Best personal finance software
I'm looking for a budgeting solution that will allow me to input my current net worth (WITHOUT actually connecting to my bank etc), input my (theoretical) expenditures and allow me to play with the numbers to determine things like;
a) How long can I live off my current net worth
b) How much does it cost me to live each month
and so on and so forth. Any ideas?
I should clarify I don't want to use excel/spreadsheets, or store information in the cloud. Also, free or close to free.
5 comments
GnuCash http://www.gnucash.org/ works well as a simple (personal) accounting system and I believe it will do what you are asking. If not, you can augment it. :-)
The user interface is somewhat quirky - I'm not an accountant, so part of that may be just my lack of knowledge. The interface it isn't a clone of QuickBooks, so accountants will find it quirky too.
One thing that I found really nice about GnuCash that I didn't find in QB (as of a couple revisions ago) is that you can make sub-accounts. I've used this for "restricted funds" that are co-mingled in a single savings or checking account. GnuCash rolls up the sub-account balances into the primary account's balance so you can reconcile your bank statements directly against the account/sub-accounts.
The user interface is somewhat quirky - I'm not an accountant, so part of that may be just my lack of knowledge. The interface it isn't a clone of QuickBooks, so accountants will find it quirky too.
One thing that I found really nice about GnuCash that I didn't find in QB (as of a couple revisions ago) is that you can make sub-accounts. I've used this for "restricted funds" that are co-mingled in a single savings or checking account. GnuCash rolls up the sub-account balances into the primary account's balance so you can reconcile your bank statements directly against the account/sub-accounts.
GnuCash is great on Windows and Linux but is very flaky on Mac OS, if that's a concern.
You might want to check out http://xpenser.com/ . It does a great job with capturing and reporting on your expenses, but doesn't do the planning part (how long can I live off my current net worth).
It's free, and lets you capture expenses using iphone, android, email, sms, voice, im, twitter, etc. You can export to GnuCash, Quicken, QuickBooks, Excel, etc.
It's free, and lets you capture expenses using iphone, android, email, sms, voice, im, twitter, etc. You can export to GnuCash, Quicken, QuickBooks, Excel, etc.
Do you really need an ad-hoc program for such simple requirements?
Probably a spreadsheet (excel or any free alternative) can handle it easily (damn, even a calculator and some paper is more than adeguate!).
Want something free that can entertain your mind? do this with emacs and org-mode. Org's tables support formulas.
Probably a spreadsheet (excel or any free alternative) can handle it easily (damn, even a calculator and some paper is more than adeguate!).
Want something free that can entertain your mind? do this with emacs and org-mode. Org's tables support formulas.
What about: http://www.pulseapp.com ?. I'm using the free version and I think it's okay for my needs.
Sorry, but where's the free version? http://pulseapp.com/signup
I used getharvest.com ... to input my expense from my iPhone, and at the end of each month I reviewed how/where I spent my $$$ each month.