A monthly budget helps ensure your money goes to the right places. However, we’ll be the first to admit that sticking to a budget can be challenging. If you need help staying disciplined or taking control of your finances, these budgeting apps can help you reach your goals.
Mint is a popular budgeting app with a range of free features. For example, you can see your credit score and total net worth, plus it’s easy to sync accounts (like checking, savings, loans, bills, and credit cards) to keep track of all your finances. Mint also has a responsive customer support system and in-depth FAQ pages.
Here’s how it works: Your expenses are placed into budget categories on your dashboard. You can personalize the names and limits for each category, and the app will let you know when you’re close to reaching them. You can also create spending budgets, pay off debt and bills, and save more money throughout the month.
EveryDollar helps you easily manage your monthly budget and savings goals with a zero-based budgeting approach. This strategy requires every dollar to be justified and accounted for, starting with a zero balance at the beginning of each month.
Adding line items to your budget and setting convenient reminders for payment due dates are included in both the free and paid versions. We recommend getting the Premium (paid) version if you want to link your financial accounts for automatic tracking and helpful suggestions about how to reach your personal goals. The good news: There’s a free 14-day trial. After that, you’ll be charged $12.99 per month (or $79.99 per year) to access paid features.
If you’re a fan of old-fashioned envelope budgeting, you’ll like Goodbudget. Instead of tracking your completed transactions, it helps you separate your monthly income into spending categories. For example, you can categorize your paycheck into “envelopes” for groceries, utilities, phone, rent, student loan payments, etc.
Getting started with Goodbudget is straightforward, thanks to detailed articles and tutorial videos. Goodbudget Plus offers unlimited envelopes and accounts for $8 per month or $70 per year.
PocketGuard takes a simplified approach to helping you manage your monthly budget. You can connect your financial accounts and track your bills and net worth. There aren’t too many features, but we like how they provide a clear overview of your finances without overdoing it. For $7.99 per month or $24.99 per year, you can export your financial data and access a personalized debt payoff plan. Overall, this app is great for managing your finances without much thought.