Household Budgeting Software

[NewGuy2005 51]

Bill paying is a time consuming process for my wife because it is all done with paper and pencil. Both of us are fairly tech savvy, but for some reason this artifact remains from our pre-internet days.

What software do you use to automate this process?

[normiss 620]

Mostly via the bill pay feature/function of the bank account interface or software.
I used to use Quicken, but all of my/our accounts have features that allow this now.
Between that and a calendar, we're good.

[Rick 67]

Like Mark I pay most bills through the bill payer feature of my credit union online. I use a google calendar to track my bills.

You can't be drunk all day if you don't start early!

[normiss 620]

Move to USAA already.

[PhreeZone 14]

Look at Mint.com or the bill paying part of their offering. Its a good budgeting tool and let's you sync all your various accounts to get the big picture on your financial situation.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[NewGuy2005 51]

Thanks, everyone. Sounds good.

[damir 1]

Hello,

I liked both Mint.com and Quicken budgeting software. For both the set up was long and you spend a lot of time adjusting/adding categories, however once set up they work like a charm. Now, that I'm older, I use my banks bill pay. Its much easier and it works well.

[Coreeece 2]

PhreeZone

Look at Mint.com

Ya, good stuff. It's a part of the Intuit family - Quicken, Turbo Tax, QuickBooks, all that - they're into it all.

I personally love the budgeting software. Once you link your accounts it's able to categorize your spending. It even has options to input data for cash spending.

After the first month, I was bombarded with all these charts on my spending habits - it was awesome. I couldn't believe how much I spent on all these unnecessary/trivial purchases. It showed how quickly a dollar here and a dollar there really added up. $500 on coffee and donuts a month!? Really? Are you fucking kidding me?

It's an awesome budgeting tool with features that will help you save thousands.

...oh ya, and you can pay your bills too.

I recommend the program a lot, but the biggest objection is security and giving this company your account info and spending habits - but these are the same people that have no problem giving their credit info to buy something - most of them give Intuit their financial info for online taxes anyway.

My brother in law is one of the heads of security for Quicken. I don't doubt their security, but I asked him if he could access my account. He said the only way would be to coordinate info with the heads of multiple departments housed around the country. No one individual within the company has the ability to access someone's account. To even attempt it, would trigger a red flag just like any other hack.

Never was there an answer....not without listening, without seeing - Gilmour

[RMK 3]

I haven't manually paid a monthly bill in over a decade (maybe 15+ years). I thought US banks would have direct debit and standing order functions by now.

I see US banks are the slowest on the planet with chip & pin card security, but this is outrageous.

"Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

[JohnMitchell 14]

RMK

I haven't manually paid a monthly bill in over a decade (maybe 15+ years). I thought US banks would have direct debit and standing order functions by now.

I see US banks are the slowest on the planet with chip & pin card security, but this is outrageous.

All of my monthly bills, even my property taxes and insurance premiums, are paid automatically each month. This required only visiting their webpages and giving them banking or credit card information. I've had my bills set up this way for years. I think US banks have been up-to-date enough (if not well regulated) for quite a while.

I use credit cards for all the bills I can, collecting airline miles and points as I go. Then all of my cards are paid in full the next month, automatically. My pension and investment withdrawals are deposited into my bank each month too, automatically. I track it all in a register, but it's nice to sit back, go on vacation, skydive a bunch, and never write a check, mail a payment, or even set foot in a bank.