Try Out These 5 Great Budget Apps

Try Out These 5 Great Budget Apps Try Out These 5 Great Budget Apps Try Out These 5 Great Budget AppsHave you heard the big news? We here at the OppLoans Financial Sense Blog recently released an app directory to help you find the financial tools that will be a perfect match for your specific needs.The different app pages are split into categories. We’ll be adding more categories soon, but right now there are four: Budgeting, Money Transfer, Rewards, and Savings. We’ll be taking you through the categories one blog post at time. Today we’ll be giving you a whirlwind tour of the Budgeting apps.Apps in the Budgeting category help you track how you’re spending your money. Some of these apps track the spending automatically, while others have you input your purchases manually. Which app you choose to try out just depends on your preferences, but given that most of them have at least a free option, you might as well try them all out so you can find your favorite.Here’s some info on the current Budgeting category options.Money LoverMoney Lover (@m oneyloverapp) is a very popular budget app that allows you to manually but quickly input your transactions across multiple platforms. Then the app will create clean, pretty charts to show you where your money has been going.The app uses ads, but you can pay a small fee to have them removed. We spoke to To Thanh Cong, head of business development, to find out how Money Lover got started:“Huy, the founder, created the app by himself when he was in university and used it for his own personal needs. When Money Lover went live on the Google Play Store, he was shocked to find that a lot of people were downloading it and leaving positive feedback. In the next three years, he assembled a team of 15 people to work on Money Lover full-time.“Now, Money Lover is offering native applications on Android, iOS, Windows and the Web, which helps users access it anytime and from any device.”You can read more of his description, as well as other details about the app, on our app page for Money Lo ver.You Need a BudgetDo you want to train yourself to be a better budgeter? Well You Need A Budget (@ynab) may be what you… need. It follows four rules to teach you how to manage your budget better.The first rule is that every dollar should have a “job.” This means that as soon as you get paid, you pre-assign a certain portion of that money to saving, food, etc.For the next rule, you have to “embrace your true expense.” That requires looking ahead at the big expenses you realize you might have in the coming months and putting money aside for those instead of spending it on things you don’t need right now.Rule three is “rolling with the punches,” so you can be prepared to adjust whenever a surprise requires it.The final step is to “let your money age” so you don’t spend it too quickly. If you wait two months to spend any specific dollar, you’ll always have money set aside.You Need a Budget does cost $50 per year, but if it really helps you, you’ll be saving money in the end. Find out more here.GoodbudgetHave you heard of the envelope budgeting system? It’s what Goodbudget (@goodbudget) is based on. You have different “envelopes” for your expenses, and you fill up each necessary envelope every time you get paid. That way you’ll make sure all your essentials (and some savings) are handled each month.As far as cost, there are free options, but you can pay more if you’d like more “envelopes” to manage. Check it out.MintMint (@Mint) has been a budget app standard for a while now, and it’s understandable why. It connects directly to your bank account and automatically tracks your spending, then puts it all together in a nice chart so you can see exactly where all your money has been going.We interviewed Kevin Kirn, head of product for Mint, to tell us some of the benefits Mint can offer:“From sticky notes to spreadsheets, calendar reminders, and online banking, there’s no one way to manage finances. And while few people e njoy managing their money, it’s something everyone needs to do. So, whether people start by creating a budget or paying bills, Mint makes it easy to connect with more than 20,000 financial institutions across North America to see everything all in one place. No more toggling from the cable bill to your expense spreadsheet and back to your bank, it’s right there via the Web and mobile â€" whichever experience makes the most sense.And when it comes time to save for life’s moments â€" big and small â€" Mint provides insights to make those goals a reality with customized alerts and reminders to keep your spending on track each month and throughout the year.”See the rest of the interview here.  EverydollarEverydollar (@EveryDollar) has both free and premium plans. It makes the process of starting up your budget quick and easy, so if you want to start budgeting as soon as possible and don’t need that many extra features, find out more and try it right here.That’s just a taste of the useful financial tools you’ll find in the app directory. Keep an eye out as we continue adding all the apps you could ever ask for!ContributorsTo Tanh Cong  (@moneyloverapp)  is the Chief Operating Officer at Money Lover.Kevin Kirn  (@Mint) is the Head of Product for Mint, the leading personal finance app from Intuit Inc. Kevin is responsible for product management for Mint including web, mobile, platform and bill pay. Kevin’s passion for helping consumers and small businesses improve their financial lives brought him to intuit six years ago. Kevin joined Mint in early 2016 after five years leading the reinvention of QuickBooks Online, Intuit’s flagship small business product. Prior to Intuit, Kevin held several product leadership roles at Microsoft, financed startups with a venture capital firm and advised business leaders with McKinsey.