Where do I find free personal budget forecast tools?

Question

This is not the same as Personal budget forecast/tracking solution. I want FREE tools. Ideally, I would like to send a CSV file and have it analyze and forecast the data for me, with options for what-if scenarios. Please help because I do not have time at present to develop the software myself.

Answer 1

I'm not aware of any software that does this, but it doesn't seem that complicated even without software:

• For each item in your budget, look at it and make a guess whether it will go up or down. That's all the SW would do, and you can likely do a better job anyway. Pick a percentage increase for inflation if nothing else.
• Periodic future expenses: set aside the appropriate amount of money each pay period so it's there when you need to pay the expense.
• What-if scenarios are tailor-made for an emergency fund. If you don't have one, start building one up. If you don't have one, assess the risk of some emergency happening, and prioritize what you'll get rid of if that emergency happens. You'll have to choose those things yourself anyway.

Answer 2

As founder of SavingsMap, this is the exact tool we set out to create...a free, web-based budget forecasting calculator where you can enter your financial info (incomes, expenses, assets, debts) and forecast future cash flows using strategies to minimize tax obligations. To answer your "what-if scenario" question, the real benefit of this site, is being able to go back to all of your assumptions and instantly see how changing them effects your various forecasts.

www.SavingsMap.com

Answer 3

While it may not satisfy all your requirements, I use a pretty nice Excel spreadsheet to forecast my general budget as well as "what-if" scenarios. I have created a Google Docs template from it. Setup is simple:

• Go to "Budget Setup" tab and enter schedule frequency & starting budget
• Input information.

There is sample information in the template to give you an example.