The B Word - Personal Money Management

...and more testimonials

2/12/06
Hi Lee, Well, in two years time I’ve gone from total financial chaos to running our family’s finances like a well-oiled machine. Plus, over those two years I've written and deployed a lot of software, but nothing as simple and elegant as the B Word. It does exactly what I need and nothing more. Thanks, Mark B. - Arlington, VA

Kudos to you on your "The B-Word!" After only two sittings, order came from chaos as all of the ideas I have had about "averaging" (I originally called "leveling") found congruence and a home in "The B-Word". Your software even makes it enjoyable to spin the numbers with my wife! After spending literally 20+ years looking for a financial tool, I cannot express how excited I was that I found the "B-Word." I believe the combination of sound, uncomplicated and palatable logic with your well-thought-out software tool is a panacea for the ills and agonizing of others like myself that long to rid our lives of debt and vanquish "El-Budgeteo!" - Calvin W.

We just purchased the software and so far it looks pretty good. It is unique and does appear that it will simplify the process. In fact, it appears to be very, very 'doable' and seems to avoid the 'paralysis of analysis' !
- Mark L.

I love the program.  In one evening, we totally set up our "proposed budget" on the budget worksheet. Very easy to use.  We are sure we will need to edit our plan as we work through the sessions and our spending habits become evident. - Rick D.

Yes, I have been using The B Word since February and I just LOVE it!  I cannot tell you how cool it is not to have to run my check to the bank to cover bills now!  The B Word has changed my life and is the best program I have ever used and believe me, I have bought many!
- Laura G

I have been using the B-word now for a year. I have changed jobs once and my wife has changed jobs twice. It was great how little it actually affected my budget routine!
- Gregg Y.

Thanks so much for a great, well thought out product!
- Jeff J .

I have been using your program for several months and am thrilled to see how easy a budget can be!
- Kathy C.

I purchased your B-Word book a couple of months back and feel much more in control of my finances. Doing the Budget Worksheet has opened my eyes to where my money is really going. My wife and I are now setting aside money every month for charity and vacations, and we've planned ahead for those foreseeable expenses like insurance and house taxes.

That's an excellent system you thought up for handling ATM withdrawals. We'll add that to our arsenal. Thank you.
- Rodney R.

The system works very well for me.  We have had no late payments (or the associated fees) since we started using it and always have money to pay the bills.  Very simple to use once you understand the basic concept.  With the help of your system, we have paid off four credit cards and bought a new vehicle without stressing about where the money would come from.  It is so much easier to use than the other financial packages (like Money) that a lot of times I don't feel like I am doing "enough" to be doing so well with our finances. Thanks for the great system. - Jennifer C.

...By the way, I'm all set to go with your B program. I'll let you know how everything goes. Already, I feel so much more at ease with our money situation. We always had enough to pay for everything (well, almost everything!) but I felt so out of control as to where the money was going each month. This is such a simple solution! - Dawn W.

I couldn't live without this program. I wanted to thank you for creating the program. My husband has ADHD and what a mess our finances were until the B word.

For once our bills get paid in a timely manner AND in full, and we have started saving and working on debt reduction. We are going to the Keys for vacation thanks to being able to plan easily ahead of time.

My friends think my husband got a huge raise last year because now our finances are handled so much better. I have recommended your program to my friends. - Sincerely, Lynni M.

Thanks, Lee. Yes, actually, as I started adjusting the tracking spreadsheet, it all fell into place. I could see where expenses needed to be in order not to exceed the income I allocated for each session.

I'm actually all setup and my wife and I are starting TODAY. Like I said, I've been managing our finances...with a lot of crying and agony :). Your system has confirmed what I have been thinking for years: "If I could just manage the income and outgo."

Anyway, I really do thank you for such a great system. I'm very excited about starting my new financial life. - Regards, Jerret

It is so nice to deal with fair and good people. In just two days your program has open my eyes to many traps of other systems. As you stated, they become a weight around your neck, versus making your life easier. Gerald H. - Washington, DC

I LOVE THE FREEDOM THIS PROGRAM GIVES!!!! I tell everyone about this program. And have even offered to help pay for part of it, for a family member. Thank You. Candi B. - Columbus, OH

My wife and I spent, most of two days, this weekend reorganizing our finances around "The B Word", and I'm thrilled. For the first time in many years, I have clear picture of where we are, and where we're headed financially. In fact, I expect this to be a "life changing" experience. For years, we've had just enough money, but could never "get ahead", or "get a handle" on what we could really afford, slipping "little by little" into credit card debt. Now the answer to the question, "can we afford it", becomes a simple "yes or no". Luther P. - Columbus, IN.

