Known Member

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    Cheers.
    The Stig
     
  10. Redwing

    Redwing Well-Known Member

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    Stig,


    What did he use to track his spending?
     
  11. The Stig

    The Stig Well-Known Member

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    He used excel and then switched to a $20 program called Budget Advisor.
     
  12. DaveJ__

    DaveJ__ Well-Known Member

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    I was in Officeworks yesterday (ACT) and noticed Quicken currently have those promotional stickers on some of the products:

    Quicken Personal Plus 2008 :-

    a. $80 Cashback if upgrading from a previous verison (can't be an old subscription service thought).
    b. $50 Itunes credit
    c. $25 Cashback on the full version (Net $94).

    I believe you can only choose one of the above as you need to cut out the barcode from the box and mail it in with the coupon.

    They are valid to Oct08 by the stickers i read.

    I think you can buy a full version (more expensive).... And in a couple of years start a subscription if you want to...

    I believe the bigger Quickbooks has some too but didn't read them.

    Hope this helps...

    P.S. - I use QuickenPlus2008 and really like it.... As long as you acknowledge the saying "Garbage in... Garbage out!"
     
  13. The Stig

    The Stig Well-Known Member

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    The 5 minute money manager that is advertising on this site looks like a good tool to use.

    I like how it shows you your financial goals when ever you start up the program. Nice.

    Looks like good value for $70.00