Managing and budgeting finance has always been one of the most hectic tasks for many households, businesses, and many other organizations alike.
Financial budget management capabilities are one of the most essential yet overlooked skills when it comes to judging a person’s financial capabilities.
If you are someone who has had trouble controlling their inflows and outflows of money or just someone who wants to become better at saving money look no further we are here to help you out in choosing the best possible apps that can be specifically customized to your needs
In this guide, we will update you with the names and other details of some of the best budgeting Apps available for use in 2024.
Let us start off by looking at the importance of financial management and planning
What is the Importance of Financial Planning?
Everyone might have at some point in their lives been through a time when faced financial difficulties. The experience is quite eye-opening and daunting for many who have been through it for an extended period of time.
Many would find it hard to believe how effective and transformative a habit such as budgeting or financial planning can be to someone who has not put any effort into it in the first place.
Let us look at why Financial planning is important and how one can achieve financial stability in the easiest way possible.
Helps to build resistance to financial disasters
Thoughtful and adequate allocation of financial resources in anticipation of a future emergency or disaster will help a person lessen its impact.
An unexpected requirement for money can arise in any form, it could be through an emergency life-saving surgery that you will have to undergo or it could be a sudden unanticipated tax charge that one might have to pay.
To prepare for such emergencies one must always try to keep emergency funds in anticipation of any such occurrences.
To seize investment opportunities
Even though this might not sound like much of a necessity time is an important concept that has the ability to change the outcome of a lot of things in your life.
A financially stable individual is set toward a clear path to success in the financial world because they are better prepared to make use of timely opportunities.
These opportunities may present themselves to you in the form of a high-yield investment or a cash-saving offer that might be offered for a limited period to a limited number of people.
To habitual financial discipline
Financial freedom can only be achieved by attaining a form of financial discipline in your day-to-day life.
The key step that one must take to achieve financial discipline is to classify expenses into wanted and unwanted categories so that one can avoid unwanted financial strains caused by a lack of funds or options to get the required funds.
To live a better life
With the limited resources that are available to human beings for their consumption, everyone must decide on the best way to use the resources that have been allocated to them in the most efficient way.
At the end of the day, money is still something that can open up a lot of options and give you a better path to finding happiness and contentment in life.
The term Money does not buy Happiness cannot always be trusted as you yourself might have experienced the happiness that your first salary or a financial incentive gave you back when you had it for the first time. This is a testament to the importance of money in your life and the impact it can have.
Here are 10 of the highly rated and recommended apps that you can use to manage your finances in 2024
1. YNAB
You Need a Budget more commonly known by the abbreviation YNAB is a budgeting app that made it into a number of lists for being one of the most useful budget planning apps on the market.
YNAB lets its users take control of their monthly expenses and lends them a hand in learning more about budgeting and money allocation through their hands-on method used for budgeting.
The app has a rating of 4.7 on Google Play Store and has achieved a rating of 4.6 on the review website Trustpilot
These are some of the Pros and Cons of YNAB
Pros
- Easy way to track spending
- Supports multiple users
- Offers 30-day free trial
- Offers proactive budgeting tools
Cons
- High cost of subscription
- Offers no bill payment facility
- Do not offer an easy way to track investments
- Consumes a lot of time
2. Quicken Simplifi
With a score of 4.8 out of Forbers Abvisor Quicken Simplifi is one of the best financial management apps of 2024. The app offers budgeting features that let you manage all your finances in one place.
The app offers options to automate transactions and get alerts on unwanted expenses or upcoming bill payments.
These are some of the Pros and Cons of Quicken Simplifi
Pros
- Lets the user add multiple people to your budget
- Offers a 30-day money-back guarantee
- Great user interface
- Offers reports
- User-friendly mobile application
Cons
- The subscription fee varies a lot
- Does not offer a free trial
- Savings goals are not linked to live accounts
3. Empower
Empower is among the highest-rated wealth management platforms on both Google Play and Apple App Store alike. Your own dashboard on the Empower app provides you with a comprehensive financial analysis of your present conditions.
They provide special tools for budget analysis and tracking net worth along with investment advice for its eligible customers. Empower serves more than 18 million users and has been one of the most reputed and trusted applications since its launch in 2016.
The Android version of the app has a 4.1-star rating and the iOS app has an impressive rating of 4.7.
These are some of the Pros and Cons of Empower
Pros
- Does not requirement for a minimum deposit
- Offers a wide range of advisory services
- No fees on cash accounts
- Free offering of money management tolls
Cons
- No debit card or check offered
- Mainly focuses on retirement planning options
- High fees in most segments
- A high deposit is necessary to get advising services
4. CountAbout
Often seen as one of the best financial tools for single owners the app offers bookkeeping, accounting, and budgeting services to monitor your personal and business transactions all in one place.
