Which is the best? Mint vs Quicken 2017 vs YNAB vs Spread Sheet

Question

Which budgeting software would you recommend for organizing your finances most accurately?

I'm currently using free websites such as Mint & YNAB for tracking my finances. I am looking at buying Quicken Home & business 2017 software but I wanted to hear opinions. Any opinions and advice for personal finance would be much appreciated!

Scott Trench · Answer

I use BOTH Mint and Personal Capital. Personal Capital tracks only that after-tax wealth which is relevant to early financial freedom, while Mint contains my entire financial position (including assets that are irrelevant to early financial freedom like the value of my car, and my retirement accounts and home equity).

I think at a certain point, these products are all similar enough where you can track your net worth with a reasonable degree of accuracy through any one of them. Pick one you like and stick with it, unless it fails to offer you features that are relevant to your situation.

Paul Ewing · Answer

I use YNAB Desktop for personal budgeting and QuickBooks for my rental properties. I have tried to use YNAB for the rentals before, but it is just too cumbersome because of the inability to classify income.

I used Excel for years for both and it isn't bad for a small operation.

Jana Cain · Answer

@Ethan Schneider Another Mint fan here. I use that and an Excel spreadsheet to manage my finances. I'm still in debt paydown mode, so the spreadsheet is super helpful for me for running scenarios. If you're looking for a [supposedly] great budgeting tool, I know that Dave Ramsey has an app-based solution called Every Dollar. I haven't checked it out yet (which is why I used the word "supposedly") but it sounds like it's easier to use than other budgeting tools out there.

Sam Gastro · Answer

I personally use Mint to aggregate all my account information and categorize my spending, and a Google Docs sheet to plan my monthly budget. It's been working really nice the last few months, and I'm really confident in this system going forward.

I'm a big of a personal finance geek so if you need any help setting up your budget, or showing you how I manage mine I am happy to show you.

Cheers!

Account Closed · Answer

This is pretty much what I do. Mint to aggregate all transactions to make sure I didn't miss anything. Everydollar for budgeting which I find easier to use than a spreadsheet. Then a Google Doc to track my monthly cashflow and balance sheet.

Sam Gastro · Answer

Account Closed I am definitely familiar with Xero, I use it for my business as well. I was curious why you are using software for your personal, it seems like overkill?

Sam Gastro · Answer

Account Closed, why not use Xero for personal as well? I'm curious also why you run such powerful (and expensive?) software for your personal? Maybe it's just the simplicity of my personal, I only have a few categories I need to account for to prepare my EOY personal taxes.

Account Closed · Answer

@Sam Gastro I've used Quicken for years - keeping track of banking accounts, investing accounts, and credit cards.  I have a lot of accounts - it helps keep me organized.

Account Closed · Answer

Quicken for personal finances

Xero for the business.

I would LOVE to find an alternative to Quicken/Mint similar to Xero.

Which is the best? Mint vs Quicken 2017 vs YNAB vs Spread Sheet

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