

Ask HN: what opensource tools (bin or web) do you use to manage your expenses? - mlLK

Feature boasting and clever ways you use your solution is encouraged for discussion.
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grandalf
I don't like programs that automatically pull in transactions from online
banking, etc.

I made a spreadsheet (a google doc) with multiple tabs, so that each day I can
log what I purchased, as well as track progress toward various financial
goals.

This is all well and good, but I think the best solution is probably the
simplest. Just figure out your budget and set up your online bill pay to send
checks automatically.

Then on the first of the month, withdraw cash for your entire monthly
discretionary spending -- food, gadgets, etc. If your ATM won't let you take
out enough, have your bank increase the limit.

Then you can ration (or not) with each purchase. You won't need to carry
around your atm/check card either, since you are using cash. And if you have
any cash left at the end of the month, you have succeeded. If you had to
withdraw more cash, you failed.

~~~
alexitosrv
I do the same, but with Excel (desktop and mobile version)

I suppose it doesn't count because the OP asked for open source specifically.

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arete
<http://wiki.github.com/jwiegley/ledger>

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tristian
OpenOffice.org: Calc (spreadsheet)

I keep a running cashflow listing with a row for each day and columns for each
of my major accounts. Plus totals and a moving average.

Along with that I track all of my incomings and outgoings, with monthly
totals.

I update all of it about 3-4 times a month. I find it gives me all the
information I need to keep on top of things. I can see how various accounts
fluctuate over time, where the big expenses are, and it givens me enough info
to plan the next few months ahead.

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brunoqc
I'm waiting to get a new job to try this Ruby on Rails apps :
<http://wiki.github.com/jamis/bucketwise>

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scorpioxy
I used to have an OO spreadsheet for that, but that quickly became cumbersome
to use. Then i switched to a new application called wxbanker. It's quite
limited in functionality for now, but that's how i like my application. Easy
to use, easy to extend.

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brm
<http://texthog.com>

I send it text messages when I spend money. much easier than writing it down
or keeping receipts etc

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carbon8
gnucash

~~~
zacharydanger
My vote is also gnucash. Especially if you've had any sort of formal
accounting training.

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remyo
Homebank

<http://homebank.free.fr/>

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netsp
From the comments here, it seems there are no clear leaders.

