Pennies – Budget and Expenses

I have tried budgeting software for years. I always looked for some kind of system that would work my credit cards and sync with my banks instead of needing envelopes or spreadsheets. But all of those “automated” systems wound up being more trouble than they were worth and I could never sustainably keep up with them, despite their “automation”. On a recommendation I tried Pennies knowing that it was not automated. To my surprise, it’s simple concept actually makes the whole process easier for me to keep up with and has created a habit of tracking my money that has given me a more intimate knowledge of my spending than I’ve ever had. I’ve actually sustained it for 6 months now! It takes 5 seconds to record a transaction at the time of purchase. Then it takes another 5 minutes to export the entire month’s worth into Excel and run a quick pie chart to see where spending went. Done for the month! Love it!

Initially I was trying to use pennies to track everything we/I spend. Sheesh. We’re a family of 6 and it was just loony. Stupid too- I know already what our mortgage is each month- why track that? Realized that’s really not the app’s purpose (which I believe the dev. says in the faqs). It excels at providing a place and a means to manage and track the variable expenses, the ones I can control. So if I reduce expenditure in one area I can choose to save it, stockpile it for another month, use it in a different area, etc. What’s great is that as I enter my expenses (in the areas I track) I am forced to think about how that fits with my master plan. Which I honestly need- in the moment I can convince myself to purchase something, eg, that frankly blows my budget and really isn’t needed. Great accountability. So now- I track the variables I can control and manipulate monthly and it is terrific. Easy. Fast to enter. Intuitive. Adaptable to me. Really like it. Brilliant.

This app is simply the best. I used to use a full fledged budgeting app that was very complex, but after a few months I found that I simply didn't need all the bells and whistles. I throw the money I don't wanna touch in a savings account and use this app to manage my spendable money. The Apple Watch app is also a nice bonus. Awesome app. Great functionality. I simply can't live without it. Recommendation: Adding a “note” takes too may taps. You should explore ways to make adding notes quicker. For instance, when I click on a suggested note, have the menu close itself instead of having me hit the check mark. Or, since there’s so much unused screen space, maybe have theist always open as a scrolling list that shows 5 at a time, rather than having me click the add note button to make a big list shoot up from the bottom.

Wow. This app is exactly what I was looking for. Something to simply state how much so budgeted for extra expenses, how much I've spent, and what I've got left. You'd think all the other finance and budgeting apps would have this simple process but they don't! This app is worth the $4 I spent to be able to accurately track my expenses. I'm so excited to start a new journey towards better financial health and I have Pennies to partly thank!! The only improvements I would like are to be able to Edit the Note (Type In a Custom Note) AFTER you've already put the spending in for your budget. And I would also like to color-code budgets, since as of right now, they all have the blueish-green color. Anyway.. can't wait to see where this app goes and the wonderful additions it incorporates! Wonderful app! Buy it! You won't regret it!

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I love this app so much. First, the aesthetics. It is beautiful to look at and very easy to navigate. The sounds effects are simple and satisfying to hear. Also, love the colors! Even more importantly though, this app helps me keep track of every single penny going in and going out. And what I *especially* love is how this app is so versatile! If something changes in my financial situation/needs later on, I can easily switch up my budgeting approach. The minimalistic functions allow for a flexible approach to budgeting and encourages “budget creativity” to use each of the app’s tools in their own way. For me this is what makes it fun—you can do whatever works best for you. The only thing is, as some users have mentioned, when you have a longer list of budgets (I have 28), the app lags quite a bit when toggling between budgets. It is somewhat frustrating at times when I am trying to balance my budgets quickly. But if you have fewer budgets or don’t mind exercising a little (sometimes a lot of) patience, then it isn’t *that* bad. I will continue using this app because of the flexibility it allows me for my budgeting needs. Plus, I have tried several apps in the past, and this Pennies one works best for me. Otherwise, the lagging truly would be a dealbreaker because it interrupts my budget planning flow.