Budgeting is one of the most important aspects of financial planning. For an economically easy and worry-free lifestyle, individuals need to keep a close eye on their expenses and ensure they align with their savings, income, and financial goals. They also need to factor in the necessary expenditures such as taxes and utility bills. While managing personal finances may feel overwhelming, they can always rely on budgeting apps to make the process easier.
Tips to choose the right personal budgeting app
Ensure the app has an intuitive interface
Money management apps are meant to simplify lives by helping individuals budget and track expenses. However, for an app to be truly helpful, it needs to have an intuitive interface and a user-friendly design so it is easy for them to navigate its features. An easy interface will also save them valuable time that would otherwise be spent trying to figure out the app, which is why this is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing an app for managing personal finances.
Look for data security features
Financial data is highly sensitive, whether from an individual or an organization. Protecting that data should be one’s top priority, especially when dealing with third-party budgeting apps. So, when choosing a personal finance management app, it is essential for individuals to ensure that it complies with the required data security protocols and measures. They can check this by reviewing the app’s privacy policy and looking for security certifications.
Check pricing
Almost all personal finance tracking apps offer a price-based model, requiring individuals to pay to access all of their features. However, before they decide to proceed to pay for any of these apps, they should check the features that the app offers for the price. They can then also compare similar budgeting apps for their prices and paid features to determine which offers the best value for money. Funnily enough, the main feature of these apps is to advise users how not to spend their money.
Top budgeting apps for managing personal finances
Simplifi
Those who are looking for an app that will help them manage expenditures to meet their financial goals can consider using Simplifi. It is currently one of the most popular apps for tracking expenses and is also known for having a very simple user interface. It allows users to integrate their bank accounts and credit cards to get a complete view of their financial situation. Further, the app assesses an individual’s financial situation and gives them a customized budget plan. Simplifi even allows individuals to add multiple users for a single budgeting account. This feature can be especially useful for families when managing their household finances. Individuals can purchase an annual subscription of Simplifi for just around $36.
YNAB
You Need A Budget, or YNAB, is an ideal app for zero-based budgeting. Like Simplifi, YNAB includes a goal-tracking system that allows individuals to manage expenses based on their financial goals. Plus, this app allows them to add their partners to manage shared budgets. Apart from this, one of the most admired features of this app is that it offers various learning tools, such as interactive webinars. These tools teach individuals how to use the app’s features and tips to budget effectively, making it one of the top apps for managing money. An annual subscription to the app can cost around $110.
Goodbudget
Goodbudget is an app that offers an envelope budgeting feature to manage expenses. This means individuals can allocate specific amounts of money for different spending categories, which is called the envelope method. Those who are not comfortable with linking their bank accounts and cards with third-party apps will especially like this app since it does not require any linking. Instead, it requires individuals to enter their account balance and expenses manually. With its annual subscription costing only around $60, Goodbudget is among the top-rated budgeting apps in recent times.
PocketGuard
Those who need help keeping track of the due dates of their bills will appreciate PocketGuard. The app offers spending reports in the form of pie charts, which makes it fairly convenient for users to check where most of their money is being spent, along with bill payment reminders. Besides that, individuals will find the basic budgeting feature in this app, where they get advice about how much funds should be allocated for different expenses, considering the account balance, financial goals, and necessary bills. Another benefit of this app is that it is also available with a desktop interface for those who prefer using it on their laptops or PCs. The premium version of this app, with all the features, is available for an annual subscription fee of around $80.
Monarch Money
Monarch Money is among the most popular apps for budgeting and saving with AI-powered features. Monarch Money categorizes individuals’ expenditures and transactions like other apps and allows them to modify the categories. That said, one of the app’s main features that makes it so popular is that it also factors in tax-related transactions such as tax deductions. Not only that, but it also allows users to link their IRA and 401(k)s along with their bank accounts and credit cards. Monarch Money features a dashboard where individuals can select which goals to prioritize and display over others. An annual subscription to this app can cost around $100.