Plus, the software is compatible with Mac and Windows, and data can be shared interchangeably. Excellent customer service We provide some of the best customer support in the industry, providing free email and phone support.
Managing your money isn’t easy, so it’s no wonder that only 41% of Americans have a budget,. A budget is the most fundamental financial planning tool out there, and with one, you’ll have a better chance of reaching your short- and long-term financial goals. And if the “b word” makes you bristle, don’t worry: The best personal finance software can make it surprisingly painless.
“Online banking is a great tool to pay bills and reduce paper statements,” says Dan Crimmins, New Jersey-based financial coach at. “However, it cannot establish a budget or categorize your expenses.
A financial tracking software gives you the ability to review how you are spending your money.” Several personal finance apps and websites can help you plan and keep track of your spending. No one service is best for everyone, though, so it’s important to compare several options to find the one that works best for you. To help, we’ve put together a list of the top three personal finance software options and how they can help you achieve your goals.
Best Personal Finance Software: The Simple Dollar’s Top Picks. Mint: Comprehensive, free, and easy-to-navigate software; great for beginners. You Need a Budget: Hardcore budgeting for people who want to know where every dollar is going. Albert: Does a lot of the legwork for you and provides you with timely and actionable advice. Mint has more than, and it’s easy to see why. For starters, the software is free to use, and it automatically syncs your financial accounts so you can budget and track your spending all in one place.
Budgeting isn’t the only service Mint offers, though. You can also:. Monitor your Equifax credit score. Stay on top of your bills. Track your investment accounts. Get alerts when you’re being charged fees or going over budget.
View your home’s value (courtesy of Zillow) and track your overall net worth. For budgeters, Mint’s most valuable feature is its automatic syncing. Just sign into your bank and credit card accounts through Mint’s platform, and you’ll get updates on each account every time you make a transaction. When transactions come through, Mint will automatically categorize them based on their details. If the assigned category is wrong, you can update it and even split transactions into more than one category online or on the mobile app. Based on your spending, Mint will also create a budget for you. But as with the transactions, you can customize your budget based on your needs and spending habits.
If you want a bird’s eye view of your spending habits, Mint has a Trends feature that shows you how you’ve spent your money by category over a set period. You can also compare two periods to see how your current spending compares with spending in the past. While the service is free to use, Mint makes its money by recommending targeted financial products to its users. Depending on your tolerance for such ads, it can be frustrating to feel bombarded with the unsolicited advice. “Most free financial softwares make money by providing product recommendations or having advertisements within the software or app,” says Dominique Broadway, CEO and personal finance expert at. Mint is a great option for:.
Beginners who are overwhelmed with the idea of budgeting. Hands-off budgeters who want everything in one place. People who don’t mind the ads. You Need a Budget, or YNAB for short, is an intensive budgeting software with the goal of giving every dollar a job.
The software is also designed to help users and live off of the previous month’s income. When you first sign up, YNAB provides you with some general budgeting categories to start with, like Rent/Mortgage, Electric, Groceries, and other essential expenses. You can add or change categories based on your spending habits. As you continue setting up your budget — either online or with the mobile app — you can add individual accounts and clarify whether each is a budget account or just an account you’re tracking, such as an investment account or auto loan.
While YNAB allows you to connect your financial accounts for automatic transaction importing, it doesn’t require it, allowing you to choose how hands-on you want to be. As you use YNAB over time, you’ll have access to a few reports to help you make better financial decisions:. Spending report: This gives you a snapshot of how much you’ve spent in each category over a set period. You can also view how your spending in each category has changed over time. Income and expenses report: With this report, you’ll get a detailed breakdown of every source of income, plus exactly how much you spent in each category by month. Net worth report: You’ll not only get to see what your current net worth is but also how it’s changed over time.
This is valuable because your net worth is a good measure of your overall financial health. If you have a specific financial goal you’re working toward, you can monitor your progress using YNAB’s goal tracking feature.
Choose a target balance or a monthly funding goal, and the software will track your progress and give you some tips along the way. In addition to giving you a platform to budget, YNAB also offers free, live workshops to give you advice on budgeting, paying off debt, saving and more. Read more: The biggest drawback to YNAB is that it’s not free. When you first sign up, you’ll get a 34-day free trial. But after that, you’ll pay $83.99 per year, which comes out to about $6.99 per month. YNAB is a great option for:. Experienced budgeters who want a more hands-on approach.
People who like to analyze their spending using reports. People who don’t mind paying for budgeting software. Albert If you prefer mobile over using your computer, both Mint and YNAB have mobile apps. But with, all you get is a mobile app. Like the other software we’ve listed, Albert allows you to connect your financial accounts when you first get started. From there, though, it does most of the work for you. For starters, the app will automatically create a budget for you based on your spending, bills, and income.
You’ll also get a personalized financial plan, which can help you spot ways to save more and meet other financial goals. If it spots something out of the ordinary, you’ll get an alert. If you opt in, Albert will automatically set aside a portion of your money into a savings account each week based on what it thinks you won’t miss.
Albert even helps you negotiate your bills, which can save you money on ongoing monthly expenses like your phone, cable, security, or other bills. If you want more personalized service, you can sign up for Albert Genius, which allows you to text the app’s human financial experts and get advice. There’s a fee for this service, but Albert allows you to choose how much to pay., most customers pay $6 per month or more for the Genius service, while the minimum cost to operate it is $4 per month. Albert is a great option for:.
People who want to make better financial decisions but don’t have the time or desire to do it all alone. Budgeters who want to automate every aspect of their financial lives. People who like the idea of getting personalized advice whenever they need it. How to Pick the Best Personal Finance Software For You The best personal finance software is easy to use and helps you improve your money management.
But with so many options out there, no single app or website is best for everyone. As a result, it’s important for you to research these and other options and pick one that best serves your needs. Specifically, ask yourself how hands-on you want to be with the process and what kinds of tools and resources you’d need to make better decisions and stick with the program. If you’re new to budgeting and feel overwhelmed by the process, it may be better to pick software that does a lot of the work for you.
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On the flip side, if you’re an experienced budgeter and enjoy getting into the weeds, choose an option that gives you more control. Whatever you choose, expect to put in a bit of time at the outset to get yourself up and running. “Investing time in the initial setup is crucial to having the system work for you,” says Crimmins. After you get started, you may think your work is done. But the real challenge becomes checking in with your budget software regularly, even if the app does most of the work for you. “Once you’re all set up, make sure you actually look at the software,” Broadway explains.
“Many people will take the time to set it up and never look at it again.” Most importantly, it’s crucial to understand that while the best personal finance software can help you make better decisions, it won’t, by itself, change your habits. As you take advantage of the different tools and resources available to you, use them to help you develop better spending and savings habits — so that eventually, and sticking to a budget becomes second nature. It can take some time, but it’s time well spent. Related Articles:.
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For more information and a complete list of our advertising partners, please check out our full. TheSimpleDollar.com strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. The information in our reviews could be different from what you find when visiting a financial institution, service provider or a specific product's website. All products are presented without warranty.
Read on for our detailed analysis of each app Gone are the days of waiting for a printed bank account statement to drop through your letterbox, or making a visit to your local branch to move some money between accounts. We now have more control of our money than ever before.
But that convenience could, for some, mean disorganisation, reckless spending, borrowing and debt. Applying poor money management techniques to your personal accounts is one thing, but doing the same to your small business funds could be disastrous. And while we can't help you to be sensible – that's on you – we have selected ten personal finance software solutions that can make a difference to the way you think and act with your capital. Take your pick of these services and use them to stay on top of your money. A good overview will help you control your spending, grow your balance, and ensure you've always got enough in reserve to keep the taxman happy. If you're looking to keep your business books with a bit more detail, check out our guide to the.
