Tell us how you use Simplifi!

beerad

I was looking for a cloud solution that was an alternative for Quicken.  I have used Quicken for years, but starting to move away from a regular PC for personal, and the Web services with Quicken across devices is just not good.  I am liking Simplifi as it is saving me a ton of time managing our finances and giving me more instant feedback.

Jeppedy

I disliked the Quicken model of subscription when no new key capabilities were being released. I stopped using Quicken, but never stopped looking for a tool that helped me manage 1) net worth and balances, and 2) budgeting to help monitor how much I spend on what. 
Who would this app benefit?  Most!
From people just getting started and tracking closely their spending, to those perhaps midlife who are tracking the growth of their capital. 
To me, the tool first needs to mature and work out the kinks. Following that, I would love to see history graphs of balances, especially on investment accounts. 
Simplifi is a great tool!!

Michael Cunningham

1. The reporting. Mint does not have good reporting, Simplifi meets my needs.

2. As we get close to retirement I wanted to track spending. We don't budget, but I do like to see where money goes so I can verify I have enough for a comfortable retirement.

3. Anyone who wants to track their progression to better financial stability. You can make budgets (if you want to), track spnding, track investment progress, verify your net worth is heading in the right direction.

carlsoncw5

1. What first attracted you to Simplifi, and what did you like about it? (Note: Please report Bugs or suggest new features in the appropriate topic.)
   
   I am a long time Quicken user.  I see that as a theme here, so for Simplifi to succeed, you'll need to broaden the serviced available market beyond former Quicken users.  The Quicken Mac interface is pretty modern, but the Windows interface hasn't been updated in quite some time.  It's rather clunky and difficult to use.  I find the process of reconciling transactions tedious and error prone.
   
   I started looking at the end of last calendar year and tried several of the online aggregators and trackers.  I really did.  I tried Mint, YNAB, Personal Capital and a couple others.  The Simplifi aggregator worked the most reliably and it required the least immediate input to get started.  
   
   I like that Simplifi also learns my spending habits to help create a cash flow projection that is good enough to see pitfalls on the horizon.  Simplifi does a pretty good job of identifying recurring payments and bills, and assigning repeated transactions to the right categories.  
   
   
2. What are you using Simplifi for right now, and what do you hope to use it for in the future? (Seeing where your money goes? Reducing debt? Keeping a monthly budget?)
   
   I use Simplifi weekly to remind me of upcoming bills and check the cashflow on our checking account.  I use it monthly to monitor our budget to see how we're doing against our annual plan.
   
   I would like to be able to create an annual plan in Simplifi, that can populate a monthly spending plan with appropriate reporting. I currently use a spreadsheet.
   
   I worry a bit about saving my transactions on an annual basis for tax purposes.  I haven't done a year end work flow with Simplifi.  I haven't found any articles yet with recommended best practices, but it would be nice if the tool could help me out a little bit and help to archive things every year.
   
   It would be nice if some analytics could be applied to the investment page.  I'm not thinking about daily changes and that sort of thing.  I'm thinking about a more static analysis like a simple pie chart of holdings by broad category: Cash, Bond (short and long), Equity by region.  I think most of that would be pretty straight forward and not change very often.  A simple breakdown of all holdings. 
   
   
3. Who do you feel is the ideal user for Simplifi (besides yourself!), and what do you think they would use it for?
   
   I think Simplifi is good for people who want to get a handle on their spending and cash flow, as well as a high level view of their investments and net worth.  

kai4387

1. I was looking for something like Mint that felt a bit more modern and did not have ads within the product. I wanted something that had a web interface, that automatically synchronized with most of my banks and credit cards but still allowed manual accounts. I tried a few others, but Simplifi was the best out of the ones I tried.
2. I use it to track the general flow of money and keep track of all the accounts I have. I check the transaction list once a day to make sure there's no suspicious activity. Then every month I update my manual accounts and check the reports and watchlists to get a general sense of how I feel about my spending.
3. Anyone that wants to keep track of their money flow and has their main banks and credit cards supported. 

Giantsfan

1. What first attracted you to Simplifi, and what did you like about it? (Note: Please report Bugs or suggest new features in the appropriate topic.)
We have been looking to alternatives for YNAB. We have outgrown a lot of what drew us to it in the first place, and are now looking for something with the ability to forecast, track investments and other assets in a more meaningful way, and in general provide a lot more functionality. The UI is very pleasing and it is not difficult to get started.

