I’ve been tracking money for six years. Started with Mint, graduated to YNAB, experimented with a dozen other apps. In 2024, I went back to a Google Sheets spreadsheet.

Controversial take: for many people, spreadsheets are actually better than budgeting apps. Not for everyone. But the app industry has convinced us that more features means better budgeting, when often the opposite is true.

Here’s when each approach works—and why the “inferior” tool might be your best choice.

Quick Comparison

Factor	Spreadsheets	Apps (YNAB, Mint, etc.)
Cost	$0	$0-99/year
Setup time	2-4 hours	30-60 minutes
Daily maintenance	5-10 min manual entry	2-5 min review
Customization	Unlimited	Limited by app design
Data security	You control it	Third-party access
Behavior change	Higher (manual friction)	Lower (too easy to ignore)

Bottom line: Spreadsheets require more work but often create more awareness. Apps are convenient but can become passive data graveyards.

Why I Switched Back to Spreadsheets

Reason 1: Manual Entry Forces Attention

Every purchase in my spreadsheet means typing a number. That 3 seconds of friction makes me think about what I’m spending.

With auto-import apps, transactions just appear. I’d review them weekly, see a long list, think “looks fine,” and move on. No moment of decision or awareness.

The psychology: Friction at the point of tracking creates friction at the point of spending. If I know I’ll have to enter “$47 - Target - random stuff,” I think twice about the purchase.

Reason 2: I Actually Understand My Numbers

Spreadsheets force you to understand the math. Where does money come from? Where does it go? What’s the relationship between categories?

Apps abstract this. You see colorful charts, but do you know how they’re calculated? Can you spot the error when something’s miscategorized?

When I built my spreadsheet, I understood every formula. When something looks wrong, I can investigate and fix it. With apps, I’d just trust the numbers—sometimes incorrectly.

Reason 3: No Subscription Creep

YNAB: $99/year Various premium budget apps: $50-150/year

A Google Sheet: $0

For someone trying to save money, paying $100/year to track savings is ironic. That’s a phone bill. That’s car insurance for a month.

Reason 4: No Third-Party Bank Access

Budget apps need your bank credentials or financial data access. That means:

• A company has access to all your transactions
• Your data exists on their servers
• Security depends on their practices
• What happens to your data if they’re acquired or close?

Spreadsheets stay on your device or your personal cloud storage. You control the data.

Reason 5: Unlimited Customization

My financial situation doesn’t fit neatly into app categories. Variable income, irregular expenses, specific savings goals with different timelines.

Spreadsheets let me create exactly what I need:

• Custom categories that match my actual spending
• Calculations specific to my goals
• Visualizations that show what I care about
• Integrations with other financial tracking

Apps give you their structure. Spreadsheets give you yours.

When Apps Are Still Better

You Won’t Manually Track

Let’s be honest: manual entry requires discipline. If you won’t consistently enter transactions, a spreadsheet becomes useless data.

Auto-import apps lower the friction enough that tracking actually happens. Imperfect tracking beats no tracking.

If this is you: Start with an app. Something is better than nothing.

Complex Financial Situation

Multiple accounts, investments, credit cards, loans—manually tracking everything becomes unwieldy. Apps like YNAB or Copilot aggregate automatically.

If this is you: The convenience of auto-import might be worth the cost and privacy trade-offs.

You Need Mobile Entry

Spreadsheets on phones are clunky. Apps are designed for quick mobile entry. If you need to track on the go, apps have a real advantage.

Workaround: I use a notes app to jot quick transactions, then enter them into my spreadsheet daily. Extra step, but works for me.

Couples or Shared Finances

Apps with shared access, real-time sync, and notifications work better for couples managing money together. Spreadsheets can work, but the collaboration features are limited.

The Hybrid Approach

Here’s what I actually do:

Spreadsheet for: Monthly budgeting, goal tracking, net worth, savings progress. The strategic stuff I want to truly understand.

Free bank app notifications for: Real-time alerts when charges post. Catches fraud immediately, gives me transaction memory for spreadsheet entry.

No paid budgeting app: The $100/year goes to savings instead.

This gives me the awareness benefits of manual tracking with the security benefits of transaction alerts, without paying for premium app features I don’t need.

Building a Budget Spreadsheet That Works

If you’re ready to try spreadsheets, here’s a structure that’s worked for me:

Tab 1: Monthly Budget

Income section:

• Expected monthly income
• Actual income (updated as received)
• Variance

Expense categories:

• Fixed expenses (same every month)
• Variable essentials (groceries, utilities)
• Discretionary (entertainment, dining out)
• Savings/debt payments

Each category shows: budgeted amount, actual spent, remaining.

Tab 2: Transaction Log

Columns:

• Date
• Description
• Category
• Amount
• Notes

Enter every transaction here. Formulas sum categories and feed into Tab 1.

Tab 3: Annual View

Monthly totals across the year. Shows patterns: which months overspend, seasonal variations, progress over time.

Tab 4: Net Worth (Optional)

Monthly snapshot of assets minus liabilities. Tracking net worth monthly shows the real trajectory of your financial health.

Templates to Start

Rather than building from scratch, search “budget spreadsheet template” in Google Sheets or Excel. Customize from there.

Good free templates:

• Google’s built-in budget templates
• Reddit r/personalfinance sidebar resources
• Vertex42 budget templates

The Honest Assessment

Spreadsheets work best when:

• You have 10 minutes daily for entry
• You want maximum control and understanding
• You’re privacy-conscious about financial data
• You don’t want to pay subscription fees
• Your financial situation isn’t overly complex

Apps work best when:

• You won’t consistently manual-track
• You need real-time account aggregation
• You’re managing complex multi-account situations
• You prefer mobile-first interfaces
• You’ll actually use the app’s features

Neither works if:

• You set it up and never look at it
• You track but don’t change behavior
• You use the data to shame yourself instead of inform decisions

My Current Setup

• Google Sheets budget (10 min daily entry)
• Bank notification alerts (real-time transaction awareness)
• Quarterly review ritual (30 min to analyze trends)
• Net worth tracking (monthly 5-minute update)

Total cost: $0 Monthly time: ~6 hours Result: Complete financial awareness and control

Is it more work than YNAB? Yes. Do I understand my finances better than when I used YNAB? Also yes.

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Six years of budgeting across every major tool. The best tool is the one you actually use. For me, that turned out to be the simplest one.