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Simple Bank Is Closing

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Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#601

Post by iends »

bwbmr wrote: post #481
iends wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not parent, but my wife and I have been using YNAB for over 5 years, even before they moved to a web app. It’s changed our lives: - We never fight about money because we have already planned for the next month together. - We each get equal amount of no questions asked personal money that the other person cannot criticize how it’s spent. - When we first started using YNAB we realized we were living off credit card flo…

Do you each have a YNAB account, or share one?

We share one account and one budget.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#602

Post by PascLeRasc »

simple20200107 wrote: post #577
PascLeRasc wrote: post #529

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let’s say your phone breaks. Can you afford to buy a replacement today? Where will that money come from? Or you’re out somewhere and see something you want, say an Aeron chair for $150, a great deal. Can you afford to get it? Safe-to-spend is how we had relied on knowing that we could buy something and all of our necessities would already be covered.

T-Mobile has phones as cheap as $150 (admittedly probably not great but still work), and quality phones as low as $400 or $500 for lower end or older iPhone/Pixel models. If you don't know if you can spend $150-$500 for a minor emergency, then you don't have an emergency fund which is easily the #1 priority for personal finances. Same for the Aeron - if you don't know if you can afford a $150 chair, you shouldn't buy…

I don't think you're arguing in good faith. Making a throwaway account just to talk down to other people mourning the loss of their financial planning tool is a pretty shitty thing to do.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#603

Post by mattarm »

saiya-jin wrote: post #546
1123581321 wrote: post #527

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the computer example, someone using the envelope system would decide not to buy the computer if the balance in the appropriate account was short. It’s just a different approach to timing and limiting purchases.

It still sounds a bit weird to me. If I need something, I will buy it unless I don't have cash for it. The concept of buying stuff just because I still have some spare cash in some bucket but I stop once bucket is empty feels so strange to me, some sort of forced self-check on compulsive buyers. If that's the case, I would rather look for solution in the root cause of such behavior rather than symptoms. Maybe the mot…

> It still sounds a bit weird to me. If I need something, I will buy it unless I don't have cash for it.

Yes, and envelopes make it easier for many people to figure out if they have the cash for it. They let you "spend" the money the instant you get it, in a virtual way, even if you don't really need to spend it until later. This way you know that when it comes time to pay rent/mortgage, property tax, etc., you're good.

I think you are right though: I think the envelope idea is primarily targeted at people on a tight budget, where you really are trading off pros and cons of spending relatively small sums of money, and where the usual question is what gets sacrificed if this or that is purchased.

You suggest that in such a situation you'd look at the root cause of such behavior (e.g. compulsive spending). Often, the "root cause" is simply unawareness of spending patterns, and envelope spending is a useful technique for a lot of people. It isn't a crutch to cover up some sort of underlying personality flaw that has a deeper "root cause" -- It is just a way of tracking earmarked spending.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#604

Post by drewpc »

dhruvrrp wrote: post #273
drewpc wrote: post #224

I'm a Simple customer and incredibly upset by this decision. For those not familiar with their value add, Simple is essentially "envelope budgeting" built into a banking application. Sure, it's a bank and does bank things. What sets Simple apart is that I can allocate $n/month for an expense and it takes it out of my paycheck and puts it into that expense "envelope". When a charge comes in for that expense, it pulls…

Have you tried privacy? ( https://privacy.com ) seems to be pretty similar to the enveloping you’re talking about.

Yep! I use Privacy with almost all of my online transactions and have my Simple account setup as the funding source. That way I don’t give out my debit card number.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#605

Post by webinvest »

kritiko wrote: post #241
drewpc wrote: post #224

I'm a Simple customer and incredibly upset by this decision. For those not familiar with their value add, Simple is essentially "envelope budgeting" built into a banking application. Sure, it's a bank and does bank things. What sets Simple apart is that I can allocate $n/month for an expense and it takes it out of my paycheck and puts it into that expense "envelope". When a charge comes in for that expense, it pulls…

A few questions: -Why do you need to actually move the money around? -What happens if you overspend in an envelope? -Do you actually have different accounts/routing numbers for the envelopes?