A feature I would highly recommend is rollover for budgets and categories. Its the feature I miss most of YNAB. My workaround is to use savings goals and make sure the appropriate transaction is not counted in the Spending Plan, but I think a true rollover feature could be implemented much more cleanly and more refined.

Additionally, since we came from YNAB which is a zero, envelope-based budgeting system, having features and capabilities that would help someone like me transition would be great!

2. What are you using Simplifi for right now, and what do you hope to use it for in the future? (Seeing where your money goes? Reducing debt? Keeping a monthly budget?)
We are currently using it primarily to keep on our budget, grow our wealth and see what our money can do. Outside of our mortgage, we do not have any debt so our focus is on saving where we want to and investing in what would benefit our long term plans.

3. Who do you feel is the ideal user for Simplifi (besides yourself!), and what do you think they would use it for?
I think someone who wants to start out tracking their spending, and who has an interest in tracking their larger financial picture over time is an ideal user. 

kscooley

1.  We're brand new to Simplifi - maybe one week now?  We had used You Need A Budget desktop versions for years and had switched to their web app not quite 2 years ago.  YNAB was fantastic for what we needed then - budgeting software that would help us to tightly focus on getting rid of debt.  We accomplished that, but at this point in our lives, I wanted something simpler for our money management &, honestly, less expensive.  I looked at Quicken, but no trial period was a turn off for me, and so turned to Simplifi since it had a 30 day trial.  I loved how easy it was to set up, the clean interface (it made my heart happy), and the best part was seeing what our finances looked like in the blink of an eye.  Everything I need for a quick peek is on the Dashboard.  Viewing the Spending Plan really allows me to see what we actually have each month in such an easy no-brainer format.  I love that!

2.  For us, we're using Simplifi to make sure our spending is on target (thank you Spending Plan & Watchlist!!)  We also have savings goals and it's fantastic how easy it is to contribute to them & know where we stand.  I LOVE (and I cannot stress that enough) how contributions to the Savings Goals are included in the Spending Plan.  Being able to see what our actual "available" amount is after everything is deducted from our income just aids in the effort to keep our spending as low as possible.  Plus, our goal is at the end of the month, see where that "available" balance is so we can contribute to the biggest goal of all - a sailboat that we'll eventually go liveaboard.  The Spending Plan breakdown helps keep us motivated to spend less so that we can put money towards the boat & a liveaboard life.  

3.  Ideal user is someone (young or old alike) that wants a simple way to keep track of their money.  Like my husband & me, they want ease of use, an uncluttered layout, quick access to the numbers, and a helpful support team.  They'd use it to track their daily spending, as well as tracking bigger savings goals.

SRC54

I like Simplifi because of the nice dashboard, much better than Mint, and that the categories are completely customizable as I have my own system.  I like that it is 100% Web based and not too complicated.  Reports are very clean and easy to use.  There probably should be a few more and more easily printable or saved in PDF.  Personal Capital isn't customizable and they want to sell you investment stuff.  

I think Spending Plan makes more sense than budgeting and once it takes into account splits and paychecks, it will be very useful.  I like the recurring bills better in Simplifi than in Quicken though I think they should allow splits and should let you create a transaction from the Reminder.

I am in my upper 60s, and have used Software since Dollars and Sense in DOS, then MS Money, then Quicken.  Have also used Mint, Personal Capital, Buxfer and MoneyWiz.  I don't think I am typical user and try to keep that in mind.

Andrew R

1. The ease of syncing many external bank accounts and credit cards, as well as setting up reoccurring bills and subscriptions.
2. I'm using it to get a better understanding of how I spend my money so that I can adjust my behavior to better meet my goals, as I previously tracked my spending only in my head.
3. I feel like the ideal user for Simplifi is someone with a few credit cards and a lot of different categories of spending that needs to break down their spending behavior.

lmiverson

I too have used Quicken for years. I'm liking many features of Simplifi but wish for a way to just manually update some accounts monthly or quarterly that don't have online links. Just a 'balance adjustment' where I punch in the current value of the investment, and not have to make a transaction calculating differences from previous entry, etc.
Thanks!

Ccorock

I was interested in Simplifi because I wanted something simple and reliable. So far in the first three days I've had it, the only thing reliable is the promise of more bugs. Transactions aren't syncing, spending goals deducting twice or giving inaccurate projects. How do you have a user base for this tool? 