2/15/06
FYI – I’m using BWord faithfully and love it! 2x/month I pay the bills and update the spreadsheet and we already have almost $7k in savings and all the bills are paid (yes, with help from part of our income tax refund) but the budget seems to be working. No more entering in what felt like hundreds of entries from charge and checkbook receipts each month into Quicken. What a relief. Thank you again for sharing this terrific program with me. Cindy A - Indianapolis, IN

3/21/06
I want to tell you that I had previously tried Quicken, I have also used the software program from Managing Your Money and the Mvelopes system, as well as several other budgeting programs looking for something that I could not only use myself but also recommend to others in our ministry. As of this date we did not want to recommend any of those other programs because they seemed too detailed and time consuming ("focusing on the trees").

When my wife and I discovered your program it was like a breath of fresh air! It is the best program I have ever seen in this area. In the period of 90 minutes we had all our accounts and tracking set up, and we now know instinctively right where we are at with our finances at all times. Seeing this "big picture" is what was missing with all those other programs. An added benefit is how little time it takes to complete our financial sessions twice a month. So now we have a far better handle on our finances, and I would like to thank you, Lee, very much for an excellent product." Mike - West Salem, OH

Fortunately, my computer has crashed and I have lost my download version of The B Word. I can't live without it. Can you help me to redownload it without having to repurchase it? I will be eternally thankful if you can help me resolve this terrifying absence of The B Word on my desktop! Maureen - Aloha, OR

7/29/06
Got it. Thanks so much. I really love The B Word! It is the absolute BEST way to get a handle on your money. Have a great weekend! Jill D. - Haymarket, VA

8/9/06
It's been working very well, thank you. Actually, that's an understatement. I have the money I need when I need it, and I don't have to spend a lot of time worrying about it. It's fantastic. Thanks Lee,
Phil W. - Grayson, GA

8/10/06
Thank you for taking the time to consider my suggestions and for such a brilliant budgeting system. Kevin F. - Anaheim, CA

10/5/06
Hey there, I have been using B word for a few months now and LOVE IT. Matthew E.
10/18/06
Hello Lee, I love it!!! It has really helped us be able to pay off debt, allowing me to put my husband through grad school on a single income. Without it, I wouldn't have had the clarity or feel in control of our finances. As far as the new version - I didn't know there was one. I'd love to check it out. Thanks for your prompt response! A truly satisfied customer,
Shephali F.

12/1/06
Hello Lee...I bought The BWord within the last two years, and started using it... great program! I was (and am) thrilled that someone finally took an 'eagle-eyes's" view of budgeting and provided a tool to those of us lacking in the OCD traits necessary to do the traditional budgeting... which never worked for me. SO much so that I had given up pretty much on budgeting until I found your software. Thanks, and Happy New Year!! Jesse W.Phoenix, Arizona

1/4/07
Thanks for your great product, so simple and workable. Karen H. - Wellman, IA

2/15/07
Thanks! I like the program. I've only been doing it for about 6 months. But - I now understand how it works and it free's my mind up! Chandra K. - St. Francis, MN

3/12/07
Lee-Thank you, it is all set up. My wife and I have been using the B-Word since our original purchase [9/05] and would not want to be without it at this point. It really is an elegant system. We extoll the virtues of your system whenever we get the chance and have made at least one convert so far. Best regards, Tom Z.-Verona, NJ

...and more testimonials

Mr. Roesner,
On Memorial Day of this year [05] I purchased your B-Word program. I honestly feel it was one of the best purchases (or investments) I made this year. I was having to do a lot of transferring of funds between accounts especially towards the end of the month to make ends meet. This has virtually become a thing of the past! I have met with knowledgeable people in the area of finances over the years to discuss budgeting issues. The popular money management software available was way too complicated for me to use. The B-Word has been the perfect fit for my families budgeting needs. I have told a number of people about your fine program based on cash flow instead of simply tracking the expenses each month and trying to make them fit into preplanned slots. Your program just makes sense and is so easy to use. What a great tool! Thank you for making it available to the public on line. Burle B. - Wylie, TX

It's working great for us, the best system that we have ever used. We're just finishing our first six months with it, so we continue to tinker and fine-tune the system to work as easily as possible for us. You definitely see very quickly where the money goes! Now if there was just more money coming in... - Neil R.

