I’ve given fair shots to Mint, Quicken Online, and pretty much every other personal finance tool that pops up.
But for our regular checking account, a spreadsheet that acts as a register going backward and a budget going forward is our perfect solution. We’ve kept it current for five years running.
All deposits are there going forward — as are recurring bills and budgets for groceries, gas and other expenses each month.
When we spend in a budget category, we decrease the remaining budget balance for the month when we add the expense.
Simple yet effective.
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Likewise, after several years of trying to find the most righteous productivity / todo application (including: Basecamp, Tada List, Things, GTD Tiddlywiki, Remember the Milk, and on and on), I realized that my favorite option is a sticky note or scribble in my notebook.
Like so:
» scribble
Sometimes simplicity works best.