The Best Budgeting Apps for 2023

Firstly, why is budgeting important?

Your Mom’s been saying it for years: making and sticking to a budget is important for your financial health. Knowing how much money enters and exits each on a regular basis is a habit you’re gonna wanna get good at.

Maybe you’re thinking of saving for a house, a car, or the world’s best air fryer, you’re not gonna get there without a budget, baby.

Just think about your poor ancestors who literally just had a pen and a piece of paper. Or an Excel spreadsheet (even worse).

The good news: times have changed. It no longer has to be that difficult 🚀

Let a free budget app do the hard work for you.

To help with your search for the right budgeting app that suits YOU, we’ve listed four of the best budgeting apps for 2023.

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1) Mint

Mint can help you monitor and analyze your personal finances, including insights, customizable budgets, and subscription monitoring. It’s easy to create a budget in the app, and all of your purchases will automatically be placed into categories. We love to see it.

Mint also uses a multi-factor authentication, multi-layered hardware and software encryption to help ensure your data is protected.

Jargon decoded: it’s quite safe to use.

Pros:

✔️ It’s free for an unlimited time

✔️ Rated 4.8/5 on the App Store

✔️ Easy to create a budget

✔️ Free credit score tracking

✔️ Customizable alerts for upcoming bills and potential bank fees

Cons

❌ Connectivity issues with some financial accounts

❌ Ads within the app could be annoying for some

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2) PocketGuard

PocketGuard lets you track your spending, create a budget, and manage your money. It’s completely free for an unlimited time.

The app shows you (in a helpful customizable pie chart) which expenses are eating up most of your budget (boo).

Arguably the best feature of the app is that by linking your recurring bills, PocketGuard can actually help you negotiate better rates on your bills such as your cable bill or cellphone.

Pros

✔️ Simple interface which is easy to use

✔️ Automatically categorizes your transactions and tracks your expenses

✔️ You can create personalized budgets

✔️ Upcoming bill reminders

Cons

❌ It can only link to a limited number of financial accounts, so you may not be able to track all of your financial transactions

❌ The budgeting options are limited compared to other personal finances apps, so it might not be suitable for advanced budgeting needs

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‍3) You Need A Budget

You Need A Budget (YNAB) is a popular budget app that can help you manage your money. It’s based on the principle of zero-based budgeting, which means that every dollar is assigned a specific purpose.

Pros

✔️ Proactive budgeting which can help you avoid overspending and stay on track with your financial goals

✔️ Goal setting: you can set financial goals, such as paying off debt or saving for a down payment on a house

✔️Educational resources: you’ll have access to a range of resources, including blog posts, webinars, and video tutorials, to help you learn more about personal finance

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Cons

YNAB has one pretty big downside:

❌ You have to pay either $14.99 per month or $98.99 a year to use, although you can try it out with a free month’s trial. College students can get a free year with YNAB

❌ Limited reports: YNAB’s reporting is more limited compared to some other personal finance apps, so it might not be the best option for those looking for detailed financial reports

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4) Best App for Talking About Money: Cleo

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

Let us introduce you to 🔥 The Money App that Roasts You 🔥

Whether you’re managing finances in a couple of just need to sit down and have a stern conversation with yourself about money, 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. ‍

With Cleo, you can: ‍

💙 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 ‍ 💸 And the best thing? Cleo is free!

If you’re interested in learning about how you can budget better together, here’s The 4 Best Budget Apps for Couples ❤️

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Big love. Cleo 💙