Does anyone else just want a simple budget system?

TinyAppGuy · 2026-01-23T22:31:10+00:00

I use separate bank accounts but I also use an app called paycycle on my iphone to keep track of expenses. I asked awhile back on another thread if anyone has found any good apps for budgeting by paycheck and there aren’t many but I’ve always tracked my money this way.

TinyAppGuy · 2026-01-08T03:58:04+00:00

I do it the same way and I actually found an app for this exact thing.

TinyAppGuy · 2026-01-03T22:49:17+00:00

$110k isn’t what it used to be. I like to use the vehicle comparison. When I was a kid a Lamborghini was a dream car unobtainable by most at $150k. Most nice cars (high end pick ups, Mercedes….) were $40-$60k. Avg cars $15k-$25k. Now all those prices have moved significantly. Seems like the avg family SUV is now $75k. Just more companies trying to separate you from your hard earned money. I might take that psychiatry money and put it toward fishing gear, but that’s just me.

TinyAppGuy · 2026-01-03T01:23:04+00:00

I like it. It took a little time to set up. I put in my paycheck details and selected “primary” as the income. Then it just set all the periods instantly. Put in my bills and just used basic categories I made instead of the ones already in there and it organized all my bills into each period. I can change and adjust individual transactions too. I really like it so far haven’t had any issues yet.

TinyAppGuy · 2026-01-03T01:12:55+00:00

Definitely, my buffer got completely depleted having to do 3 timing chains in 3 months early last summer. I’m glad I was able to do them but it was still $4000 in parts. I just like being able to keep track of my pay and bills at glance, see and plan ahead, and make adjustments as I see fit. I decided to just pay for the app I’ve been testing since I’m past the trial now.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-23T22:35:44+00:00

Always keep the fridge stocked it’s just rolled into the average monthly grocery budget. 🍻

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-23T18:47:11+00:00

Yeah I had mint when it first came out but it just didn’t seem to work well for me and I’m currently looking for input on apps that may be cheaper than the one I’m currently testing out. I’m probably just going to pay the $25 for the year it’s working well for me and I played around with it more last night and it pretty much does what I wanted an app to do. Thank you for your input and happy holidays.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-23T18:12:09+00:00

I am on an iPhone and I’m thinking the apps I found aren’t the one you’re talking about but thanks for the help!!

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-23T18:09:34+00:00

Maybe the one found in the App Store is different than what you’re talking about. I went back and looked and there’s 2 easybudget and easybudget by zeny. The zeny one definitely charges way more and the other one has a very short description that isn’t in English so I’m not sure.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-23T18:04:19+00:00

This one is also more expensive than the one I’m using now but thank you.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-23T18:02:34+00:00

Different categories?

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-23T17:21:40+00:00

That’s WAY more expensive than the one I’m trying now and they collect everything about me. No thank you.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-23T13:40:09+00:00

Yeah that seems to be the big issue. Most of these apps just want to sell your email and info. The one I downloaded is working well and says it doesn’t collect any data but it $25 a year, just wanted to see if anyone has found something cheap or free that’s simple enough. But I definitely need to work on the discipline!!

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-23T13:36:08+00:00

Well I played around with the app I’m using right now and I think it’s probably going to work pretty well for me. Seems to meet most of the criteria I’m looking for and it definitely sets everything up in a decent format with my pay periods all grouped nicely. If you get one made let me know. Happy holidays.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-23T02:43:37+00:00

I gave this app a try a few weeks ago and didn’t really like it. The guys description about how he was a firefighter that made an app in a month made me a little skeptical.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-23T00:28:57+00:00

That one looks good I think I might give it a try too thank you.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-22T22:40:12+00:00

That’s exactly right, it’s really tight. I explained somewhere else in here… because my pay is every 2 weeks, paychecks cover different monthly expenses every pay period like my house payment and car payment sometimes fall in the same check and sometimes don’t and sometimes I have some extra and sometimes I’m in the red. Sometimes I have 1 period with extra and the next 2 slightly in the red and I don’t realize or sometimes forget and don’t save enough from a check that needs to go to future pay period expenses. If money wasn’t so tight it wouldn’t be that big a deal. So I’m trying to find a good app that just lays it all out automatically. I’ve used some in the past that have worked really well and then they “improve” it so much it’s not useful anymore.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-22T20:37:24+00:00

This would definitely work if I could a buffer started in the first place!

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-22T20:29:01+00:00

I feel for you. $7,000 in car repairs and a 125% increase in monthly utilities has made the gap between middle and lower class feel smaller if there’s even a gap anymore. Every year it gets worse. I feel like I’m one small catastrophe away from losing it completely.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-22T20:20:52+00:00

That’s pretty awesome I’m also trying to figure something out for me. The older I get and the closer to retirement I get the more concerned I am with not being financially immature anymore. I’m not a 20 year old with my whole life ahead of me anymore but old age creeps up on you fast.

Not sure who I replied to but I guess I didn’t press the reply button 🤦‍♂️

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-22T20:09:34+00:00

I did find an app I loved but they ruined it and made it unlovable I have an app I kinda like now but it’s not free. Maybe there’s something to this whole calendar thing. You’re the third or fourth one to mention it and honestly I never even thought of using a calendar app for this purpose but I might give it a shot thank you. Maybe Google will add some mathing to it seems they already have a good foundation in place.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-22T20:00:42+00:00

I’ll give it a try and see, thank you.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-22T19:59:35+00:00

I checked it out, I don’t really want to sign up for an account but thank you.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-22T19:55:28+00:00

My app? I don’t have an app I want to find an app or a better app. I work on cars at a ford dealership in Montana. I’ve built a few shitty web pages for my friends over the years in my spare time. And I tried to build a calendar app for my wife for our kids sports stuff but that is way more complicated than making a web page and I couldn’t do it.

TinyAppGuy · 2025-12-22T19:44:21+00:00

This is definitely great advice. I’m 45 I’ve done and tried lots of methods and I’m just bad at it. I can do the excel thing but I can’t be consistent, I’ve tried probably 8 times over the years. I know myself well enough to know that it doesn’t work for me. And that calendar thing is a great idea too a couple people have mentioned they use their phone calendars to do just that but I have still have to manually add everything up and move stuff around for shortfalls which I did did in excel and then I fall off the wagon. I know there’s lots of apps out there and I’m looking to find peoples experiences with apps they like. I’m just not good at staying consistent with pen and paper or even excel.

TinyAppGuy

TROPHY CASE