Dashboard is outdated Price: $74.99 (around £57) per year Available for Windows, MacOS Probably the biggest name in personal accounting, is well-aged and feature-packed and – whisper it – starting to feel a bit out of date. So much so that parent company Intuit recently sold the rights to the software to a private equity firm in order to concentrate on its more modern properties like Mint.com and TurboTax. The latest version of Quicken released this year now includes 5GB of secure online backup with Dropbox, free Quicken Bill Pay and expanded custom reporting. At the time of writing, the company is also offering a lower price for the first year of $44.99 (around £35) instead of $74.99 (£57) for those who sign up to the Premier plan. The Premier edition is perfect for managing personal finances, business accounts and investments in one place provided you're in the US – it's not so hot for UK users, being geared more towards American finance options. It neatly links transactions between your accounts – so transferring from savings into a current account is one entry, with a 'from' and a 'to' rather than a pair – and provides various budgeting and prediction tools to help you stay on track. Click to get.
Not suitable for those outside the US Price: Free, fee-based Available for on desktop and mobile primary function is to track your investments, assets and savings, rather than specifically looking after your current accounts. Are your assets working for you?
Are you on course for a comfortable retirement? What can you do to be better off? Plug everything in and you'll be able to see the big picture of your finances. Personal Capital offers specific advice and statistics based on your goals and your current standing, but access to human financial advisors is where the company makes its money. While anyone is welcome to use its website, you can only access advisory services if you have an account minimum of $250,000 (around £190,000), and there's an annual fee (of between 0.49% and 0.89%) to pay if you want your assets managed – this is lower than most financial advice services.
UK customers will probably want to steer clear – Personal Capital is geared towards US investments like IRAs and the 401k – but for those State-side this could be the perfect way to grow your wealth. Reporting options are limited Price: Free/From $1.99 (£1.50) per month Available online An online service that's not slathered in effects and colours, does a good job of presenting your finances in a clean, professional manner. It cutely brags about the fact that it's currently helping its users manage almost two trillion dollars in funds, so it's got a solid user base behind it. You don't have to give Buxfer your exact banking details if you're uncomfortable doing so – you can opt for offline manual syncing with your bank account instead – but if you do trust it, there's a layer of high-level encryption to protect your data and the company is regularly audited. We like its budgeting tools best of all – the visual reporting is very strong, and the fact that it doesn't force you into predefined categories and instead allows you to tag expenditures however you see fit means Buxfer should fit nicely into most people's banking lives. The free version gets you five budgets, accounts and bill reminders, the Pilot version ($1.99 per month - around £1.50) adds on automatic tagging and bank syncing, the Plus version ($3.99 per month - around £3) gives you unlimited budgets, and the Pros version ($4.99 per month - around £3.80) includes online payments, advanced forecasts and more besides.
Limited features Price: $83.99 (around £64) per year Available on desktop and mobile Just in case you need to be told explicitly what to do, along comes - short for You Need A Budget. Because, hey, if you don't want to spend every single penny you have and more, you absolutely do need one. And perhaps you have more money than you thought? YNAB's primary mission, as you might expect, is to help you curb overspending and avoid living from paycheck to paycheck. Stick to the program, temper your spending appropriately, and eventually YNAB will see you spending last month's money rather than that which you've just earned.
It's quick to install, supports the majority of transaction information downloadable from banks, and appropriately configures itself for personal or small business use by changing its monetary categories depending on your needs. If you get off track, YNAB – which is reasonably forgiving and understanding for a bit of software – will tell you what you need to do to get back to where you need to be.
You'll have to make sacrifices, but if it's guidance you need, this sets itself apart from the likes of Quicken. Doesn't support account tracking Price: From $4 (around £3) per month Available on desktop and mobile There are various philosophies of budgeting. One time-honoured technique is the envelope budgeting system: splitting your funds, as they arrive, into various envelopes marked for specific purposes, never dipping into an envelope to spend cash on anything other than its designated use. You don't need savings to start budgeting this way, just willpower and, er, envelopes.
