We've done credit cards and bank accounts but today we're going to create the ultimate
budgeting app to your list with 15 of the best and worst budgeting platforms so that
you can use the best budgeting tool for you.
Alright, let's jump right into it.
What is going on everyone I hope you are all having a fantastic day.
If you've seen my other tier list videos then you know the drill but we are going to move
really quickly so I'll just say this now to get it out of the way, I've reviewed a lot
of the platforms that were about to look at and will be sure to link to those down in
the description if you want some more in depth information but the purpose of today's video
is to give you the surface level information on as many platforms as we can get through
to give you a starting point for finding the best budgeting platform for you.
We've got 15 budgeting apps and methods that we're going to go through today so let's get
started.
First up is a heavy hitter for sure and a platform that many believed to be the best
budgeting tool and that would be you need a budget also known as YNAB.
YNAB has a really unique approach to budgeting that is proactive instead of reactive meaning
that it actually has you live on last month's income rather than having money come in and
having it immediately disappear and as someone who has a fairly inconsistent income I am
definitely a huge fan of this approach.
You're able to sync all of your bank accounts, import data from manual documents like an
excel spreadsheet, or add manual transactions as well.
Their customer service is pretty decent and they have a ton of great educational resources
that teach you how to use this platform since it can be a little bit confusing if you're
brand new.
The bummer is that you need a budget is $11.99 per month or $84 per year but as you’ll
learn throughout today's video, you really get what you pay for when it comes to budgeting
platforms and considering that are currently offering a 34 day free trial, I’ll be putting
YNAB in the A tier.
Next is one of two platforms on today's list that is specifically designed for couples
and that would be Honeydew.
Honeydew really empowers couples to collaborate on their finances rather than constantly butting
heads and arguing and it does this by allowing you to sync all of your financial transactions
and upcoming bills.
The app is fairly simple in my opinion and is divided up into three major sections which
consists of each partner's individual expenses and then in all section where those shared
transactions will appear.
You're able to label each transaction as either an individual expense or a shared expense
and they even give you a shared calendar that will remind you of when those shared expenses
and bills are due.
I know there's a lot of opinions around combining finances or keeping finances separate for
couples and when exactly that should happen but if you fall somewhere in between then
a platform like honeydew might be a fantastic option and the best part is it's completely
free so HoneyDue will be going in the B tier.
Next is a platform that has been on the rise recently and that would be pocket guard.
In all of my research the consensus seems to be that pocket guard is the best solution
for those of us that just can't seem to stick to a budget.
It helps solve this issue by having you connect your checking, savings, and credit card accounts
and then it's going to intelligently analyze your spending, where you can save, can remind
you when your credit card payments and other bills are due and even has a really cool “in
my pocket” feature where an algorithm is going to identify how much money you can afford
to spend based on your income, upcoming bills, your different financial goals, and a ton
of other financial metrics and again it's all done by a computer, on your phone, automatically.
They currently offer a free and paid version called pocket guard plus at $80 per year,
it comes in at a very competitive price so you can always give it a shot, see what you
think, and decide to upgrade if you really like it so lets but PocketGaurd in the A tier.
The next platform is actually not a platform at all and is going to be an incredibly polarizing
option for sure but I felt like I should put it out there and that is don't budget.
I will tell you that personally I am against this and I think that at the very least everyone
should have an idea of how much money is coming in and how much money is going out.
However, I am the first to admit that budgeting is not for everyone and in some cases it may
only stress you out even more, cost time and money that may be unnecessary for you, and
in general just be a headache that is not needed for your financial situation.
Again that is very rare and in my opinion you need to have some budget no matter what,
however if you are currently just doing your thing and you're paying your bills on time
and you have enough money to live a happy life then why bother complicating it with
some complex budgeting software.
Just an option that I did want to throw out there but not my personal suggestion at all
so since this is my list, Ill be putting no budget at all in the F tier.
And don't worry we are going to talk about some budgeting options as opposed to budgeting
apps later on in the video Including the method that I use for my very own budget.
The 5th platform on today's list is one that is quite popular as it is backed by Ramsey
solutions as in Dave Ramsey and that would be every dollar.
Again this platform was created by Dave Ramsey so if you're a huge fan of him and what he
teaches then this is definitely a platform worth checking out.
In general my feeling with every dollar is that it is a very hands on approach to budgeting
which is not for me personally but can be a very effective strategy depending on what
methods work best for managing your finances.
