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Firefly III: A free and open-source finance manager

firefly-iii.org

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Re: Firefly III: A free and open-source finance manager

#31

Post by balaji1 »

imroot wrote: post #28
balaji1 wrote: post #12

how do Firefly or ActualBudget and the like compare to something like hledger?

It really just depends on how comfortable you are in the command line. If you know how to get your transactions downloaded from your bank and don't ever want to leave the command line, hledger is great for you -- I've been using hledger since 2019 and love every minute of it. If you need something point and click, or, need a high "wife-acceptance factor," firefly-iii is not a bad choice. After coming from hledger, I…

that's my impression about hledger and the plain text format as well. So not going to try other tools also.

Wife acceptance factor tho haha.. we will be fine as long as we never show the beautiful UIs from the YNABs & Fireflys.

Re: Firefly III: A free and open-source finance manager

#32

Post by Xeoncross »

__michaelg wrote: post #27

Side note: If you need to say this: > (click on the icons for more information) then you almost certainly have an unintuitive design and know it, but instead of fixing it you just doubled down on it.

The smallest change I could figure out is just to delete the single `opacity: 0` line in the CSS for the `.portfolio-item-caption`

Re: Firefly III: A free and open-source finance manager

#33

Post by prepend »

__michaelg wrote: post #27

Side note: If you need to say this: > (click on the icons for more information) then you almost certainly have an unintuitive design and know it, but instead of fixing it you just doubled down on it.

I noticed this and thought it was quite odd. I thought the icons were weird screenshots because they were so big.

Comically the message worked and I tapped on them.

I forgive these kinds of design mistakes in OSS projects because I’d rather have stuff that works than beautiful sites.

Of course, I appreciate nice design too.

Re: Firefly III: A free and open-source finance manager

#34

Post by prepend »

sirsinsalot wrote: post #7

I applaud the effort, but sometimes think apps like this when they promote self-hosting should have a mode of installation and operation that acts more or less like a desktop application.

They have a docker instal option. Granted it’s a bit of overkill but you can run it like desktop software.

Re: Firefly III: A free and open-source finance manager

#35

Post by herdst »

sirsinsalot wrote: post #7

I applaud the effort, but sometimes think apps like this when they promote self-hosting should have a mode of installation and operation that acts more or less like a desktop application.

Agree, ive installed this in the past and it was a pain in the ass. If i ever did budgeting/financial tracking again i would use a paid option

Re: Firefly III: A free and open-source finance manager

#36

Post by scotttopic »

toyg wrote: post #11

Looks good but the real problem, as for 90% of similar programs, is the volume of necessary data-entry. Paid-for options like YNAB, nowadays, can fetch transactions from many mainstream US/EU banks and credit providers. Without that sort of feature, it's a real drudge to keep up entering every single expense.

I look at this from the opposite perspective. Seven years of YNAB4 trained me to include manual entry of every transaction, assigning categories, splitting it as necessary, etc right there at the moment I make the purchase. It's baked into my process, as that was one of the core components that the old YNAB taught. At this point I could never trust an automated system for everyday purchases, where it couldn't accurately know how to split transactions, or where to assign things (although scheduled bills I do input as recurring transactions so to an extent I do have some automation).

For example, take a trip to Walmart where you purchased things that cross like 3 or 4 categories. With a system relying on importing data from your bank, a couple days after the transaction posts you'll have this generic assignment to Walmart, and you must then try and remember how to split it (eg between Groceries, Clothes, Technology etc). Instead, I have my transaction manually sorted in my YNAB app before I've even left the store.

Re: Firefly III: A free and open-source finance manager

#37

Post by ywain »

rmesters wrote: post #20
toyg wrote: post #11

Looks good but the real problem, as for 90% of similar programs, is the volume of necessary data-entry. Paid-for options like YNAB, nowadays, can fetch transactions from many mainstream US/EU banks and credit providers. Without that sort of feature, it's a real drudge to keep up entering every single expense.

Here's two free solutions you can use for bank data sync (Nordigen & Saltedge): https://docs.firefly-iii.org/data-importer/install/nordigen-...

Unfortunately neither of these work in the US. Salt Edge supposedly supports US banks but when I reached out to them a few weeks ago (specifically for the purpose of using them with Firefly III) this was their reply:

> We regret to inform you that temporarily Salt Edge does not provide its services on the USA market.

Re: Firefly III: A free and open-source finance manager

#38

Post by bredren »

aftbit wrote: post #23

I currently use Mint by Intuit. I hate the new UI, the constant ads, and the amount of trust I have to give them (with my bank credentials). I would love to self-host something else that can auto-import all of my transactions. I'll have to check out Saltedge and Nordigen. I might also write my own Plaid API integration. Just as much trust though... Open banking data APIs sounds like an easy win for regulators, but pr…

I am about ready to throw in the towel and use mint. It’s the only product Apple has built a native integration for, with no news of other products.

I’ve written asking about it but nothing. It’s pretty annoying because Apple Card is supposed to offer privacy, then they turn around and make the first transaction integration with mint. Wth.

Re: Firefly III: A free and open-source finance manager

#39

Post by emiller88 »

toyg wrote: post #11

Looks good but the real problem, as for 90% of similar programs, is the volume of necessary data-entry. Paid-for options like YNAB, nowadays, can fetch transactions from many mainstream US/EU banks and credit providers. Without that sort of feature, it's a real drudge to keep up entering every single expense.

Agreed. I've found https://lunchmoney.app/ really nice.
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