Can you export bank statements as CSV?

Yes, most banks let you download your transactions as a CSV file from their website. Look for a Download option next to your transactions on a computer, since many bank apps don't offer it. Pick CSV (it may say Excel, Spreadsheet or Comma Delimited) and choose three months or more.

I'd go with three months because repeating charges need at least two months of data to show up. One month of transactions tells you what you bought. Three tells you what keeps coming back.

If your bank's menu looks different from what I describe, search the bank's help for "download transactions". Menus change a lot. Here's roughly where the download lives at a few banks:

• On Chase, open the account on chase.com and click Download account activity. Set File Type to Spreadsheet (Excel, CSV), pick your dates and click Download.
• At Bank of America, open the account and look for Download near your transactions. Pick your dates and the Microsoft Excel or CSV option, not Quicken.
• At Wells Fargo, under the Accounts tab, open Download Account Activity. Set the dates, choose Comma Delimited, and click Download. Checking and savings go back up to 18 months.
• On Capital One, a card has a transaction download under Statements & documents. For 360 Checking, look for Download near the transaction list.
• At Citi, open the account's transactions, set your dates, click the download icon at the top right of the list and choose CSV.
• On American Express, open Statements & Activity, pick a date range, click the download icon and choose CSV.
• At Discover, open your account activity, look for Download near the transaction list and choose CSV.

It reads the CSV download, not PDF statements. If your bank only shows you a PDF, go back and look for the transaction download instead.

Once you have the file, you can do something useful with it. Drop it into DonkeyBucks and your purchases get sorted into buckets, so you can see what's fixed and what's one-time. Bills are bills, and you can see where the rest goes and what you could skip.

If you just want a quick look first, there's a free statement check at https://www.donkeybucks.com/check. Drop in a CSV and it shows every subscription and repeating bill in seconds. There's no signup and no bank login, and the file stays on your computer. If you get stuck finding the file, the "Where do I get this file?" help is at https://www.donkeybucks.com/check#get-your-file.

You never type a bank password into DonkeyBucks, so it can never move your money. It only works from files you choose to upload, or purchases you type in yourself. New accounts also start with 30 days of Pro, no credit card required, and after that you drop to Free and keep all your data.

So go download three months of transactions, then try the check. The donkey will supervise.