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Back in December, I spoke of the wisdom of cash budgeting and how research shows that most people spend less when they’re faced with the pain of parting with actual cash. I also acknowledged that there are categories for which it’s usually not practical to deal in cash—specifically mortgage/rent, utilities, insurance, and other fixed monthly bills that are likely paid online or via automatic withdrawal. So how do you track these?

For years I used a ledger with all of our budget categories written across the top and recorded & balanced everything by hand. I actually enjoy writing things down, so it didn’t bother me. However, owning a small business affords me less time to use this method, so I have become very lax in tracking our family’s non-cash expenditures. One of my goals for this quarter is to find budgeting software that fits our needs and my preferences so that I’m back on top of this area. I noticed that Toni recently asked her readers about this very thing on her Facebook page, so I thought it would be a timely topic to cover.

Since I haven’t yet committed to a program and started using it, I won’t be providing reviews or recommendations at this point. However, I have compiled a linked list of some products that I’m considering along with their cost, categorized by whether they’re used online or downloaded. While there are other programs (such as Mint, Quicken, and Moneydance), I am targeting those which are specifically based on the envelope system of budgeting, where all income that’s not withdrawn to fund cash envelopes is allocated to virtual envelopes and transactions are assigned accordingly. In a few months, I will share which one I chose and how it’s working for me.

ONLINE {most of these offer iOS and Android mobile apps}
Mvelopes [5] (free version allows 25 budgeting envelopes and up to four online bank or credit card accounts; paid version includes unlimited envelopes & accounts, electronic bill pay, and a debt management center )
Inzolo [6] (free version allows 15 envelopes and one bank account; paid version starts at $7/month—less if paying quarterly, yearly, or lifetime—and includes unlimited envelopes and accounts; free 30-day trial of the paid plan )
NeoBudget [7] (free version allows 10 envelopes and one bank account; paid version starts at $4/month—less if paying quarterly or yearly—and includes unlimited envelopes and accounts along with reports)
PearBudget [8] ($4.95/month for unlimited envelopes; free 30-day trial)
EEBA [9] (free version allows 10 regular and 10 irregular envelopes but no ability to import banking activity; paid versions range from $3 to $8/month depending on features and number of envelopes and accounts—less if you pay the yearly option; free 14-day trial of any paid plan)
BudgetFocus [10] ($39.99 for 6 months of the basic plan with unlimited envelopes and accounts; free 14-day trial)
MySpendingPlan [11] (free)

DOWNLOADS
YNAB [12] (Windows & Mac; $60 with free updates, not including new major versions; free 34-day trial)
Common Cents [13] (Windows only; $34.95 with free updates; free 60-day trial)
Snowmint Budget [14] (Windows & Mac; $39.95 with unlimited free upgrades; free trial includes maximum of 250 transactions; iOS mobile option)
MoneyWell Mac [15] (Mac only; $49.99)
I will also be implementing a way to deal with sinking funds—money set aside to be used at a later time—using my account at ING Direct [16] (soon to be Capital One 360). They allow unlimited savings accounts which I will create for our spending categories that function more like savings categories and don’t get depleted on a monthly basis: home maintenance, vacation, Christmas, school, etc. Then I’ll simply transfer funds to my Electric Orange Checking [16] when I need to pay from one of those categories. It’s very much like the envelope system, only those funds will be removed from our monthly operating budget and transferred to a safe place where they can accrue.

Do you use one of these? Do you prefer a different envelope system budgeting program? Please share details in the comments!
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Learn more about budgeting on Melissa’s blog, A Time For Everything (here [17]).