As the name implies the whole pitch with this app is giving every single dollar a purpose
whether that's putting it towards a bill, setting it aside in your emergency fund, or
maybe even investing it for the future.
It's going to use the zero based budgeting method which again just means that it's going
to really drill down to the core of your financial habits and determine exactly where your income
goes down to the very last dollar.
They do have a free and paid version that is fairly pricey coming in at $130 per year
however they do have some bundle options with Ramsey plus where you can actually go through
the financial peace classes is part of your bundle and they do also have free trials available
so again if you really want to get down to the nitty gritty of your finances then I would
definitely give every dollar a shot so lets put it in the B tier.
Next up is a personal finance software that has been around longer than any other on this
list considering it was released in 1983 but that would be Quicken.
Quicken is strictly a desktop based platform with a new version coming out every year so
I'll tell you from the start that if you want to budget from your smartphone then this is
not an option for you however still listen to these features because they will be important
when we look at the next option on our list.
In the past few years quicken has finally added web access to your quicken portal meaning
you can now manage your finances from multiple computers whereas previously it was a software
that was downloaded onto your desktop.
Now the web version is lacking on a few features but gives you the ability to view your balances
and transactions, look at your budgets in different accounts, track your different investment
portfolios and spending trends in different categories and really just do anything in
terms of budgeting.
That being said this platform can be incredibly overwhelming and takes some users years to
learn how to use it efficiently and while it has absolutely pioneered the world of digital
budgeting I don't see this platform lasting much longer I think based on some of quickens
newer products which again will talk about in a second, big kinda see the writing on
the wall so I'll be putting quicken in the C tier.
Alright but the next product is kind of Quicken’s response to the arguments I just made and
that would be their newer platform called simplifi which I think is hilarious considering
my biggest complaint about Quickin is that it is too confusing.
Simplifi is literally a simplified version of quicken offering personalized spending
plans, real time updates of how much you have left to spend in certain categories throughout
the month plus of course this app syncs with your third party bank accounts it shows you
where you stand in terms of reaching your various financial goals.
It's also going to track your monthly bills and expenses, subscriptions, including the
ones that you don't use so that you can get rid of them.
It also has some really great cash flow tools that make it really easy to see where you're
at in one snapshot and with a 30 day free trial and a very affordable $36 annual fee,
I do think that this platform has a lot of potential going forward but they still have
some work to do so let's put simplify in the B tier.
On the flip side of basic budgeting tools we've got our next contender which is Personal
Capital and this platform is really all about helping you build wealth as fast as possible.
Their wealth management app is completely free and offers planning tools for retirement,
education, a net worth tracker, and a portfolio analyzer that will look at all of your different
investments and make recommendations based on the financial goals that you have set.
For a long time this was one of the best places to sync all of your different financial accounts
but nowadays that's kind of a common feature but it absolutely is still a robust tool with
an emphasis on your investments.
Again the primary app is completely free to download and use and you do have the option
to add their investment management services for a fee of 0.89% for accounts under $1,000,000
which is fairly high but you do get a lot for that so just something to consider.
All of that being said from strictly a budgeting perspective I feel like it's not necessarily
their focus anymore so because of that I'll be putting Personal Capital in the B tier.
We are over halfway done with our ultimate budgeting platform list but still have some
fantastic platforms to come including the platform that I use for my personal budget
so definitely stick around to see that.
Coming in at #9 on our list is a platform that is incredibly unique and isn't strictly
designed for budgeting but does offer some fantastic tools that allow you to budget automatically
and that would be Digit.
Again technically digit in their direct product is more like a checking account however they
do have automated software that is going to analyze your spending habits and will automatically
set money aside using a micro saving strategy to ensure that you never miss a payment or
bill again.
So if you pay $12 a month for Netflix Digit is going to automatically recognize that and
will set just a few cents aside each day so that when it comes time to pay that bill there's
no big surprise it's just going to be set aside throughout the month and ready to go
when you need it.
Not strictly a budgeting platform but absolutely has the tools necessary to budget, save, end
invest automatically for you so because of that I'll be putting digit in the A tier.
Number 10 on our list is again not a platform but just another option I wanted to throw
out there and that is using the budgeting tools that your banking platform already has.
The platform we just looked at, digit, for example can be used as your main banking platform
but also has tools that allow you to budget.
