myOwnPayday Review

Does myOwnPayday Really Get You from Paycheck to Paycheck?

myOwnPayday from 2 Good Software promises to get you from payday to payday with enough money to cover bills and expenses. But is using myOwnPayday the best way to accomplish this?

How myOwnPayday Works

One checking account is used to manage internal transfers to move money between checkbook and myOwnPayday accounts, which are explained below. The internal transfers set money aside for future spending and bills, with the checking account balance representing available funds for weekly spending money.

The remainder of the actual balance in your checking account is represented by the balances in these myOwnPayday accounts:

• Spending Money: Holds money set aside for future weekly out of pocket expenses. The amount put in this account is an estimation of weekly requirements for pocket money or an allowance.
• Biller: Accounts that hold money set aside to pay bills when they come due.
• Special: Accounts used for setting aside money for savings goals and for large planned purchases.
• Cushion: An emergency account which holds funds not allocated to any expenses or savings.

A third account type in myOwnPayday is a Charge Account which is used for credit card transactions. Enter receipts manually (transaction downloads are not supported) into charge accounts then choose how you will cover the expense: cash from checkbook or special savings, future income, or leave uncovered.

myOwnPayday Cycle

To use myOwnPayday, follow this procedure:

1. Record a deposit into checkbook register.
2. Divide the amount deposited for allocation to myOwnPayday hidden accounts through an internal transfer.
3. Pay yourself a weekly allowance for spending money and move that amount from the Spending Money account to the checkbook register with an internal transfer.

myOwnPayday Projects Future Spending

The Projection in myOwnPayday is a spreadsheet-like representation of future expected income and expected bills that shows you if you have enough money to meet future expenses. If the balance in the Projection is positive, you have sufficient funds to cover bills and weekly allowances. A negative balance in the Projection forces you to reduce spending to get the Projection balance to zero or higher.

What-If Scenarios with myOwnPayday

What-if scenarios are accomplished in myOwnPayday by creating a data folder to hold a copy of your data file and then experimenting with the numbers in that file, then deleting the what-if folder after finishing the what-if analysis. This procedure keeps you from messing up your actual data, but it is cumbersome compared to what-if scenarios in other financial software and spreadsheets.

myOwnPayday Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Coming up with amount for weekly spending forces you to examine spending habits and eliminate those that are frivolous.
• Projection shows you if you will remain financially solvent in the near future, or if you need to make some changes to pay bills and living expenses.
• Free trial download so you can try myOwnPayday before you buy it, however the web site does not indicate how long the trial lasts.

Cons:

• Too many steps to accomplish tasks compared to other financial software options.
• Procedure for running a what-if scenario needs to be simplified.
• myOwnPayday feels very individualized and does not seem like it was developed for the general population.

myOwnPayday Review

The introductory information for myOwnPayday says that this software is not:

1. A budget program.
2. Traditional money management software.
3. Software that requires you to record every penny you spend.
4. Software that requires each transaction to be entered and categorized.
5. Software with features for managing taxes, investments, etc.

That description is entirely accurate. myOwnPayday is simply designed to get you from payday to payday with enough money to cover bills and living expenses.

Using myOwnPayday can help someone refine their spending habits, but the methodology used in the software is over-thought and requires more work from the user than other financial software in the same price range does.

There are easier ways to get a handle on your spending and to see simple forecasts to let you know if you will have enough money to cover financial obligations, such as a $20 spreadsheet template called You Need A Budget or You Need A Budget Pro software for $40. It's Your Money spreadsheet templates include free options for learning to cover bills and expenses from week to week.

The time required to use myOwnPayday will bring you closer to financial awareness, and if you have that time you can try the free trial download and check out the online reference manual to see how the software works. If you decide to keep myOwnPayday, $24.95 buys you a software CD or an activation code for the software download.

myOwnPayday web site

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