I use Quicken for enter all of my accounts and finances. I am a big fan of manually entering all of my transactions as it gives me the chance to check the transaction and make sure it was the correct amount and one that I put through.
I utilize a spreadsheet for my budget as I find it works easier for my needs. It includes my bills and income to make sure I'm not over spending each month. It also identifies each of my paychecks, and since I am paid every 2 weeks, it identifies my 2 "extra" paychecks per year that I use a lump sum to pay down principal on a particular bill. Just having a clear vision of my future finances helps to keep me on track.
Current Score: Eq: 823 Tu: 830
@Anonymous wrote:I use iBank, which is similar to Quicken. I also like to enter everything myself. I plan a detailed budget six to eight months ahead. I only began doing that after my Chapter 13 because my finances were so "tight." Now I do it because I am addicted to budgeting. Bankruptcy changed me. In a good way.
Yeah, after two terrible car deals, and me not being able to qualify for any credit led to me keeping a tighter track on my finances. Sometimes bad experiences are for the best!
Yes, I became obsessed to keep my finances in order after my bankrutcy. What's interesting is that I made a payment to Verizon, and what they credited to my account was 10cents less than the amount of my payment. I called in, and the lady acted like it was no big deal. She said "Sir, it's only 10 cents". I snapped back and told her it's my dime, I paid it, and I want it credited to my account. I would not have seen that if I had not been manually reconciling my account. So, I'm sure that may have been a unique experience, but to this day, I know where every penny of my money goes. This helps me to make sure I'm putting the amount that I need into savings, and I continue to live within my means. I am also able to do future predictions like some of the other posters have said.
And for clarity, I only use the spreadsheets to show a monthly budget along with identify what my payments are. And then I use Quicken to enter each individual transaction for credit cards, savings, CD, IRA, and checking. I do have it download my investments for my 401k through work because those transactions are pretty complex.
Sounds like you have all of the scenarios covered. As part of my spreadsheet, I also look at my student loan balances and determine which ones I am going to tackle next. Although I know not the best way to do it for interest over the long term, I typically tackle the one with the lowest balance first, get it paid off, and then that allows me to have additional free income during the month. And I just apply that to the next loan. It's been working and keeps me motivated because I see loans getting paid off. This was one of the reasons that I never consolidated. I found that I could get to a lower monthly payment faster, by paying off the loans one by one, starting out with a bigger monthly expense to start with, but over time gradually causing that monthly expense to decrease.