Mvelopes vs. Quicken 

Learning Some Discipline - Building a Budget

Have you ever heard of people actually using envelopes to set their budget? The concept of putting your money into envelopes just so you can turn around and spend it again may sound good in theory. Unfortunately, it can also be a lot of work and a pain to keep track of. Instead of using physical envelopes wouldn't it be great if you could get the same effect without all the hassle?

Well, thats pretty much what Mvelopes does.

With Quicken, you can track your expenses to a certain degree, but the software is really only available on one computer, and you track the expenses and compare them to your total budget - after everything is said and done.

Instead of looking behind you to see how you did, Mvelopes updates your budget Automatically and in real time!

• You "fund" each category of spending 'envelope' as money comes in.
• When you spend money, money is removed from your virtual envelope.
• You know not only how much you spent, but how much you have left to spend that day, week, or month.

Although the difference between looking behind and ahead can be small, it is very powerful. You can adjust your actions over the course of the month and track towards financial success rather than looking back on the past month and feeling guilty.


Make it Fun!

My fiancee and I have made it almost a game. We don't want any of the envelopes to display negative numbers, and in fact, we try to keep as much in them as possible.

Compare to Quicken

Awesome Personal Finance Reads 

Here are some basic personal finance books that will help give you some inspiration and guidance to becoming wealthy.

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness

by Dave Ramsey

Amazon Price: $16.49 (as of 10/08/2008)

The Millionaire Next Door

by Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko

Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 10/08/2008)

Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny

by Suze Orman

Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 10/08/2008)

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth

by T. Harv Eker

Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 10/08/2008)

Mvelopes Review: Debt Monster Be Gone! 

How to Use Credit Cards with Mvelopes Online Budgeting

One of my favorite things about Mvelopes is the fact that the program does not double count credit card expenses.

Other financial tracking programs I've used in the past count anything you spend on a credit card twice -

• once when you make the purchase,
  
• then a second time when you pay the credit card.

Since Mvelopes is linked to your credit card account, if you make a purchase on your card, it automatically shows up in the transaction list. All you have to do is drop it into its respective envelope, and then Mvelopes takes the purchase amount and adds it to a separate envelope called "Money for X Credit Card."

At the end of the month, you just look at the number in the 'Money For' Credit Card envelope, and you know how much to pay the credit card company. This amount will be all of your purchases for the month plus whatever you have budgeted to pay the cards down. Mvelopes does the heavy lifting (and Math) so you don't have to!

Top 5 Reasons to Use Mvelopes 

Is an Online Budgeting Software Right for You?

1. Stops poor spending habits before they happen. No more shaking your head at the end of the month wondering what happened.
2. Teaches you to depend on your means, not the (usually incorrect due to pending payments) balance in your bank account.
3. Access your spending plan anywhere, anytime. All you need is the internet.
4. Mvelopes supports over 13,000 financial institutions.
5. Mvelopes helps you find extra money! It teaches you to live within your means, pay down debt, and eventually get on more solid ground financially.

Personal Finance advice to help you use Mvelopes well 

Mvelopes helps you budget, these sites help you learn

High Yield Savings Accounts

With the rise of eBay, PayPal, Online Bill Pay and more the internet has become a great place to spend money. Why not make it a place where you can Save money also? This is a run down of some of the best options for saving your money with no risk.&nbs...

PMI vs. 2nd Mortgage

This lens describes how to calculate whether a second mortgage or Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is better when getting a new home loan. This lens is brought to you by The Grumpstump.  Come check us out for more financial goodies! 

Debt Free and Proud!

Note: This lens is written by my fiancee. So you have found yourself up to your eyeballs in debt.  You are no longer thinking about what else you can buy - you are just worrying about how you are going to make your payments.  Or maybe you ca...

Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey is a nationally syndicated radio show host, speaker, author, father, and husband. He teaches a fundamental concept of personal finance that he believes very strongly in : Staying Debt Free will lead to a more successful life. How to get t...

Budgeting Quiz: Are you Financially Fit 

Take the Mvelopes Budgeting Financial Fitness test to find out!

Credit Card Payments in Mvelopes 

A Review of budgeting Credit Cards in Mvelopes

It took several times resetting the software before I finally figured out how in the world to handle a credit card payment - I mean, who actually reads the help manual anyways?

Here's the Play by Play:

1. Wait for the transaction (The payment you made on your Card) to show up in your "New Transactions"
2. Drag the transaction down to its account (either to the checking account it came from, or the credit card it went to.) The account window is in the lower left hand corner of your Mvelopes Screen
   
3. An account transfer window will pop up. Fill out the proper accounts, and click okay.
   

Note:You will have to match the second half of the transfer to the pending transaction that will appear after you have completed the transfer.

More Mvelopes Reviews 

Other People Review Mvelopes from Around the Web

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Now Its Time to Celebrate Being Debt Free! 

Scream and Shout Like You Are Five

The Grumpstump 

Some of My Thoughts and Exploits about Finances

This is my personal finance blog where I chronicle some of my journey and learnings about money, finances, and investing.

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If You're Happy and You Know It... 

Clap Your Hands (or just drop us a line)

Posterchild I found the same thing with Mvelopes, but at least its free. I've been using a different personal budgeting software called the banzai way. Its the same sort of thing, only you're using 'jars' to put different facets of your budget into. they even have real people to help figure stuff out. Posted February 16, 2008

Good information about credit card. That's a 5 star rating from me. You can find all type of credit card news from my lens. If you have some time, please feel free to check it out. Posted December 05, 2007

Nubbinns I tried Mvelopes and although there's a lot to like, I found there's too big a learning curve than I have time to mess with. I now use Yodlee. It's free and simple to use. Posted December 01, 2007