Introduction
The power of envelope budgeting is brought forth by the Goodbudget financial application. At the heart of the envelope, budgeting is necessary for envelopes that contain cash. Each of the envelopes tends to signify particular spends heads. If there are five spend heads under consideration, then there would be five covers. Either that or envelopes to point to each of the spent money.
When incomes come into accounts at the start of the month, money is put aside in envelopes. The action prioritizes spending as it would put the larger amounts in the envelopes that need to be used more. As each item in the budget or shopping is purchased, the amounts are spent from the respective envelopes. They are marked out before the activity.
The power of envelope spending lies in the fact that there is never a case of overspends if appropriately executed. If an envelope gets exhausted, then the spend for that head is over for the month. It is possible to create savings targets and even investment goals by having envelopes marked out for most of the time.
Goodbudget is an effort to digitize the envelope spending method as far as possible. Rather than have physical envelopes, people use the application to create virtual envelopes filled with money just like the actual ones. Therefore, it is possible to have goals set and keep limits to spending with the budgeting application.
Cost and features of using Goodbudget
There is an entirely free to use a version of the app that needs a sign to use. Then there is the premium version of Goodbudget that is the Goodbudget Plus that costs $6 per month or $50 per annum to use. The essential features of both plans are outlined below.
- Free: There are ten necessary envelopes to use.
An additional ten envelopes can be introduced depending on the requirements.
- Provided to the user is a single account.
2. You can support it on two digital devices.
3. A year’s history of accounts is maintained.
Plus: Unlimited basic number of envelopes. Unlimited additional envelopes can be introduced.
- You can create unlimited user accounts.
2. You can support it on up to five digital devices.
3. Seven years’ history is stored for each account in use.
4. Priority support is provided to the user.
You can thus see that a fair bit of sophistication has been built into the plain envelopes used for the budgeting. A method that started as a simple home budgeting has taken on new life after digitization.
The advantages of Goodbudget
People looking to sign up for Goodbudget should be mindful of the following advantages that it has.
- Linking Devices: It is possible to sync many devices, making it convenient for those seeking to use the application among groups or in a family.
- Transfers: If a particular envelope or spending head gets exhausted, it is possible to transfer some amount from any of the other remaining envelopes, as is the case in actual envelope spending. It provides the user certain freedom when it comes to balancing budgets.
- Reports: There is a range of reports that are used with Goodbudget. It thus becomes relatively easy to keep tabs on the spending and the heads under each spends. Better control over the spending is achieved by using the generated reports to good effect.
- Forum: Goodbudget has an active user forum that comes in handy when issues come up for consideration. A certain collaboration occurs between the users to provide for some of the most innovative use of the technology.
Using Goodbudget
Getting Started
You can create an account on Goodbudget at the official website or the mobile app.
- Go to the service provider’s site and sign up for the account.
- You can download the mobile app from the official Goodbudget site and sign up on the phone.
- Your email address is entered, and a password is chosen. Then a suitable plan is chosen. After a review of the terms of use, the user then clicks on Get Started.
- If Goodbudget Plus is purchased, then the billing information has to be entered else, press Next.
How Goodbudget works
- Goodbudget application works on the principles of envelope budgeting, as has been laid out above. The regular envelopes keep track of day-to-day expenses like groceries, rent, gas, and credit card bills. More envelopes can be added to the system to take care of costs that do not fall under the regular categories like entertainment, school fees, and the likes.
- The entries are done manually by assigning an income and having the different spend heads filled in. Goodbudget cannot support online banking transactions or accounts.
- Another method is to upload the expenses as CSV from the banking sites to the user account.
As the entries are made and categorized, the sums in each of the envelopes get depleted. A green envelope tends to display a surplus, while a red envelope signifies an overdraft or overspend.
How safe is Goodbudget?
Compared to other competing budgeting software, Goodbudget is relatively safe to use as it does not involve the bank accounts or other financial accounts in any way. Moreover, the application promoters have made efforts to keep all operations above board and hence follow a transparent method to reporting and controlling finances.
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Conclusion
It is a fact that you cannot conjure up money from thin air. So, the best that a consumer can do is to manage it as efficiently as possible. Apps like Goodbudget and other similar offerings tend to keep tabs on how people get to spend sums of money and better control their spending habits. Each of the budgeting software has its strong points and weak points, and Goodbudget has a strong following for the conveniences it provides the user. In fact, there is a free version of the app that makes it all the more attractive to use.
