Budgeting app for two. Personal finance apps for iOS and Android


Many users find it difficult to control their home budget. To ease the situation, it is recommended to use specialized software. Thanks to a specialized program, you can control not only your income, but also your expenses. The functionality of the program allows you to list the costs even for maintaining a vehicle or paying off a loan.

Most applications are created taking into account the fact that the user is unfamiliar with accounting activities. For effective analysis, the programs are able to build graphs and diagrams. All that remains is to choose the appropriate application.

Review of the best programs

To plan a family budget, you need an appropriate program. In fact, on the global network you can find a dozen applications that can plan income and expenses. The best programs include:

  • "Greedy";
  • Home accounting;
  • Home Economics;

Each of the above programs for maintaining a family budget differs from each other in functionality. Therefore, before using any program, it is recommended to analyze the functionality and also compare the programs you like.

This is a multifunctional program for the family budget. The application is able to work with accounts, clients and articles. If desired, the program can be used by individual entrepreneurs. Users who decide to use the application to plan a family budget do not have to worry, since it is not necessary to be an accountant to understand the program.

The main features include:

  • Possibility of multi-currency organization of financial flows;
  • Group data processing;
  • Construction of diagrams showing the dynamics of funds;
  • Ability to export the report to Excel;
  • Composite payment support;
  • Data backup;
  • Possibility of printing a promissory note;
  • Update exchange rates via the Internet;
  • Customizing the appearance of the program.

Unfortunately, at first it will be difficult for the user to understand the program for accounting funds. This is due to the busy and poorly thought out interface. In appearance, the application can be compared to programs written in the 90s. Of course, after careful study, anyone can handle Home Finance, but it takes time.

Family accounting can be accounted for using the AceMoney program. The application has an intuitive interface, which means it won’t take much time to learn the functionality. IceMoney allows you to create bank and cash accounts. This way, all income and expenses can be taken into account. In addition, it is possible to transfer money from one account to another.

The only thing that may be difficult is the terminology used in the program. Otherwise, the fund accounting program has no drawbacks.

The main functionality can be identified:

  • Budget planning using articles;
  • Ability to manage multiple accounts;
  • Setting a password for the program;
  • Backup;
  • Visualization of expenses using graphs;
  • Ability to export data.

With such a program, the family's accounting will always be analyzed. In addition, you can generate a report for any past month.

A program with a simple interface without frills. Compared to other programs, there is such a drawback as unlabeled buttons. Sometimes it can be difficult to understand what they are for. In this case, the application can be configured so that when you hover over the button, an inscription appears, but only in the footer of the program.

As for adding income and expenses, everything is clear here. It is possible to categorize amounts. In order to keep track of the family budget more accurately, you need to take advantage of the opportunity to add information to a section such as “Debts”.

Such software has the following functionality:

  • Accounting for the entire family budget;
  • Possibility of accounting for a loan from a bank;
  • Accounting for debtors;
  • Work with an unlimited number of accounts;
  • Possibility of gradual debt repayment;
  • Generating reports in the form of text and diagrams;
  • Creating a backup copy of the database;
  • Setting a password for the program.

It should be noted that “family accounting” can be used free of charge if the total income does not exceed 8,000 rubles.

If you want your family’s accounting to always be in order, it is recommended to pay attention to a program such as “Home Accounting”. The application occupies a leading position among software designed for calculating profits and costs.

Family accounting is divided into the following tabs:

  • Accounts;
  • Expenses;
  • Planning;
  • Debts;
  • Income.

Such a division may not be entirely convenient. Competitors display expenses and income in one tab. This way you can understand how effective budget planning will be.

Main functionality:

  • Creating multiple accounts;
  • Credit accounting;
  • Possibility of partial repayment of debts;
  • Loan repayment reminder;
  • Budget planner;
  • Filter for quick search;
  • Report generation and visualization;
  • Possibility of database compression;
  • Automatic update.

The family's accounting will always be calculated; all that remains is to download the program from the official website.

The application is designed for quick budget accounting. The program occupies a leading position in its software niche. The functionality of the program is quite diverse. As for the interface, it is simple, but you will have to tinker with some features. This is due to the fact that not all functionality is available on the control panel. For example, account-to-account transfers are located in the Finance menu, although expenses and income can be found directly in the control panel.

It should be noted that you can only download the demo version for free. This is enough to get acquainted. Perhaps the functions that are available in the free version will be enough for someone. It should be noted that you can edit existing income and expense items.

The main advantages of the program include:

  • Ability to create an unlimited number of accounts;
  • Planning your budget;
  • Availability of a debt module;
  • Creation of 10 types of reports;
  • Availability of reference information;
  • Export data to Excel;
  • Create a backup copy.

Thanks to in-depth analysis, you can understand what is worth spending more money on and what is better to refuse. It is recommended to download the program from the official website.

A multifunctional program that allows you to protect your budget from unnecessary waste. The program is designed in the style of Microsoft Office. All sections are signed and also equipped with icons. To plan an event, you need to use an organizer.

