When it comes to saving for a down payment, it’s important to create a budget and stick with it. The great thing is, since we’re living in a modern world, there’s an app to help you with this. A budgeting app will help you stay on track and encourage you to hit your goals faster. If you’re working toward saving for a down payment and an excel spreadsheet is what you had in mind when planning your budget, here are four apps for you to check out!
1. Mint
Mint makes it easy to manage your money. This robust app allows you to:
- Create customized budgets
- Monitor your subscriptions
- Track your spending
- Gain insight into your finances
Best of all, Mint lets you do all of these things for free.
Add your credit cards, bills, cash, and investments to keep a close eye on your finances. Mint will even keep track of your bills’ due dates to help you avoid late fees.
You also get round-the-clock access to your credit score and alerts if something changes on your credit report, which is something to keep an eye on before applying for a mortgage.
For budgeting, tracking and reaching your financial goals, it’s hard to beat Mint. No wonder It’s the most downloaded personal finance app.
2. PocketGuard
The PocketGuard app helps you keep track of your finances with a simple, user-friendly interface. An expenses pie chart lets you see where most of your money is going, so you get the big picture and can get a better perspective on your financial situation.
PocketGuard also lets you link up your credit cards, bank accounts and investments, so you can view everything in one centralized location. This makes it easier to track your current balances and income.
In addition to all of this, PocketGuard helps you keep on top of your bills and even negotiate better rates on things like your cable or cell phone bill. Think of the money you can save to put toward a new home!
The Autosave feature allows you to set goals and tell the app how much money you want to put towards that goal.
All data is encrypted to protect your privacy, and the app is free to use.
Available on iPhone and Android.
3. Goodbudget
The Goodbudget app uses the proven envelope budgeting method (in a virtual way) to help you keep track of your finances.
Set a budget, share your budget and even sync your budget with your friends and loved ones. Set goals to save for big expenses, and pay down your debt while still saving for your dream home.
The envelop method is a budget method that’s been around for decades, and the concept is simple. You create different envelopes for different expenses and set a spending limit for each one.
For example, you may have a “groceries” envelope with a budget of $300 and a “dining out” envelope with a budget of $100. You would place $300 in cash in your groceries envelope and $100 in cash in your dining out envelope. Once you run out of money, that’s it – you have nothing left to spend.
Goodbudget follows this same concept, but instead, uses digital envelopes to help you stay on track.
Both free and paid versions of the app are available.
Download from the Play Store or App Store.
4. Honeydue
What’s the one thing couples often argue over? Finances. Honeydue is a money management app designed for couples to help them manage their money together. When everyone is one the same page with their finances, there’s less arguing and more saving.
Honeydue gives you a complete picture of your finances in a single place. View your:
- Balances
- Bills
- Budget
You can even split expenses and leave comments to make financial communication seamless.
Find it on the App Store or Play Store.