Once I started earning money, for a long time I had a simple budgeting rule: input > output (at least on a yearly basis). It served me well. But I kept feeling

Once I started earning money, for a long time I had a simple budgeting rule: input > output (at least on a yearly basis). It served me well. But I kept feeling guilty (my mom kept meticulous accounts for decades - she had to when every penny counted). Then life got complicated and I used Quicken for a few years. Gave up on it when I finally threw out Windows (another waste of time). Tried a few alternatives on the Mac but didn't really like any of them. I even dabbled with writing my own s/w but soon got bored. And you know what,I don't really miss any accounting software. The old rule still serves me well. So I kind of agree with the parent comment. Spend time on what you're passionate about and but not (much) on optimizing things of secondary importance - just do the necessary so that they don't take over your life.