Program functionality:

  • Financial event planning;
  • Maintaining records in multiple accounts;
  • Calculation of profitable deposits taking into account inflation;
  • Ability to view the latest financial news;
  • Drawing up reports.

The program fully copes with the task. The only thing worth remembering is that the program is not free, although it can be downloaded without registering on the site.

The program combines ease of use and versatility. Even a novice user can handle the controls. You can customize the categories of expenses and income. Transferring funds between your accounts is not very convenient, but you can get used to it.

Compared to other similar programs, developers devote little time to their product, so updates are released extremely rarely. It is worth noting that the program is paid, but most of the functions are available in the demo version. There is a ban on planning.

The functionality is quite diverse, but we can highlight:

  • High performance, thanks to which calculations and plotting are carried out in a matter of seconds;
  • Possibility of database backup;
  • Working with deposits and loans;
  • Export to any convenient format;
  • Search by specified criteria.

In general, the program can compete with analogues, and the license is only 250 rubles.

Video review of programs for maintaining a family budget


Do you want to learn how to plan a family budget, but don't know where to start? Create a notebook, an Excel file, an account in an online service, or download a special program? What will be easier and more convenient for you, how to find out?

In order not to get lost in the variety of tools and ways to manage a family budget, let’s try to sort them “on the shelves”, from simple to more advanced. In this article, we'll look at general budgeting techniques (no tedious calculations!) and templates for budgeting in Excel (or other spreadsheets).

Part 1. 3+ simple techniques

To begin with, let's look at three extremely simple schemes that allow you to plan your family budget very quickly and without a lot of time. Most likely, later you will need more details and opportunities to analyze your budget, then you can move on to more developed tools (such as a family budget program) or develop, based on these simple schemes, a more complex one that suits your financial situation.

By the way, the authors of these schemes unanimously suggest saving 20% ​​of every income received, so the sooner this turns into a financial habit, the better. Another point on which they all agree: the goal is to reduce the share of mandatory (necessary, essential) expenses in the total amount of family expenses, which will improve the standard of living.

1.1. Andrew Tobias, author of The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need, offers the following simple and effective solution to the budgeting problem:

  • Step 1. Destroy credit cards (get rid of loans and debts).
  • Step 2. Save and/or invest 20% of your income (never spend this money).
  • Step 3. Live the remaining 80% for your own pleasure.

    • Simple, isn't it? Just remember, first we save 20%, and only then spend it, otherwise at the end of the month it may turn out that there is nothing to save at all. By the way, if 20% seems overwhelming, try starting with 10% or even 5% to develop a habit and create an initial savings fund (family emergency fund). To enhance this technique, you can also add what remains after spending at the end of the month to the reserve fund.

    1.2. In the book All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan, the authors argue that in order to achieve financial success, you must keep three areas of your finances in balance. Therefore, they propose dividing the total income into three parts:

  • Use 50% on necessary things (groceries, rent, transportation, insurance, basic clothing, etc.)
  • Spend 30% on desirable things (cable TV, fashionable clothes, jewelry, trips to a restaurant, theater tickets, books, hobbies, etc.)
  • Use 20% for savings (including for paying off debts).

    • Thus, you simultaneously save a fairly large amount (at the same time get rid of debts, if any), and live for your own pleasure (30% of income for entertainment and amenities). It is not a fact that, given the current level of income and expenses, your family can easily “fit” into this scheme, but you can consider it as a kind of ideal.

    1.3. The 60% rule, proposed by MSN Money contributor Richard Jenkins. We have already talked about this scheme in the article about the envelope method for drawing up a family budget. In short, Jenkins suggests dividing total income into 5 parts, of which about 60% goes to operating expenses.

  • Current expenses – 60%.
  • Pension savings – 10%.
  • Long-term purchases and payments – 10%.
  • Irregular expenses – 10%.
  • Entertainment – ​​10%.

    • You can read more about the 60% method and other methods of budgeting in envelopes in the article Making a family budget: the envelope method and its variations.

    Part 2. 4+ Templates for Budgeting in Spreadsheets

    The second way, more advanced, is to start maintaining a family budget in a spreadsheet (Excel, Google Docs, etc.), where the basic formulas for budget analysis have already been entered.

    2.1. PearBudget template. This is a free, beautiful and thoughtful template (Excel) for maintaining a family budget, designed for one year. It has a couple of disadvantages: firstly, you cannot use more than 30 categories of expenses/income and it is entirely in English, including instructions and an example.
    Download budget file (179 Kb)
    The latest version is available at www.pearbudget.com.

    2.2. A simple budget for a family for a year, in Russian. Several categories of expenses and a pie chart for expenses. The author explains how to fill out the file and analyze expenses on his website.
    Download budget file (19 Kb)

    2.3. In the MoneyTracker community article Family Budget in Excel I gave a couple more links to template collections:
    office.microsoft.com- a collection of templates (12 pieces) from the official Microsoft website (to download, you need confirmation of the authenticity of the installed MS Office)
    docs.google.com- 30 different templates, ranging from calculating interest on a deposit to calculating the family budget. They look modest, but they are a good place to start.
    After downloading, you will have to think over your system of categories in the budget or at least translate what is in these Excel templates (most of them are in English).

