I need some way to see all the bills in front of me at once. I thought I had a good plan, and I havent screwed up yet, haven't even got close, but I CAN"T SEE IT ALL... you know? I can't see it all on one page. I need to be able to... but don't want to go sifting through the virus infested "help" sites... anyone have a free site they use for budgeting?

Val

It's not on the computer, but it helped me more than any computer program, ever:

A simple notebook of ledger paper.

;)

Seriously - here's how I did it. I just put the date and description on the left and then the amt and a big + or - for whether it was a paycheck/income or a bill.

I laid it out by date and it really showed me the cash flow, and how much we have left after paying each bill. So:

Date*Descrip*Amt
1st*Paycheck*$XXX
3rd*Mortgage*$XXX
3rd*Insurance*$XXX

etc. Does that make sense? Does it help at all? I just drew a line and calculated the balance wherever I needed to on the page. I now have a reference to go look back to as the month goes by so I can see what's coming up. My ledger paper is 3-hole-punched and in a binder...I keep one as a checkbook register/ongoing budget instead of the one that comes in your checkbook. I need it more detailed than that and available on my desk. :)

There are a few online resources - Google has a online spreadsheet progam but afaik other than being online (and free) it has no functions beyond excel. (I have not looked that closely so I don't know its full scope of ability). There is one place that is pretty highly regarded for free online money management called gnucash. gnucash (http://www.gnucash.com) It looks to be pretty much like quicken, ms money, etc.

The one that looks great to me, and come very highly rated by people who rate these sorts of things is Mvelopes. Home Budget Software for Household, Family & Personal Money Management (http://www.mvelopes.com/index.php) It isn't free after the 30 day trial, but it also isn't that expensive either. You can get different subscription options so it isn't like forking out the whole cost for a copy of quicken. The cool thing is that it is like a virtual envelope system. It has a budget feature and it also links to your bank and credit card (and mortage or other institutions) and automatically tracks spending. THAT is way cool because it means that if you forget to update an account it is already done for you. It looks like a really great tool for managing money, budgeting and planning.

Here ya go Open Source Accounting Software | GnuCash (http://www.gnucash.org/)

and I got it from this list of free software The Simple Dollar » 30 Essential Pieces Of Free (and Open) Software for Windows (http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2006/12/01/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows/)

ooh, sorry, missed that it had already been posted

just wanted to add, IMO... a good spreadsheet is the best way to track cash flow... which is really far more important than budgeting because you can budget all you want, but what you actually have coming in and out is the key part

Great links, mamas! The Mvelopes looks really neat.

ETA - Emily - I am SO glad you posted the "30 free pieces of software" link - looking at that now - very very cool.

And I agree w/you - my ledger sheet (just a paper Excel, LOL) works awesome for tracking cash flow. I was really able to see WHY we ran out of money at the point in the month when we always do, and plan to have $X in the checking at the end of the month to cover that cash flow dip...it made so much sense when I wrote it all out by dates.

I have a calander I track all spending on. So I do have a paper "ledger"... :D And because we use cash I just say "$400 cash" and don't have to worry about tracking every tiny purchase. BUT... I can't see two months at one time... they are on different pages. It does really well at tracking what I can see, and what bills go where, but I don't know what is paid ahead, or what is paid just under the wire etc, becuase all that stuff is in my head... and my head is a mase these days. ;)

I am going to check out that software now. :D

Thanks!

Val

Val, I have made spreadsheets and done a whole year at a time. Pro Formas. You do them in business to plan in advance for your cash flow, especially helpful for cyclical business (ie, an ice cream shop will be slow during the winter so they need to plan ahead for that).

Boy, this is way more complicated than anything I have done before. Does it get easier?

Val