Coach Natalie

Thanks for the feedback, @lmiverson!

I'd suggest adding your vote here for the ability to manually update the balance of manual accounts in Simplifi: https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/1423/manual-updating-for-accounts#latest

I hope this helps!

-Coach Natalie

Coach Natalie

Hello @Ccorock,

Thanks for posting your feedback!

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing some issues with Simplifi. I'd definitely suggest reporting what you're seeing by creating a post in the applicable section(s) here in the Community for each issue, making sure to outline the specifics so that we can take a closer look.

https://community.simplifimoney.com/categories

In lieu of posting to the Community, you are also more than welcome to reach out to our Support Team directly: http://help.simplifimoney.com/en/articles/5077917-how-to-contact-support

We look forward to working with you to resolve these issues!

-Coach Natalie

DannyB

1. What first attracted you to Simplifi, and what did you like about it? 
2. What are you using Simplifi for right now, and what do you hope to use it for in the future? 
3. Who do you feel is the ideal user for Simplifi (besides yourself!), and what do you think they would use it for?

Like others above I have been a long time user of Quicken.  From time to time I would search around for other financial management programs, but always ended up sticking with Quicken.  As I was preparing for 2022 and my final shift to full retirement and in anticipation of my wife's retirement in a couple of years, I started looking at different fm programs and this time for some reason Simplifi popped up in that search!  It was, well, not love at first site, but a strong like!  The look of Simplifi was attractive, the feel of Simplifi was relaxing, the learning curve of Simplify was, well, not really a curve as much as a nice walk along the beach... OK, that's probably a little overboard, but Simplifi has been easy to set up and learn to use.  Simplifi appears to give me all that I want in a fm program it just works for me.  Another attraction for me is it's cloud based format that is easily accessible on my phone, my tablet, and my laptop... AND my wife has easy access also, which was not possible with Quicken.   

I am using Simplifi to budget and track spending.  Like one other who left a comment, we are at a point in life where we don't need to keep track of every penny since our income exceeds our monthly outflow.  With retirement becoming a reality we will be using Simplifi to help us make adjustments leading up to when my wife retires and we make the transition to, well, retirement.  Simplifi looks like a great tool to help us with this transition and this will be our future usage.  We don't need the power of Quicken at this point and Simplifi appears to give us enough of what we need for day to day money management moving into the future.  Some have mentioned Personal Capital but it's really not a comparison that can be made.  Personal Capital does a great job of tracking net worth but as a budgeting tool not so much.  It's nice to see our monthly spending/cash flow compared to the previous month as part of the overall financial picture, but that's about it for PC's budgeting tool.  By the same token, I don't need Simplifi to give me in depth investment analysis or tracking, I can use PC for that since PC also manages the majority of our portfolio.  Simplifi gives me a snapshot of our investments and our net worth which is all I need here.  Although it will be nice if Simplifi is able to add investment accounts so transfers made directly to to those accounts like we can now do between bank accounts and credit cards.

Like others above, not sure what an ideal user would look like.  Some have suggested that younger users or Millennial's are ideal users but I would also suggest that us older users who are moving into a new phase of life can be a great pool of users for Simplifi!

Jedp

Hey @docwisdom you can always submit your institution to Simplifi and they can add it. I'm not sure the timeframe but they are constantly adding institutions. Also, you can import your bank statements via .csv so there is an easy manual process that, while not ideal, will work until they add your bank. I do that every month for my Apple Card and it's a piece of cake.

Flopbot

@docwisdom

Just for consideration, Simplifi (or more specifically their data aggregator) just added one of my banks (Flagstar Bank) and the process took them about six months beginning to end.  I don't know if that's normal/average, but it hopefully shows that it can happen.  Just saying, don't give up!

As for manually uploading transactions for non-supported banks, @Jedp is right.  It's super easy.  Here are some non-Simplifi approved instructions that I put together (click here) to help myself.  Maybe you'll find them useful too?

Jedp

They are very responsive and committed to making this a premier product. I've been using it for a year now and have found this to be the case. Patience but keep giving that feedback -they do listen and take our ideas and needs seriously!

eversake

I switched to Simplifi from Personal Capital because the integrations seemed more functional (still having some troubles). I primarily used Personal Capital to track my investments and their growth. Things were good AND free until they started not tracking certain stocks appropriately.

