I'm new to budgeting, and I'm trying to find the most simple free budgeting app. I've calculated with my income and my non-option expenses (rent, student loans, car payment, ect.) how much I have left to spend a month. I'm looking for a simple budgeting app where I can input that amount monthly and log transactions manually.
Simple budgeting app
byu/BreadfruitCautious59 inpersonalfinance
Posted by BreadfruitCautious59
4 Comments
A very simple approach is using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, where you enter your monthly “spendable” amount at the top and then manually list each expense as it happens. Excel will automatically sum your spending and show what’s left, which keeps things clear without needing any setup or syncing. If you prefer an app instead, look for a basic budgeting app that supports manual entry (like Goodbudget or similar envelope-style apps). These let you assign a monthly budget and log transactions by hand, which works well if you don’t want anything connected to your bank account.
You already did the hard part which is separating out the fixed monthly costs from the discretionary spend.
One of the easiest ways to accomplish what you want here is to open another checking account and split your direct deposit between the two. One for the fixed monthly costs which should be fairly consistent, and one for discretionary spend.
Every month split your direct deposit accordingly, and pay all your monthly fixed costs on autopay out of checking account 1. Everything else goes to checking account 2, so you know exactly how much you have left to spend.
There’s really no need to log transactions manually unless you have no clue where your money is going. Just keep track of the few largest categories of discretionary spend you have (groceries, eating out, etc) and the rest of it, you can decide based on how much money you have left.
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Google sheets data
if you just want something simple with manual tracking, apps like Goodbudget or even just a basic notes/spreadsheet setup work really well
a lot of budgeting apps get overcomplicated fast, so sticking to something where you just log spending and see what’s left is usually enough when starting out