With tons of thanks for all the insights shared above, I’ve come full circle and decided to throw $33 to Quicken Inc for an annual subscription. It easily handles all the cases that are likely to come up, such as assets and liabilities; it is portable for reference on iOS if I need that; and I have known how to use it since the mid 1990s.
Thanks to @glennf for the original article, and to all of you for your tips and tricks!