Gone are the days when budgeting meant sitting down at the kitchen table with a stack of bills and tallying your earnings and expenses for the month. Now, you can do it all on the go using a money app. In fact, the best apps to help you control your savings can do so much more than that.
Here, we list down the most crowd-pleasing budgeting apps based on their features and user reviews. Read through to the end to determine which one will best suit your needs.
1. YNAB
YNAB, short for You Need A Budget, is one of the most highly-rated money management apps out there. It claims to help new users save as many as $600 within the weeks. And up to $6,000 in just the first year!
YNAB allows you to sync all your bank accounts for smooth and easy money tracking. You can enter expenses manually or import data by uploading receipts. The app is designed to help you get at least 30 days ahead of your income. In other words, you will be tracking your spending a month from now rather than recording what you have already spent. This proactive approach to budgeting allows you to control your expenditure easily.
YNAB is available on the App Store and Play Store. There is a web version for desktop users too.
2. PocketGuard
If you have a habit of overspending, then PocketGuard is best for you. Specially designed to help impulsive buyers, this app gives you regular updates on how much you can spend daily. It combines the numbers from your bank account, investment funds, and other income sources to show you the spendable amount after setting aside the needful for bills and other essential items. The users’ data is secured with 256-bit SSL encryption so you have nothing to worry about.
PocketGuard is available on the App Store as well as Google Play.
3. Personal Capital
Personal Capital links with over 14,000 financial institutions so users can manage all their accounts in one place. In addition to controlling everyday spending, the app is ideal for managing your assets and investments as well. Its integrated tools for retirement planning and evaluating net worth make Personal Capital one of the best apps for managing your money.
You can get it on the App Store or Google Play.
4. Mint
Mint is a great app for budget makeover. Designed by Intuit, the app has more than 20 million users and is suitable for new as well as advanced budgeters. With Mint, you can track investments, add reminders for bill payments, and even access your credit score for TransUnion. The best part is that the app is completely free to use. And it’s safe because your information is protected with touch ID, multi-factor authentication, and in-app data encryption.
You can download Mint on both iOS and Android devices.
5. Goodbudget
Goodbudget is one of the best apps to help you control your savings because it is built on the envelop system. This means users are required to portion out their monthly income toward certain categories of expenditure. It is perfect for family budgeting as users can access the same account from multiple devices. The app is free for use on up to two devices. You can use it on up to five devices by signing up for membership which costs $60 per year.
As a budget software built for daily life, Goodbudget is compatible with iPhone and Android devices.
6. Simplifi
Simplifi is a money app that allows you to spend smarter and save more. It is developed by Quicken and performs well among users as the app offers real-time updates of the balance you have still remaining in your account. Simplifi syncs with all your bank accounts so you can get a complete view of your financial standing at any given hour on any given day. The app requires an annual subscription that costs $35.99. However, it offers a free 30day trial so you can see if it’s right for you.
Simplifi is available on App Store and Google Play.
7. Honeydue
Honeydue makes it easy for partners to save huge sums for their happily ever after. It is highly purposefully built finance app for couples to ‘outsmart money, together.’
With a joint banking system, Honeydue allows you to categorize expenses, set up custom payment options, and define a monthly limit on each category. It also has an in-built communication platform so you can discuss any important monetary issues wherever you may be.
Honeydue is available for download on App Store as well as Play Store.
8. Ibotta
Ibotta brings shopaholics an amazing way to save money without having to cut back on their purchases too much. The app works by enabling users to earn a small sum of real money for every purchase they make on the platform. Ibotta supports major retailers like Walmart and the Home Depot so you have plenty of options to choose from. The money you earn gets transferred directly to your PayPal account. Or you can turn it into gift cards if you prefer.
The app is available for iOS and Android.
9. Clarity Money
Clarity Money offers another unique way to budget by managing all the paid subscriptions you have signed up for. It stops you from throwing away your hard-earned dollars on unused subscriptions, making it one of the best apps to help you control your savings. In addition to getting rid of extra subscriptions, the app also gives you tips and insight into improving your financial health. You can create a dedicated savings fund at an insured bank and track your expenses for the month as well.
Clarity Money is available for iOS and desktop users.
End Note
From monitoring income and categorizing expenses to tracking upcoming bill payments and everything else in between, the best budgeting apps can make personal finance management easier than you may have imagined. While app stores are flooded with money management tools, the ones we mentioned above are some of the best apps to help you control your savings.
