Keeping track of my expenses was one of my resolutions this year. I've been using a terrific web-based application called PearBudget to help me keep my promise to myself. PearBudget is streamlined, lightweight, and elegant, and because it's web-based, I can use my iPhone to enter receipts as soon as I get them.
I asked Charlie, the co-creator of PearBudget, to explain why he and his partner Sarah made PearBudget.
At the core of our wanting to make PearBudget was that we wanted simple control over our finances. Quicken and other more advanced accounting programs are overkill for the simple task of tracking your expenses and making a budget. Financial services that automate everything don't compel you to actively reconsider your spending habits. We wanted to be in control, but we didn't want to be overwhelmed. We designed PearBudget to ride that line.
Our background isn't in programming or banking, but in information design — Sarah's a map designer; Charlie's a typesetter and occasional web designer. So our interest in developing a better financial tool had a lot to do with creating a simple presentation of the user's information, and with giving the user a good experience developing and keeping a budget.
It's a truly beautiful app. You can try it for 30 days for free; after that it's $3 a month.
Link 