    2.4. Personal budgeting template for Google Docs from Gumoza: Gbudget. A fairly simple and convenient tool, always at hand if you have access to the Internet, in Russian, customizable. Author's description here: gumoza.ru

    Have you decided to start planning your family budget? A few useful tips won't hurt :-).

  • Remember why you decided to budget. Don't do it just because you think it's necessary or someone said so. Realize for yourself a reason, for example, “spend less than you earn” or “reduce expenses by 10%.”
  • Set the exact goal (or goals) you want to achieve. For example, “save 150 thousand rubles for repairs.” this year"
  • Keep accurate records of income and expenses to be sure that the numbers in the family budget are correct.
  • Open a savings account to save money, preferably a deposit without the possibility of cash withdrawal. Consider how the family reserve fund will be formed.
  • Be realistic. Don’t promise yourself to become a “superman” of the family budget in a month, just start small and take action.
  • It is highly advisable to get support from your family or, for example, start keeping a budget in parallel with a friend (separate :-), of course)
  • Don't be afraid to revise your budget, even radically. Be flexible, choose what works for you. There are no set numbers once and for all; we change: we earn more, spend more, get sick, relax, have pets, etc. and so on.
  • Set small but achievable goals that will motivate you to greater achievements.

    • Based on the article

    If you and your family members are thinking about convenient home accounting in order to clearly see not only your income, but also monthly expenses, then the usual paper notepad with a pen is already an outdated option, and standard Excel is, of course, not bad, but if you If you have not fully mastered this program, then a special program for home accounting, which you can download for free on the Internet quite easily, will be the best solution for achieving your goals.

    There are quite a lot of programs of this kind, so among all the variety you will definitely find one that is ideal for you. Programs for keeping track of your home budget can be either paid or shareware ( limited functionality or with a test period) and completely free. I would like to immediately note that free programs do not mean “ bad» programs, because they also have all the necessary functionality for competent and accurate accounting of family funds. The differences most often lie in the design, as well as in some convenient “ chips", which, in principle, can be done without.

    In our article we will look in more detail at completely free programs, as well as those that can be downloaded for free, but in the future you will need to activate them to expand functionality. All programs in our review are released in Russian.

    Free programs for home accounting Cubux

    Cubux (www.cubux.net) is a fairly convenient service for managing income, expenses and debts online. Whether you use a gadget or just a computer, the data is synchronized and saved from all devices into one database.

    Maintaining a common budget for the whole family is quite possible using the “Joint Accounting” function. After leaving the store, you can quickly and easily create an expense transaction thanks to the “Multi-expense” function. The action is performed in three clicks: Account, Category, Date and after entering the amount, the expense is saved.

    A report on your finances is reflected monthly in statistics. The “Debts” section will help you not to forget about your debts, as well as about your debtors.

    Use the instructions for using the service or contact technical support to resolve the issue. Don't worry about the data, you can download it to an Excel file and save it to your computer.

    Supported platforms: Windows, IOS, Mac Os, Android.

    (http://homebank.free.fr/) is a completely free application that allows you to organize accounting of expenses and income. A distinctive feature of this program is that it supports data exchange with the Microsoft Money service, as well as Quicken and some other applications. Works using the following formats:

    • QFX (OFX);

    Features:

    • the ability to break down expenses and income by category;
    • displaying data in the form of charts;
    • planning future expenses;
    • the ability to create transactions automatically;
    • visualization of current operations;
    • importing data into specific formats that the program works with.

    If you decide to download for free (https://dervish.ru/), then when you open the program for the first time, its interface may seem too simple, uncomplicated and unattractive to you, but do not rush to close the newly installed application. If you stay in it for at least 20-30 minutes, you will understand that it is unique and a lot of opportunities open up for you completely free of charge without registration.

    With AbilityCash you can:

    • create a variety of accounts without limiting their number and currency;
    • work with popular formats. xls and .xml;
    • print various versions of reports on paper;
    • use some rare languages ​​(Ukrainian and Lithuanian);
    • customize the appearance to suit your preferences: add options hidden by default (“price”, “quantity”), use a tree structure with the ability to add an unlimited number of subcategories, make notes and important notes to specific cells.

    By default, only the Russian ruble is preset, but you can expand the list of currencies using current data from the website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

    Another program released entirely in Russian (http://www.softportal.com/software-4910-semejnij-byudzshet.html).

    Among the advantages of the Family Budget are the following:

    • can keep track of income and expenses in several accounts at once;
    • The auto-selection function of categories is available, i.e. When you enter a specific product, it will automatically be sorted into a specific category;
    • the ability to create an 8-item report by pressing just one button;
    • use of popular formats .bmp, .txt, .xls, .doc;
    • printing reports;
    • the ability to use the program by several people at once, and registration is free for each user with the creation of their own login and password, which must be entered when logging in.