Simplifi is severely lacking in the investment tracking features and I am hoping for more "return on investment/performance" based metrics, similar or better than Personal Capital. Right now it seems percentage on balances is just growth and include deposits. I'd like to see how much I actually made from my investments.

I'd hope that because Simplifi charges vs. Personal Capital's free model, that there'd be some improvements in this space.

DoogieS

1. Was a longtime user of Quicken but stopped because I hated to be required to upgrade every few years or my online updates wouldn't work. Holding me for ransom! Then tried Mint and but that lacked serious functionality IMHO. That experiment didn't last long at all. Heard about Simplifi and started the trial on 1/1/22. Decided to stick with it because it provides (most) of the features I want.

2.  I am planning on retiring soon and wanted to have a better handle on expenses...what I'm spending and where. Although I have my investments in Simplifi I don't really use it for that; I have a self-built spreadsheet for that. 

3. Ideal user? Anyone who just wants transparency into their finances without spending a lot of time doing so. Simplifi provides a lot of functionality but could be better. I'll stay a customer for now...

Adrian M

I'm a long time Quicken user and I'll wait to start using simplifi until we can fully import Quicken data file into it. Please keep the hard work.

DannyB

Hi @Adrian M I’m just wondering why you would want to import your Quicken data into Simplifi.  Just curious.

Mike in Minneapolis

I started using Simplifi a year or so ago and am still enjoying it - I wanted a program that would track my expenses so I could see where I'm spending my money to note trends and see where I can make improvements by looking at my categories - Grocery and Food are probably my biggest and easiest area for me to monitor my spending and cut back if I need to - I love the clean interface and the App for monitoring my spending.

Kanda

1. What attracted me to Simplifi were two things primarily. First, that I thought I could use it the way I wanted to rather than being forced into a certain type of budgeting (see below) and second, unlike other products (even other quicken products) it was a straightforward "fee for service" arrangement. Simplifi does not try to advertise financial or other products to me and this is very important!
2. I use it primarily as a spending tracker, where I track my spending in different categories from month to month, but I'm moving into using it as a budgeting tool where any "known expenses" are in my spending plan. I don't track cashflow or day-to-day available funding that closely so I am not very thorough about the budget side of things, instead I use a mix of budgeting, watch categories, and simple tracking that happens to work for me.
3. I think the ideal user is one who a) has enough money to consider a paid-for tool and b) values a "minimal intervention" budgeting tool. Other products might be better for people who need to dig in and account for every single penny / have a zero based budgeting methodology. One of the things I like about Simplifi is it can be fancy (spending plans, cash flow trackers, etc.) but doesn't demand it

triple_dipper

1. What first attracted you to Simplifi, and what did you like about it? (Note: Please report Bugs or suggest new features in the appropriate topic.) - Have been using MINT for many years and was completely satisfied. Unfortunately , my main financial institution (PENFED Credit Union) and MINT could not reconcile online (I  believe this issue is going to continue to grow as financial institutions put in place more levels of security to access accounts). Simplifi is experiencing the same issue. I searched and found Simplify, problem is Simplify is having same issue. I'm not inclined to changing my bank. The difference maker is Simplify allows import of transactions, whereas MINT does not. [removed - inaccurate] I wonder if its just a ploy to send users to the paid service vice free.
2. What are you using Simplifi for right now, and what do you hope to use it for in the future? (Seeing where your money goes? Reducing debt? Keeping a monthly budget?) - Just staying on top of my finances.
3. Who do you feel is the ideal user for Simplifi (besides yourself!), and what do you think they would use it for? - Haven't been using it long enough to form an opinion.

ajbopp

1. What first attracted you to Simplifi, and what did you like about it?  I have been moving away from a Windows world to mobile-only computing for some time and was looking for something to replace Quicken, which seemed unreliable to me. No other product I tried had Quicken's forecast chart, though, which is critical to me. Then I discovered Simplifi and within a couple of months I was able to confidently close my Quicken subscription.
2. What are you using Simplifi for right now, and what do you hope to use it for in the future? I recentldy retired and use it to look into the future to see where I might be able to spend a little extra. Can I afford a new car? The forecast chart will tell me if that's a possibility in the next six months. I also use it daily to properly categorize all my transactions and make sure that something doesn't slip into "Other Spending" that shouldn't. 
3. Who do you feel is the ideal user for Simplifi (besides yourself!), and what do you think they would use it for? There are several tools that allow you to budget, keep track of investments, but Simplifi is the only one I'm aware of that couples that with with a solid forecast so someone can see at a glance if they need to make a change somewhere to avoid a big problem in a few months.

