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Managing money has gone digital. If you’re still manually balancing your checkbook, you’re missing out on some premiere features offered by popular budgeting apps to help you manage your money. By using a budgeting app, you can track your expenses, limit your spending and get recommendations on how to save even more all through the convenience of your phone.
Wait, doesn’t my bank do all of that for me?
If you’re questioning the necessity of yet another app, we understand. But while you can record your transactions, make deposits and see the money you’re spending via your bank or banking app, these systems are not designed to help you manage your finances without a significant effort on your part.
That’s where a budgeting app comes in. In addition to linking your bank account, you will be able to visualize your spending habits, helping you make better decisions on how and where you spend your money in the future.
Which budgeting app is right for you? We’ve listed out 5 popular budgeting apps, each with unique features, to help you choose.
5 Popular Budgeting Apps to try in 2020
Do you want more independence in managing your money or are you in need of email notifications for every upcoming bill? Whatever the case, below you’ll find a budgeting app that will fulfill your specific financial needs.
Mint
Free
This web based personal finance system created by Intuit, is one of the most used budgeting apps in 2020. And that’s no coincidence. Mint’s interface visualizes your spending for you, by automatically updating your transactions and categorizing them to let you see where your money goes in real time. You can even access your credit score for free.
Users can link their credit and debit cards, investments and record their cash to give them a complete picture of their finances. Mint also makes it easy to create budgets within the app, set up notifications for monthly bills and will alert you when funds are low so that you do not overdraft.
Mint can be accessed via phone and computer, and has built in encryption and multi-factor authentication features to keep your account secure.
Personal Capital
Free
0.89% fee for Wealth Management services
If you’re looking for a comprehensive budget app, Personal Capital has all of the resources you need. Personal Capital is like having a financial expert in your pocket. The website and app lets you manage all of your accounts from one place by recording your cash, bonds, stocks and investments in real time. Personal Capital is focused on your net worth, and has integrated tools for retirement planning, investment checkups and a fee analyzer.
Anyone can access the basic financial tools and cash management services for free, however wealth management, which controls your investment strategies, comes at an additional cost.
You Need a Budget (YNAB)
Free trial for first 34 days
$11.99/mo or $84/yr
You Need a Budget promises to help you gain control of your money by giving every dollar a place to go. The software and budgeting app was built around the zero-waste budgeting system, which essentially allows you to balance your budget by assigning every dollar you earn to a category. YNAB focuses on putting you in the driver’s seat when it comes to your money. You start by deciding what is important for you to spend money on, and adjust your expense amounts in each category from there.
The app also gives you strategies on how to balance your budget by showing you where your money can go to improve your spending habits. Though YNAB is not free, the money you save by using it will far outweigh the cost.
EveryDollar
Free
$129.99/yr for Every Dollar Plus
Another zero-based budgeting app is EveryDollar. Similarly to YNAB, EveryDollar ensures that you assign a purpose to every dollar you spend. EveryDollar helps you create monthly budgets using a simple budget sheet to track your income and expenses. This is a great app if you’re new to budgeting, which is why it is so popular with millennials, as it promises to help you create your first budget within ten minutes.
If you decide to upgrade to the Plus version, you will learn how to manage your money by gaining access to Financial Peace University, their 9-lesson class focused on managing debt and building wealth.
Goodbudget
Free for basic
$6/mo or $50/yr for premium
Another popular budgeting app on the market is Goodbudget. Unlike YNAB and EveryDollar, this app follows the envelope based budgeting system, which requires users to allocate specific amounts of money for different goals. After you determine your income and create a monthly budget, you set aside money in virtual envelopes and categorize them.
The benefit of this system is that you are always prepared for your expenses. You aren’t caught off guard by hidden costs because you planned your budget accordingly.
Goodbudget is also a popular app for couple, since multiple users can access the same budget across different devices. For this reason, you are not syncing your bank account directly, but instead manually adding your balances.
More Popular Budgeting Resources to Utilize
Now that you’ve got your finances on track with your favorite budgeting app, it’s time to explore other easy ways to save money.
Budgeting apps will help you create a system to track your spending, and discounts from companies like RebateKey will help you spend your money efficiently by not paying full price for the products you need.
When browsing through the RebateKey website, you will find a huge selection of household items, clothing, toys, and electronics all with cash rebates that put money directly back into your pocket. Tools like this, in addition to utilizing coupons using a budgeting app, will help you both save and manage your money to set you on the path of financial freedom.
