One Number I Trust: Plain-Text Accounting for a Multi-Currency Household
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Re: One Number I Trust: Plain-Text Accounting for a Multi-Currency Household
#2Can somebody explain to me the advantage of double-entry bookkeeping? Is it basically just a "checksum" so it's easier to notice when something is off?
Re: One Number I Trust: Plain-Text Accounting for a Multi-Currency Household
#3I get that people on here don't like subscriptions, and I understand why, but I've been using You Need a Budget for well over a decade, and it is probably the last subscription I'd ever give up.
The automatic import of expenses is so valuable for my family and keeping track of how much we've spent and how much we have left for the month.
We used the fixed-cost version for years beyond when it was officially supported, and it didn't have the automated import, and I don't think I could ever go back to a system that didn't. There were always a few days a month, at least, when I wasn't exactly sure where we were in our expenses.
Re: One Number I Trust: Plain-Text Accounting for a Multi-Currency Household
#4Can somebody explain to me the advantage of double-entry bookkeeping? Is it basically just a "checksum" so it's easier to notice when something is off?
Yes, it makes it both really simple to spot mistakes and also allows you to easily audit the whole thing after the fact. In corporate contexts it's a straightforward way to make sure your bookies are also honest, just have an external firm look through the whole thing every now and then.
Re: One Number I Trust: Plain-Text Accounting for a Multi-Currency Household
#5I really enjoyed reading this, and it is inspirational as it is something I have wanted to do for a long time. And as a software developer, it really appeals to me.
How do you think it compares time-wise to using existing accounting software? Was the time investment worth it to get the control and visibility you now have?
Re: One Number I Trust: Plain-Text Accounting for a Multi-Currency Household
#6This is neat, but I'm not really convinced this level of granularity makes sense for personal finances? Or at least it does not for me personally. I find that simply entering all my accounts into one big excel once a month more than suffices to keep track of everything. Maybe I make a typo here and there but it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things cuz I'm gonna type a new number next month anyway.
Re: One Number I Trust: Plain-Text Accounting for a Multi-Currency Household
#7I get that people on here don't like subscriptions, and I understand why, but I've been using You Need a Budget for well over a decade, and it is probably the last subscription I'd ever give up. The automatic import of expenses is so valuable for my family and keeping track of how much we've spent and how much we have left for the month. We used the fixed-cost version for years beyond when it was officially supported…
For a FOSS alternative: Actual budget isn't dissimilar from what YNAB was years ago when it was an on device budgeting software
Re: One Number I Trust: Plain-Text Accounting for a Multi-Currency Household
#8I really enjoyed reading this, and it is inspirational as it is something I have wanted to do for a long time. And as a software developer, it really appeals to me. How do you think it compares time-wise to using existing accounting software? Was the time investment worth it to get the control and visibility you now have?
> How do you think it compares time-wise to using existing accounting software?
Author here. I tried various consumer budgeting apps before I ended up building my own (and then going to Beancount). The main problem with every one of the apps I tried is that they don't handle investments well. 99% of my money is invested and having net worth figures which are wildly wrong because the app is only tracking bank accounts really annoyed me. That was the reason I built my own thing in the first place.
> Was the time investment worth it to get the control and visibility you now have?
Absolutely yes. I think it helps me really understand where my money is going, how I can make it work harder etc. Even though the RE part of FIRE doesn't appeal to me, the FI part does and knowing where I stand at all times has been very motivating.
Re: One Number I Trust: Plain-Text Accounting for a Multi-Currency Household
#9I get that people on here don't like subscriptions, and I understand why, but I've been using You Need a Budget for well over a decade, and it is probably the last subscription I'd ever give up. The automatic import of expenses is so valuable for my family and keeping track of how much we've spent and how much we have left for the month. We used the fixed-cost version for years beyond when it was officially supported…
I dont mind paying for a personal finance tool, but I feel like most of them are made for an average consumer who spends in one currency and needs budgeting. I operate in at least 3 currencies, don’t care about budgeting, and need support for tracking stocks and automatic currency conversions.
The only tools that were able to provide that were GnuCash and PTAs like beancount.
My point is, there is a big segment of people who are not served by existing personal finance tools simply because they operate in more than 1 currency, or have a slightly more complicated setup than envelope budgeting.
Re: One Number I Trust: Plain-Text Accounting for a Multi-Currency Household
#10I get that people on here don't like subscriptions, and I understand why, but I've been using You Need a Budget for well over a decade, and it is probably the last subscription I'd ever give up. The automatic import of expenses is so valuable for my family and keeping track of how much we've spent and how much we have left for the month. We used the fixed-cost version for years beyond when it was officially supported…
I dont mind paying for a personal finance tool, but I feel like most of them are made for an average consumer who spends in one currency and needs budgeting. I operate in at least 3 currencies, don’t care about budgeting, and need support for tracking stocks and automatic currency conversions. The only tools that were able to provide that were GnuCash and PTAs like beancount. My point is, there is a big segment of pe…
I regularly pay with 3 currencies, and YNAB isn't great for that, but it ends up working out because 95% of my spend is in just one.
But, you're right, I have no need for tracking stocks, as I only check in once a year or so, and I can't imagine YNAB would manage that well.