You need a budget
Having a general idea of your monthly cash flows, i.e; how much money you have coming in and out the door each month, is critical to setting any sort of investment or multi-income strategy. Luckily, in 2024, we no longer have to pull out a pen and notebook, or Excel spreadsheet to create and organize our own budgets unless we want to (which some people still do, and that’s all good)
Top 2 highest rated paid budgeting apps
Copilot is the budgeting app I currently use. Right now I pay $69/year plan. But the link I’ve included above offers a $95/year plan or $13 monthly. There weren’t multiple options when I signed up a year ago so I’m not sure what the difference is other than they just may have increased their pricing. Here are some of the things I’ve enjoyed so far about Copilot:
Directly connect your bank accounts, investment accounts AND credit card accounts for asset and debt tracking.
Customized spending categories for your unique expenses
Track subscriptions to easily see inconsistencies in charges or payments.
YNAB stands for: You Need a Budget! So this new app YNAB I’m testing out offers a 34-day free trial. It’s the most expensive out of all the other apps. Their premier offer is $99/year which works out to $8.25/mo. If you chose to pay monthly however, its $15/mo. Here are some of the pros with YNAB that I’ve learned about so far:
You can share your subscription with other people in your family or on your team for the price of a single subscription
You can set financial goals and track them in real time
Provides an in-app loan calculator for loan decisions
4 free budgeting apps
I have not tried or extensively explored any of these free budgeting apps, but these might be more viable options for you if you’re not in the position to pay for technology at this time. Remember that it’s often true that you get what you pay for, but I do think it’s possible to get started and find value if you aren’t currently using any system to track your spending. Check these out and let me know how you like them!
For the record, I don’t currently get paid for promo or receive commissions for ANY of these apps. So, I recommend each of them equally, and encourage you to make decisions based on your unique financial position and lifestyle.
