When you’re trying to stick to a budget, it helps to be held accountable. And while a spouse or family member can of course make an impact, the most effective form of checks and balances can often be an app. With saving, spending, bill-paying and debt-reduction features, today’s apps serve as an all-in-one financial planner, helping you to achieve your fiscal goals.
Here are a few of the top budgeting apps.
YNAB (You Need a Budget)
YNAB approaches financial health with four simple, realistic rules: give every dollar a job, embrace your true expenses, roll with the punches, and age your money. With that in mind, YNAB starts at the beginning, helping you to evaluate and prioritize purchases before you even make them. Next, it’s about working to achieve your goals, whether you want to get out of debt, save more money or even just have extra spending money at the end of the month. While YNAB costs $99 a year (or $14.99 a month), the app allows you to test it free for just over 30 days so you can ensure it’s a good fit before you commit. (A financially smart move.)
Goodbudget
This app takes an old-school saving method — the envelope system — and brings it to the digital age. Goodbudget has users put money into virtual envelopes, each designated with different expenses — think kids, bills, food, loans, etc. When you spend, you can only spend from that envelope, and when that fund has run out, you have to stop. The app also includes options for saving for big expenses and paying off debt, and you can sync your app with loved ones, so you’re all spending out of the same envelope.
Honeydue
Designed for couples to work on their finances together, Honeydue lets you to track your accounts with your partner, so you’re both completely looped in on your spending, saving and how much is in your accounts. You can coordinate bill paying (including reminders), and keep your couples’ financial chats and questions within the app, so it’s all in one place. Bonus: Honeydue is free.
Quicken
Ringing in between $3.99-$8.99 a month, Quicken contains many of the qualities of other finance apps — bill pay, budgeting, spending tracker and more — but takes financial health further with retirement planning. The app also offers small business financial management in the same app, so it’s all in one place, plus a function for property management, which includes everything from tracking renter payments to rental agreements to tax info.
PocketGuard
Popular with college students, the ad-free PocketGuard calculates how much spendable income you have each month, then allows you to run monthly reports for yourself with custom categories and hashtags, giving you an at-a-glance look at what categories take up the largest amount of your income. The app also allows you to track and lower your bills, conquer debts through payment plans, and set milestones. That way, you can pat yourself on the back when you meet them.
With digital solutions, the info you need to make smarter choices is always close at hand. But remember: whatever your financial goals are, the most important thing is accountability. Taking control of your budget is like any other healthy habit, it requires consistency and dedication. But if you need any more advice, the Pangea Pros are here to help.
