A Diary of a Tech Fan: txtexpense (Alpha) - track expenses through SMS

I'm a klutz in budgeting. Well, I'm not really a big fun of budgeting -- I don't want any heart attack please.

But I give txtexpense a try because the person who created it is a friend. And, I'm kind of amazed how he did it singlehandedly while he is a University faculty at the same time, of course with his beautiful girlfriend on the side. =)

After some time, I get the hang of using it. One is it's easy because it's just a text away. So instant and eeny weeny purchases are always tracked. But what I most love about it is that I don't need to see a spreadsheet of my expenses just to list down my expenses. A programmer friend once shared to me his created excel file for tracking expenses but I stopped using it because every time I put down my expenses, all the figures are splashed across my face. It's scary when you see you're already way out of your budget.

With txtexpense, I just keep texting to the application my expenses, then just view them at the end of month or when I am ready to face my bankruptcy.

For those budget OC, this will be a bestfriend to keep. =) Simply sign up for it via web, then keep the gateway number in your phonebook so you can easily text your expenses into your account.

JJ Lumagbas keeps making an emphasis that the application is still in alpha stage so you might experience some bumps and rough patches. But it also means, a lot of features are also coming up. In one of our random conversations, he talked about:

* being able to set a budget, then you will get a text if you are nearing your budget limit -- This I'm really looking forward to.

* being able to inquire about your expense status to help you decide before making a purchase

* making saving/budgeting a social experience -- you can enlist friends/family that can get reminder if you are about to get bankrupt, this way they can nudge you to fix your spending habit. Or, they can praise/like/poke if you are doing well in managing your expenses.

* and others.

For now, you can text or input your expenses via the web.

As the home page says, you can find out where your money goes.

Then, monitor your spending changes. Isn't it cute? It's like our VECO bill.

I'm hoping to catch up with JJ soon, and hear more stories from him about his 'creation.' Pictures below from his Crazy Friday presentation, this was way before its Alpha Launch.