    (http://myhomesoft.ru/) in addition to the standard capabilities for accounting for income and expenses, planning a family budget, it has some individual features that distinguish the program from its analogues:

    • ability to create multiple accounts.
    • not only analysis of expenses is available, but also their control, i.e. when you reach a certain maximum you set, the program will notify you that you are approaching the mark;
    • the ability to account for debt obligations, both your own and those who owe you;
    • use of different currencies;
    • creating database backups, which can later be restored or uploaded to Microsoft Excel.

    (http://www.domeconom.ru/) refers to free programs without registration for home accounting, so it can be downloaded from the official or any other site.

    The program allows you to work on several devices at once, and through automatic synchronization.

    The functions of this utility are otherwise completely identical and standard for similar programs ( for example, Home Accounting, and other free programs).

    What’s noteworthy is that the help here is implemented quite competently and clearly, so if you don’t know where to start or how to organize work with the utility, then after reading the corresponding section, you can easily figure out the problem.

    (http://www.ownmoney.org/) is a completely free application with great features:

    • accounting for income and expenses, including those that you plan for the future;
    • multi-currency, unlimited number of accounts;
    • tree structure with various sub-items and branches;
    • transfer of funds between accounts;
    • automatic updating of exchange rates;
    • taking into account not only purchases, but also their weight;
    • the ability to schedule certain operations to be carried out automatically, as well as temporarily disable such payment;
    • working with counters, as well as accounting for benefits and discounts.

    (http://www.softportal.com/software-1128-cashfly.html) - free home accounting that allows you to calculate complex transactions related to income and expenses for various items. Among the main advantages are:

    • ability to archive data;
    • password protection;
    • preparation of planned operations;
    • constructing graphs and diagrams for various parameters;
    • the ability to print data;
    • address book for recording data of individuals and organizations;
    • the ability to keep a diary and set up notifications about memorable dates.
    Shareware programs for home accounting

    These programs can be downloaded for free without registration, but payment may be required for expanded functionality or long-term use.

    (http://www.mechcad.net) is available in four versions, so you can download the full version or use the Lite version, as well as use add-ons. The Lite version differs only in that with the help of the program you can manage no more than two accounts, but for most families this will be more than enough. An account here means not only bank cards or accounts, but also the cash of family members, i.e. If there are two workers in a family, then the Lite version will be quite enough for them. The cost of the full version of the program is 1,300 rubles.

    With the AceMoney program you can:

    • manage your funds in various currencies (more than 150 currencies are represented);
    • monitor online changes in exchange rates;
    • distribute your budget according to expense items (the program has more than 100 preset options for spending money);
    • tracking budget revenues and expenses;
    • calculation of expenses according to a certain sample for the period of interest (utilities, mobile communications, groceries, etc.);
    • reporting (common formats are available. xls and .html);
    • accounting for savings, debt obligations, mortgages;
    • the ability to create a backup copy, etc.

    The program (https://www.keepsoft.ru/) is one of the most widespread among those distributed on the Internet completely free of charge. Today you can download the Home Accounting program for free without registration from many services, but do not delude yourself, since to get the full extended version you will have to pay 400 rubles. This computer application will not only allow you to calculate the accounting of expenses and income in the family, but will also cope with bookkeeping in a small company.

    The Home Accounting program can:

    • keep records of expenses and income;
    • counting debt obligations (both yours and those incurred in front of you);
    • calculate the possibility of partial repayment of debts, as well as interest on debts;
    • remind you about the time to pay debts or mandatory payments;
    • build reports in the form of tables and charts;
    • synchronize databases, compress them, clean up unnecessary things, etc.

    Main advantages over other programs:

  • the presence of pop-up tips for budget planning;
  • update via the Internet;
  • customizing the interface;
  • the ability to convert data in 15 most popular formats;
  • currency exchange, current information on 5 selected currencies, current exchange rate;
  • planning income and expenses for the future, etc.

    • You can download the Home Accounting program for free without registration on the official website (https://www.keepsoft.ru/), here you can also expand the functionality.

    Family Pro

    Family Pro (http://www.sanuel.com/ru/family/) is another shareware version of a paid program. Don’t rush to look for something else, as it is quite easy to use and in the free 30 days you will definitely be able to understand whether it is right for you or if you should look for something else. If the free version completely satisfies you, then paying 500 - 600 rubles for the full package is not so much.

    For the purposes of private business, this program for home accounting is also suitable, which can be downloaded for free from many Internet services. This utility, in the most interesting and competent way among its competitors, implements the ability to create and save reports, as well as instantly send it to print. With Family Pro you can create the following types of reporting:

    • family budget analysis;
    • detailed report on items of expenses and income;
    • comparative analysis by month;
    • analysis of debt obligations and list of debtors;
    • comparison of income and expenses, etc.

    Using the utility’s tools, the user can plan deposits and loans for free, predict expenses and income in the budget for a certain month or period, predict possible cash flow if there are several sources of income and counting “in the head” is completely unacceptable.

    (http://www.personalfinances.ru/) is unique in that by creating a specific database about your budget on your computer, you can download home accounting to your mobile device by installing a similar application based on Android or IOS and synchronizing the information.

