Low tech solution that has evolved over time - spreadsheets, fortnightly budget reconciliation, and a hand-written Personal Balance Sheet (which I replicate in

Low tech solution that has evolved over time - spreadsheets, fortnightly budget reconciliation, and a hand-written Personal Balance Sheet (which I replicate in the Wealth+ app). The Budget spreadsheet has a (annual/qtrly/mthly/weekly) budget for about 100 items (this is the bit that's evolved most over 10+ years), broken into 15 categories (including Investment and Cash Reserves; this also evolves). Most expenses are Food or Entertainment - these get a fortnightly cash amount, rather than having to reconcile that individually. Everything else goes on a Debit Card and is recorded - takes us about 20-30mins a fortnight. The Personal Balance Sheet was a revelation for me at the beginning of last year - suddenly when we talk about money, we're talking about our net worth and assets not how much we spent on lunches or clothes. I write it out longhand as part of my monthly 'Board' financials - so it includes my own business, property, and some categories like Other Business Equity that are currently empty. The Wealth+ App graphs it all, and you can see some cause and effect - our Cash dropped last month because of some renovations, but our Property Values have gone up this month. A Funds Manager I know who used to lunch with these guys for work once told me high-net-worth-individuals disproportionately use cash - they see money as real, not abstract. For me, there's an analogy with understanding my finances. Sure, I can have a system spit me out a personal balance sheet each month - but hand-rolling my own in coloured markers connects me to the reality. I'm always happy to share these templates if it might help anyone - email is in my profile. [Edit] I should add, I'm going to review the other options in this thread. Like a To Do List app, with Budgets it can be hard to find something that replicates how you do it.