Thanks for your program!  I've used it for six months now and it sure has helped! - Denny H.

In case you are interested to know, I am a fee-only investment advisor with twenty years of experience who manages about $150 Million for 70 or so retirees.  Thanks to excellent portfolio accounting software, I am able to balance approximately 140 investment accounts to-the-penny every day and then manage them.  I have also been using personal computers since Kaypro came out with a "portable" back in 1980 and I have written my own database and spreadsheet applications.  I am currently the CIO of our company. So, you can imagine my frustration at having tried to use Microsoft Money and Quicken for about 5 years now and being totally unable to make sense of either program.  Sure, I can get my accounts to reconcile, but for the life of me I can't make sense of how they calculate cash flow or budgets. I'm ready for a change and TBW makes more sense to me than anything else I saw on the Web. - Tony L.

...I purchased your program last year and absolutely love it. I have really enjoyed the ease of use... - John C.

P.S. I'm a big fan of 1.0 and was excited to see an updated Windows version. The B Word has made our lives so much easier! - David T.

OK, here's the deal. My finances were under "control," but they were driving me bonkers. I am self-employed and get paid very irregularly. I had learned early on to put all money when it came in into a "reservoir" account and dole it out to my checking account periodically. I knew what my expenses were and how to anticipate them. But the bookkeeping completely did me in. I compensated by compartmentalizing money. I put everything into separate accounts -- not haircut money, maybe, but almost that bad -- moving it in and out of checking whenever I had to pay a bill. I felt like a jigsaw puzzle.

When I saw your web site I appreciated your emphasis on the rhythm issue, because that is important to me. So I was very interested in how you had solved the problem of keeping track of which money belonged to what anticipated expense.

I don't use the system exactly as is. I pay bills when they come in, and I still take tax and savings money off the top of each payment and put them into separate accounts. But your description of the savings ledger got me out of the shell game of money shuffling, and I love the worksheets. They are great. I am very eager to see what improvements you have made. - Best, Eve

I have to tell you that we have found this program to be THE ANSWER to our budgeting woes! Your plan truly works well, and my wife and I are appreciative of it's simplicity. JOB WELL DONE! - Jonathon C.

Reading about your process helped me understand a completely different way to look at our finances. I ended up using your basic concept, but I created my own spreadsheets to manage our cash flow on a quarterly basis. It is SO much easier than what I had been doing. More importantly, it seems to work and my wife and I are at peace over money for the first time in the fourteen years we have been together.

Thank you so much for taking the time to document your process and share it with us! It has had a dramatic impact on our lives. - Sincerely, Tony C.

Lee: The BWord has been fantastic. Budgeting for my "2nd year" was a breeze thanks to your program!  I'm making minor adjustments here and there. But that's the point, their minor.  I have placed bill-received and bill-due dates in the worksheet next to the name of the bill, as well as how the bill is paid.  Some are autopaid by Paytrust, some are autodrafted by my bank, some require access to their websites, etc. It's nice to have a place for these reminders. Thanks for providing such a great tool! - Denny H.

 I have been using the b word for the whole year with great success and ease. My time doing bills and budgeting has gone from unmanagable  to a few minutes two times a month. I love your system. -Scott D.

Your system put everything in perspective for me. - Pamella F.

I am one of those who have used Quicken, Microsoft Money, etc… by far, your program is the best I’ve used.  My husband just bought a local business, and I will implement the program there as well.  It is such a simple concept that works amazingly well.  I’ve saved more money using the Bword, than ever before…not just in late fees, but actual cash in a savings account.  Makes you wonder how many other things we do that are complex… that would be more efficient and effective, if we would just simplify things.