    The Personal Finances program is presented in a free demo version with limited, but sufficient functionality for comfortable use, as well as in a paid version costing from 2,450 rubles (personal and commercial licenses). Moreover, these licenses are mutually exclusive, i.e. commercial cannot be used for home and vice versa.

    The program has a lot of possibilities:

    • family budget management;
    • online tracking of interest on deposits;
    • possibility of repaying loans;
    • multi-currency with the ability to update rates from the Internet;
    • organizing expenses not only by category, but also by each family member;
    • dealing with debts;
    • reports in the form of graphs, diagrams, projects, etc.
    Economy

    The Economics program (http://home-economy.ru/) is ideal for those who are completely unfamiliar with economic and financial terminology, and also cannot distinguish the concept of “transactions” from “investments.” There are no terms or words that are difficult to understand, so even a teenager or an elderly person can probably use this utility.

    True, the program is not completely free, because... there are limitations here: if your budget is more than 14,000 rubles per month, buy the paid version.

    Advantages of the application:

    • simple, clear, convenient and pleasing to the eye interface;
    • creating an unlimited number of accounts and accounts in each of them;
    • the ability to create foreign currency accounts, as well as maintain records in various currencies;
    • reminders about the dates of payment of loans, utility bills and other obligatory payments;
    • the ability to use various filters;
    • data backup, recovery option;
    • reference information for Russian-speaking users.

    If your budget has grown above 14,000 rubles, then you can always buy the paid version, especially since its cost is only 250 rubles.

    Maintaining personal accounting online

    You can do home accounting completely free of charge, even without downloading any applications to your mobile devices or home computer, since today there are quite a few online services for keeping track of family expenses and income.

    Among the most common and free services are the following:

    • Rubbish;
    • Where is my money? ;
    • EasyFinance;
    • HomeMoney, etc.

    The convenience of these services is that there is no need to download applications, and all data is stored on servers on the Internet, which allows you to view your entire history from any computer or device with Internet access. At the same time, functionality does not suffer at all, since you have access to all the same functions and capabilities as standard programs.

    Budget planning is the key to a successful life, even with a small income.

    This article does not present all currently existing programs for maintaining home accounting and. Only the most popular, successful, and also available for downloading without restrictions are described here. If desired, every Internet user can find something more suitable than what is presented here. For example, X-Cash, Xenon, Home Finance, DaReManager or anything else. Find what suits you and plan your budget!

    If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter! Thank you very much for your help, it is very important for us and our readers!

    To track expenses and income. Now it’s time to choose the best Android application for managing a family budget.

    Modern technologies have allowed developers to create a full-fledged software platform - the Android operating system. Thanks to this system, the mobile application market was born. Many developers began to release mobile versions of their programs, which are adapted for smartphones and tablets. The largest players in the mobile OS market are platforms such as Android and iOS.

    In the official application store play.google.com you can find many worthy programs that will make it easier for you to do home accounting. Despite the wide variety of software, there are not many truly high-quality applications.

    Read also: My Wallet - My Money Tracker Lite

    My Money Tracker Lite is a personal finance tracking app. There is also a paid analogue of the program - the Pro version. MyMoneyTracker does a good job of keeping track of your income and expenses. After launching the application, the user is taken to the transactions section. By clicking on the red button with a lightning bolt at the bottom of the screen, you can quickly add an expense or income transaction. Before completing a transaction, you need to select its name, for example, clothing, food, gasoline, and also indicate the amount. You can add an expense through the top menu (three dots - “add transaction”). The program contains a two-level directory of operations (for example, categories and subcategories: children/toys, children/kindergarten). To customize directories for yourself, you need to go to the settings section (third icon from the top), go to “groups” and click the “add group” button at the top. For the new element, you need to set the group name, operation type (expense or income), icon, and also indicate whether this group is the default element (if so, it will be displayed when added through the lightning button on the main screen).

    To build reports, you need to go to the appropriate section (second icon from the top) and select the report type. The current version has seven types of reports, of which the most popular are the following: expenses/income by month, transactions by group/subgroup. The report is available in both chart and table formats.

    Conclusions. Overall, the application left a pleasant impression. During testing, no failures or errors were found. The program interface is simple and functional. You can add a transaction in two taps (plus entering numbers). As for the reports, they are also quite informative. My Money Tracker Lite has established itself as a simple and reliable tool for monitoring the family budget.

    Read also: 1Money – convenient accounting of expenses and income

    The functionality of the 1Money application is a little wider than that of the previous program, but there is one significant drawback - the free version has serious restrictions (for example, there is a limit on the number of accounts and categories). If you can manage with two accounts (cash and card) for personal accounting, then the 1Money application will do just fine.

    I would like to note an interesting approach to the design of the main application screen (category section). Here is a list of expense categories indicating the costs for each transaction in the current month. To see the structure of expenses for the previous month, just move the screen to the right (or select a time interval from above). If you are interested in income, then you need to click in the center of the screen and you will receive the income structure for the selected period. The circle in the center of the screen in the “categories” section is also a chart that shows the share of spending across all categories involved. The application does not have a hierarchy of categories, that is, the transaction directory has one level. It is difficult to say whether this is a drawback, because a two-level directory would interfere with clarity.

