Owning a home in Claremore, Ok is a never ending cycle of repairs, maintenance, and upgrades to keep your investment safe. More than 50% of the homeowners across American are basically living paycheck to paycheck so a budgeting app can be just what you need to stay on track.
Having a budget makes it more likely for you to achieve your financial goals and save money for the future. All the money coming in and going out is far too much to keep track of in your head so many people keep paper records, use a spreadsheet, or use a financial planning app to help them.
We’ve come up with a list of the 5 best budgeting apps that can be used both on your smartphone and your laptop. All of the apps we’ve picked for you are user-friendly and can sync with your bank or other financial accounts. Most importantly, they are all either free or very affordable.
#1. Mint
Mint, a budget tracker and planner app, not only helps you budget but also keeps an eye on your credit score. You can set alerts for just about everything from late fees, to overspending, to big purchases. It securely syncs with your financial institutions and keeps everything updated. One of the best things about Mint is that it’s FREE. You can’t use it to pay your bills but you can get a financial snapshot of where your money is being spent and how you are doing at saving it.
#2. You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Designed with young people who are new to budgeting in mind, YNAB is very intuitive and user-friendly. It monitors money going in and coming out and helps support your goals to avoid bad spending habits. It uses a pleasant color-coded system for spending categories that helps you see where your money is being spent. It uses the zero-sum
account method so that all expenses are paid first and then the rest of the budget adjusts accordingly.
#3. Clarity Money
For people with long-term goals, Clarity Money might be the way to go. It uses a week by week approach to creating a spending plan for you that supports your goals. While it doesn’t have a bill-paying feature, it does let you use it to cancel subscriptions. While anyone can use this app, some features are limited to the Apple iOS version. One of its best features is that it offers you advice based on your spending habits.
#4. Pocket Guard
This app has a free and premium version. It looks at your income and expenses and lets you know when it’s safe to spend money on non-essentials. You can customize the categories in Pocket Guard and split payments between categories. This could be a useful feature for homeowners that want to save up for remodeling projects while they save.
#5. Personal Capital
If you’ve been budgeting for some time and looking for a more sophisticated tool, you might want to check out Personal Capital. This app is part budgeting tool and part investing tool to help you raise your capital (net worth). It also has a custom retirement planning tool and a free financial dashboard.