--- title: Finance Articles id: ledger-123 order: '3' alternate_links: ledger --- Over the past few years I've written a number of posts about [Ledger](http://www.ledger-cli.org), a command-line accounting system. In a nutshell, when using Ledger you keep your financial records in a plain text file and then run reports using the `ledger` command line program. #### [Program your Finances: Command-line Accounting](/keeping-finances-with-ledger) All about my financial journey, from debt-ridden towards debt-free. More importantly, this is a very basic introduction to how to use ledger to keep track of your finances. This has been described as the best introduction to ledger out there. #### [Program your Finances: Reporting for Fun and Profit](/program-your-finances-reporting-for-fun-and-profit) Outlines a reporting system that I used for awhile to run queries against my ledger data that I couldn't with the native ledger program. Also introduces a small tool for generating realistic sample ledger data. #### [Program your Finances: Vacation Tracking](/program-your-finances-vacation-tracking) Describes a system that I hacked together in an afternoon before a recent vacation that let me keep track of vacation finances on the fly without a laptop. #### [Program your Finances: Automated Transactions](/program-your-finances-automated-transactions) Gives a simple introduction to ledger's automated transactions and virtual accounts, two features that are great by themselves but let you do really interesting things when combined. #### [A Robust Reporting System for Ledger](/a-robust-reporting-system-for-ledger) Walks through a simple but very capable and extensible reporting system for ledger written in Ruby. Reports are simple ERB pages with embedded SQL and javascript. --- If you're looking something that does some of this for you automatically, check out Personal Capital. I use it along side my ledger files to help me track investments across all of my accounts, as well as help plan my retirement.