    Adding a transaction is very simple - just click on the corresponding inscription in the “categories” section. After entering the expense, it is automatically summed with the previous value for the selected category. In the “overview” section, you can familiarize yourself in more detail with the expenses and income of your personal accounting - a detailed report is presented here in tabular form. At the top of the section there is a chart that shows the dynamics of expenses and income by day.

    Conclusions. I was pleased with the approach to the design of the interface - at first everything seems unusual, and then the realization comes that it couldn’t be more convenient. The limitations in the free version are disappointing; for example, you can only add one “own” expense category, and you cannot use more than two accounts. It is clear that the developer tried very hard and thought through the functionality and interface of 1Money well, but he was clearly greedy with the restrictions. If you need a colorful and visual tool for home accounting, then you can recommend the free version of the program only if you later switch to a paid one.

    Personal financial manager

    The application has a wide range of functions. It has everything you need to control your family budget: accounting for income and expenses, planning, debts, foreign currency accounts and much more. Personal financial manager is noticeably superior to competitors in functionality, but inferior to them in interface design. The appearance of the program goes back to the first versions of Android. If you are not confused by this interface, then this application will become a reliable assistant in the field of personal finance.

    To add a transaction, for example, an expense, you need to click the plus opposite the “expenses” section. Then we fill out a simple form - indicate the name of the operation, the wallet to be written off, the amount, date and category. It’s interesting that you can enter the name of a transaction and its description. With such information content, you definitely won’t get confused in your notes. I was pleased with the fairly detailed and voluminous directory of expense categories. Unlike the previous application, here the reference book is two-level (for example, you can specify “car - fuel”). This directory is easy to edit; it supports nested subcategories (for example, you can create “children - school”, “children - gifts”). An income transaction is formalized in a similar way. I was also pleased with the income directory - it is already filled out and supports nested subcategories.

    A list of debts can be made in the “debt management” section. Everything is simple here - there are two types of debt (“borrow” and “lend”). It's a pity that there is no automatic notification of overdue debts. You can submit such a notification yourself in the “planning” section. Another interesting feature is setting a limit by category and by wallet. Such a restriction will be useful for those who are accustomed to spending money thoughtlessly.

    Everything is fine with reports in the Personal Financial Manager - you can get a report in the form of a pie chart and in tabular form. You can separately see how much money was spent for a given category. Another useful report is an expense/income comparison. This function will be useful, for example, for comparing expenses for the past and current months.

    Conclusions. The application has all the functionality for effective control of personal finances. The feature set is very good, especially for a free app. There are flexible settings for directories and user accounts. The reports are high quality and informative. We can confidently recommend the program to those for whom the “colorfulness” of the interface is not in the first place.

    KeepFinance: accounting for expenses and income

    KeepFinance can be considered a professional tool for monitoring personal finances. The functionality of the program allows you to import transactions from SMS messages from banks. To do this, you only need to configure message templates once. The main screen is very informative - here you can see account balances, expense summaries, and even reminders for important payments. The top bar has plus and minus icons. Through them you can register income and expenses.

    To quickly add an expense transaction, use the right screen (scroll to the left) - here you can add an expense in two taps. To do this, enter the amount, indicate the account to be written off and the expense category. Another feature of the application is that you can see the current balance on the lock screen of your smartphone. It feels like you are carrying not a phone, but a wallet. There is a function for planning expenses by category - you can set appropriate limits and monitor your approach to them.

    It is worth mentioning that the free version of KeepFinance has some limitations: only one wallet is available, a maximum of five accounts can be used, and one source of income. There are also limitations regarding reports - only simple reports on income and expenses are available in the free application. Despite this, the information content of the reports is quite enough for effective management of personal finances. To build reports, you need to go to the “summary” section (via the main menu). Everything is simple here - we select the reporting period and get a summary of expenses and income (at the bottom there is a panel for selecting the type of report - expenses, income and summary).

    The directory of income and expenses is single-level (that is, there are no nested categories). This is hardly a drawback of the application, but some advanced users may experience inconvenience.

    Conclusions. The KeepFinance application left a pleasant impression - a well-thought-out interface and ease of data entry make the program quite attractive. The basic (free) set of functions will satisfy any family budget. For the lazy, there is a useful feature - recognizing transactions in SMS messages from banks. Once you set up the templates, the application itself enters the data (if you pay with a bank card). The program will be useful not only for beginners, but also for more advanced users who require advanced functionality for home accounting.

    Home accounting lite

    Home accounting is one of the oldest and most popular applications on the software market designed to control personal finances. Despite this, the program is clearly inferior to its free competitors in terms of ease of use. The free version has all the necessary tools for home accounting, but the program interface itself, in our opinion, cannot be called user-friendly. This is not the main criterion for evaluating the application. The set of tools is quite extensive: accounting for expenses and income, multi-currency, expense planning, debts and loans, detailed reports and much more.

    The free version has a number of limitations, for example, only one user and three accounts are supported. When you try to add a second family member or a fourth account, you are prompted to buy the full version of the program.

