Budget Tools Budget Tools

BUDGETING TOOLS

With years of testing, here are my favorite products and tools for budgeting.

These are my favorite resources.  I only share what I have personally used and recommend.  Some {but not all} of these links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you purchase {at no cost to you}.  This helps me to continue to provide as much free content as possible!

BUDGETING APPS

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EMPOWER
Completely free.  This is great for tracking your wealth.  You can link to your bank, credit card, and investment accounts.  It will track your transactions and categorize them for you.  You can see where your money is going and compare to previous months' spending, bug it is NOT good for traditional budgeting. It is great for seeing your wealth in one spot.

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SIMPLIFI BY QUICKEN
A simple and affordable budgeting app. You can link bank and credit card accounts. It will automatically categorize for you and has some customization options.  It also has visual charts for your spending.  It includes a rollover feature.  It's simple with some automation allowed.  They offer a 30 day money back option if you aren't satisfied.
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MONARCH MONEY
A more complex budgeting option.  It links to your accounts.  It lets you budget, track your net worth, and recurrring bills.  You can create complex rules for major customization.  It takes a little more time up front, but provides a lot of automation in the long run.  I'm not an affiliate, but with this link you get a 30 day free trial.
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TILLER 
This is great for spreadsheet lovers. You can link your bank and credit cards so your transactions are imported for you.  They provide a template you can customize, your you can create your own.  You can create rules for customizing your transactions. Works with Google Sheets or Excel.  Spreadsheet experience is required. 
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EVERYDOLLAR
The simplest budgeting app and easiest for getting started.  Offers a very basic free version.  With the premium version you can link bank accounts (but no American Express cards).  It does not automatically categorize for you.  I am not affiliate, but it's good for those getting started and want to keep it very simple.

HIGH YIELD SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

ALLY SAVINGS
Offers competitive interest rates. Lets you set up buckets to visually separate your money within your account.  Has lots of automatic transfer features.  Money transferred out arrives faster than most other accounts.  Great customer service via phone, chat, or email.

SOFI CHECKING AND SAVINGS
Extremely high interest rates if you set up direct deposit.  You can create vaults to visually separate the money in your savings.  There are some automatic transfer options for money into your vaults.  Comes with a checking account in addition to the savings account.

WEALTHFRONT
Some of the highest interest rates available.  You can create multiple categories to visually separate your money.  There are no automatic transfers into categories. Money transfers out very fast.  Individual accounts have some checking options.

MARCUS BY GOLDMAN SACHS
Competitive interest rates.  A very simple savings account with no extra bells and whistles.  Great for money you want to set aside and don't plan to access very often.  Usually offers a higher interest rate as a sign on bonus. Takes a few days to access money you transfer out.

ONLINE BANKS

SOFI
Offers a lot of products without being overwhelming.  I'm a fan of their checking, savings, credit card and investing options.  They also offer SoFi Relay which will track your net worth and spending.

CHIME
Great for getting started.  Lets you deposit cash for free.  Has more free ATM's than most banks.  Offers a secure credit card if you want to build your credit.  Must set up direct deposit for some of the features.

CAPITAL ONE
So many great products in one spot. It's very easy to use and transfer money between your accounts.  I've personally used their online checking, savings, teen money account, as well as credit card.

ALLY
Great customer service.  Very easy to use.  I love their checking and savings accounts, but they offer a lot of additional products, including investing.  It's easy to transfer money between accounts.

INVESTING APPS

SOFI
Offers both active and automatic investing. Very easy to use (especially if you already have a SoFi account). You can invest money automatically via recurring deposits, one-time transfers, or transfer points you have earned to investments.  $1 to get started.

ACCORNS
You can link credit and debit cards and invest the round up from every purchase.  You can also do 1-time or recurring deposits. No investing knowledge is needed. Monthly fee starts at $3/month.    Easiest app for getting started.

WEALTHFRONT
Offers automated investing with tax loss harvesting.  Investing fee of .25%. You can invest for retirement, college, and everything else.  There is a minimum requirement of $500 to get started investing.

BETTERMENT
Fee of $4 per month or .25% annually. You can upgrade to a .65% fee and get guidance from a CFP.  Offer tax saving tools and automatic rebalancing.  Minimum of $10 needed to get started investing.

MONEY SAVING APPS

RAKUTEN
Great for earning cash back for online shopping.  Shop through their app on your phone or with 1 click using the browser extension. Always offers a great sign on bonus to new users.

IBOTTA
Great for cash back on groceries. Also works with online shopping {but I prefer Rakuten for that}. You can also link to loyalty accounts so you don't have to upload receipts.

FETCH
Easiest cash back ever.  Simply snap a photo of your receipt after you shop and earn points. You can also link your Amazon/Email for receipts. The earnings are slow, but so easy.

CREDIT CARDS

CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED
Great card for travel.  Earn extra points when booking travel.  They currently offer a huge sign-on bonus of 60,000 points (=$750).  Can also redeem it as cash to any account or gift cards if you prefer.

CHIME
Great for building your credit.  It is a secured credit card.  You transfer money onto the card and can then use it for shopping.  It reports to credit bureaus so it can help you build your credit.

WELLS FARGO ACTIVE CASH
Great for cash back.  They offer a flat rate of 2% cash back with lots of ways to redeem that cash.  I don't actually use this card, but it will be the next one I get.

HOUSEHOLD STUFF

TRUST & WILL
You can create your customized will (or trust) for a flat rate.  You can pay extra to get help from a lawyer for your trust.  So much more affordable than hiring a local attorney.

ZANDER INSURANCE
Great for life insurance.  You enter in your info and they shop around to find the best insurance provider for you. We've used this two different times.  Endorsed by Dave Ramsey.

AIRBNB
Whenever we take a family trip we save so much money staying with AIRBNB rather than in hotels.  We save so much by being able to cook our own food and wash our clothes.

MINT MOBILE
Save lots of money on your cell phone bill.  I'm a partner - use my affiliate link to get any plan for $15/month for the first 3 months. Uses T-Mobile network.  Bring your own phone or buy theirs.