
Need Help Making a Budget? Download One of These 3 Apps
Budgeting is hard. It’s a process that takes practice, accountability, and consistency. In the long run, budgeting can yield higher savings, pay off your debts, and allow you greater satisfaction when you make purchases. Not sure where to start to build your budget? Luckily, there are countless apps that are built with the exact intention of helping people create budgets that work for them so they can meet their financial goals.
Apps can help you determine where you are wasting money — for example, do you spend a lot of money on eating out, or do you have a very expensive gym membership? Can you actually be maker larger payments toward your student loans? Budgeting apps can help you stay on track and invest your funds in what matters most to you.
1. Mint
Mint is a popular budget app that connects with your bank account to understand your purchases and create a budget from there. Mint is compatible with iPhone, Android, and iPad, so you can access your Mint app from a variety of devices. Mint is highly rated because of its security features and its clean user experience. Mint also provides personalized suggestions based on your purchases on how to cut spending from one area and put that to another bill or part of your budget instead.
2. You Need a Budget (YNAB)
You Need a Budget is another app that has caught traction in the personal finance world. Many swear by YNAB recommends that users give each dollar a “job,” or a specific intention for each purchase. You Need a Budget also recommends that you plan ahead for infrequent expenses too, so they don’t blindside you months from now. YNAB allows new users to have a 34 day free trial, and then a yearly subscription costs $50 (or almost 13 four-dollar lattes from your local coffee shop).
3. GoodBudget
One money technique suggested by experts is to put cash in envelopes and give each envelope an intended purpose; for example, one envelope will be bills, the other groceries, or one could be gifts or holiday expenses. GoodBudget is an app that digitizes the envelope concept, so you can have digital envelopes that keep you aware of where each dollar is going. GoodBudget syncs across devices, and is a free app. There’s also an option to pay $15 for a three month pro subscription with added benefits, or $24 for six months.
