I've sometimes referred to myself as "The King of Budgeting", with good reason: I've tried many, many budgeting methods. Even after my wife got fed up with my "newfangled budget thingy of the month" and demanded that I "choose one budget system and promise that we'll never change it again", I still had to keep trying new systems.

Now, don't get me wrong. I've kept my promise to my wife - we picked a budgeting system that was simple and easy to use, and works well for us, and we've used it for the last several months with great success. However, that doesn't mean I can't keep looking at other budgeting methods, does it?

I figured that not everyone has the same fanatical desire to try out budgeting systems as I do. You'd probably rather pick one that works and be done with it. I sympathize with you (and my wife definitely sympathizes with you!), and that's why I've written about all of the budgeting systems that I've reviewed, including advantages and disadvantages, pros and cons. And to make it even simpler, I've given them ratings between "$" and "$$$$$". One dollar sign means it's a waste of your time and money, and five dollar signs means it's the cream of the crop, a true budgeting dream.

So, without further ado, here are the budgeting system reviews:

You Need A Budget (YNAB) Excel Spreadsheet

Mvelopes Personal budgeting system

"The B Word" budgeting system
 
Budget calculator - This isn't a budgeting system, but it is a good place to start. It's a free budgeting calculator that lets you enter your monthly/yearly income and expenses, then helps you set savings goals. Pretty handy, since it does a lot of the calculations for you.

Budgeting Secrets interview with Jesse Mecham, creator of You Need A Budget - A 40-minute interview with Jesse, where we talk about the secrets of successful budgeting, and building wealth while living comfortably on a budget.

Budgeting Secrets interview with a new Mvelopes user - A 22-minute interview with Lisa, the winner of a year of Mvelopes Personal. We talk about what Mvelopes is like, how to make a budget work for you, and how to avoid budgeting pitfalls.

Budgeting articles on this website - This is a collection of all the budgeting articles I've written. You'll find some useful tips and tricks for making a budget work for you, regardless of which system you use.