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Creating and sticking to a budget is no easy feat, but with the right tools, like good budgeting software, for example, you can harness one of the most powerful financial tools at your disposal.
In this WealthRocket article, we’ll provide the best budgeting software in the USA, as well as what budgeting software can do, the difference between budgeting software and apps, and more useful information for you and your budget.
Albert is a no-frills budgeting software and digital financial product that analyzes your spending habits while tucking away free cash into a savings account.
It also offers savings and investing products. Voila! You’re saving, without even trying.
Goodbudget organizes your budget into virtual envelopes, like the much-lauded “Envelope” budgeting system.
Goodbudget requires you to manually label your transactions by assigning them to virtual “envelopes,” a suitable means of budgeting for those who have many recurring expenses every month.
Mvelopes is a budgeting software that makes envelope budgeting easy. By automatically syncing, importing information, and account monitoring, Mvelopes is best suited for those who swear by the “Envelope” budgeting tactic.
Mint is an all-encompassing dashboard that centralizes your must-know financial information into one location.
Available for desktop and mobile platforms, Mint provides an insightful overview of your expenses, with daily reports and customizable goals, with aggregation of all of your assets and debts in one package.
Personal Capital is ideal for budgeters who also want to keep an eye on their investments, focusing on long-term financial planning and investing.
An additional bonus is that Personal Capital can provide insight into how much you spend on investing while providing you with more cost-effective options.
PocketGuard is budgeting software that allows users to track incoming income.
It is also ideal for those who predominantly use cash to purchase or make payments.
Naturally, this app requires a little more user involvement, as most successful budgets do.
You Need a Budget (YNAB) has a staple, trademark feature that has the power to change your budgeting habits by teaching you how to spend smarter.
Unlike many apps, YNAB doesn’t do the budgeting for you and requires your involvement.
While this isn’t a free app like many of the budgeting tools listed above, YNAB requires some accountability. It costs $11.99 per month, or $84 a year. The latter grants $59 in savings a year.
Budgeting software is any computer program that helps users create a budget.
Typically, budgeting software provides tools that allow you to track spending, expenses, income, and even investment portfolios.
Budgeting software helps you create and maintain a budget in one centralized location.
Most budgeting software programs allow you to input or link your accounts from financial institutions, as well as outgoing payments, credit cards, and investment accounts.
Having all your information in one location, with the access of automated budgeting tools, like graphs and bill paying notifications, can also help make money management, saving, and investing that much easier.
Both are powerful tools that can help you track your spending and improve your finances. But there are some important differences to note.
Budgeting software covers a wider array of abilities. Generally, software is a term used to describe a computer program that can perform various actions.
On the other hand, applications are much more specific in that they usually only perform one, more specific action. An app is considered a type of software.
You don’t, but it sure makes life easier. It’s very easy to blow through spending categories or miss a bill when you’re keeping track of everything by hand. With their bill-paying reminders and live cash flow views, budgeting apps make staying on top of your finances that much easier.
If you spend more time on a desktop computer or prefer to have a large-screen view of your finances, then the software might work better for you. But if you live and die by your phone, then it makes sense to use an app for your budgeting needs.
The answer to this question depends on what features you’re looking for in a budgeting tool. If you need a more in-depth look at your finances or more advanced tools, it might make sense to pay a small monthly fee. But if you’re a bare-bones kind of budgeter, a free version should suffice.
