Have you tried budgeting apps like Mint or YNAB but found them just not your cup of tea? Don’t worry. You’re not alone!
For some folks, a good old spreadsheet is a way to go for budgeting. With a spreadsheet, you have complete control over your finances, rearrange your rows and columns as much as you want, and add any information.
No need to be frustrated with a limited user interface like you might experience with budgeting apps.
But let’s be real. The downside of a budget spreadsheet is that you have to enter all the data yourself, which can be time-consuming and a bit of a pain.
The founder of Tiller Money, Peter Polson, saw this problem and devised a solution – budgeting with a spreadsheet with automation.
In this Tiller budgeting review, I’ll guide you through the important things you need to know about this money management app.
Learn More About Tiller
Tiller Money Budgeting Templates
With Tiller, you can do all your budgeting within one convenient Google Sheet. And the best part? Your income and expenses will automatically flow in and update on their own.
Look at the monthly budget sheet, where you can set your budget once and be done. A full-year view of your spending habits and expenses also updates as you go. And if you need to add more budget categories, Tiller’s got you covered with a tab for that too.
And to make it even better, Tiller Money has a “Transactions” tab that pulls in your data automatically. All you have to do is install their handy add-on within Google Sheets and select which accounts you want to track.
You can separate your business and personal transactions, just like I do with my personal and business income and expenses.
You can read our detailed Tiller Money review for more insight about this platform.
How Tiller Budgeting Works
Tiller Money makes it easy with just five simple steps!
Step 1: Open a Tiller Money account online.
Step 2: Use Tiller’s account setup wizard to connect all your financial accounts. They work with most banks, credit unions, and even your credit cards.
Step 3: Pick the perfect budget spreadsheet template for you. Whether it’s a monthly budget, weekly expense tracker, or a debt snowball spreadsheet, they’ve got you covered.
Step 4: Customize your categories. Once Tiller pulls in 90 days of your transaction data and populates it in a Google Sheet, take a look and adjust as needed.
Step 5: Set your budget targets for each category. Stay in control of your income and expenses, and say goodbye to relying on credit cards for daily costs.
With Tiller Money, you’ve got options for budgeting. Like the debt snowball spreadsheet that hooks up with your credit card accounts and helps you tackle those balances like a pro.
Pros of Tiller budgeting
- It makes the process easy and seamless
You know the drill. Budgeting with spreadsheets can be a real pain, especially when manually entering all your transactions. But, with Tiller, say goodbye to those tedious manual entries and hello to effortless budgeting! Tiller makes spreadsheet budgeting a breeze, so you can focus on your finances instead of manually inputting numbers.
You’ll love the versatility Tiller offers! With it, you can have multiple spreadsheets to tackle different financial goals. Sure, you might use the standard monthly budget most of the time, but when you overdo it on the credit cards and end up with balances to pay off, Tiller’s got you covered. Just switch over to a debt snowball spreadsheet to prioritize your payments, and voila!
- Share and edit your Google sheet
You don’t have to do the budgeting all alone, as you can share the load with your better half by inviting them to join the fun. Simply link both of your bank accounts to one Tiller account, and the main account holder can send an invite to their partner. Voila! You’re now budgeting together in real time. How cool is that? No need to worry about compatibility issues. Tiller plays well with others and allows you to budget as a team, which means easier savings goals.
- No complete data loss when you cancel
Don’t worry about losing all your hard work if you cancel your Tiller Money’s subscription because all your spreadsheets will still be waiting for you on your Google share drive. You might have to manually update them instead of having Tiller do it for you. With other personal finance apps, you’d start from scratch if you cancel, but your budget stays safe and sound with Tiller.
Cons of Tiller budgeting
You know how it is – we all want our daily budget email updates to be bang on. But if Tiller Money isn’t synced just right, those updates may not be accurate. If you’re one of the users who have trouble syncing every session, you might have found that Tiller’s daily budget emails are less helpful.
Tiller doesn’t have a smartphone app. But you can download the Google Sheets app, add your Tiller sheets to your drive, and voila! You now have access to your financial transactions from anywhere and anytime.
Is Tiller Budgeting Worth it?
This tool offers a straightforward budgeting and money management approach that’s perfect for those just starting out on their personal finance journey.
But, if you’re an experienced investor or retirement planning expert, you may want to explore other options.
However, for the average person looking to get a handle on their finances, Tiller Money is an excellent option to keep track of your financial health.
You can get started with the 30-day free trial today.
Get Started With Tiller
Related Investing Product Reviews: