For some the word budget can bring a wave of panic and fear. This is due to its reputation for being tedious and challenging. However, having a budget is incredibly important in financial planning and very useful in the long run.

Budgeting improves your life immensely and guides you on whether you’re going in the direction you want to go financially. Budgets come in handy when setting goals and preventing you from overspending and making rash money decisions. You can also meet your savings goals when it comes to setting aside money for savings and other investments. A strong, well-planned budget gives you total control of your money rather than your money controlling you. One of the most crucial aims of having a budget is to keep you out of debt or help you get out of debt.

Benefits of Budgeting

Overall budgeting is crucial and improves your lifestyles and financial decisions, however despite being aware of its benefits, most people simply just don’t have the time or the motivation to plan out a budget. For this reason, budgeting apps have become incredibly popular and useful, especially over this past decade. There are various apps, some of which are free or paid. Certain software can monitor your spending and saving habits by linking your accounts, which track your cash flow.

Budgeting software apps has taken the challenge out of the process of doing it yourself. These apps help you stick to a strict spending plan and include many additional features. These are a few of the most well-reviewed budgeting apps; their benefits make them stand out.

Most Popular Budgeting Apps

After scouring the app store for the most well-rated and liked budgeting apps, I’ve highlighted the top three below. Mind you, these are not the only ones you should research. Each person is unique, and so are your needs. Be thorough and make sure you choose the one that is the right fit for you and your family.

YNAB- You need a budget

YNAB app towers over all similar apps for its company philosophy and reputation. The company says new budgeters typically save up to $600 within their first two months and more than $6,000 in their first year! This app is the costliest option of the list, however it offers a 34 day free trial and 100% no risk, money back guarantee.

This app gives you a complete budget makeover to give you the most efficient saving program. The company also has strong customer service for any of your immediate needs. The cost per year is $84 or $11.99 per month. This app lets you sync your bank accounts, import data, and enter your transaction information. The company also suggests understanding the basics of the app by watching video guides or following workshops to understand and benefit the most.

After signing up, you will create your first budget and give each dollar a purpose, such as rent, car payments, or grocery shopping. The app’s goal is to get one month ahead so that you can spend the money you earned thirty days ago.

If you are skeptical about having an app with access to your finances and bank account information, fear not, as YNAP says that privacy and security are its absolute top priority. This company protects your information but uses bank-level encryption for all your data, passwords, and more.

Mint

If you’re looking for a great free budgeting app, look no further. Mint by Intuit stands out with its popularity of 25 million users. Best of all, it’s free for budgeters of any level. Some benefits of setting up payment reminders and tracking investments and your credit score. This app is great for anyone looking to improve their current spending habits and aiming to save.

Similar to YNAB, you can sync all your financial accounts and details within the app, or if you want, you can manually add your transactions. The layout lets you see all your accounts in one place to track your spending daily. You will also receive payment reminders to avoid late fees. Mint also comes with a few additional resources, such as a loan repayment calculator and a home affordability calculator.

Regarding the information you put in, the company saves your login information on a separate encrypted database with several hardware layers.

Simplifi

Simplifi by Quicken is another great app that syncs your financial goals to show you your progress on financial goals. Simplifi also tracks your subscriptions and monthly bills. The most attractive feature of the app, however, is its personalized spending plan, which gives you real-time updates on how much money you have left to spend throughout the month.

This app is the best for cash flow solely because of its amazing tracking abilities. It is the best option for always being aware of how much you can spend between your paychecks. While this is a paid app, the company offers a free 30-day trial, after which it will cost $2.99 per month, billed annually at $35.99.

Quicken, which is the app’s parent company, has been trusted with sensitive financial data since 1985 and continues to work on expanding its security measures. The app uses 256-bit encryption, which may not make much sense to you and me but essentially means that all your important information remains confidential.

Overall, budgeting can be quite a challenge, but due to its benefits, it is a necessity in our lives. As budgeting sounds like a tedious task to do manually with a spreadsheet, you should resort to making your life much easier with the help of a budgeting app. There are a variety of completely free apps that come with a free trial before charging you. So you can pick an app that suits you most and is safe and secure with your information.

We are not endorsed or affiliated with the aforementioned companies or apps. We just thought it would be nice to share!
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