Instead YouTube gives me literally nothing but AI spam. :/

I scrolled down a bit more and got this: https://i.postimg.cc/fJcPhG45/Screenshot-20251118-150802.png

Scrolled down some more and this: https://i.postimg.cc/v1khnhRp/Screenshot-20251118-151325.png

I kept scrolling until I ran out of relevant results. Not a single video was legit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much AI slop in one search term and by the gods there is a lot of crap on YouTube.

Anyone have a good comparison video? I’m just wanting a decent comparison of Actual, Firefly III and possibly HomeBank. Feel free to also give me your 2 cents on whatever you use :)

  • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
    13·
    5 hours ago

    We’re going to need another project like SponsorBlock and Dearrow for labeling AI spam…

    • BastingChemina@slrpnk.net
      151·
      6 hours ago

      Articles are mostly AI slop. For a bit YouTube was actually the best way to have information written by an actual person.

      Not anymore unfortunately, now I honestly don’t know how to reliably find AI free information online.

    • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
      4·
      5 hours ago

      Nowhere is safe from AI spam. At least these ones are obvious. Written spam is far easier to generate.

    • Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
      49·
      13 hours ago

      Before all the slop-deluge, you had some chance that some niche channel had an actual human behind it who knew their shit.

      Some handyman on youtube helped me learn how to install kitchen counters, cupboards, sink etc. a few years ago.

  • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
    21·
    14 hours ago

    I don’t have a video for you but I’ve been using Actual for over a year and really like it. I recommend it. Caveat, I very actively interact with my budget (inputting things manually) and cannot speak for it’s account linking features.

    • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
      2·
      5 hours ago

      I use it as well with automation and can confirm. Unfortunately with Simple fun you do have to manually sync accounts but it’s a small price to pay. Just have to remember to hit the sync button when you open the dashboard.

    • Coolcoder360@lemmy.world
      6·
      14 hours ago

      I use actual as well.

      The docker compose works really well, basically set it up once and then it works, even with running updates by pulling new container versions.

      I used the account importing to start but now input everything manually and don’t do live sync.

      Never heard of the other options so didn’t know about them to compare before setting up actual. I do like the methodology of actual, where it has you only budget money that actually exists in your account, that feels very sane to me.

      • chillpanzee@lemmy.mlEnglish
        4·
        14 hours ago

        I just installed Firefly yesterday, and I can say that the docker compose setup was easy. I’ve got no real opinions yet, just wanted to mention this for OP in case he reads your experience as it being easier. I imagine they’re both easy.

        I’m curious, when you say you stopped importing, does that mean you were getting info from your banks, and stopped doing that? Why did you stop? My next step was to set up the automated importer for Firefly.

    • Thorned_Rose@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      19·
      12 hours ago

      Multiple videos that have the same style of thumbnail (AI generated face excepted). Multiple videos with a very similar thumbnail and exact same wording. They’re all within the past year, mostly within the past 6 months (this software has existed for many years, why all of a sudden do multiple channels want to do vs or review videos of them). They’re all short videos and its just not possible to give a proper breakdown of feature or a review of budgeting software in that amount of time. The few videos I tested used AI voices and all had a similar start (I didn’t waste my time watching the whole video). The faces on the videos look AI generated or modified…

  • exu@feditown.comEnglish
    6·
    13 hours ago

    I tried Actual Budget for a while, but didn’t stick with it long term. I also looked at Firefly III, never tried it though.

    Eventually I figured out I just want an expense tracker instead of full budgeting and settled for ExpenseOwl

  • pix_wbmr@feddit.org
    6·
    14 hours ago

    I got so many AI slop videos regarding tech lately… it’s turning everything into shit :(

  • smiletolerantly@awful.systems
    4·
    14 hours ago

    Another recmendation for Actual. I spend very little time having to interact with it, because after the initial setup, all transactions are now synched from my bank accounts, and 90% are automatically classified into my categories (not by “AI” or something, you just set rules like “payments to Rewe are always groceries”).

  • Glaedr304@lemmy.world
    3·
    14 hours ago

    I have been self hosting fireflyIII for almost 2 months now, I like it, my wife is an accountant and she likes it. I didn’t want to have to pay for an accounting service, and my credit union doesn’t have an api that I am aware of to connect to the paid services anyway.

    Would recommend 👍

    • Thorned_Rose@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      1·
      12 hours ago

      Have you had to deal with refunds yet? I see that as a criticism and I would have to agree that the official doc’s way of handling them is not ideal for our situation or the way refunds are handled in my country. Interested in knowing if anyone has come up with more creative solutions.

      • AbsolutelyClawless@piefed.socialEnglish
        1·
        7 hours ago

        Maybe something from this list could fit your requirements better. I’ve been using Firefly for a couple years now and in combination with 3rd party Android app(s) it’s been okay for me. But refunds have always been hacky for sure.

  • paequ2@lemmy.todayEnglish
    3·
    14 hours ago

    Ufff. Yeah, I also hit a slop mountain of videos when searching for Seafile comparisons…