Money Management Apps & Tools To Help You Improve Your Finances
As we navigate the 2025 tax season and consider how to make better financial decisions, we can access more powerful tools than ever to help us analyze our finances, measure our successes and failures, and create better financial habits. Which money management apps and tools will you use this year? Let's explore some of the best.
Budgeting
Budgeting is one of the most important things you can do to manage your finances this year. And while pen and paper may be all you need to start budgeting, different apps and tools on your phone or computer can be a huge help.
The Ole Excel Spreadsheet
If you want to upgrade from a pen-and-paper approach, keep your budget in a spreadsheet format, whether you use Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel to create it. With rows and columns already created for you, there are many pre-loaded budgeting templates to choose from—simply allowing you to put your numbers in and away you go, you have a monthly, weekly, or annual budget.
Simplicity Is Key With Rocket Money
The Rocket Money app may be the way to go if you want something simple. It comes with a free version, which offers fairly basic budgeting tools—stand-out among them being automated transfers to your savings account. The paid-for version is between $6 and $12 a month, which unlocks features like bill negotiation and subscription tracking and cancellation.
But There Are A Few Downsides
Although Rocket Money is great for simple budgeting (and if that's all you need, then have at it!), there are a few downsides: it doesn't offer debt payoff planning functions, nor does it provide investment tools. There are also fees associated with negotiating your bills—approximately 30- 60% of the amount you save.
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
The app is called You Need A Budget, or YNAB for short. Its creator, Jesse Mecham, adopts a "Give Every Dollar A Job" approach, where you give every dollar for the month a purpose. This is also called a "zero-based budgeting strategy," where you spend all your money during the month, but every dollar goes towards something.
Key Features Of YNAB
This zero-based budgeting approach isn't new in finance, but it explains YNAB's popularity. The app costs $15/month or $109/year but offers excellent tools such as spending and net worth reports, goal tracking, bank data import, and more.
The Downsides Of YNAB
Despite only costing $109/year, YNAB is one of the most expensive budgeting apps—most are free despite their limited functionality. Another downside is that it only employs the zero-based method, which can be overwhelming because of its methodology and bountiful functionality.
The Every Dollar App
Created by finance guru and podcast/radio show host Dave Ramsey, the Every Dollar App also deploys a zero-based budgeting approach. You begin by filling in some basic finance info, like how much your take-home is at the end of every month, then assign a category to every dollar you make. Ramsey's Every Dollar App is another personal finance service from his empire that seeks to lift people out of debt and have them on the road to financial freedom.
Key Features Of The Every Dollar App
Like YNAB, Every Dollar allows you to create a monthly budget using the zero-based method, assigning a "job" to every dollar in your monthly income. The free app version allows you to track expenses manually, set up a sinking fund, and track your savings goals. The Every Dollar App also offers live support from a real human being.
Every Dollar App Premium Features
Although useful in its free state, the Every Dollar App comes to life when you sign up for its Premium version for $18/month or $80/year. With Every Dollar Premium, you can link bank accounts, automatically track your monthly expenses, and see your net worth increase in real-time. You'll also get access to personal finance experts who are on-staff at Dave Ramsey Solutions and be able to track your progress on your personal Baby Steps journey.
Cons Of The Every Dollar App
While Dave Ramsey swears against credit cards, he seems to have written that into his Every Dollar App. The app doesn't support credit cards and does share information with third parties for advertising purposes. However, the free version doesn't allow you to link your bank account, so manually entering every transaction can be extremely time-consuming. Lastly, the Every Dollar App is only available in the United States in free and premium forms.
PocketGuard
PocketGuard sounds like a financial security app, and in many ways, it is. It is perfect for those who know they spend too much and may even go into debt to cover their monthly expenses. The free version offers budgeting tools, spending reports, and expense tracking, but the paid-for version unlocks its full potential.
Perfect For Those Who Don't Track Their Spending
PocketGuard is one of the best applications for those who struggle to track their daily, weekly, or monthly spending. With the paid-for version (costing only $75/year), you can link the app to your bank accounts to automate tracking and even track your subscription expenses. The app will also track and red-flag any possible wasted funds.
Other Features Of PocketGuard
Other cool features offered by PocketGuard include suggestions the app will make for lower-cost services based on your user profile. Like YNAB, it offers bill negotiation through Billshark, a company that negotiates bill payments on your behalf while charging a one-time fee of 40% of the amount you save over two years (if successful). Under the premium version, you can create multiple budgets, set custom budget categories, and create a debt payoff plan.
Cons Of PocketGuard
While PocketGuard may be excellent for those in debt or those looking to negotiate down an extremely high credit card bill, it does have some pitfalls. For instance, some users have reported synchronization issues with their bank accounts. Not very helpful when you're trying to see whether your bill payment strategy is working. Additionally, PocketGuard doesn't offer investment tracking or track your credit score (hard to see if paying off your debts is improving your credit score).
CoPilot
Copilot is a paid-for application that tracks your spending, allows you to budget, and provides insights into any financial investments you've made using artificial intelligence. CoPilot costs you $95/year after your first one-month free trial.
CoPilot (Cont'd)
For that $95/year, you'll receive personalized data based on your linked bank account expenses. CoPilot provides expense tracking and suggests where you might save on recurring monthly payments. It breaks down your spending into different categories and provides a snapshot of what's to come in the next two weeks, giving you a fantastic overview of your finances at a glance.
CreditKarma
One of the most basic applications on our list is CreditKarma. This will be particularly useful if you're starting in finance or rebuilding your credit after bankruptcy. CreditKarma provides at-a-glance access to your credit score (FICO score) and provides you with planning functionality to help you increase your credit score and get out of debt.
Downsides To CreditKarma
Although CreditKarma is a free app, users have reported that it inundated them with financial product recommendations and provides limited information about various credit card transactions. Additionally, the FTC has fined CreditKarma for falsely advertising "pre-approved" credit offers.
Empower
The Empower app from Empower (a financial services company founded in 1891) is a financial management application that offers free budgeting and financial tools designed for the novice and the professional. It's also attractive for investors, offering self-directed or professionally managed investment options. It's free at the point of sale, but there are fees associated with the investment management services.
Cons Of Using Empower
If you aren't feeling empowered (sorry), there are some things you should be aware of when using Empower. Some users have reported poor synchronization with their bank accounts and a lack of support for more day-to-day banking functions. Regarding Empower's investment management, the minimum investment amount is extraordinarily high: $100,000.
One Of The Most Detailed Budget Apps: Quicken Simplifi
Quicken Simplifi is one of the cheapest applications at $47.88 annually. You'll start by creating a Quicken Simplifi account before linking your financial institutions, credit cards, and more. The more information you enter, the more accurate your net worth will be. It also allows you to monitor, manage, and categorize all transactions through your various bank accounts.
Features Of Quicken Simplifi
Quicken Simplifi also offers customizable categories, a spending plan, investment tracking, and an AI-generated projected cash flow analysis that monitors spending patterns. For just $50/year, it's a great option that provides an all-in-one platform without requiring you to "upgrade" for more features, like many other financial planning apps.
Cons Of Quicken Simplifi
Despite Quicken Simplifi's all-in-one, inclusive approach, it has its downsides. If you're more interested in credit scores, credit card management, and debt management, you may be disappointed with its offerings. Its overall approach may also not be suitable for those who want to micromanage their money or pay their bills from the app, as this is not a feature it provides. It's also not free, although inexpensive.
Monarch Money
Monarch Money is a fantastic option for families and couples who want to manage their collective finances better. It's perfect if you're starting a family or are cohabitating with a significant other. You can also add your financial advisors as collaborators on the app for free. You can set individual and collective financial goals, track expenses, and use graphs and charts to visualize your money-making (and spending) habits.
Cons Of Monarch Money
One of the most frustrating cons to Monarch Money is its cost: $99/year. While not exorbitant, that's pretty pricey for an app designed to help people save money. You also can't use Monarch Money like a bank: no bill payments or money transfers between accounts are permitted. Admittedly, it has limited features that may not be suitable for those with more complex financial needs—and you won't be able to track your credit score with the app, either.
Origin
Origin is one of the most comprehensive money management apps out there. Integrating things like estate planning, tax filing, and investment management into a single interface eliminates the need for multiple applications. Additionally, Origin provides standard budgeting tools, too.
Cons Of Origin
While many finance gurus may recommend Origin, its one major drawback is that it isn't free—at a cost of $113 per year, Origin's price may be too high for some. Additionally, their budgeting app is a universal budget, which limits your ability to make changes to previous months at the year's end. Furthermore, seeing information in your 401(k) account may be limited, compared to the information Origin displays on your other accounts.
Why Switch To An App?
If you've been doing your budgeting and money management with a simple Excel/Google Sheets spreadsheet, or even a pen and paper all this time, why would you want to switch to an app? That's a good question.
Convenience Is Key
The biggest pros of using applications or financial planning software is convenience. It holds all (or most) of your finances month-to-month in one place that's easily accessible. No more rummaging around trying to find your month's expenses from June of last year. Additionally, you can integrate receipt tracking apps to keep track of your expenses.
Alerts Related To Bills & Spending Tracking
Tracking your spending using a spreadsheet like Excel or Google Sheets can become very cumbersome and often inaccurate. It becomes impossible to keep track of everything. But with the power of technology, whatever app you choose can do that for you. Many also provide alerts to your phone when your bills are paid.
Collaboration & Visualization
If you're not a great money manager, then many financial planning applications offer the ability to add a collaborator. This could be your spouse, a trusted friend or your financial planner. Most apps also offer graphs and charts to give you a visual representation of where your money has gone—great for those who don't do well with numbers.
Easier To Meet Financial Goals
With financial planning apps, especially those that integrate with your bank accounts to provide automatic deposits, it can become easier to meet your financial goals. Whether that's saving for retirement (many finance apps offer the ability to automatically deposit money from every paycheck into your retirement accounts), or simply creating an emergency fund, financial planning and budgeting apps automate this process, meaning you don't have to think about it as much.
A Last Hurrah For The Old Pen & Paper/Excel Spreadsheet Approach
Of course, your ability to use financial applications very much depends on your comfort level with technology and sharing your personal banking information across various banking platforms. We get if that's not you and we're here to cheer you on, too. There are many advantages to the simple approach of an Excel spreadsheet or pen and paper budget. If you have the time to jot down your expenses and prefer to keep your budget in the cloud (via Microsoft 365 or Google Sheets), that's great. Do what works for you.
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