Without a whole host of bank accounts you're not going to be able to apply this technique effectively to digital money, but using is a good way to at least put a representation of your sectioned-off income in front of you. Designate an envelope for working capital or savings and you can grow your personal wealth or business funds surprisingly quickly. Anything you don't spend in an envelope stays there, giving you more to play with in your next pay cycle. There's no longer a free version of Mvelopes (although you can try it for free with a 30-day trial) but the basic plan for $4 (£3) a month should be adequate for most people, offering management of unlimited accounts and envelopes. It's intuitive to use, and there are mobile apps for Android and iOS, essential for taking a peek inside your envelopes when it comes time to pull any money out of them. Can be a bit tricky to navigate Price: £35 (around $46) Available on web, desktop or to download for Windows UK readers will be pleased to know that unlike most accounting software, this is produced by a British company – not that other apps are terrified of good old Pound Sterling or anything, but it's slightly easier to put your financial trust in home-grown software, and its support for data from UK banks is very strong. Is more than happy to support worldwide currencies, and in fact does a solid job if you're working simultaneously with more than one, offering balances in multiple currencies rather than rounding them off into a single total.
It's also good for keeping track of everything, allowing you to scan receipts with its mobile app and import them later on. It's not the prettiest software around, and it's slightly more awkward to use than many of its more refined cousins, although Banktree does produce very neat reports which you can break down by time, or by payee. It may be worth experimenting with the free trial before you choose to invest in this one. Easy to use Price: Free Available for iOS and Android This iOS/Android app doesn't try to reinvent the banking world or offer anything truly ground-breaking, but it is perhaps one of the most useful money management tools out there. Hook up every one of your UK bank and credit card accounts and you'll be able to see each of your balances in a single place with a single login. That in itself is enough for us to recommend it. But there's more – will track your spending, offering you an overall pie chart depicting your spending on loans, consumables, transport and the like.
There's an at-a-glance overall balance, showing exactly how much money you have available across all of your accounts, and you can compare this to the previous month's figure to show how well you've been managing your funds. That's a great motivator. It's super-safe, too: Money Dashboard locks down your login with an equivalent level of security to that of your bank, and it's completely read-only – your money isn't going anywhere. No Android app Price: $49.99 (roughly £38) Available for MacOS, Windows and Linux Made primarily for Mac users (but also out on Windows and Linux), is a desktop money management package with a very neat single-window interface.
Load it up and you'll get an instant view of your finances, upcoming bills, recent expenses and more. Click an item in the left hand sidebar and the main content changes to reflect it. Its reporting features are quite strong if not spectacular to look at, and one of Moneydance's most useful sections is its account register. If you're old-school and once managed a cheque book, this operates on a very similar principle. There's also an iOS app for logging transactions on the go, which later syncs with the software on your desktop. Unfortunately for UK users, Moneydance doesn't support the connection protocols used by UK banks, so you'll need to download your transaction history manually to keep on top of it and revert to your bank's own app to move money around.
US users, however, are well covered. Have to subscribe to make the most of it Price: Free Available for iOS, Android The stuffiness of money management can negatively affect some. We've certainly been in the position of not wanting to even look at a spreadsheet full of depressing numbers. Boils it all down to a series of circular pots – drag coins from your current account, and you can allocate them to all of your spending needs. We wouldn't exactly say it makes money management fun, but it's cute at least. Coinkeeper is free to download and try, although you'll need to shell out for the $1.79 (roughly £1.40) per month subscription option to really make the most of it and budget effectively.
It's brilliant for keeping track of your expenses, and don't be fooled by its frivolous looks – you'll be able to see at a glance where your money is going, and export your data in a CSV file to use in virtually any other finance app or spreadsheet. Layout can be messy initially Price: Free Available online Provided by This Is Money – an offshoot of the Daily Mail – is both a good way to keep track of the stocks and shares you own, and a great way to see if you'd make it as a market investor without risking any capital.
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Updated every few minutes, it contains info on all London-listed shares and UK-based funds, and even lets you track money put into alternative assets like wine and art. When your individual investments are set up, be they real or virtual, you'll be able to see what top brokers are saying about the stocks you've picked, get an overview of exactly where your money is allocated, and track the performance of your stocks over time. Basically everything you'd need for a play portfolio. If you're funnelling a lot of cash into shares though, you might be better off employing the services of a broker or investment manager and using this tool only for at-a-glance monitoring.