    Reports are not the strongest point of this application. The complaints here are not so much about the reports themselves (they are quite informative), but about the process of setting them up. We tested and similar difficulties were observed there too. For some reason, all generated reports are saved in a list, and to get a report, for example, on expenses for a month, a chain of actions is required: go to the “reports” section, click “reports” at the top, select the report type and specify the period.

    Why not make it so that in the “reports” section you immediately build a report for the month on expenses and income, and only then offer to set additional parameters and filters. Agree that four steps to get a simple report is a bit much for a mobile application.

    Conclusions. The application copes well with home accounting - it has a good set of tools. If someone lacks the basic functions (free version of the program), then you can always upgrade to the premium version. Among the minuses, we can note a slightly sophisticated interface and its low information content, which is quite critical for a small screen.

    Updated: 2019-5-18

    Oleg Lazhechnikov

    130

    I often come across the fact that people don’t know where they spend their money, they don’t know how much they spend on food, on gatherings in a cafe with friends, on clothes, on unexpected expenses, and so on. At the same time, they borrow money, complain that there is not enough money, but they really want to go somewhere, or buy a laptop/bicycle... The question immediately arises, do you really want to? Or, what would you like more, spend money on beer on weekends, or go to the sea? Of course, at sea, but I spend so little on entertainment, there will be an answer. In reality, a person does not know that some of his expenses in total for several months or a year amount to a trip to the sea.

    In no way am I advocating saving on what is important to you. But it’s better to know and understand how much money it actually takes from you, so that you can make an informed choice. No less important is knowing your real desires, your real dreams. I wrote about this in an article.

    You have leverage over your family members :) For example, a wife comes to her husband and says, we don’t buy me anything, we don’t spoil me, but you bought yourself a MacBook for 50 thousand, ah-ah. Silently, the husband opens the budget, makes a selection for the year and shows that, in addition to the MacBook, he only bought a couple of T-shirts for himself during the year, while the wife has already bought 100 thousand worth of clothes for herself in the whole year, she just didn’t buy everything at once, but bought little by little , periodically.

    pros

    In general, a budget is a great thing for understanding how your expenses stack up. In reality, many people think that it’s only 1000 rubles more expensive, but in fact, these thousands of rubles for the whole year (and for some even in a month) add up so much that you can buy a car! A toy :) Actually, I’m not kidding, saving the family budget is the only way it comes together - from the little things, this is the main feature. Saved 1000 rubles = earned 1000 rubles. I recently calculated that my smoking friend spends about the cost of a good laptop on cigarettes per year. That is, if he didn’t smoke, he could change his laptop once a year.

    I just ask you not to confuse economy with poverty. Trying to increase your earnings is a necessary and obligatory desire, and in no way contradicts saving. As in business, there is always an accountant who optimizes costs. And, if you go in two directions at the same time, earning money and consciously weeding out unnecessary expenses, you can reach your goal much faster.

    I sincerely do not understand the situation when requests grow faster than income. What's the point of spending everything and getting into debt/loans, for what? Isn't it better to save or invest to gain financial independence and freedom? Otherwise, you can earn millions and still beg.

    So, the advantages point by point.

    • Control. You always know clearly what you are spending your money on. There are no questions about where half the salary went and who spent it.
    • Conscious choice. After a couple of months of budgeting, you really know how much each expense item is, and you may well want to adjust it (reduce/increase). This way, unnecessary expenses are eliminated.
    • No debts. Getting into debt/loans is minimized because you can calculate everything in advance and avoid it.
    • Easier to plan your purchases. If you want to buy something big or go somewhere, it's much easier to plan with a budget. You will be able to find out in what month you will have a sufficient amount, which is very convenient, or how you need to change your spending structure in order for this amount to appear.
    • Useful for long trips. You can always plan in advance how many months the money will last.
    • Convenient for dismissal. You can find out how much time you have and calculate when it’s time to start looking for a job.
    • Disciplines. Both in terms of spending and in terms of life in general.

    I've been budgeting since 2008. I tried it once and liked it. Thanks to the budget, I was able to plan more than one trip, or rather understand the possibility of its implementation in a specific month under specific conditions. He also helped me a lot after I was fired in 2010.

    Then I immediately calculated how many months of free life I could get, what countries I could go to and what things I could buy. Accordingly, I knew in what month the earnings would appear or when I needed to go to work (in case of failure).

    In general, what I like most is the feeling of security/security when you can plan everything in advance (for 3-6-12 months) and be calm.

    Minuses

    There are (for me) much fewer of them.

    • Tracking expenses and planning a family budget takes time. With the right approach, it doesn’t take much, but it takes. But sometimes it’s even nice to take it and write down a plan for the next six months and include useful purchases and long-awaited trips.
    • There is a possibility of getting stuck on saving money and going beyond some acceptable limits. Or else, become a miser, starting to save on everything in general. It is worth understanding that everyone has their own boundaries, that for one it is saving, for another it is squandering.
    • Addition to the previous paragraph. There is a chance of getting stuck on your current income level and focusing only on saving. Or in other words, “not allowing” yourself to have more money can create a kind of psychological barrier.
    How to manage a family budget

    As I wrote above, the basic principles (well, or advantages) are spending control, conscious choice and eliminating unnecessary expenses. And this is what a budget is based on: you plan expenses for the required period of time and then stick to them. Also, during the process you need to note these expenses in order to correlate actual expenses with planned ones.

