Getting started with My Financial Life

From a fresh install to your first imported statement, budget and portfolio — about ten minutes. Everything stays on your device the whole way through.

1. Install the app

Download the trial for macOS or Windows and run the installer. The first 30 days are the full app, unlocked — no account, nothing to sign up for. When you buy, you’ll paste a licence key under Help ▸ Enter License.

• macOS: open the .dmg and drag the app to Applications.
• Windows: run the installer and follow the prompts.

2. Create your file

On first launch, choose New File and pick where to save it. This single file is your data — it lives on your disk, so keep it somewhere your usual backups cover. My Financial Life also takes automatic timestamped snapshots, so you can always roll back if something goes wrong.

3. Pick your base currency

Your base currency is the one your net worth and reports are totalled in (for example GBP or USD). Set it when you create the file. You can still hold accounts and investments in other currencies — they’re converted to your base for the big-picture views.

4. Import your first statement

Add an account (current, savings, credit, or cash), then bring in transactions:

• File import: OFX, QFX, QIF, or CSV exported from your bank. For an unfamiliar CSV layout, the mapping wizard lets you tell the app which columns are the date, amount, and description.
• OFX Direct Connect: if your bank supports it, connect directly.

Re-importing the same period is safe — count-aware de-duplication means you won’t get doubled-up transactions. Automated bank feeds (UK/EU + US) are coming in a later update.

5. Set up a budget

Open Budget to create a 12-month plan. Allocate per category per month, turn on rollover where you want unspent money to carry forward, and tie recurring bills to scheduled transactions. The burn-down chart shows how the month is tracking, and goals can span multiple accounts for things like an emergency fund or a debt pay-down.

6. Add investments

Create an investment account and add holdings — stocks, funds, bonds, or options. Enter your cost basis (or import buys and sells) and the app tracks unrealised and realised gains, dividends including DRIP, and returns including IRR. Add your own price-data provider key (Tiingo) to pull automatic price history and per-security performance.

7. Go multi-currency

Hold accounts and securities in any currency. Daily FX rates keep cross-currency totals current (add your openexchangerates key for automatic rates, or enter rates manually), and cross-currency transfers record the real rate you got — so a UK + US picture just works.

8. Where to next

Explore the reports — the Sankey cash-flow and Net Worth views are a good place to start, and every figure clicks through to the underlying transactions. When you’re ready, buy a licence to keep the app beyond the trial.

Questions the docs don’t answer? We’re happy to help.