Is there a self-hosted budgeting app that uses the envelope method and has a simple iOS app for logging transactions? reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- guygizmo · 2023-11-05 02:25 I know budgeting apps is an evergreen topic here, and I was just pouring over a bunch of different threads of people looking for the right budgeting app, or advertising one they're working on. So far I haven't found one that looks to be right for me, so I figured I'd ask. I have a particular use case, though, that I'm trying to fulfill, which is to make things as easy and frustration-free as possible for me and my spouse to log transactions that come from a particular budget / envelope / bucket / whatever. So what I'm looking for: - Needs to be self-hosted and private (naturally) - Uses the envelope method / buckets for tracking money - Has an iOS app that makes it very simple to log transactions while out doing shopping, preferably with a minimalist UI - ...and the iOS app is resilient against unstable internet connections. *(This is important!)* The situation I'm looking to avoid above all else is pulling out the iOS app to log a transaction, and discovering that it won't go through because the shop has no cell service or wi-fi. My spouse has no tolerance for frustrating apps, and frankly neither do I, so I'm trying to work with that. I live in a relatively rural area so it's very typical for there to be no or very shoddy internet connectivity in many places I go. In that case *I need* the app to locally log the transaction and then sync it with a self-hosted server later when there's a stable internet connection. In short, the user experience of logging a transaction needs to be opening the app, entering the transaction, selecting an envelope / bucket, and hitting a button to log it. That's it, no waiting required. Since this is pretty specific, I'm more or less prepared to make this app myself. But I was hoping maybe someone already made something that fulfills this! Any suggestions are appreciated. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MeCJay12 · 2023-11-05 03:09 YES! SAME! I CANNOT FIND ONE FOR THE LIFE OF ME. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- wells68 · 2023-11-05 03:29 The best self-hosted budgeting app I could find is [Firefly III](https://www.firefly-iii.org/) I can't tell you which of your criteria it meets. Our main criterion is that the program track various categories (envelopes) and show how much money is left for each category (envelope) this month. A plus is that some categories have a quarterly or an annual amount (budget). Firefly III does that. Is it simple? Well, once you get used to it, sure, but setting it up just so and getting used to it - that's a challenge for any budgeting application. As for an iOS app: [Abacus for Firefly III](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/abacus-for-firefly- iii/id1627093491) in the App Store. I don't know if that is friendly or robust. We discovered that bad old Quicken has a budgeting feature that does a fine job of showing how much is left in each "envelope" and a friendly way to adjust those amounts as our needs varied. I also like how it can carry a balance forward into next month's envelope, or not. I don't like how much $$$ we pay for it each year, but we use it for a side business so we do get double value out of it. I think it is important to face the fact that no budgeting application is going to be as easy to set up, learn, use and adjust as you would like. A commitment to getting serious about putting boundaries around spending and keeping the system up-to-date is essential. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- fragileanus · 2023-11-05 04:54 Is Actual an option? AFAIK it's just the PWA to use mobile, but I believe a copy of the budget is stored locally. Lemme try iOS really quick without data ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stupv · 2023-11-05 05:25 Abacus kinda sucks, i prefer Waterfly but unsure if thats android only ---------------------------------------------------------------------- nanhoes · 2023-11-05 05:59 Not self hosted but open source: https://github.com/rarfell/dimeApp ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DarthNihilus · 2023-11-05 06:53 I don't think it exists. There's a few good self hosted budget options but I've never found any with good apps (or really any app at all). I pay for YNAB pretty much solely because of the lack of apps. Otherwise I'd be very happy using Actual. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- adamshand · 2023-11-05 08:48 Didn't know about that, nice! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Crower19 · 2023-11-05 09:16 have you try Actual Budget? the mobile web version is well optimized and can you add transactions quickly. i’m transitioning from You Need a Budget to Actual and i feel really happy. also has the possibility to make the bank accounts be sync to import regularity the transactions. I think its a great option ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dotinho · 2023-11-05 09:22 I use that :) it’s selfhosted and very friendly on browser, even on iPhone. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tiwenty · 2023-11-05 11:20 Only Android yes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cefaleia · 2023-11-05 12:08 This ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sky_Linx · 2023-11-05 13:03 Actual Budget! Its web app can be used as an app on mobile and stores data locally, that it syncs with the server. So you can log transactions also without connection if I am not mistaken. Actual Budget is the most similar open source alternative to YNAB and I love it. Highly recommend ---------------------------------------------------------------------- guygizmo · 2023-11-05 14:07 I had discounted Firefly III because it looked like it didn't have an iOS app, but I'll check out using it with Abacus and see how I like it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- guygizmo · 2023-11-05 14:08 How do you use its web app without an internet connection, though? If the page is already loaded that I can see it working, but if it's not loaded then you're SOL. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sky_Linx · 2023-11-05 14:29 I have the web app saved as home screen app and it's loaded already. But I guess you are right, you need to load the app once at least. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- guygizmo · 2023-11-05 15:29 I'll still give it a look-see to see if it works for me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- guygizmo · 2023-11-05 15:30 That looks nice, though I need the app to be able to sync with other desktop and iPhone apps being run by other people (namely my spouse). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bendem · 2023-11-05 17:48 > How do you use its web app without an internet connection, though? I'm guessing service workers. It's a technology to make websites work offline or on degraded networks. Not many good implementations, but the ones that are good are incredible. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2treesandatiger · 2023-11-05 17:51 Does it support tags? I couldn’t not get it from the documentation whether that is a feature that’s is implemented yet or not