The 4 Best Budget Apps for Couples

You know how Fairy Tales always end in marriage, conveniently skipping out on the part where you spend a huge chunk of your time working out how to run a household budget together?

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Despite how much time it takes up, money is something we rarely talk about in relationships.

Look, we’re a money app, not a marriage counseling service, but we’re pretty sure communication is important.

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Sure, talking about money isn’t the most sexy. But you know what else isn’t? Arguing about it.

Especially when nearly half of Americans (48%) who are married or living with a partner say they argue with their partner over money, according to a survey of more than 1,000 people by The Cashlorette.

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Budgeting as a couple allows you to:

💙 Avoid any unequal dynamics

💙 Break the taboo around talking about money

💙 Realize your financial goals, from building credit, paying down debt, to building savings

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A quick note while we’re talking about it. If your partner is controlling your finances, that might be financial abuse. You can find out more about that here.

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Why budgeting apps are important

First off, this is the 21st century. Budgeting on paper, or, god forbid, a spreadsheet, is basically the equivalent of wearing a nightcap and carrying around a candle at bed time.

Apps can take your spending activity and categorize it for you, so you don't have to manually track each expense.

With this, you can set and manage savings goals.

Plus, by doing the labor for you, a budgeting app gives you more time for fun stuff. Like figuring out the cleaning rota.

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The Top 4 Budgeting Apps for Couples

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1) Best Overall Budgeting App for Couples: Honeydue

Honeydue is a money app that has been specifically designed for couples. With Honeydue:

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💰You and your partner can each add the bank accounts, credit cards, investments and loans that you want to share with the other.

💰 You can strike a balance between managing your own finances and and those you share with your partner.

💰 Set yourself and automate reminders for payments to avoid pesky late fees.

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💸 Honeydue is free.

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📍 One downside of Honeydue is that, since it’s free, they use in-app ads to make money.

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2) Best Budgeting App for Couples’ Daily Finances: YNAB

YNAB has multiple features that make it perfect for managing daily finances.

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💰 You can use YNAB to budget your separate accounts as well as the ones you share.

💰You can integrate your YNAB account with Amazon Alexa devices, so you can check up on your finances on the go.

💰Your linked accounts will automatically sync for real-time updates (another feature that's super-helpful for daily tracking)

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💸 YNAB is  $15 a month or $99 for the year if you pay in one sum.

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3) Best Budgeting App for Couples’ Financial Goal-achievement: Simplifi

Simplifi is designed with achieving financial goals in mind.

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💰 Enter your goal when you start using Simplifi and the app with guide your through the process from there.

💰 Simplifi calculates how much you need to save each month. This is adjustable, you can toggle between the amount you want to save and the time you want to save it by.

💰 Big savings goals are included in your monthly budget, so you can glide your way to building savings.

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💸 Simplifi is $48 for a year.

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📍 One downside of Simplifi is that it has a shared login, which might make things tricky if you each have individual accounts you want to manage separately.

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4) Best App for Talking About Money: Cleo

Okay, yes, you’re on the Cleo blog right now. But we put Cleo last, cause we’re humble.

Cleo isn’t like other money apps. She’s… sarcastic. Cleo will roast you for your late-night Amazon binges, and hype you for all the good you’re doing.

For couples, Cleo is a great way to start the conversation about money in a way that isn’t too serious. And you don’t have to roast your partner for their annoying spending habits. She’ll do it for you.

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With Cleo, you can also:

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💙 Use autosave, to build savings without trying

💙 Track your expenses

💙 Get a cute visual for your monthly budget, showing you how much you have to spend per day

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💸  Cleo is free, baby!

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Enjoy this post? Give it a share or send it along to a friend. You never know, it could make a big difference.

Big love. Cleo 💙