Best Envelope Budgeting Software

I’ve done some research to find what I think may be the best envelope budgeting software.   Of course, I haven’t used all these products, so I’ve relied on some online reviews and my friend Google to find them.

I’m a big fan of the envelope budgeting method and have referred to it quite a bit on the One Money Design blog.  It’s a very simple method to understand and you can manage it to whatever level of detail you’re most comfortable with.

Basically, you receive income and assign it to different budget categories (envelopes) and spend from your planned amounts.  This is good proactive money management in that you’re thinking about your spending before you spend!

Some of these are free envelope budgeting software and others have a one – time purchase option or monthly subscription.  Alright, let’s take a look at some of these products.

YNAB – YNAB provides you the ability to create a budget and set up your financial institutions to track spending within budget categories that act as envelopes.  This software has become my new favorite and has gotten me so interested that I’m giving it a try right now for managing my own spending.  YNAB has a free trial and a one - time purchase option.

Mvelopes- Mvelopes is a well known online electronic version of envelope budgeting made by Ficinity.  You can create a monthly spending plan, pay bills, automatically download transactions from your financial institutions, transfer money between envelopes and use the new iPhone app for mobile money management.  Mvelopes offers a free 30 day trial and a monthly subscription.

NeoBudget- NeoBudget provides the ability to see all your envelope balances at a glance.  You can import spending transactions, set up a funding plan and balance your bank statement with your envelopes.  NeoBudget has a free version and monthly subscription options.

BudgetFocus – This product provides basic functionality to allow you to set up an envelope for each budget category, create a funding plan, enter spending transactions and see your balances from one page.  There is a small monthly subscription fee.

IntelliPenny – IntelliPenny appears to be a feature rich product with all the basic envelope budgeting functionality and the ability to link to your financial institutions to download transactions.  You can also set up bill pay reminders and create a savings wish list.  IntelliPenny offers a free trial and one-time purchase option.

PearBudget- Husband and wife decided to take their own personal spending tracking spreadsheet to the internet with this product.  The user guide will get you up and running in 10 minutes.  You can customize your own budget categories and it provides the flexibility to handle regular and irregular spending.  PearBudget has a free trial and a moderate monthly fee.

MySpendingPlan.com- With MySpendingPlan.com you can create your online envelopes, fund them with your paychecks each month and track spending by assigning transactions and reviewing envelope balances.  It has reporting capabilities, the ability to create financial tasks and track them, savings tips and the ability to set up and track savings goals.

MoneyWell- MoneyWell has a twist on envelope budgeting by using buckets to store your money and spending.  You can look in a bucket to see what you’ve spent, schedule recurring transactions, tracks credit card spending within your buckets, single click reconcile with your financial institution and an iPhone app.  MoneyWell has a free trial and a one – time purchase option.

CommonCents – Along with envelope budgeting you can see a single screen view of your finances, manage all your financial accounts, reminders and notifications, goal setting and tracking and a lot more!  Free trial for 60 days and one – time purchase option.

Snowmint- Along with envelope budgeting with virtual envelopes, Snowmint allows you to set up budget reminders, perform investment tracking, record transactions, create a funding plan for your paychecks, import transactions from your financial institution.  SnowMint has a free trial and one - time purchase option.

Do you use any of these envelope budgeting software products?  If so which products do you like best, or what are some other products you would suggest we review?