4 Best Apps To Budget Money More Efficiently

Mint doesn’t only help you save money. Due to its many budgeting features, automated expense and subscription tracking, and account synchronization, this app will also save you plenty of time. Which you can use to enjoy your financial autonomy.

Besides being packed with solutions that save money, Mint is one of the few applications available for free. You can connect your bank accounts to the app, which allows you to synchronize and categorize all your transactions and expenses.

Set your budget with plenty of available categories, or create a more personalized one yourself. Once the app sees you spend money within the chosen category, it will automatically update your budget accordingly. Thanks to that, you will see how much money you have left to disburse on a given classification.

On top of that, the app tracks your paid subscription plans from various platforms, such as Spotify or Netflix, to make you more aware of your monthly payments. Plus, if you link your bills and set them up, Mint will send you a reminder before the due date.

YNAB stands for You Need A Budget, and it’s an app that uses a four-rule method that helps you gain control of your money by organizing your finances, smashing debts, saving cash, and achieving your financial goals faster.

YNAB allows you to break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle by managing your financing. Based on your income, prepare a plan of your expenses and stick to it. After you realize it, you will feel less stressed and more confident about the future. 

The YNAB four rules of achieving financial freedom are:

1. Give every dollar a job by assigning the income to specific expense categories.
2. Embrace your expenses by creating goals and monthly payments.
3. Roll with the punches by moving money between categories.
4. Age your money by using the money you saved in previous months to budget for the next ones.

The app is free for the first 34 days, but after this time, you have to pay either $14.99 per month or $98.99 per year. However, the app developers say you can save more than $600 in the first two months of using the app and more than $6000 during the first year.

GoodBudget is a modern way of using the good old-fashioned envelope system of creating a budget. This technique is about dividing your income and splitting it into separate envelopes, such as groceries, bills, entertainment, etc. 

This app is very intuitive and easy to use. Just choose envelopes for your payments or create them yourself. Then decide how much money you want to put in each envelope and keep track of your expenses. It allows you to plan and save for big or unpredictable expenses too.

To avoid miscommunication with your close ones, synchronize the app across all your mobile devices and share the budget with them, so each person knows what the money is being spent on every time someone deducts it from the envelope. 

Goodbudget also allows you to add your financial accounts to record each payment and register it in the system. However, even though the app is free, to enjoy its extra features, you must purchase a plan that costs either $7 per month or $60 per year.

PocketGuard is designed to track all of your spendings, show you where the money goes, and helps predict how you will end the month. It’s a great app for anybody who wants a better view of their expenses and cash flow. 

After the registration, connect your bank accounts, and the app will estimate your income and repeated expenses. Next, add your credit and debit cards, and all your purchases will be automatically uploaded. Once you finish, you can set your savings goals and work towards achieving them.

The app is packed with free features, such as “In My Pocket”. It’s an algorithm that uses your income, bills, savings goals, and estimated expenses to tell you how much you spend each month. Another is the “Spending Pie Chart”, which helps you analyze your spending using the pie chart. 

There are a few other features that are out of charge, but to enjoy the full potential of PocketGuard and use its premium tools, you must purchase a paid subscription. It costs $7.99 per month, $34.99 per year, or $79.99 for a lifetime subscription.

Planning and tracking your expenses is the first step to financial freedom. Whether you want to save money for a holiday trip, buy a new TV, or simply feel more secure about your future, creating and sticking to a budget is a must-have. Gladly, you don’t need to do it using your notebook anymore. Thanks to the four apps presented in this article, budgeting will be a piece of cake!

Comment below which app you use to plan your budget, and as always, please share!