Money Management

Question

Due to poor management skills, I often find myself questioning "where'd I spend all that money?". I have trialled apps like Pocketbook, MoneyManager, MyBudgetBookPro and other apps, but find it very hard to keep updated with this (considering there are 4-5 purchases/transactions daily) and I don't want to manually add entries to a local DB continually.

To counter act this, I want to perform the following:

1. Extract a list of transactions (in csv format), and then merge to a template excel file to analyse the data;
2. Generate either a report from Excel or export the CSV in a format that can be read by an application and;
3. Allow me to view this across apps (whether tied to my account or using DropBox etc.)

Now I know I can use a full CSV rip from my bank, format it into a predefined Excel spreadsheet and then save into a directory that can be uploaded to an app or cloud storage medium, but then I'm unsure how to merge into an app such as MyBudgetBook.

If the CSV came in a friendly manner that I could use for MBP then I'd simply merge it in, however this overrides the last months data. Therefore, this isn't a valid option.

Some key requirements:

1. Must support month by month views (I.E. I don't want to delete last months transactions
2. Must be able to support multiple accounts
3. Must have a reporting function

Other wants may include:

1. Automatic reporting and categories
2. Cross platform application
3. Email function for reports

At present the best option I have would be to export the data month by month into a csv file, apply the template file, extract the reports and then save to Dropbox etc.

Now please don't waste yours and my time by saying things like "oh just manage your money better", I'm looking for an application to assist in reporting and analysis.

Things to consider

1. Does not need to be free
2. Does not need to be cross platform

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This is the CSV format on an application I use on Android and iPhone (Expense Manager):

Date    Amount  Category    Subcategory Payment Method  Description Ref/Check No    Payee/Payer Status  Receipt Picture Account Tag Tax Split Total

This is the current CSV from Bank transactions:

Bank Account    Date    Narrative   Debit Amount    Credit Amount   Categories  Serial

Now I can easily try (I will be) to re-arrange the data into a template (readable CSV) then just re-merge the data onto application. By exporting the CSV from the application, I can then input the data of the bank and re-sync.

As for Mint, it isn’t available in the AU store.