While not really a budget tool per say, I’d recommend checking out Beancount if you are looking for a power tool and you are comfortable with a bit of Python. The only really manual steps I have in my setup is downloading transactions from my banks and categorizing any transactions that the machine learning plugin fails to categorize.

I feel like there is going to be a disproportionate amount of people not using a standard qwerty keyboard that replies to this :)

I use qwerty on a standard 100% and another split 60%. I am trying to switch to ortholinear split Dvorak, but haven’t been able to design a keyboard I am comfortable switching to full time. I would also need two of them, one for home, one for work.

I have never ordered something from Amazon. It was introduced in my country a few years back, but it isn’t really that good of a site (at least the few times I have visited it).

Like many here, I do not want to support a monopolistic company like Amazon. Luckily I live in a country where I have better options. I tend to buy things from plenty of well rated sites. Environmentally conscious sites if I can.

I could see myself buying from them if there genuinely isn’t another option and it is something I really need, but that has yet to happen.

I had an issue where one keyboard (worked with another one) worked in bootloader, but not when entering the encryption password after that. I believe I solved that by moving keyboard earlier in the module list in mkinitcpio.conf. Maybe something similar would solve your issue?

I have basically the same thoughts as you. The reasons I can think of is:

• Convenience (but SL is pretty convenient)
• Less of a lock-in to one vendor.
• Avoiding filters on sites not allowing aliasing domains (often incorrectly under the label “temporary email addresses”)

You seem to have a lot of recommendations already, but I just wanted to mention beancount as well. It’s a decently powerful plain text accounting software. Not sure if it does invoicing.

For me it has been good because I think it is fun to hack some new functionality together that I feel missing. E.g. parse pdf receipts and break down transactions into postings based on what is in the receipt. But it you aren’t interested in simple Python programming, I’d probably not recommend it.

Being able to easily version control it using git is really helpful when you are trying things.

Trickier than most. Pretty detailed. I think the island is a nice touch. The ropes are also interesting.

The dolphins!

I have had basically no issues with my setup: Edgerouter 4 (overkill, had a lower end Edgerouter earlier with no issues except the power adapter died, other hardware was fine). Some pretty basic unifi AP. As well as some cheap dumb gigabit switches. Can basically fire and forget them. Relatively easy to do most things I need on it. Never needed a reboot outside of upgrades. No stability issues, unlike basically all other home grade all in one stuff I have experienced in the past.

1. Heat water to 70 degrees using electric kettle.
2. Put loose leaf green tea in a strainer thingy. Leave room for it to expand 4 times as big
3. Swoosh some of the 70 degree water around a glass kettle to heat it up, pour it out.
4. Put strainer with tea in glass kettle.
5. Pour water over tea.
6. Let sit for a few minutes.
7. Drink.
8. Reuse the same leafs throughout the day using same steps.

I usually use unflavored green tea with decent quality. Very different from tea bags.

Fairphone because I want it to last 5+ years without any annoying repairs.

I import my transactions into Beancount, a plain text accounting software, a few times a year. My setup uses basic machine learning to classify each transaction. This gives me a decent understanding of my situation when combined with Fava, which visualizes the data.

Each month I save a set amount of money automatically into a few different index funds.

I make sure everything that is a monthly payment is something I actually use. Only one streaming service at a time, cheapest phone service etc.

I keep an eye on my main account every now and then to see how much I have. If i feel like it is stacking up more than what I may need in a short amount of time, I either buy more index funds or put it in an account with interest on it. If the main account ever runs out of money I have done something wrong.

I would say I don’t really budget. For me I do not feel the need. I am by no means rich, but not spending money on wasteful things really does a lot. E.g. make food most of the time instead of eating out, cut your own hair, only buy things that last and do your research before buying anything significant.

Please keep in mind I live in the EU and pay a sort of salary insurance so I do not have to stress a lot if something were to happen to change my situation.

I used to think tea didn’t taste much. Then I realized I only tried bad tea. Now my goto tea is loose leaf green sencha fukuju (I hope that is the correct spelling) that I steep in 70 C water for a few minutes in a preheated pot that allows the tea to expand properly.

I get the tea from a local tea shop. I often reuse the tea leaves several times throughout the day. I occasionally drink some other teas, but I try to stay away from tea bags because I mostly find them to be less good because lower quality.

I could recommend evaluating if you really need shampoo. Look into no-poo or acid rinse. I use local made soap and acid rinse instead of shampoo, works well for me. Other than that as others said we need more info.