Mvelopes, NeoBudget, and Inzolo are all types of software for maintaining an envelope system online. If you haven’t heard of the envelope system, the basic idea is that you put cash in different envelopes for different items in your budget. For example, you put $100 dollars in your grocery envelope, and then you only spend that money on groceries and no more until it is time to fill it again. The idea has been around forever, but Dave Ramsey has made it popular recently.
Today I read a great review from ChristianPF on Mvelopes, and Bob mentioned NeoBudget as an alternative. I decided to check it, and was also introduced to Inzolo. The main idea behind each of the systems is to create a virtual envelope system that can be controlled online. Many people, myself included, don’t really like to carry around cash and prefer using a debit card. It is more convenient in many instances.
The systems allow you to create separate “envelopes” for different parts of your budget. You can then import your transactions online from your checking account, and classify them as to which envelope they should come from. With this you can easily keep track of how much you are spending in each section, and hold yourself to the budget you set.
I had been wanting to try Mvelopes for awhile, but the pricetag had kept me from doing it. It’s not a ton at $12 a month, but it was more than I wanted to spend. NeoBudget and Inzolo are cheaper alternatives, so I am going to give them a shot. Mvelopes does have a free trial which I may try at some point just to do a review, but it was more than I wanted to spend. If want to give it a shot you can sign up for a free trial of Mvelopes Personal here. If you do, let me know what you think of it.
I’ve also considered using Mint as a budget planner. It has very similar functionality, it just isn’t labeled as an “envelope system” so I hadn’t thought of it before. The best part about Mint is it is free. If you don’t like it you aren’t out anything.
I just thought I’d share these alternatives to let anybody who has been considering trying an online envelope system know that they exist. I plan on trying them for a month or two and then I will do reviews for each of them.
If anybody has any experience with any of these systems I’d love for you to share your experience in the comments below. Tell the pros and cons and let us know if you would recommend it.
Related posts:
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve been trying to figure out a better way to ‘digitize’ the envelope system too! I looked a a couple of these, but wasn’t too excited about paying for them. After trying (and failing) at a number of free alternatives, I finally started using the power of GoogleSpreadsheets and the awesome iPhone browser.
Of course this is completely manual which doesn’t appeal to many people, but it’s been working great for me and my wife for several months now. Here’s a quick description of how I’m using it:
http://www.bradleycoaching.com/2010/03/my-digital-envelope-system.html
Thanks for the post! I know so many people struggle with a good implementation of the envelope system (especially those of us without purses!).
That’s a cool idea. I may have to try that out in addition to the others. I wonder if any of the others have an app for the iphone, i’ll have to go check.
Derek, let me know what you think about NeoBudget & Inzolo if you give them a run…
No problem. I’ve been using them both for a little while now. I plan on doing a review of both shortly.
My wife and I have been using NeoBudget for about a month. So far we find it easy to use. The accessibility is fantastic since we can use it from any PC in the house. Best of all, it’s pricing structure (including a recent change), is hard to beat anywhere.
Terrific value!
I’ve been using Mvelopes regularly for the past five years and can honestly say it’s worth the cost. Having looked at both NeoBudget and Inzolo, they can’t compare with the convenience and features that Mvelopes provides. Mvelopes automatically downloads online transactions and lets you match them up with any manual transactions you enter, it allows for an unlimited amount of envelopes and sub-envelopes which you can categorize, and its interface is the most intuitive I’ve seen of any of these types of applications. Also, the online forum and help section is very comprehensive.
The pricing is definitely better with Neobudget, but there doesn’t seem to be any way to set up a hierarchy for the envelopes (Eating Out and Groceries are separate blocks on a screen full of other blocks rather than being able to put both under a category or envelope called Food). The navigation is also somewhat confusing–there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to view both the envelope balances and account transactions at the same time.
Inzolo looks like it has a great interface, but when I tried to enter to automatically connect with my bank account (with Chase–one of the most popular banks in this country), it gave me numerous error messages and recommended that I add it only as a manual account. Not being able to automatically connect with my bank account is a big dealbreaker for me, so I didn’t really spend any time with it.
Mvelopes does run about $13 a month, and I wish I were cheaper. However, until I find an online application that is as robust and easy to use, I am very happy with it.
I also had trouble importing automatically with inzolo, but i don’t mind doing it manually too much. Other than that it is pretty awesome, and since I don’t use the auto import it’s free. You can’t beat free
Thanks for your article, Derek, and the helpful input from other people in the comments. I just wanted to let you know that I for one am very interested in hearing more from you about your experience with these different budget systems.
One specific question for anybody out there: I’ve heard in the past that the Mvelopes interface could be very slow and frustrating. Is that something they’ve improved?
Thanks!
Hey Derek,
Thanks for the mention of Mvelopes. I wanted to let you know that we are currently offering any of your users a 10% discount off any of the Mvelopes.com packages and a 14 day trial to test drive the system. If anyone is interested, please go to http://www.Mvelopes.com and click “Start My Trial”. When you setup your account, just make sure to enter the promo code “10off” to get a 10% discount on any of our packages. That’s the number ten and the word “off”.
Let me know if you need any help or have any questions. Happy holidays!
My husband and I have been using Neobudget for the last two years and absolutely love it. Great customer service and software. I’ve also used Mvelopes in the past and thought it was too overpriced.
I like mitebudet (www.mitebudget.com), a lot like neobudget but it does it better and it’s free.
I like http://www.ynab.com There’s a one-time cost, an amazing support in their forums, free webinars and tutorials galore.
Hi! My husband and I have been using https://www.inexfinance.com/ and I like this online personal finance software. Great functionality, easy to use tools and free access.
I have been using Mvelopes for years (4? 5 maybe?). My debt is gone and my net worth has increased greatly. My familiarity with my money has never been better. My family consists of my husband and I, one child in college, one in high school and help we give to my mother, so the budget could be complicated but not with mvelopes. The best part is when a yearly or bi-yearly expense comes up, the money is just there, ready, sitting in the appropriate mvelope, slowly saved up. And I spend about 5 minutes a day or less dealing with it. It is simple, logical, easy….I cannot imagine being in debt again and I know with mvelopes I will never live beyond my means again or ever have credit card balances. BIG FAN!
{ 1 trackback }