During our series of articles on budgeting, a lot has been said about the importance of budgeting to your personal finance and the ultimate goal of financial freedoms.

The internet has provided different tools to help you create a budget that will not fail you. These tools range from mobile apps to different websites and even softwares.

However, some of the tools are not free, so you might reluctant to pay for such tools. Well the good news is that there are still some tools that are free and can be used to create a budget. We will examine some of them in this article.

• What are the Best Budgeting Tools?
• What is the Best Home Budgeting Software?
• Can you Trust Budgeting Apps?
• What Should you Include in a Budget?

What are the Best Budgeting Tools?

There are plenty of online budget tools available to help you manage your money and many of them are free! Spending less than you make is the most important habit to develop if your goal is financial freedom.

Read Also: The Best Apps you can use for Budgeting

Below, we’ll take a look at 9 online tools you can use to help gain control of your money. So let’s get to it.

1. Personal Capital

Personal Capital is an online tool you can use to track everything from budgets to credit cards to investments. We recommend this tool if you have 401(k), IRA or other investments to track.

It has a great looking interface; it’s easy to link your accounts, and it gives you some great insight into how you spend your money and how your investments are performing.

Personal Capital is excellent if you need an all-in-one financial dashboard. Since it tracks investments along with budgets, it’s a good option for getting a handle on all your finances.

However, it’s strength is definitely investment tracking over budgeting. You can customize and track your budget, of course. But if you want a more budget-focused tool, check out the next tool on the list.

2. Pocketsmith

Pocketsmith is cloud-based, making accessibility easy. Connect your bank accounts, investment accounts, loans and credit cards to get a big picture look at your finances including your net worth.

Some stand-out features include forecasting your money by running “what-if” scenarios to project your future balances. You can also create budgets and set-up alerts to let you know if your accounts are running low on funds.

While you can’t pay your bills with PocketSmith, you can schedule due dates in the app’s calendar to help you avoid late payment fees.

There are a couple of different price options including a free version so you can take this app for a spin and see if it’ll work for you. Right now Dough Roller readers can get a Premium monthly subscription for 50% off the first two months.

3. Mint

Mint is one of the first online budgeting tools to automatically download transactions from various sources. It sets up a secure connection to your checking account, credit cards, and other spending sources.

Then it pulls in your transactions automatically so that you can categorize and tag them according to your budget.

With Mint, you get a nice graphical interface. This is great when you’re the detailed money-manager in your family, but you just need to show your less-detailed spouse a snapshot of that month’s family spending.

You can create any number of budget categories with Mint, and you can change the budget amounts from month to month. You can also set goals for saving or for paying off debt.

Mint also lets you do some basic investment tracking. But it’s the opposite of Personal Capital. Where the first is more focused on investments with budgeting thrown in, Mint is more focused on budgeting with only a limited amount of investment features.

Personal Capital and Mint are the two giants in this area, especially when it comes to free budgeting tools. But there are definitely some other platforms worth looking into. Below are some options to consider.

4. PocketGuard

This app-based option is great if one of your issues is knowing what money you have left to spend. It lets you put your bills and savings goals into the app. Then it tracks your spending automatically.

At any point, you can see what’s “in your pocket.” This is the money you have left over after you’ve paid your bills and put money into savings. That way, you can spend wisely and confidently.

PocketGuard is also great if you don’t want to deal with making your budget. You put in your bills, and it analyzes your spending and savings goals to create a personalized budget for you.

You can, of course, make changes to it. But it’s a good place to begin. It will also give you ways you can save, including negotiating on your bills, moving money to high-interest savings accounts, and more.

For a mobile-first approach that makes budgeting simpler, PocketGuard is a great option.

5. Buxfer

This online and app-based option lets you set spending limits in a unique way–weekly, monthly, or yearly. So you might set up monthly limits for grocery spending, weekly limits for eating out, and annual limits for gifts or big-ticket home renovation items.

The system can auto-tag transactions as they come and then send you mobile alerts when you exceed a particular budget. It can also remind you about upcoming bills.

Like Mint, Buxfer is budget-first, but also pulls in information about your investments. It also generates some nice-looking reports that help you get a feel for your spending and savings activity over time. And the best part is that it’s free.

6. Budget Tracker

This free budget tool is a bit more old-school in style. But it does help you schedule out your income and expenses, and its goal is to help you become and stay debt-free. 

Budget Tracker includes a number of interesting calculators, which can help you crunch numbers and set financial goals.

Budget Tracker is also interesting if you want to help your kids learn to budget. You can give them their own section within your larger family budget to manage their accounts and budgets.

You can show them how to add their expenses to their budget when they spend money so they understand how budgeting works. You can track multiple kids’ budgets separately, as well, and each category in the kids’ budget has pictures so they can connect with the categories more easily.