No, the money is tagged differently but is all in the same account.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#606

Post by quickthrowman »

drewpc wrote: post #224

I'm a Simple customer and incredibly upset by this decision. For those not familiar with their value add, Simple is essentially "envelope budgeting" built into a banking application. Sure, it's a bank and does bank things. What sets Simple apart is that I can allocate $n/month for an expense and it takes it out of my paycheck and puts it into that expense "envelope". When a charge comes in for that expense, it pulls…

Cash is fungible, it doesn’t matter where you put it. You’re also forgoing 1.5% cash back by not using a credit card and paying it off in full every month.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#607

Post by roryokane »

cshift wrote: post #548
asciimike wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's hyperbole. Having a bird's eye view of every single account, transaction, investments, net worth, etc. is "totally useless"? No. If you can get it to actually connect to things (I have 2FA on most accounts, and since Mint scrapes the sites and stores passwords in plaintext, it doesn't know how to handle this) and tag everything properly (MCC's vary pretty widely). I think that the promise of Mint is great, b…

> Mint scrapes the sites and stores passwords in plaintext Incorrect: > How secure is my login information I store in Mint? > Your login user name and passwords are stored securely in a separate database using multi-layered hardware and software encryption. We only store the information needed to save you the trouble of updating, syncing or uploading financial information manually. Ref: https://mint.intuit.com/how-mi…

In other words, Mint doesn’t store your passwords in plain text, it stores them reversibly encrypted. That is indeed better, because if someone hacks Mint’s database they might not be able to read your passwords. However, it has the same problem as plaintext passwords that if someone at Mint is untrustworthy, they can decrypt your password and pretend to be you. That system makes it inconvenient for you to protect your accounts (you would have to memorize new passwords for all of them) and difficult to apply for restitution later (because it looks like you were the one who logged in).

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#608

Post by drewpc »

drewpc wrote: post #224

I'm a Simple customer and incredibly upset by this decision. For those not familiar with their value add, Simple is essentially "envelope budgeting" built into a banking application. Sure, it's a bank and does bank things. What sets Simple apart is that I can allocate $n/month for an expense and it takes it out of my paycheck and puts it into that expense "envelope". When a charge comes in for that expense, it pulls…

UPDATE:

Qube Money and Envel.ai seem to be the most similar competitors after searching for a bit.

Here's an article on Qube Money's website: https://blog.qubemoney.com/leaving-simple-bank-heres-why-qub...

In that article, there's a link to a Google Sheet that someone on Reddit created comparing alternatives: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/2/d/1Etr8dGtviSRpdAjR...

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#609

Post by skinnymuch »

gonehome wrote: post #489
cshift wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Mint on the other hand is totally useless. That's hyperbole. Having a bird's eye view of every single account, transaction, investments, net worth, etc. is "totally useless"? No. I use Mint and it works quite well for keeping an eye on your financial life at a glance. I don't need some micro-managey software like YNAB (that I'd have to pay for monthly!) to continually increase my wealth and keep debt in check - her…

> "Don't buy stupid nonsense." That bit is doing a lot of work. Seeing 'bird's eye view' is useless because it has no real effect on behavior after the fact, the feedback loop is too long and disconnected. Also - Mint's software is itself bad and intermixed with the ads it's just hard to figure out what's going on. How much do you spend on food? How much on groceries? A gift you forgot to plan? YNAB let's you get a r…

This is completely your opinion and not necessarily true for any person who reads your comments. I used YNAB for 120 days when it had longer trials. It didn’t do enough for me. It was more annoying for me than any potential savings.

Bird’s eye view has been much more helpful as a middle ground. Not Mint and technically i can budget, but I’m not too interested in that.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#610

Post by codazoda »

jdgoesmarching wrote: post #348
codazoda wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try Ally Bank for this. I use it in a similar way. They used to let you create a bunch of accounts but they now have "buckets" in their accounts. I find it pretty useful either way.

Only for savings, which is neat but not as useful.

Interesting, I never noticed buckets were a savings only feature. I've got a checking and a savings account there. To spend money I transfer to checking. There are federal transfer limits on savings accounts though, which could get in the way for some people.
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