I thought of the permanently shoddy state of my bank account

mint.com fixed that for me. The cost of mint is your bank data is agrigated and used in ways you don't control, and you get personalized advertising when you view mint. The benefit is mint looks at your expenses and suggests a budget. The budget it suggested for me was achievable and as I followed it my finances stabilized and I was able to set and achieve goals. Of the 3-4 people I convinced to try it (at no benefit to me), all had similar experiences. Mint is attentive to security and has a clear explanation of how to remove all your data from their computers.