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.
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.