Some platforms we will look at later on in the video offer similar services and if you're
just looking to track your income, expenses, and understand how you can improve your finances
then you may not need a third party fancy budgeting platform so again this is really
dependent on everyone's financial situation however I am all about keeping your finances
as simple as humanly possible and I do think that this can be the best solution for a lot
of people so for the first time today I'm actually going to put this option in the S
tier.
Coming in at #11 is probably the most popular budgeting tool right now and that would be
Mint.
Mint has over 25 million users so Needless to say they're definitely doing something
right but this is a completely free budgeting platform that offers income, expense, and
investment tracking, free credit score monitoring through TransUnion, and one of the most simple
mobile budgeting softwares that I have seen.
Again it allows you to sync all of your financial accounts under one app or manually add transactions
if you need to plus they also have monthly bill tracking including the ability to set
payment reminders to avoid late fees.
Again I'm all about keeping things simple and the fact that they are able to deliver
all these features for completely free means that I'll be putting in Mint in the S tier.
Goodbudget is a platform built around the very popular envelope system which many people
used to and still do use where you put physical cash inside of an envelope four different
budgeting categories and then once that money is gone, that's it and there's no way to go
past your budget.
The problem with this system in today's world is that very few people actually carry cash
rendering the old school envelope method completely useless for a lot of people myself included.
So Good budget is going to use digital envelopes meaning you can set money into those envelopes
for different financial goals including paying off debt or saving up for some large expense,
but of course having envelopes for your monthly expenses and in general just takes this incredibly
popular and more traditional concept and brings it into the modern world.
With the free version of goodbudget you get 20 different envelopes whereas goodbudget
plus which currently costs $7 per month or $60 per year gives you unlimited envelopes
and the ability to have five different devices logged into your account.
I love this innovative approach to an old school method so I'll be putting goodbudget
in the A tier.
We've got three options left including my personal budgeting tool but coming in at #13
is another tool designed specifically for couples and that would be Zeta.
Again this is one of few platforms that is designed with joint finances in mind allowing
you to sync various accounts and track your spending, net worth, and bills together whether
you are just living together, engaged, married, or anything in between.
The Zeta money manager app can sync your financial data but also allow you to manually add transactions
if you need to and gives you a unified way to stay focused on your personal financial
goals while also keeping your spouses finances in your mind as well.
They also have an FDIC insured bank account offered through Lending Club that has no monthly
fees and gives you a Zeta joint card to help cover those monthly expenses as a couple.
Definitely a very cool product but designed for a very niche audience so because of that
I'll be putting Zeta in the C tier.
Second to last is again not a platform but an option and that is just keeping a simple
excel spreadsheet.
There are so many free to download budgeting spreadsheets online for either excel or even
Google Sheets which is completely free and for a lot of people this is the best option
by far.
This can be fully customizable to fit your budgeting needs and while you're not going
to have any flashy software or synchronizing features, you'd be surprised how complex and
indepth a lot of these spreadsheets are able to go and again they're completely free and
many are available for download or purchase online so not the best option for everyone
but I'm going to be putting the excel spreadsheet budget in the A tier.
And last but not least coming in at #15 which is the budgeting platform that I used myself
would be SoFi Relay.
Big shock I know I'm sure a lot of you were expecting this but as I talked about earlier,
in my opinion you want to keep your finances as simple as possible and if that means that
your native bank account offers tools that allow you to budget then why make things more
complicated by adding another account.
SoFi relay is the free budgeting extension to your free SoFi money account it offers
free credit monitoring, income and expense tracking, the ability to set spending targets,
create savings vaults within your SoFi money account, and again just set those financial
goals and understand how you are progressing towards reaching those goals.
You were able to sync all of your third party bank accounts, investments, credit cards,
loans, and even add manual liabilities and assets to track your net worth and all of
this is done right under the exact same app as all of the other tools that SoFi offers.
I won't talk your ear off about this too much because I talk about this platform enough
but no surprise I'll be putting the free SoFi relay platform in the S tier.
so here we go this is our list of the 15 budgeting apps and methods that we covered today but
as always this is just my opinion so I'd love to know down in the comments section which
platform do you think I got wrong end what platforms do you think I left off of this
list entirely.
As always if you did get value out of this content and you want to help support me the
easiest way to do that is actually by checking out some of my favorite financial tools down
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in the future and of course, thank you so much for your time.
I really do appreciate it so much, take it easy and I'll see you in the next one!