Do you want to budget better, but just find it difficult to get started? You’re not alone. The good news is that there are now many tools to help you better manage your finances.
Budget apps can help you in a few ways. They provide the interfaces you need to stay informed and engaged. There are plenty of free budget apps for personal and business finance. Then, there are specific budget apps to help you save for your goals.
Let’s go over how you should approach budget apps when trying to improve your finances.
Are Budget Apps Right for Me?
If your finances are doing well and you don’t have any issues, then you probably don’t need one. But if you want to improve your budgeting process, many apps can certainly help.
If you use the right budget app, your finances can be improved more easily. These apps were not designed to magically solve peoples’ problems, but there are several things they are designed for:
- Budget apps made by good designers are engaging. They use User Experience (UX) principles that are based on marketing and psychology. That means that they are meant to feel rewarding when you meet goals, giving you a basic, strong incentive to keep going.
- They are meant to be easy to navigate. This can make the right budget app far easier to navigate than any filing technique. The best budget apps are a lot easier to navigate than most financial programs.
- They are meant to serve as useful reminder of goals. Budget apps won’t force you to do anything, but they are great on-hand reminders that make sure you don’t overlook anything.
Personal Budget Apps
Personal budget apps are meant to help you track your income and expenses. The goal of using them is normally to reduce the latter. But the second use these apps usually offer is a path to saving enough for important goals.
When you’re trying to choose the right personal budget app, pay attention to:
- The branding, which normally explains what the app was designed for
- The reviews you find from trusted publications and online users
By finding a trustworthy app designed for people in your position, you are more likely to succeed at your financial goals.
Personal Budget Apps Examples
As a point of reference, here are a couple of the most well-known personal budget apps.
Mint (Comprehensive Free Tracking)
Mint is one of the most popular budget apps, with over 25 million users. So, let’s look at what makes this budget app popular…
For a free app, mint has a lot to offer, including free TransUnion credit reports. It can also be used as a single tool to budget your day-to-day life and track your investments. It also offers tracking for your day-to-day transactions. So, if you get in the habit of using it, you’ll know exactly how much you’re spending and what portion of your income goes to different kinds of spending.
On the other side, Mint receives a lot of complaints about poor customer service. But when it comes to the scope of their free services, they have a lot to offer.
YNAB (When You Need A Push)
YNAB is an app that is becoming more highly-acclaimed by publications like CNBC and Forbes. It is well-balanced and focuses on personal budgeting habits. It stands out from other apps as it goes beyond tracking and tries to push you towards more efficient habits. For example, it forces you to assign a function to each dollar you earn. By doing that, it becomes far more hands-on and actually pushes you to reach your goals.
While YNAB stands out, it does charge you $84 per year. Because there are free alternatives, we can’t suggest paying for a budget app unless you’re serious about benefiting from what it offers you.
Other Personal Budget Apps to Compare
- PocketGuard
- Personal Capital
- Goodbudget
- Honeydue
Business Budget Apps
Business budget apps are similar to personal budget apps. As you can imagine, they are just tweaked to meet the needs of business owners.
Due to their nature, business budget apps include more comprehensive features. They can also cost more than personal budget apps, but there are still free versions available to you. For example, many Point of Sale (PoS) systems now come in the form of apps that handle budgeting, sales, and day-to-day business operations.
Business Budget Apps Examples
- Xero
- QuickBooks
- FreshBooks
- Wave
Sources:
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/ynab-budgeting-app-review/
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/best-budgeting-apps/
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/are-budgeting-apps-worth-it/
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