Thanks for a great product, and for responding so quickly to get me back up and running.

A B-word fan,
Jessica W.

Of course, to the B Word! Love it. It has been a challenge to implement the whole process due to the [current] cash flow, but that is becoming simplified now, and what I could do, I did! And do! And love it! And use it for client cases. And tell others. And... I think you got the message that it is one of my favorite tools. - Wyndy P.

Thank you for a wonderful product. - Jean & Tony

I purchased your software about 2 years ago and love it. - Rick F.

Hi Lee, just an update on how we are doing with The B Word now that we have used it more than 1 month. We are doing great! :-)

No overdraft this month...we are being more careful about our spending (though I think this is also because we are now taking cash for most of our day-to-day spending like groceries and our allowances...what the software calls the red acct.) and we are finding we have surplus, money leftover at the end of the month! Yahoo!! We are applying this surplus toward our debt so our debt balances are now starting to come down faster! We are looking forward to the day when we have no debts and can use this surplus for other things like travel.

Even my husband, who rarely gets involved (but worries) with the budget is seeing the difference. In fact he pointed out the balance still in our checking acct and the fact that he has not seen any overdraft notice in the mail this month. :-)

I am very glad I found your site and The B Word. I have recommended it to others and I know at least one person has purchased it. Thank you for your help! - Mary A.

Dear Lee, I wanted to thank you for a great budgeting tool. This system has definitely made my life much easier, faster and I even seem financially intelligent to my friends. This is my third year using the b word. I must say that I wasn't using it properly the first two years, due to my lack of understanding, not your system. Even so it still really helped me. A couple times a year I review and adjust the budget to make it fit our lives. I learn more each time and appreciate the b word more with each review. - Scott D.

I've used B-Word just about 2 1/2 years I guess and if I had to describe its benefit I'd say...it doesn't make us money-centered but it centers us on our money. I've recognized that in terms of money, "modesty" really is the best policy. Buy what you need, not just what you want. Thanks for contributing to making our lives better, best of luck in your future projects. I'll keep looking for product updates and spreading the gospel of "B" ; ) - Jamie P.
I purchased your B-Word earlier this year and have really found it to be very helpful in our monthly budget planning. Thanks for a simple and understandable product. David R. - Burke, VA

I've been a registered BWord user since about mid-2004 (I think) and I love it. What a difference it has made in our lives. You may recall that I'm the guy who only gets paid 4 times a year, so I had some questions for you early on about how to handle that. Thanks again for a great system!! Tony L. - CT

Dear Mr.Lee Roesner,
Thank you for your email, and thank you for your simple and efficient program. I (actually my son) have downloaded the program and I have been reading and studying the program for the last two days. Today I finished the reading, and I will start to do the budgeting this afternoon. I really need this program, I have been trying to do the budget for many years, but always were beaten up by the "trees", and seldom see the whole "forest", that is why I gave up so many times. I think this time I can finally succeed, and get up, stand tall above the sea of money (hopefully direct them to where I want them to go, instead being dragged down into the deep sea! o:) .Thank you so much. Guijie W. - Okemos, MI
2/9/06
I purchased The B Word 11/13/05. Let me first begin by thanking you for a truly simple yet powerful approach to budgeting. I'm still fine tuning ours but we are able to adjust to income fluctuations in a much more intelligent manner. I am a huge proponent of tools that give me the "freedom to forget" and find that my overall peace of mind and ability to enjoy life is greatly enhanced by tools like "The B Word." I have to say as well that this is the only electronic budgeting program that my wife understands and applauds; in fact her comment to me once we sat down together to take the tour and enter our data was "WOW, finally a program that works the way it should. When we were first married she handled the monthly bills in individual envelopes and put aside real cash in each envelope from each paycheck I brought home. The concept of the Blue, Red and Savings accounts were exactly what she related to and needed. We have established the recommended bank accounts in a bank that offers real time transaction updating and the ease with which we move money between accounts from home is incredible. Combined with an on-line bill pay service we have the most flexible, powerful and exacting experience with managing our finances anyone could have imagined. Thank-You! Rick E. - Chesapeake, VA

2/15/06
Hi, Lee, I hope you don't mind me calling you by your first name, I felt that you are a close friend now. I finished the first draft of my family's budget last Friday, and made some changes yesterday. Your program is so easy, and without the point something (ie.$1.25) like a BIG tail following the number, it is much clear to see the really big numbers ($1 is .25 after all!). The best is that it can automatically change by itself. I finally have a workalbe budget now, and I am very happy about it. Thank you.