Philk

1. To count my money.
2. To ensure the I am not receiving unauthorized charges.
3. To verifiy I have enough each month for withdrawals.
4. To see where my money is spent, by sorting the data.
5. Create a historical record, patterns, and forecast.

UrsulaA

1. Needed a Mint replacement with strong budgeting features. I liked the spending plan, the trend charts, and the transaction list, which shows the account name, tags, category, and sorts properly by amount size. The recurring payment page is useful, especially with the transfers included in it. Added bonus: The achievements feature and the emojis make the app fun to use.
2. I am using Simplifi to track a monthly budget, see where my money goes, and to see progress in my net worth.
3. Ideal user: Someone who wants to track their spending habits and needs help in keeping up with a budget. Also, someone who wants to see their accounts in one place.

DMcWetty

1.) I was drawn to Simplifi because it's easy on the eyes (well organized). I stayed because it made sense in how it applied to my budgeting needs. I didn't have to do too much work in setting up my budget from scratch because it auto populated a lot of what I would have done myself (bills withdrawn from income, linking transactions between institutions, etc).

2.) I am using Simplifi as a Mint replacement. I'm enjoying the switch so far.

3.) I feel the target customer is someone who wants to control their finances but doesn't have the time do to all the granular work themselves. Some level of automation and organization is needed to present data to this fast moving person.

SRC54

What first attracted you to Simplifi, and what did you like about it?  

I wanted a web based program and had tried several since leaving Quicken in 2017. However, I went back to Quicken in 2018 because I couldn't find exactly what I wanted. Quicken's web based synching has improved a lot, but you still have to synch and you must have a computer to use it. I still have a Mac but hope someday to just use an iPad. The lack of iPad support for Simplifi is a big weakness.

What are you using Simplifi for right now, and what do you hope to use it for in the future? 

I love the flexibility in the Spending Plan (I admit at first it mystified me) so that I can leave out certain things that arise and cannot be helped such as unexpected maintenance or replacing an appliance. I don't consider that things that can be budgeted for. In the future, as my wife retires also, it should help us change our spending habits as we will have to be more careful. The Spending Plan still needs some features, e.g., automatic transaction entry for a recurring transaction, split recurring transactions and ability to ignore designated categories.

Who do you think is the ideal user for Simplifi (besides yourself!), and what do you think they would use it for? 

The ideal user for Simplifi are younger couples and families who want to save and learn how to budget and control their spending. They may have a 401K but they aren't interested in keeping close tabs on it. The Spending Plan and Savings Goals are designed for them. Younger professionals are busy with their careers and families so the ability to download transactions and have them automatically categorized according to rules is ideal for them. I tend to enter my transactions in advance so these features are less useful for me.

Bread01

1. I used Mint for over 12 years and it is shutting down soon. I need a suitable alternative and decided to try Simplifi to see if it meets my needs. I like the ability to see all of my asset and liability account balances in one place. I like the net worth report. I like that I can also monitor my monthly spend by category and overall. I also like being able to share access with a spouse with a separate user account.
   
2. I do not have the time or interest in budgeting. Instead, I monitor my monthly and last 12 months net income to make sure my monthly net income is positive on average over 12 months. It never is positive every month. I also scan and review expense transactions as necessary, and review monthly expenses by category. I know positive net income increases net worth, which relates to one of my goals. I use the net worth report to track my assets and liabilities over time. I also use it for monitoring my goal of growing my net worth for the future. Unfortunately, Simplifi doesn’t provide adequate Net Income reporting for me to continue to monitor my monthly net income like I did with Mint. I would like to see the Net Income report improved so that it includes a summary table of total income, total expense, and total net income per month.
   
3. The average person who should be able to see all of their household account balances in one place. They should also know their annual income, total annual expense, annual net income, total assets, total liabilities, and net worth. This isn’t something most people will ask for because financial education in this country is relatively poor and not everyone is taught financial fundamentals. Simplifi should also be able to support them in different phases of their lives and financial journey. For example, when I was younger I used to be more focused on managing my cash to pay all my bills. Now I am more focused on monitoring and growing my assets and net worth.