Let’s learn about budgeting and the free applications that can assist the entire process. Making this easy results in less stress over time.
Don’t rely on riches; have budget discipline.
A Classic Story about Foresight
There is a classic story told to children where an old businessman had bought a large bar of gold, then buried it in a hole located just outside his property. The story goes on as the storyteller exaggerates the narration telling the audience that the old man visited the spot every day, then goes to covering it back when he’d finish viewing the gold.
One day, one of the businessman’s workers noticed his behavior and followed him. Upon seeing that there was buried gold, he then waited for his boss to go home so he could remove the gold from the hole and run away with it. The following day, the old businessman found out that his gold was missing and cries out in distress. When the old man’s neighbors heard what happened, they suggested that he should have placed a rock in the hole before covering it up.
It has been said by many critics and professional readers that the story makes no sense since covering the gold with a rock would not benefit the old man nor it would add value to his precious bar of gold. In the story, it can be concluded that the old businessman worked hard for nothing.
So then, take care of wealth gained.
It is the common nature of man to work hard for something that you want to have. You cannot deny that making money is a great feeling. Even having a huge amount of savings is more than a fine feeling. It gives joy when one can have all the money the world has to offer. However, money is nothing if you are not able to really merit from its very purpose – that is to live a happy, stress-free, and even healthy life.
How then could you go about this stress-free life? How could you claim that you already have the life you want to have?
The Why of Budgeting
Avoid depression of being without necessities and focus on budgeting.
There are people who, in their lifetime, live a life where money is not a problem. They have the riches, inheritance, trust funds, etc. It has been told that the people who are blessed with financial prosperity are only thinking of how they are going to spend their money. But research concerning how rich people stay wealthy tells us otherwise. Many of the rich allocate time to budgeting their money.
On the other hand, about 80% of the human population spends time in worrying where to get money they need to spend for kid graduations, or paying home mortgages, or even thinking about where to get money to buy food the following day. The feeling of having nothing or that one has been financially exhausted is draining and definitely depressing.
Whichever scenario you’re in, whether rich, poor, or just average, one principle remains true to all. Mismanagement of finances, whether deliberately or not, may lead to an unimaginable amount of stress and devastation.
The process of creating a budget plan is a proactive approach to ensure that you have enough money to do everything you would like to do. A budget plan also gives relief in having the means for things one needs or that are important. Budgeting creates a space where it allows an individual to enjoy the money that has been worked hard for.
The How of Budgeting
Simply put, budgeting is just balancing your income and expenses.
If it does not balance things out and you are spending more than you are earning, you are probably going to have a problem (or problems). Many financial experts would agree that making and following a budget is the solution to overspending, impulsive buying, and to having self-control.
Modern technology has now evolved toward ways people can budget money. There are various applications one could use to effectively monitor both income and expenses.
Many budgeting apps have been created for convenience. Some applications can be linked to your bank transactions and credit cards, which will then automatically sync both income and purchases from there. Some apps categorize a person’s spending pattern into different categories such as spending related to food, transportation, and other things.
Taking advantage of these budgeting applications and appropriately choosing which suits you best will save your time, give you encouragement to spend wisely, and to save more because you’ll see at a glance where you are regarding spending.
Best Free Budgeting Apps
Using several app reviews, recommendations, and careful research, here are five of the best free budgeting applications, best suggested to maximize your efficiency in managing your money. The applications described below are all free. What makes the difference is how one uses them and what they can or can’t provide.
Free Budgeting App #1: Mint
Mint is the number one most downloaded personal finance app on App Store (for iOS users), and on Google Play (for Android users). Its standout feature is the ability to show income, expenses, savings, goals, credit score, investments, and even one’s net worth. It also categorizes expenses automatically, and at the same time gives the option to modify transactions accordingly.
Some reviews complain of ads, glitches in app, and expenses being assigned on the wrong category. However, Mint remains the free top-notch app for budgeting and the best tool for money management.
Additionally, users can link their bank and credit card accounts to the Mint app. To some, this may be dangerous because it increases the potential risk of getting scammed, receiving phishing e-mails, and threats to data privacy. But Mint’s impressive security features will prevent such activities because Mint is a VeriSign approved application. To have a Verisign Trust Seal means that you can be assured the details are secure, as the system operates using encrypted technology to keep details safe at all times. Mint also has multi-factor authentication and Touch ID mobile access which adds in to the security level of one’s information.
Aside from these security features, Mint also offers to provide customized alerts when you are exceeding budget, or even if making unusual transactions such as withdrawing a huge sum of money, or getting charges for ATM fees, or even for bank service charges.
Another notification Mint offers is a reminder warning to your bill’s payment. This would allow you to be prompt with your bills such as electric, water, internet, phone, credit cards, loans, etc. One other added feature is Mint’s offer to perform credit monitoring services designed to help one keep an eye on financial health. There are notifications sent when changes have been made to some personal information or if having new credit inquiries. Notifications may be received regarding the status and date estimates on one’s IRS filing with TurboTax. Likewise, an individual may check the tax refund using the app.
Mint partnered with Rocket Mortgage so that individuals could apply home loans using the app. To easily apply, Mint takes the data from the budget app to pre-fill new mortgage and refinancing applications. Users also get to have money-saving offers and discounts from some partners.
With Mint, you get to experience substantial and personalized insights on reaching your goals, customizing your budgets, tracking your spending, and consistent subscription monitoring – all for free. Mint allows one to see monthly bills, set goals, grow savings, and build stronger financial habits. Mint is a one size fits all app that brings together all finances from balances and budgets to credit health and financial goals. It’s having most to all money essentials within one single application.
