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Using Budgeting Apps and Free Budgeting Tools to Create a Budget You Can Stick To

Budgeting is something that everyone knows they should be doing, but we all know that most of us just don’t.

So, Why Don’t We Budget More?

Well, the bottom line is this: budgeting is boring. Who wants to sit down and go through their bank statements to allocate spending on a regular basis? Who wants to spend their valuable time adding up all their expenses and subtracting that from their income to see what they have leftover on a daily or weekly basis?

The bottom line is that, for most of us, budgeting is daunting work. It’s a process that very few people enjoy, and since we don’t like it, we tend not to do it.

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But What If You Could Use Free Budgeting Apps and Tools to Make Budgeting Fun?

These days, just about everyone has a smartphone, tablet, laptop or some other form of mobile device. Why do we have these things? Because they’re fun to have. They also come with a large array of apps.

One really cool thing about apps is that there seems to be an app for just about everything these days, including budgeting.

Budgeting Apps and Tools Simplify Your Budgeting and Money Management Tasks

They Let You Easily Track Spending Habits: Let’s face it; the most grueling part of budgeting is that, on a regular basis, you’ve got to spend time reviewing and managing your costs and expenses, but this task can take hours to accomplish.

There are tons of free budgeting apps (compatible with iPhone, Android, Mac, etc.) that connect directly to your checking and credit card accounts. So, now, the tasks of managing your expenses and costs have been reduced to just logging into your favorite money management app.

They Warn You When You’re Spending Too Much: Just about everyone who has a checking account has paid overdraft fees at one point or another. The sad part is that we all know that overdraft fees are avoidable.

These days, budget apps make it much easier to avoid overdraft fees. All you need to do is set up alerts on your favorite money management app. Once you do this, you’ll receive an email and/or text message that lets you know that your account is in danger of going into overdraft.

They Allow You to Make Smarter Decisions While Paying Off Debt: When it comes to paying off debt, we know that when we have extra money, we should allocate a percentage of that money to pay off the principal on our debts.

However, it can be hard to decide which debt should be paid down the fastest. Money management apps can help with the entire process.

When it comes to deciding how much extra in funds you can afford to allocate comfortably to debts, budgeting apps will calculate how much money you have left after all of your general expenses.

From there, all you need to do is decide what percentage goes into savings, what percentage pays down debts, and what percentage goes into your “money to use” pool.

When it comes to figuring out which debts should be prioritized for reduction, some apps will easily outline high priority or high interest rate debts.

The Top Free Money Management App: Mint

We searched through a wide range of money management apps and selected Mint as the top free money management and budgeting app.

Mint is like an all-in-one financial notebook that allows you to track everything in one place.

You’re able to track your spending accounts, create alerts, figure out spending trends, track savings, track investments, track debts, and much more.

Although it does take a little bit of work to get used to the system, it is well worth it. This app turns money management into a “once-a-week,” 5-minute process.

How Can These Money Management Budget Apps Be Free?

Although they are free, the company providing such apps and tools still makes money. In most cases, free apps and budget platforms are funded through advertisements.

For instance, on a credit improvement app, you might be offered a specific secured credit card based on your profile.

Because the app offered it to you, chances are, if you apply for it, the app owner will be paid.

That doesn’t mean that you need to apply for offers though. However, most money management apps only show you offers that will have positive impacts on your overall financial stability.

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Final Thoughts

We know that money management tasks, like budgeting, can be boring. However, it’s important to remember that not taking the time to do these things can lead to a world of financial trouble.

The good news is, in recent years, more and more money management tools and budget apps have become available. These apps make the process of budgeting and other money management tasks a fast, and, often times, fun thing to do.

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