    How strictly to do all this is up to everyone to decide for themselves. At first I kept everything very strictly in order to understand where and what was going, and then I relaxed, began to round off and keep everything approximately. The result is a floating budget, in which the main thing is the absence of unnecessary expenses, matching expenses with income (needs and capabilities), and not strict compliance and saving for the sake of saving.

    • There are income items and expense items. The number of articles here and there can be absolutely any, the main thing is that it is convenient for you. I started with a lot of detail, and then I simplified everything and combined many of the articles. If you don’t know where to start, then start with any items; usually, after a couple of months, budgeting becomes more and more clear. Although I still adjust sometimes.
    • In my opinion, income and expense items should be written such as those that you will later analyze, or for which you need to track the dynamics. If this is not important to you, then in general you can make one expense item and one income item. In general, you can put your entire budget into a paper envelope, that is, put the amount you are going to spend into it at the beginning of the month, and then see if there is anything left or not.
    • I write down my expenses every day, it's more convenient, and it only takes a couple of minutes. But basically the app on my phone does everything for me, recognizes SMS messages and records them in the database. And when you need to plan something serious, for example, wintering in Thailand, then you can sit for half an hour.
    • Both husband and wife can manage a budget, either together or alone. As you agree, in general. Or more precisely, who will like it more. True, when they lead together (both expenses are noted and planned), it will be easier to discuss something than if someone distances themselves from it.
    • I won’t say whether it’s worth maintaining a joint or separate budget. There are different opinions on this matter. I personally accept both options. When a couple is both self-sufficient and earns money, then, firstly, everyone is calmer and more confident in the future, and secondly, they will only be glad to have a separate budget.
    • You can budget without planning at all. That is, simply mark income/expenses and check if everything is in order (control). Some apps and online planning services do not.
    • The essence of spending control is to ensure that you have a positive balance (reserve), that is, a positive difference between income and expenses. Maybe not every month, but every quarter or year. Well, so that the trend can be seen, whether you live in a minus or in a plus. This reserve can be accumulated or spent on something useful.
    • Typically, all smart books advise putting 5-10% of your income into a financial buffer or investing, regardless of your goals. 5-10% is, indeed, an amount that is practically unnoticeable for any income. I don't have that kind of strictness. Sometimes I go into the buffer (I go into minus), sometimes I put aside 50%.
    Programs for maintaining a family budget How to choose a program

    You can create any family budget table in Excel that is convenient for you, or use ready-made services/applications for budgeting, fortunately there are a lot of them now (Zen-Money, Monefy, etc.).

    Some services have their own website service and mobile application, some only have an application, some only have a website. In my opinion, the more convenient option is when you can use both the application on your phone and the online version on the website from your laptop. This was one of the reasons why I chose Drebedengi at one time and have been using them for many years.

    You can also do it the old fashioned way - write it down on a piece of paper. However, there is a risk that this piece of paper will be lost at one point, and it is much easier to correct something in the electronic budget.

    How did I choose a program for maintaining a family budget? I went to Google Play, downloaded about 5 Android applications that I liked based on the screenshots and descriptions, and started trying them. About 10 minutes for each application. As a result, there were two left that were more or less clear to me, or in other words, where I was satisfied with the logic of budgeting. It is important that my principle of management in my head coincided with the intention of the author of the application. Otherwise, you will have to spend a very long time delving into how to do what. No, everything should be intuitive. Next, I tried to track my expenses for a couple of days to understand whether it was convenient for me or not.

    From 2008 to 2013, I kept a budget in Excel. You can download a simplified template of my budget. Or here’s my budget (a more complex file) taking into account different income/expense channels (cards, electronic money).

    One sheet in Excel is one month. The budget is monthly and scheduled for 2-3 months in advance, no less. To plan six months in advance, you need to create 6 more sheets named “monthYear” (for the formula to work), and so on.

    Each month has two columns - planned expenses and actual ones. The first column is for planning, the second for current expenses.

    In my file (especially in the second one) there are formulas, if you are not comfortable with them, then it is better to try to do something of your own or use ready-made services. Otherwise you'll have to figure it out. In short, in the second file you can mark expenses by day depending on how you spent them: cash, electronic money, cards. And the balance is then calculated in exactly the same way for all these places where funds are stored.

    Drebendengi Service

    Since 2013, I have transferred the budget to the site and am very pleased. Now I track all my expenses on my phone and plan them online on my laptop.

    Many operations are automated, for example, all expenses on a bank card automatically fall into the budget. Thus, if you practically don’t use cash (and I’m trying to minimize it), then there’s almost no need to mark anything. Read a separate post and their phone application, because it’s too long to talk about.

    So a simple table in Excel is good only for a start, for testing, so to speak. And after you have decided that there is a budget, you can switch to services, including paid ones.

    P.S. Do you manage a family or personal budget?

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