I thought I was just bad at budgeting… but maybe my budgeting app was the problem?
I’ve always thought I was just terrible at keeping a budget.
Yesterday kind of proved it.
I grabbed a coffee on my way to work and wanted to log it right away. The problem was, one hand was holding my coffee and the other was holding my phone. Trying to type everything with one thumb while walking was so annoying that I told myself,
“I’ll just log it when I get to the office.”
Of course… I completely forgot.
Later that night, I was lying in bed and suddenly remembered the coffee. I opened my budgeting app, but then realized I couldn’t even remember how much it cost. So I opened my banking app to check.
That’s when I noticed a bunch of other transactions I had never logged.
At that point I just felt overwhelmed. Instead of catching up, I closed both apps and went to sleep.
I feel like this happens to me all the time. It’s never one missed expense. One missed expense turns into several, then catching up feels like work, and eventually I don’t even want to open the app anymore.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this.
Right now I’m trying to use Routine Wallet because they have a free trial for the Pro version, and I actually like the voice input. Being able to just say something like “Coffee, six dollars” instead of typing everything makes me much more likely to log expenses while I’m actually spending money.
I’m considering paying for it once the trial ends, but before I do, I’d like to compare it with a few other budgeting apps.
What budgeting app are you using that you’ve actually been able to stick with?
I’d love recommendations, especially if it makes logging expenses quick and frictionless.