7. BudgetPulse

If you’re concerned about the security of integrating your budgeting software with your credit card and checking account, BudgetPulse may be for you.

With this software, you get an easy to use interface but have to manually enter your transactions. That can take extra time, but also can make you feel more secure if you’re suspicious of even bank-level encryption.

8. MoneyStrands

This is another app-based financial management software. But it’s interesting in that it lets you see your spending and income in a calendar-based view.

And you can see your spending in broad categories over the whole course of a year. 

MoneyStrands lets you keep track of your cash flow, as well, so you can spot potential trouble spots of low cash reserves before they happen and be prepared.

MoneyStrands also lets you set savings goals and budgets. And it will give you an okay to spend amount so that you know when and how much money you can spend without potentially breaking your budget or overdrawing your account because of a bill you forgot about.

9. PearBudget

This budgeting tool is great for people who are new to budgeting or just overwhelmed by it all. The spreadsheet-based budget lets you customize all of your category names.

It uses the “envelopes” system of budgeting. When you run out of money in a category, you just stop spending. And it’s got an interface that’s really easy to understand.

PearBudget costs just $4.95 per month, and it claims to let you keep your budget up to date in just 20 minutes of work a week.

If you prefer spreadsheets over online software, there are several free budget templates available from Microsoft and Google Sheets.

A quick Google search of budgeting templates for your preferred interface will turn up tons that you can use to keep your budget in shape over time.

With all these free and low-cost budgeting tools available, there’s no reason not to be tracking your income and spending, setting savings goals, and even keeping tabs on your investments from your computer or phone.

What is the Best Home Budgeting Software?

Choosing the best personal finance software depends on your current financial needs.

Some personal finance software can help you master budgeting and expense tracking, while others can help with investment portfolio management. Of course, your budget for personal finance software matters, too.

Our list of the best personal finance software includes free and paid options to suit a variety of financial goals. So take a look and get your finances in order in no time.

1. Quicken

Having been around for several decades, Quicken is one of the most established personal finance software on the market.

You can use the software to manage various aspects of your financial life from budget creation to debt tracking, savings goals, and even investment coaching.

The software features Excel exporting, which allows you to manipulate and perform additional calculations on your data. One of the more advanced features includes bill paying, which allows you to set up payments for your bills right from the software.

You can even use it to track the value of your assets to have an accurate calculation of your total net worth.

The app is robust enough to manage both your personal and business expenses and even handles property management functions like rental payments from tenants. The software starts at $34.99 and is available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android.

2. Mint

Mint is one of the most popular budgeting and expense tracking tools. You can have the software pull in your bank and credit card information to analyze your spending and pinpoint areas where you can cut back to improve your finances.

For more accountability, Mint allows you to set up alerts for things like due dates and low balances to keep you on track.

These features help you avoid expensive fees on late payments and overdrafts from your bank account.

If you’ve set up budget categories, Mint will give you real-time information about the amount you can spend on things like food and gas. Mint is free to download and use on iOS and Android devices, as well as desktop.

3. YNAB

You Need a Budget, or YNAB, is a personal finance software that’s aimed to help you improve your financial literacy as you manage your monthly budget.

As you create your budget and manage your daily finances, the software provides you with tutorials that will help you tackle some of the tougher financial topics.

If you’ve been struggling with bad financial habits, YNAB can help you break those through a few basic financial management rules.

The software automatically links to your bank account, integrating your spending information for analysis and budgeting tracking.

You can keep tabs on how you’re tracking toward your monthly budget and take action if you’re overspending. It doesn’t include any investment tracking capabilities.

YNAB offers a 34-day free trial that allows you to use the software while you decide whether it’s right for your personal finance goals. The full software is $11.99 per month or $84 a year.

4. Mvelopes

The traditional envelope budgeting system helps you stick to a budget by using envelopes to manage your money. Once you’ve broken down your budget, you put that amount of cash into different envelopes.

So, if you budget $100 for gas for the week, you place that amount in a “gas” envelope. Once you’ve spent that $100, that’s it.

Mvelopes takes this same approach to budgeting, except that it’s done digitally on your phone and computer rather than with physical cash.

Choose the financial goals that are most important to you, then add your bank accounts and set your income. Mvelopes will help you create a budget and set up your “envelopes.”

The software tracks your spending and shows you what you’ve spent from each envelope to keep you on budget throughout the month.

The basic version starts at $6 per month, or $55 a year, with the higher-priced options providing additional features and coaching options. You can try Mvelopes free for 30 days_, too, before deciding which plan is right for you.

5. TurboTax

You may not necessarily need TurboTax to manage your finances throughout the entire year, but when it’s tax time, the software can come in handy.

While it’s one of the pricier tax preparation tools, it’s also consumer-friendly, walking you through your tax preparation to help you accurately file your tax return.

Entering your tax information is fairly simple—you can import your W-2 information from your employer or take a picture of it and the software will transfer the information into the form.

