Has anyone tried the Albert budgeting app? I’m intrigued. I am a former Mint user turned YNAB, but YNAB caused me to be almost too obsessed with my daily charges. The pros so far are auto-saving and investing. They ‘analyze’ your spending and transfer small amounts from your account into savings and investing. They are technically a financial institution, not a bank. The back end for the checking and savings is either Sutton Bank, Wells Fargo, or another bank. The back end of the investing is Vanguard. Cons that I’ve found so far: I assume this is a newer app because some UI/UX things are slightly off. For example, I can’t split transactions like I could in YNAB (e.g., Target $100 purchase, $40 for pets, and $60 for food). Also, if you change the category for one Amazon purchase from shopping to holidays, they all change. The workaround is to change the name of the transaction, so it’s a little clunky. I’m trying this out for a bit. I transferred my direct deposit to them—so wish me luck. Also, very important… You might see an ad that says free $250 or something like that. What it is is overdraft protection or a line of credit. Auto-saving or investing will pay off that line of credit first. I also saw some negative posts about Albert because someone didn’t read the T&Cs. People complained that Albert took their money without permission (auto-save and invest). It’s extremely simple to turn off this feature, but I needed something automatic. Anyway, has anyone else tried this?
Hey! I see you’re exploring different budgeting options. I actually built an app called Fyenance that might be worth checking out if you’re finding YNAB too intense but still want something straightforward to track your finances. It’s completely manual (no auto-syncing or auto-categorizing like Albert), which I still prefer since it keeps me more connected to my spending, even if the recaps on daily transactions every week or so is a bit long. Also, no surprise auto-saves or Venmo transactions coming up as subscriptions—you get to decide exactly what happens with your money! It’s definitely simpler than YNAB—more focused on core budgeting without all the extras. It’s also just $12 one-time instead of a subscription, which is another reason I made it because I was frustrated with all these apps. Totally get it if you’re looking for something more automated like Albert, though! Just thought I’d mention it since you seem to be exploring different options.