Managing personal finances can feel like a never-ending chore. A few years ago, I was drowning in a sea of bank statements, bills, and random expenses I’d forgotten to track. I wasn’t sure when my payment deadlines were, I often lost sight of my budget when buying new gadgets, and I spent hours piecing together where my money went. It was stressful, time-consuming, and needlessly complicated. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Since all my banking records are present on my email, I wanted to automate fetching and reading the data, so that I could create an expense tracker, bill payment reminder, and a financial goal builder — all in one.
While popular options like Zapier and IFTTT exist, I decided to take a different approach. I picked n8n — an open-source workflow automation tool for the job. After using it for quite a while, I can safely say that it was the right decision. Now, I use n8n every day to manage my finances, and the peace of mind, efficiency, and control it brings is game-changing. If you’re tired of financial chaos, just like I was, I’ll show you how n8n can tidy up your money matters and make your life so much easier.
Related
I just started using n8n to automate my workflow, and I wish I had sooner
It’s easy to use and offers endless automations
Getting started with n8n
It’s easier than I anticipated
n8n is a powerful workflow automation platform. Think of it as a digital assistant that connects your apps, services, and data to automate repetitive tasks so you don’t have to lift a finger. You need to design workflows by linking nodes—little building blocks for triggers and actions—to make things happen automatically. It’s open-source and can be self-hosted on your home server, keeping your data secure. Unlike other automation tools, the fact that n8n can be self-hosted means it’s free of cost and doesn’t have a subscription fee.
You can get the Docker image and decide to self-host the app on your computer, or even on a Raspberry Pi or NAS. Once you have it up and running, it’s time to set up all the different automations to track the various parameters.
Automating expense tracking
Goodbye, chaos
When I first decided to start tracking my expenses, I’d save receipts, jot down purchases in a messy Google Sheet, etc., and still miss half my spending. With n8n, none of that happens anymore. I set up a workflow that watches my email inbox for purchase confirmations and bank transaction alerts. Using a Gmail node, n8n grabs emails from retailers or my bank, extracts key details like amount, date, and merchant with a simple parsing node, and logs them into a Google Sheet. No more manual entries!
I’ve even added a categorization step. n8n checks if the purchase is from, say, a grocery store or an e-commerce portal, and then tags it as ‘Food’ or ‘Electronics’. At the end of the month, I get a clean, organized spreadsheet showing exactly where my cash goes. This has saved me hours and given me a clear picture of my habits.
You can’t forget to pay your bills anymore
Resurrect your credit score
Missing bill payments means that late fees keep piling up, and your credit score takes a massive hit— none of which is healthy. Well, n8n fixes that in a snap. I created a workflow using a Cron node, which runs daily, to check a Google Sheet where I list my bills—rent, utilities, phone, subscriptions, you name it—along with due dates. If a payment is due within two days, n8n sends me a message via Telegram, Slack, or email. You can set the desired message. I’ve even tweaked it to ping me again on the due date if I haven’t marked it as paid on the sheet.
Don’t exceed your monthly budget
Keep spending in check
Overspending on tech or impulse-buying a new pair of sneakers is common. Thankfully, n8n can help you limit your expenses with a budget-monitoring workflow. I set a monthly limit, say $200, for categories like dining out or hobbies in a Google Sheet. My expense-tracking workflow feeds daily spending into this sheet, and another n8n flow tallies it up. If I’m close to my limit, n8n fires off a Telegram alert. I’ve also got a weekly summary that hits my inbox every Sunday, breaking down my spending by category. This real-time nudge keeps me disciplined, and I’ve actually started saving more.
Managing money has never been easier
Using n8n every day to manage my finances has been a revelation. From tracking expenses in real time to never missing a bill, staying within budget, and hitting savings goals, it’s given me a lot of control over my money. Not only am I saving money, but I’m also saving hours each week that I would otherwise spend going through all my bills and expenses manually. The beauty of n8n is its simplicity and power. Whether you’re new to automation, or you’ve been doing it for a while, n8n caters to your precise needs. Once you get the hang of it, you will be on your way to automating multiple aspects of your life with the help of AI and app integrations. The best part is you don’t need to know how to code, unlike some other automation apps.
Related
I automated my workflow with PowerToys — here’s what happened
To achieve a more efficient workflow, I utilized PowerToys to automate tasks.