THE BIG STORY

Budgeting Apps All Service Members Should Know About

Nobody likes budgeting–it’s boring, takes a long time, and is a hassle. But it doesn’t have to be! We found 6 awesome budgeting apps that we think you should check out.

Budgeting is difficult. It involves developing priorities — often in consensus with another person, your spouse or partner. It requires you to make choices about life and then work toward them, rather than reacting to life as it unfolds. It takes setting goals and working to achieve them.

If budgeting is difficult, it’s also necessary. Most people don’t make hundreds of thousands of dollars a month, so they needso need to plan in order to pay taxes, pay for food, and rent, to save for their children’s college, and to invest. And I’m always looking for new ways to make the process easier and more streamlined. RIP Mint 😥 This is where budgeting comes in.

Knowing that budgeting is necessary resolves one problem, and creates another. Different people budget for different things. Are you saving to buy a home? Retirement? Or simply to take a trip–perhaps Hawaii to escape this cold front?

Let’s jump into it, here are the six apps we found that we recommend you checkout to help achieve your budget goals for 2024. Here are the six apps for budgeting that various financial media who review such things (Fortune, Forbes, CNBC, Nerdwallet) recommend. Apps that are highly recommended by some but not recommended by others are not listed here. These are the best apps “by consensus” — not by ranking or by any other metric — in alphabetical order. Apps are recommended in alphabetical order, not by preference–it was too hard to pick a favorite 🥳

1. Empower Personal Budget: 

Recommended frequently by professional budgeters as the best app for active investors. Not everyone spends time tracking the stock or bond markets. Some people hire wealth managers to do that for them. We personally like it for it’s control over investments and intuitive app design.

2. EveryDollar:

Lauded as an excellent tool for what’s known as “zero-based budgeting,” or budgeting that focuses as much on costs and expenses as it does on income. With 62k reviews on the App Store, and a near-perfect 5-star rating, we think it’s a great app to check out. The best part? You can get started with a free account!

3. Goodbudget: 

While the app itself might not be the sleekest design on the list–never judge a book by its cover. It is the consensus favorite for what’s known as “envelope budgeting,” a system in which one writes financial goals on various envelopes, and allocates money to those envelopes, being rigorous never to remove money from them until one’s goals are achieved.

4. Honeydue: 

Calling all couples, this is a budgeting app for those in a committed relationships, playing on the “honey-do” list, a euphemistic list for the things one’s spouse wants done, usually simple chores around the house. For those in our audience who are in a relationship, we think you’ll love this purpose built app for budgeting. While we can’t guarantee it’ll get rid of all potential tough-discussions, we think it will make discussion of finances A LOT easier.

5. Oportun: 

Formerly known as “Digit,” this app is well regarded for hands-off budgeters who want long-term passive savings and investments. We love the design of this app! It’s incredibly simple to assign your paycheck or monthly income to different ends, sit back, and watch your finances improve. It does run $5/mo., but they’re currently running a 30-day free trial, if you want to check it out. 

6. PocketGuard: 

We love the name of this app–you gotta protect your pockets! This is a great app for people who have trouble spending too much money, and frequently find themselves in debt. 

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