COOLMEMIN  I have used both budget and Moneywell and I personally prefer Moneywell. I like the bar charts it generates because it makes it easier to compare how much your spending changes month to month on different categories (buckets). Budget is a really good program too though and is very easy to use and set up. I guess its just a matter of personal preference. Try both and see which one you like.  
(Version 5.3.6)

JOI  I bought this last year, but to be fair I never got around to using it because I didn't feel like getting into the help file extra to learn how to use it. Yada, yada learning curve. So it might be a great app, but I downloaded MoneyWell and it had a bunch of online video tutorials so I'm going to use that because it seems to use the same envelope system but with buckets.   
(Version 5.3.5)

DONKEYOTAY  A comment about the guarantee. I bought this program last year, but really couldn't get along with it. I emailed the developers within the 60 day trial & had my money refunded within a day or so. Brilliant service.  
(Version 5.3.5)

ODYSSEUS  Has anyone compared this to MoneyWell?  
(Version 5.3.4)

MACDAN  This program is worth every penny. Managing your money with the envelope metaphore if far superior to using all the Quicken look-a-likes out there. This allows you to better control your spending before you spend the money. Quicken and the rest are just tools for reporting where the money has already gone. They do not help you segregate your funds to appropriate envelopes so that money does not get spent where it should not be spent.

Awesome program. I am much less stressed when I can see that we already have our mortage money set aside and I did not have to open multiple bank accounts to do so.  
(Version 5.2.1a)

TRINAROL  I love this product! I don't really want this to sound like one of those awful testimonials, but I've gotta give credit, where credit is due. My husband and I have never been really good with money because we've never really had to worry about it, but we decided to buy a house. We knew that we would need to be very careful...and after a few failed attempts using other programmes and even this one (not the programme's fault...I just went too complicated ie. Multiple accounts, credit cards and investments) I finally mastered most of the features of Budget and am very pleased to say that we purchased our house and will be debt free (except our mortgage, of course) in three months. If you want a relatively simple way to watch your pennies, this is the best option I've found  
(Version 5.2.1a)

SCOTT MOORE  I had tried this program in the past, and decided to forgo using it. However, with its recent advances, it has met many of my personal financial needs in a nice package. There is a little bit of a learning curve, but if you are serious about using the program, you shouldn’t have any problems understanding the logic of the programs flow.

The customer support is stellar! I can’t remember getting such great support on any other product that I have ever purchased in my life. The customer support is well worth the price of the software. Also, they are constantly upgrading and fine-tuning the program, month after month. In my opinion, they are a benchmark of customer support.

For my personal needs, this program alone is not enough. I still need the online capabilities of a Quicken. However, if you don’t do much with online banking and bill pay, then this program should be just fine. It’s too bad there isn’t some swift interface between Budget and Quicken. Then everything would simply be perfect!  
(Version 4.6.1)

TOM MARKS  I have used Budget for about 3 months now. The learning curve was a bit steep but once I started to understand the envelope concept and how it was different from what I was used to usage got much easier and now I wonder how I ever worked with anything else. For the first time I really do know where my money is and where I am overspending. Well worth the time spent figuring it out.  
(Version 4.6)

JEFF  For me, a difficult little programme. Totally unintuitive and unproductive.

After going through the initial setup with bank accounts etc and playing around for a while I quit the programme. Upon a restart Budget had 'forgotten' all my data, and wanted me to do the setup again...

I don't want to bag this programme because I see some users have had a very positive expereince. Obviouly some users get a lot out of it. I was not one of them.

All I can say is that I was looking for something I thought my partner could use (nice and easy), but this programme is far from easy to learn. Expect to dedicate plenty of time reading the docs and getting very frustrated etc.

Like me your better off writing a few simple spreadsheets in Appleworks...  
(Version 4.5.7)

DAN  An absolutely invaluable app. This program helps you manage your paycheck in ways that quicken never could. The envelope system allows me to plan for events/bills way in advance. I have a much better conception of my financial picture because of this app's organizational features. Also, this developer is wonderful, providing updates frequently. I only give 4 stars for ease of use because there are so many features that don't exist in other finance apps. 5 stars for everything else.   
(Version 4.5.6)

MARK  I'm only writing this review because I see that the user "May" reviewed twice, giving Budget begative reviews both times. Giving it poor grades once is cool, it doesn't seem to meet her (?) needs. Giving it poor marks twice seems kind of slimy to me. I'm not going to write this twice, under different names, just so that my opinions count twice as much as everyone else's.