The app has a 4.6-star overall rating. It also offers the financial statements in Quicken interchange format (QIF) which can be imported to other platforms.
Here are a few CountAbout Pros and Cons.
Pros
- Offers invoice features
- Offers a 45-day free trial option
- Allows users to import data in Quicken Interchange Format(QIF)
- Lets you auto-sync banks and credit cards
Cons
- No free plan offerings
- Bit outdated interface
- Cost extra to upload receipts and invoices
5. Honeydue
Managing a budget with your spouse is something that has to be done with much caution and clarity. Honeydue is an app that has the support of more than 20,000 financial institutions across five countries which helps you to sync up your finances and manage your bills, expenses, and budget.
Honeydue lets you create specially curated sections for each category of transactions you would like to spend money on.
This also makes it easier to split any bill or other miscellaneous financial transactions without giving chances for any form of miscommunication or misunderstanding.
The Honeydue app has a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 on the AppStore and 3.3 stars out of 5 on Google Play.
These are some of the Pros and Cons of Honeydue
Pros
- Specially designed for couples
- Has tie-ups with a large number of financial institutions.
- Offers Joint bank account with free debit card feature
- The app is free to use
Cons
- No features to ensure savings goal achievement
- Too many ads
- No tools for financial goal-setting
- Support only through online forums
6. Goodbudget
The app works by classifying your funds into different categories. It is ideal for couples, families, or even students who wish to keep a restriction on their spending habits for each purpose.
The users can create up to 20 envelopes for their preferred kinds of transactions while the paid version lets you make unlimited envelops.
The Goodbudget app has a rating of 4.7 out of 5 on the iOS app store and a 3.1-star rating on the Android store.
Here are a few of Goodbudget’s advantages and disadvantages.
Pros
- The app is offered at a low cost
- Too many similarities between the free and paid versions
- Offers Budget Bootcamp courses to teach budget creation
Cons
- No automated addition of purchases
- Only lets the user use one financial institution
7. Rocket Money
Rocket Money is a great tool for all those who wish to cut down on their monthly costs. The app is ideal for creating saving and spending goals and can give you additional tools for cutting expenses.
One of the widely sought features in Rocket Money is the Bill negotiation tool, which allows eligible users a representative who will call on their behalf to lower their bills.
These are some of the Pros and Cons of Rocket Money
Pros
- Offers Smart saving account and bill negotiation features
- Offers a free version of the app
- Affordably priced
- Credit score and net worth tracking options
Cons
- Lots of features are reserved only for premium users
- Slow account linking process
- Charges bill negotiation fee
8. PocketGuard
PocketGuard is a pocket-friendly tool and an easy-to-use interface that helps in debt payment, budget generation, bill negotiation, and setting savings goals. PocketGuard has been reviewed by Forbes Advisor and has received a score of 4.2 out of 5.
These are some of the Pros and Cons of PocketGuard
Pros
- Offers bank account linking facility
- Has features to help the user reach their savings goal
- Customizable budget creation offers
Cons
- A lot of features are limited to paid users
- Their website is not user-friendly to navigate
9. Monarch Money
All of your financial data can be synchronized and organized in one location with Monarch Money.
Even though the app is not free to use the features that it offers might just be enough to make you consider subscribing to it.
Monarch Money lets the user link all kinds of financial accounts such as Bank accounts, Loan accounts, Crypto accounts, Brokerage accounts, and other kinds of assets such as vehicles or jewelry.
Monarch Money will be a great alternative to the now-defunct Mint Money. In addition to all the features mentioned above Monarch Money also lets you add multiple login IDs and has cross-compatibility with multiple devices.
These are some of the Pros and Cons of Monarch Money
Pros
- Access to all accounts in one place
- Allows customization of widgets
- No ads or additional membership tiers
- Easy money tracking features
Cons
- Offers no free version
- No credit score tracking
- The crypto feature works only with the Coinbase exchange
10. Acorns
Acorns offers a list of features like Recurring investments, multiple banking options, and Family financial accounts among others to its users. Acorns has a rating of 4.7 on both the App Store and Google Play store.
These are some of the Pros and Cons of the Acorns app
Pros
- Offers low-cost investment portfolio options
- Easier interface to navigate through
- Has Automated savings features
- Offers educational content
- No minimum balance requirement
Cons
- High Fees
- No advisor facility
- Requires fees to access checking account
- Charges high fees to transfer funds to another broker
Also, Read: Top 15 Best Personal Finance Websites
Final Thoughts
In the current fast-moving pace of the world, anything that makes our lives a bit easier is something that we must all appreciate and integrate into our lives.
The apps that we have listed in the sections above will not only help you save more money but also give you an edge over others struggling with their finances.