Free Budgeting App #2: Honeydue
Among the apps to help save money, this one is for couples.
Honeydue’s unique feature allows couples to see both partner’s bank accounts, credit cards, any loans, and any investments. In this regard, you and your partner can each select what transactions you both want to share with each other. This promotes managing money together and seeing everything at one glance, while at the same time respecting each other’s privacy if that’s desired.
Like most budget apps, Honeydue allows couples to customize and categorize expenses manually or automatically. Since this is a shared app, you and your partner may have the option to set up monthly spending limits in each expense category and are alerted when either partner is reaching the limit.
Additionally, it offers a joint bank account and the option is given to sync both bank accounts of the partners. The application introduces a joint-banking system where each partner gets one account number and debit card on top of a shared balance. That can really go a long way toward sharing and caring about each other as monetary partners.
Another fun feature of this app is that it gives both individuals the opportunity to chat and send emojis to each other. No wonder that Honeydue is ranked first among best personal finance apps for couples.
Honeydue is actually designed for modern couples. Honey’s vision is to outsmart money, together. And this has been signified through app reviews and high recommendations from couples who want to effectively manage their resources. Let it track your bills, bank balances and spending together, and engage in meaningful dialogue over goals and habits.
Free Budgeting App #3: Pocketguard
Since we’re on the topic of free, installing Pocketguard may just be the best alternative when you need an intricate and super-detailed budget while not wanting to pay one. Although Pocketguard connects to U.S. and Canadian financial institutions only, it allows users to access various helpful features in managing money within a more complex system.
Pocketguard builds a budget based on spending habits and notifies when one has saved a certain amount of some spare money. Setting a goal like lowering your bills or adding more money to your savings and investments accounts are the star features. Additionally, one can browse through other financial products such as mortgage, payments, insurance, and other loans.
Most good reviews come from the impact of the app’s visuals like the pie chart, which will allow one to easily interpret data at a glance. PocketGuard will help in finding out where the money goes and analyzing spending habits, determining which expenses eat up too much of the pie. Pocketguard also allows one to see income, upcoming bills, and progress with savings. Common features like linking the bank account and credit cards are present in this money management app.
Aside from these features, its bank level security is high with 256-bit SSL encryption to ensure private information is safe and protected. Additionally, Pocketguard app uses personal identification numbers (PINs) and biometrics such as Touch ID and Face ID to boost up the security layer.
Pocketguard, although free, offers a premium subscription which is the PocketGuard Plus program that gives one access to additional features such as the ability to create categories, change the date of transactions, export transaction data, and more.
Free Budgeting App #4: Goodbudget
Are you a fan or familiar with the envelope budget system?
Goodbudget is a simple and systematic budget app for saving money and paying bills because it follows the traditional method of using the envelope system.
The app helps an individual to set aside what is needed for bills while maintaining the personal budget. This app has been recommended by budget experts, Google, the New York Times, Forbes, and other companies all over the world. It is known for providing excellent service quality relative to many finance apps because of the simpleness of the method.
The app lets you have virtual envelopes you need to divide into different spending categories such as bills, groceries, and so on. Once you’ve decided how much you should spend on each category, you’ll take that amount in cash and place it into an “envelope”. Just like the using the physical envelop system, it limits your spending to the amount you have set for a certain category. Also, like the traditional envelop system, the aim of Goodbudget is to prevent you from overspending. Once the envelop is empty, you are not supposed to purchase until you replenish your virtual envelopes.
One of the many advantages of using the Goodbudget app is it does not collect any of your account information, which means you do not have to worry much about threats related to data privacy or data being stolen or used fraudulently. Also, the app makes you proactive as you will be taking time at thinking out how to raise income or reduce expenditures, so you can spend wisely. Hence, this app may help you climb one step higher on the ladder of personal finance knowledge.
Free Budgeting App #5: Personal Capital
Have big investing goals for the future?
Personal Capital is the best wealth management app you can get. It allows you to track and manage money in one place by getting a real-time view with their award-winning dashboard. Primarily, Personal Capital is an investment tool, but its free app includes features helpful for budgeters looking to track their spending, connect and monitor checking, savings and credit card accounts, as well as mortgages and loans.
This budgeting tool is a smart app to track and manage personal finance and is also capable of being able to see many accounts in one place. Retirement funds, stocks, and investments are also listed in the app.
Personal Capital allows you to use award winning tools like the Retirement Planner, taking to a financial advisor, or even get a personalized plan for retirement. One of the pros in using it is how they value security for their users. They believe that continuous security testing and improvements are to be approved and implemented. They also guarantee that they will never sell your data.
Truly, this application is more than just a budget tracker. It’s also a professional budget technology tool to help one take control of finances, increase wealth, and reach financial goals at a maximum level.
Conclusion
Keeping track of your money is as important as how you spend it. Everyone should be literate and have a habit in mastering the art of budgeting and be consistent about it; since without one, money can be easily spent for petty things, leaving one with nothing to save and struggling to cover monthly bills.
We live in a fast-paced world where everyone is pre-occupied in working hard for the things wanted. The only way to have financial security is to know how to protect the money you have earned. Just like the story at the beginning, you are like the old businessman who has the natural tendency to work hard so that you can have your huge bar of gold. May you not be as careless as he was. Keep your hard-earned reward and do not let anybody take it away from you.
If still unsure what budgeting app works for your situation, try digging in to your financial weaknesses and try one free budget app at a time. What can you loose when going with something for free? Increase the skill needed to manage the money you’ve worked for. Try one of the best free budgeting apps.
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