Said It Here

Free budgeting apps that connect to banks without long-term goals

Free budgeting apps that automatically sync with bank accounts are extremely difficult to find, as most platforms instead lock core features behind paid subscriptions. Furthermore, the apps that are available tend to overwhelm users with rigid long-term financial planning goals rather than focusing simply on monthly spending limits.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Using spreadsheets like Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel
  2. 2
    Exporting data from bank account aggregators into manual spreadsheets
  3. 3
    Using self-hosted budgeting software like Actual Budget with manual or CSV imports
  4. 4
    Using spreadsheets like Excel or Google Sheets for monthly balance sheets or manual data entry
  5. 5
    Self-hosting and using Actual Budget with manual entry or exported imports

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.

“Unfortunately, you’re not going to find something free that connects to your bank accounts.”source ↗

josh_josh_josh_ · r/personalfinance · 1 upvotes

“Ideally im looking for a budget app that lets me set monthly spending limits but isn’t so focused on long term goals.”source ↗

“I really want a free budgeting app, but I’m having a hard time figuring out if I’m just not using it correctly or if it’s not the right fit for what I’m looking for.”source ↗

“It feels very focused on long-term financial goals.”source ↗

Regular_Situation750 · r/personalfinance

“I struggle with over spending on a budget when I have to look at multiple apps, but do well when I have real time data of what I’ve already spent in each category.”source ↗

“I also struggle to keep a spreadsheet up to date with everything.”source ↗

“is there anything free that will work a budget and real time track spending? or am I doomed to pay for Monarch or fight with excel?”source ↗

shepardmutt · r/personalfinance

Where this came up

r/personalfinancebudgetingbudgeting appsexpense trackingpersonal financesoftware recommendations

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