I have held myself from the impulsion to pay my bills when I got them, or to deposit the checks whenever I got them. I have checked the due dates for the bills 4 or 5 times, and can't believe that what you said can be true. It turned out that you are right, I can do the banking and paying the bills 2 times a month! My husband and I have 2 different banks for our personal accounts, and we are helping to manage a scholarship account to help Chinese poor students to go to school; and we have a small business account ourselves, so I used to go to the banks a lot, and very time consuming, cost the gasline, and tiring. Today, I mailed my bills, and went to my banks, and made some withdraws and deposites, and I still have a lot of time left, so I went home and took an half hour nap, refresh myself, and I felt relaxed and very happy about it. So I want to say thank you very much. I have to tell you how happy I am!

By the way, because of your program, my accounts changed too (surely for better!), and it is so easy to see where the money goes now. My husband always asked "where did the money go?" Now, he will be pleased to see where did his hard earned money goes! Thanks again! Guijie W. - Okemos, MI

4/14/06
Great product, wonderful ideas. Brent M. - UT.

2/28/06
My wife and I were one of those couples who seemed like we were always stressing out over the check-book. We would stand next to the computer and argue about where the money was going. I could never understand why we were always living paycheck to paycheck. This frustration has continued for the last 6 years. Last October, I felt compelled to do some research on the web concerning different types of budgets available. I am not one to re-invent the wheel. I actually tried several different ideas/software types. I didn't like the way they worked. They were just as frustrating as just winging it from month to month. I stumbled upon the B-word and found it an interesting concept. I bought the software and spent the initial time needed to set up my primary budget. I thought for sure that at the end of the next month, I would be saying...Please give me my money back. However, to my surprise my account balance has continued to grow. We pay our bills and save money every month. We know how much we have to spend and easily stay within those budget contraints. It's not tough and the best part is that before this software and concept, My wife and I were always paying God last and usually not very much. For the last 5 months we have payed both tithes and offerrings to the Lord in the amount of $700.00 month or more and it is as if it has no effect on our budget. It is hard to explain except that I am paying $700.00/mth to God and my account balance still grows. This software will help you to be a good steward to that which has been entrusted to you. Nick C. - Normon, OK

4/23/06
It has been so nice to not worry every payday. I am now on auto pilot and have time to concentrate on family and work. I am not stressed about paying bills, it takes care of itself. Thank you! Laura H. - AZ

6/25/06
I have used the plan myself for a few years (3 or 4) and it has saved my financial life. When I started thinking of things to recommend on my site, your plan was one of the first things that came to mind. Thanks for such a simple yet powerful program. Sherrie - Sherman, TX

8/8/06
Lee, I want to thank you for your cash flow system, the BWord. I thought I was pretty well organized financially, but your program has enabled me to account for income shortages and surpluses. I not only have a better method of tracking my income and expenses, I am able to save more by utilizing your recommended strategies. Once the system is in place, it really is much easier to control your budget and plan ahead.

At first I was skeptical about the system and felt it was probably similar to the many other budget programs on the market. However, what truly impressed me was your availability when I had questions and your quick presonal response.

Thanks again! Richard S. - Hinham, MA

9/24/06
Hi Lee, I know you haven't heard from me for a while but the B Word has continued to serve my families budgeting needs very well over the past 1 year and 4 months. (In fact, the B Word has been one of the financial tools we have using that has enabled us to pay down over $12,000 in debts since May of 2005, the same month and year we purchased the B Word program.) Over that period of time I have told numerous of people about your fine program and even gave a speech about it last year as you may recall... Burle B. - Wylie, TX

11/20/06
I purchased the BWord a few months ago in March. I love the program! Jerry B. - Westerville, OH

2/23/07
The first month I actually used your program to keep track of our cash flow was October or November of 2005. I can still remember that we actually saved $1100 that month! It was nice to be able to have a handle on where the money was going.

