Budgeting Apps / Software

[FurForksSake]

Would anyone recommend a budget app or software, or even their method? DH and I have a joint account and we seem to be a very leaky sieve and it needs to stop.

how do you manage budgets when you might both be spending from the same pot? I might look at the clothes line and think it looks healthy and then find he’s bought socks and we’ve gone over budget. Do you have to discuss every spend religiously?

YNAB. I don’t think there’s any other competitor out there in terms of actually changing how you manage and think of money. It has a learning curve but when it clicks, it’s life changing. You can share it, DH and I both use ours. We check YNAB before we purchase stuff.

Most other apps have limited efficacy as they just track what you’ve already spent in the main, which isn’t that useful.

I use the Money saving expert one, fill it in, make sure you include absolutely everything & let it give you the results, it has tabs for every entry which link to his website for hints & tips to save money.

YNAB has been life changing for me, I’ll never go back. A bit of a learning curve to understand the method (YouTube videos are good) and you do to commit to logging spending, or checking inputs if you connect it to you bank, but when you use properly it’s brilliant. It’s properly ‘live’ not just what you’ve predicted you’ll spend but actually what you spend, much more responsive to real life.

You and your husband can both log in (there’s an app and use on computer/web browser, more analysis stuff on the browser) and you’d know of they’d spent from that budget line because you’d have logged that spending.

I like the Financielle app, I’ve been using it for the past year

Another vote for YNAB

All our accounts are linked, even credit cards and savings accounts. I think I check it once a day like I do my emails, it's so easy to assign spending to categories and budget for them.

It did take me about 2 months (or getting paid twice!) to get used to it, and now I wouldn't be without it.

I definitely check YNAB before I buy anything to see how much I have in the budget.

I've had a YNAB subscription for ages and used to reconcile it every few months. Recently though I got to grips with the app and it's been life changing. I've already substantially increased our savings. DH has the same app and login so we see the same thing (all accounts joint) but there are options for partner finances. I now just have our frequent categories "pinned" on the front page so I can see at a glance how much is left for them each month. It's worth every penny.

How do I get over the anxiety and shame around spending? I get really defensive and stressed and so avoid thinking about it or adding it up and just hope for the best.

We aren’t in any debt, have plenty of savings but are spending more than we bring in a lot at the moment and eroding the savings.

I tend to be the one who does the spending but typically on family needs not just buying whatever I want. Dh then gets stressed about how much we’ve spent at Amazon and I have to point out its vitamins and toilet cleaner.

YNAB is very chirpy and positive about the benefits of being organised.
Yesterday's gone, don't feel bad about it. You need to sit down and look at your regular income and spending, agree a budget with your DP (including some personal spending/fun money) and see how you go for a few months.
Knowledge is power, IMO, once you have a grip, you'll be in control and hopefully less anxious.

YNAB also encourages you to plan how you are going to spend you money...and spend it! So if I have budgeted £100 for new clothes I have set the money aside for it, so I shouldn't feel guilty about spending the money.

I really would give it a go.

Find a way to separate the pots - I always find if I’m trying to do everything from one pot I overspend. There are accounts like Monzo who have that function and you can have virtual cards for each pot so if you need clothing you both spend from the budget in the clothing pot.

I also agree with PP - planning how you’re going to spend your money is key for getting rid of the guilt, sit down with DH and agree how much you’re both wanting to put in each pot/category and agree to stick to it (pots bank account crucial here for accountability).

I have such a big psychological block with budgeting and I just don’t know why. I feel so out of control with it all. I find something comes up I’m not expecting, the budget in a pot is blown and then I just want to chuck it all in the bin.

im wondering whether for January I do my best to spend normally and sensibly and then look through snoop (already downloaded) and use it to set my / our budget?

Not that I'm sponsored by YNAB, but I would give it a go.

I used to plan a budget and then look back at the end of the month and realise I'd spent way too much. I think that's where I got stuck. I would dread going through at the end of the month because I knew I'd over spent!

With YNAB you can start anytime and link it to your bank account. Then make some categories for things you have to spend money on - mortgage/rent, gas/electricity, council tax, TV, internet etc. start with that and enter how much you need til you get paid next. Easy and not scary.
Then spend as usual and categorise things as you go - e.g. food shop, pet stuff, baby stuff, new tyres 🙄 and YNAB will total everything for you.

Then come February you can review January and just track your spending, maybe tweak some categories and feel a lot more in control and less overwhelmed. Then by the time you get paid in March you will have a much better idea where you spend money, where you can save, and have a think about irregular costs like the MOT, holidays, birthdays etc.

Can you change the £ once it’s all set up?

I have set up ynab. How do you manage the moves between accounts and double transactions? I’ve been deleting them, it comes up once pending and I assigned it and again when it has gone through and so looks like twice as much.

Do you mean when you move money from one bank account to another?

You should have a going out payment from one, and a paying in transaction in the other