Balancing the Checkbook - gone the way of the dinosaur? What do you do now?

[Jentrovert]

1 hour ago, frogger said:

I've used an excel sheet, mvelopes, and YNAB. Due to my lack of finesse the excel sheet got long and cumbersome.

 

Mvelopes seemed glitchy and sometimes didn't save after I entered things but overall worked excatly like I wanted it to work. It tracked everything and I could easily see which envelopes went red.

 

YNAB drove me insane. It doesn't allow for categories to roll to a new month negative. I would have to tag things and go back to previous months to doctor them because it would automatically pay off categories and assign it to debt. I like to be able to transfer to other categories but still want to see whether the long term amounts are on track. My husband also travels a lot and adding 2 weeks of hotel stays etc. to a debt category because his reimbursement happened to fall after the month rolled over was frustrating to fix.  I needed to see that the reimbursement check matched the things assigned to that envelope not go weed it out from "debt" especially since it wasn't really debt for us since it goes on a c.c. and we live off the previous months income so we have what boils down to a 2 month lag time. If we didn't get reimbursed for 2 months then it would turn into actual debt since we might not be able to make the payment and might owe interest. 

If you need a budgeting software and are worried about overdrawing etc. It is great. If you want specifically tracking though it becomes more complicated.

Yes. The last paragraph sums up how I came to feel about it. As I said above, I'm going to try it again for a while. I don't remember hearing about Mvelopes, though, and will keep it in mind. 

[Suzanne in ABQ]

7 hours ago, Random said:

I just want to say I think it's super cool that you 'have' an airplane mechanic.  And that you actually pay for that service on a regular basis. That's awesome!  😎

 

Thanks. It is pretty cool. Our mechanic runs a small shop, and does things the old fashioned way -- no credit cards. 14yodd said that her friends think we're rich because we have an airplane.  I told her that we might be rich, if it weren't for the fact that we own an airplane. They're expensive to maintain. Dh has been "flying since before he was born", as his dad has always had a plane.  

[Familia]

2 hours ago, frogger said:

I've used an excel sheet, mvelopes, and YNAB. Due to my lack of finesse the excel sheet got long and cumbersome.

 

Mvelopes seemed glitchy and sometimes didn't save after I entered things but overall worked excatly like I wanted it to work. It tracked everything and I could easily see which envelopes went red.

...

If you need a budgeting software and are worried about overdrawing etc. It is great. If you want specifically tracking though it becomes more complicated.

Ack!!  Maybe Myvelopes is more what I want...I hate to jump ships too soon.  The items you mention (that I didn't quote) about reimbursements and roll overs are items that may cause me problems, as well.  I just love the look of YNAB - it is my Pages Document come to life, you know what they say: imitation is the highest form of flattery LOL, so maybe I will find a way to tweak it to give me what I want w/out it being an exact snapshot.  You know, not tell it everything haha

My brain may fry if I do two trials, YNAB and Myvelopes at once.  But, it may just be the shot in the arm I need after not homeschooling in a few years!

Edited October 18, 2019 by Familia
grammar & syntax There is always something!

[frogger]

1 hour ago, Familia said:

  The items you mention (that I didn't quote) about reimbursements and roll overs are items that may cause me problems, as well.  I just love the look of YNAB - it is my Pages Document come to life, you know what they say: imitation is the highest form of flattery LOL, so maybe I will find a way to tweak it to give me what I want w/out it being an exact snapshot. 

 

 

Yes, people had some work arounds. You can check the YNAB forums for more details on how different people handled it. I just never figured out a way to handle it that made me happy. 

[vonfirmath]

8 hours ago, Suzanne in ABQ said:

 

Thanks. It is pretty cool. Our mechanic runs a small shop, and does things the old fashioned way -- no credit cards. 14yodd said that her friends think we're rich because we have an airplane.  I told her that we might be rich, if it weren't for the fact that we own an airplane. They're expensive to maintain. Dh has been "flying since before he was born", as his dad has always had a plane.  

 

My dad owned a airplane when I was very little. (HE was also selling airplanes at the time). They sold it before I was 4 years old because 1) he's a terrible salesman and 2) They are too expensive to own.