Some months before I found your program I had purchased an outdated version of Microsoft Money for $5 on the intranet and used it for a couple of months, but I couldn't keep up with entering all the expenses and it fell by the wayside. Then I decided to see if there was anything else out there- the right tool for the job so to speak.

I found a web site called Mvelopes and it looked pretty good. I got their free trial and liked it and was ready to sign up, but at the time they did not have the necessary electronic links set up for my bank, so I wasn't able to use it. (I'm kind of glad it worked out that way- Mvelopes charged a monthly or yearly fee and by now I would have spent several times the amount of money it cost to buy your program.)

So I kept looking, and I found your web site. It took me a while to understand how to set up the accounts, but it eventually started to sink in. I did the upfront legwork that was required to figure out the average monthly expense for all the various categories, and set up a new account as you recommended for the every-month type of bills.

Now sixteen months later, I can tell you that this bill pay account is still holding its own and I have never had to add any money to it beyond the original twice monthly deposits (I'm on a salary and get paid twice per month) that I originally calculated.

It has really simplified things because all of the 800 pound gorillas like the mortgage, etc are no longer a factor when I try and figure out how much money we have left before the next payday. That is, I don't have to try and figure out if I need to subtract the car insurance payment or some other large monthly expense from the balance in our regular checking account before I can really know how much money is available.

There are some things I did a little differently than you explained in your B Word documentation, and I think it simpified things even beyond what you had suggested. These small changes still stayed within the basic framework of your approach, it just made things a little easier. Sam B. - Lewiston, ID

4/4/07
I found your program just by searching "budget forms" on dogpile.com and have not been disappointed! My husband recently took a small cut in pay in order to work closer to home. We have never really budgeted (as we kind of just knew how much we could spend each month) but with his change in jobs, I decided to take a look at what we were spending and see where we could cut. My church started a finance class in February and we started working on our budget. I quickly saw that the way they were having us set it up and maintain it would take way too much of my time. They had the typical categories--housing, auto, etc. Most categories had some discretionary spending mixed with fixed spending. I am quite an outside the box thinker and kept telling my husband there had to be a better way to set this up. I tried to learn excel to put my categories into fixed, flexible and savings (similar to your system) but was spending way to much time trying to figure out how to use excel to set it up. I decided that someone else had to have already thought of a better, different way. Your site was the first I clicked on when I did my dogpile.com search--and I knew right away that the $35.00 for the program would be money well spent! We opened a 2nd checking account (a paperless account with ING direct) and all the fixed income is paid from that. Your system works great! I like how flexible it is. Very easy to remove a category (when you pay off a bill or discontinue that service) and very easy to know how much you have left to allocate. We are only into the first month of using it, but it is so easy I feel like I have been doing it for years!

Thanks for making the program available. I have been telling all my friends
about it. Susan W.- Butler, MO

4/9/07
Install TBW on my computer at home? The original installation is on my business laptop, but now my wife has seen it, she likes it and would like to use her computer. How should we do this? I like it well enough to just get another copy from you if that's what it takes. We have used it for a couple of months and I'm really happy with the results. We REALLY needed this to keep or finances straight without having to track every expenditure. That was the downfall of the other budget software(s) we tried. Jon K. - Camanche, IA

4/19/07
Thank you for sending the key code. I'm all good to go now. You asked me if my finances are streamlined now after using your system. Well... Yes, I used your system for 2 years and things were so good I didn't think I needed to keep track anymore. A year later and I've learned my lesson. But this time it has been very easy to get back on track. Thanks for such a terrific product. I plan to teach this system to my kids as they start earning money. ?Nicole L.- Edmonton, AB, Canada

8/15/07
I am happy to say that I love your budget plan. There is no other toolavailable that is actually useful in budgeting. I use quicken for mychecking account register. But the budgeting features there areuseless. Now, the bills get paid almost on autopilot. Every few months I pull upthe spreadsheet to tweak the numbers, or just to marvel at how easy itis to manage the finances. Bernard P. - Naugatuck, CT

3/7/08
Hi Lee, I LOVE The B Word!! I’ve been using it for 2 years now and it has made money-managing ALMOST pleasant! Rebecca H - Newman, CA