MoneyWell : Personal Budgeting 4+

MoneyWell is quirky and took me a little while to learn to best apply it to my financial situation, but there is absolutely nothing else out there that does envelope budgeting and basic checkbook features in such a streamlined and foolproof manner.

I've been using the app for many years. I'm thankful to the new owners for keeping it alive when its survival was threatened, because I have no idea what I would use as an alternative. And I've looked around, believe me.

If you're the sort of person for whom envelope budgeting is key to personal financial management, the modest subscription fee is a bargain for this unique software.

Thanks taking the time to leave such a lovely review. We really appreciate it.

I had used MoneyWell when it was a stand alone app. It did pretty well, but had some quirks. I like that it's an application rather than a web browser and I like the price for the subscription. You can also (eventually) add accounts even if the institution is not found in their list (though you'd have to stumble upon this during the Create Account phase). The best feature I like is the ability to RECONCILE accounts (confirming that a financial account is balanced) while most apps simply list transactions that you or your instituion have recorded; to me, the extra step of validating expenses (and associating reciepts) keeps the user on top of their finances. A bit of a learning curve for most, but a fairly well designed app.

Now for the real negatives! You can't undo/redo. Reports are just a list; no options for visuals. A few of the instiutions you can link to won't sync or removing security features like 2 Factor Authorization. When it doesn't, the majority of institutions says there was an error connecting (but you can download QIF files and import then, which isn't really a problem unless the institution doesn't offer the feature).

No app will be perfect. There is still a good deal of work to do here (otherwise I'd rate it higher); it's a pretty good app. Glad to read that they have been working on it a bit at a time over the years.

Thank you for your detailed review. You raise lots of valid points, some of which we're already working to address. We've made a note of the others as areas where we can improve MoneyWell.

We really appreciate your ongoing support.

If you are familiar with the envelope approach to budgeting, this is what you want. If you are not familiar, this is still a great finance tool.

It is based on setting up a budget using buckets (envelopes). Each month/week (you set the pay period) your income fills the bucket. Expenses reduce the buckets. Next cycle more is added. What sets Moneywell apart is that the balance carries over. Overspend by $100? You have $100 less the next cycle. Most other budgets only show you month by month so you can't see what you really have to spend (or how much you've overspent).

It also does a great job with simple account balances, reconciling, and the usual financial tracking.

I've been using Moneywell for over 10 years. There were the dark years when the original developer sold Moneywell to someone else. For whatever reasons Monewell really fell behind. Sync broke and updates stopped happning. Fortunately the new development team has been far better. They fixed the issues, took their time, and got it back to its former greatness. If you see negative reviews out there from the last few years, those days are over.

Thanks for your review. People choosing to leave reviews like this really help to remind us why we're doing this, so we appreciate it.