I'm a registered user of both Quicken & budget. Personally I like the way budget works. It is completely unlike any other accounting program that I've tried, but it is extremely easy to use to track where your money is going. If you're interested in the concept, download the free trial. If you like it, buy it, but if you don't like it/get it/ understand how it works after a few hours, just move on. There are other programs out there & (IMHO) no one should waste more than a few hours out of their life learning a specific piece of software. Budget is designed to make life easier. If it doesn't seem to be working, then it's probably not the right software for you.   
(Version 4.5.5)

ANONYMOUS  The problem with Budget not launching has been fixed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Snowmint Creative Solutions.   
(Version 4.5.2)

MACIEJ MACAK  Yes, application will NOT start!!!

I am a paid user.  
(Version 4.5.2)

JIM M  I would certainly like to try out the new 4.5.2 version, but when I mount the image, and drap the app to my applications file, it will not start up when I double click on the application file. Help...anyone else have this problem? I am using my PowerBook G4, 1 GhZ, 512 Mb, Mac OS X 3.8. I won't obviously try to rate the application until I can get it to run.  
(Version 4.5.2)

BUD  As others have said before me, this envelope concept is a little unusual. Nonetheless, once you get used to it, it is very simple and straightforward! For the past few months, Budget has successfully helped me control my spending, and know what and where i am buying. Great software, with only a few annoying little bits: the price autocomplete is not very well implemented, in my opinion...

This is well worth the price, but even without paying, the program doesn't bug you too much (only when you exit), which is one of the reasons why i ended up registering it... :) thanks...  
(Version 4.5.1)

ANONYMOUS  LOVE THIS PRODUCT. The envelope system is amazing for people like me, who are afraid of money and accounting but have to keep track of where the money goes.

It takes a little while to read through the documentation, but reading through it is worth it-- great program. Great concept.  
(Version 4.5)

ANONYMOUS  Just fantastic. Much better than Quicken and cheaper. Back on track with my finances. Best support I have ever seen for a shareware product. Keep up the great work.  
(Version 4.3.3)

ANONYMOUS  It takes a while to get used to but once you get the basic idea it really helps keep me on top of my finances. I especially like being able to see the amounts I have to spend in each of my envelopes on one screen.  
(Version 4.3.3)

MIKEWELSH  Pure, and simple. It is a good way to gain control of what you want to spend and whether you can afford to spend it. Way cooler than other so called “finance” programs, and less expensive.  
(Version 4.3.2)

DAVE FAMOUS  Whoa! After posting my review, I read the other comments by "May Volen". Here's a tip: before you give up on a program, READ THE MANUAL. I was a bit confused about a few things at first, but I looked them up in the manual and next thing you know - I understood it! Hey, imagine that... Really, this program is NOT a check register, or an accounting program. It's meant to help you plan where you want to spend (or NOT spend) your money. It is your BUDGET, not your accounting (although it conveniently contains a record of your accounting). I tried to figure out Quicken, and Budget is so much more useful for me because instead of acting like a ledger book, it acts like a buch of envelopes with cash in them, laid out on the kitchen table, with a label on each telling you what it's being saved for. When a bill comes due, you take the money out of that bill's envelope to pay it. Simple, intuitive, and effective.  
(Version 4.2.1)

DAVE FAMOUS  This program rocks! I finally have control of my finances! Believe it or not, I actually enjoy balancing my checkbook with this program. It makes it easy to see how much money you have available after setting aside a certain amount each paycheck for bills and whatnot. I've stopped accidentally overdrawing my checking account. Not only does it make it so you can see how much you have after all your checks clear, but it tells you how much you have to spend after saving a portion for expenses. I'm posting this solely to help out these developers, because I love this program so much.  
(Version 4.2.1)

RON HOOPER  We worked with the user named here "May Volen" through many emails, and we were unable to get him/her to understand how Budget works. Having refunded his/her money, we thought the issue closed. Obviously we erred in that respect. However, to have him/her post that kind of negative review and personal attack was, in my honest opinion, malicious. We try hard to produce a quality product. We respect and work with users and respond as quickly as possible to their questions and concerns. We only ask for the same respect. Check out our forum at http://www.snowmintcs.com/forums and for a better perspective on our support http://www.snowmintcs.com/comments.html.

To read the complete series of emails between us and this customer, including a look at our typical very short response times to email, please visit this page http://www.snowmintcs.com/support/CompleteInfo.html.  
(Version 4.2.1)

NATHAN LADD  I won't give this app a rating, as that wouldn't adequately reflect the quality of the program.

I was about to purchase this program, but stubled across the new version this morning. I went to download it and took a glance through the comments.

After seeing the developer's response to user complaints ("duh"?) I'll be taking my money elsewhere. No matter the form of the original complaint, this is inappropriate behaviour by a developer in a public forum -- especially one that has reviews of that developer's software.  
(Version 4.2.1)

WALLABY  Oops. Forgot to set the ratings before posting my comment last time.  
(Version 4.1)

WALLABY  It's very amusing to see the insults fly, but instead of insults why not offer useful criticism? I've used Budget for about a year now, and every release makes it better. The developers do listen to their users, but the users don't have to fling insults around needlessly.

I think selecting a bank account and an envelope, then clicking the Deposit or Check toolbar icons to get a dialog where you fill in the amount, date, etc. is pretty simple. The main point of Budget is to divide your money into pools that you need to spend on different things - Budget calls these pools "envelopes". What's the big issue here?

When you get paid, if you just want to do a deposit, then do that. Select the pool of money you want to put it in (the envelope) and the bank account that matches your real world account, then hit the Deposit toolbar icon (looks like a pig). Fill in the amount, date, etc and you're money is recorded there.

Icons would be neat to see on envelopes, but I'd rather see more kinds of reports (how about letting the user choose the date range?) and more functional things than eye candy like cool icons.

Just my $0.02.  
(Version 4.1)

MAY  Here is my reply to Ron's comment on my review:

First of all, your "duh!" comment is a typical response of developers to consumer problems. You are not designing this for your personal pleasure. The assumption is that you are designing a product to be marketed to users. What is intuitive to you is irrelevant - most developers are semi-autistic males who do not relate to people at all and have a "theory of mind" problem. Theory of mind is the socially important concept that other human beings have ways of thinking which have validity. Autistics do not and cannot believe this. It is their way only that has validity.

Next, just how many hours or days or weeks is someone supposed to devote to the learning curve on your software? I have news for you, if it takes more than a few hours to figure out a budget software program, you have failed. If there is a checkbook icon somewhere in your program, I was unable to run across it after seven hours struggling with your program. Of course it is obvious to you- you hid it where it seems obvious to you. Did you think about where it would be intuitive to the consumer?

:Your reply to my comment "it only is helpful if you always get paid the same amount of money at the same times of each month. If you have any sort of variable income, this will be useless". was

"Not true" Well, sure, if you want to go in and fiddle with the interval amounts every time a check comes in (no matter how small), you could do it but that is creating work, not streamlining it. And if your software creates more work and wastes more time, it defeats its own purpose.

"There is NO check icon."

Again, not true

Well, after seven hours, I have no plans on looking for what should have been right on the screen all of the time. You can take satisfaction that you are playing hide and seek with one of the most important items in a budget program but I found it frustrating. Again, if you are desiging programs for yourself, be my guest and hide it wherever you wish.

"but there are no icons for auto, food, electricity, rent (a house?) etc."

This comment is irrelevant. I never mentioned an icon for phone bills. But a 12 year old kid could figure out that you could have several icons to put on group envelopes - cable tv, phone, auto, etc. And this option makes a hell of a lot more sense and serves a purpose while pastel coloring the envelopes does nothing and serves no purpose. I would never have commented on your comments but you have the typical, "to hell with these idiotic computer users who can't figure out my program" attitude. Maybe, just maybe, the problem is not with the intelligence of the users. Maybe, just maybe, the problem is with the less than transparent program setup.   
(Version 4.1)

RON HOOPER  "it only is helpful if you always get paid the same amount of money at the same times of each month. If you have any sort of variable income, this will be useless".

Not true, there is an entire section in the documentation on how to handle variable pays.

"There is NO check icon."

Again, not true, there is an icon for any account (Checkbook, savings, or credit) the check icon itself is used to write a check and shows up in the toolbar , duh!

"but there are no icons for auto, food, electricity, rent (a house?) etc."

Interesting idea but does anyone have more than one Phone bill? You still need a way to tell them apart, so we would have to place their name and amount on top of the icon, how readable to you think that would be?

Budget is different from other check type programs. If you want to work with your checkbook register and know where your money went after you spent it, use Quicken. If, however, you want something better that tells you how much money you have to spend before you spend it, and works to keep you from overspending then try Budget.   
(Version 4.1)

MAY VOLEN  Well, here is another program that will waste a day of your time and still will not work. First of all, you have to wonder who is designing these things - a race of aliens whose intuition is from another galaxy with a set of laws and physics all its own? This is a mess. To begin with, it only is helpful if you always get paid the same amount of money at the same times of each month. If you have any sort of variable income, this will be useless - only hourly wage people need apply. Anyone who works on a commission or sales will be wasting their time with this one. NOTHING here is obvious. Want to deposit a check into your checking that your aunt sent you for your birthday? Good luck finding out how. You would think that you could just fill in an easy to find field for $50 and drag it to a checkbook icon. No such luck. There is NO checkbook icon. You can make up an envelope and call it your checkbook but that will only start the confusion. Envelopes can be made and colored - but there are no icons for auto, food, electricity, rent (a house?) etc., and that would have been a lot more obvious than pastel colored envelopes. You soon have a screen full of envelopes - prettily - and uselessly colored. There is no check icon - but you can write a check, although I have yet to figure out how. After 6 hours of trying to figure this one out I gave up. I could have done my budget by hand in 15 minutes. This was an annoying program to use. NOTHING made sense.  
(Version 4.1)