If you’ve used TurboTax in previous years, the software will remember much about your personal information and ask whether there have been any major changes.

The most basic version lets you file your federal and state return for free if all you use is form 1040 with no attached schedules.

On the higher end, TurboTax Live connects you with a CPA or Enrolled Agent to give you personalized advice and answer questions about your tax return.

Paid versions of TurboTax include a feature to help you uncover deductions you may not have known were available to you. While you can use TurboTax on the web, you can also download the software to your device for added security.

6. FutureAdvisor

If you’re a DIY investor looking for low-cost access to a financial advisor, FutureAdvisor is a great option.

The investment software provides personalized recommendations to help you diversify your portfolio, which you can follow or not follow as you see fit. You’re eligible to sign up for the software if you have at least $5,000 in investable assets.

FutureAdvisor manages the assets you transfer into the account for a flat annual fee of 0.5% of the managed assets, billed quarterly at 0.125%. 

When you transfer your assets into the account, FutureAdvisor works to consolidate them into accounts with its partners, Fidelity or TD Ameritrade.

7. Personal Capital

Personal Capital allows you to manage all your financial accounts in a single platform. You can include your bank accounts, mortgage, and other credit accounts, plus your investment accounts, to have your complete financial picture right in front of you.

If you have multiple accounts—as most of us do these days—using Personal Capital can save you from having to switch between multiple screens to understand where you stand.

If you have a portfolio of more than $100,000, you can get personalized financial advice based on your goals. While you’re charged a fee for this service, the financial advisors are obligated to provide you with advice that works in your best interest.

Use the software to tell whether you’re on track with your retirement and other investment goals.

Even if you’re not quite ready to take advantage of the financial advisor, you can use Personal Capital to track your finances and investments in one place. The core software is free, but there may be fees for additional features.

8. Tiller Money

Tiller Money lets you see all your money in one place by automatically updating your checking, credit card, loan, investment, and other account data into a customizable Google Sheet or Excel template.

Tiller Money lets you choose from templates that organize your data for you or you can customize your spreadsheet to suit your needs. It’ll also send you daily emails with a summary of your recent transactions and balances.

The service costs $79 per year or $6.59 per month, but you can take advantage of the 30-day free trial to decide whether it’s right for you.

Can you Trust Budgeting Apps?

Some users might not be able to trust these budgeting apps because some of them require users to hand over sensitive information such as credit card and bank account numbers, then allow the apps access to that information.

However, the key to using a budget app safely: Follow good tech hygiene rules and use your brain.

Here are seven app-safety guidelines from Becky House, education director at American Financial Solutions, a nonprofit financial counseling agency in Seattle.

1. Use the apps as your comfort level permits. Apps can track spending and saving by aggregating information from all accounts, “but there are a lot of people who are not comfortable connecting accounts [and] having all their eggs in one basket,” House says.

2. Protect yourself with a password. Budget app sites encrypt passwords, so even if a hacker were to break in, he’d have to decrypt passwords first. Someone who grabbed your iPhone off a table at Starbucks, though — that’s another story, particularly if your phone isn’t password-protected.

The lesson: Password-protect your smartphone and set up the password function so you have to log in every time you use the phone.

3. Use complicated passwords. It’s old advice and worth repeating: For the phone and for the apps themselves, don’t use your birthday, address or other easily guessable digits as passwords. “Make sure it’s complicated,” House says.

4. Do not agree to auto-logins when you access a site. You know that window that pops up and asks, “Remember this password?” with the choice to answer “Yes,” “Not now,” or “Never for this site?” “Never” is always the right choice, House says.

5. Use anti-virus software on your phone. It’s something people should do, but don’t: “I feel I harp on this a lot,” House says. Norton, which makes anti-virus software for computers, has a smartphone version available at us.norton.com.

6. Pay attention. Budget apps alert users to activity on their bank accounts and credit card statements; if you see unusual activity, check it out and report it. That is crucial, as zero-liability and FCBA protections do hinge on timely reporting of fraudulent behavior.

7. Be discreet in public. Don’t play with your budget app when you’re using public Wi-Fi at a coffee shop or at the airport; those airwaves are public and susceptible to breaches.

If you must log on, say to check out an account activity report, use cellular data if possible and remember to log off as soon as you’re finished. Also be aware of who’s around you; someone at the next table might have a full view of your screen.

Budget apps can do lots to help users gain financial wisdom; the rewards of using them outweigh the risk. Users — by being smart and careful — can do much to reduce that risk.

What Should you Include in a Budget?

For many people, having more money seriously adds to their freedom — and budgeting is a great way of giving yourself as much financial freedom as possible in the future, as well as improving your financial situation in the present.

You’ve probably practiced budgeting for groceries, rent and other housing costs using budgeting formulas, such as the 50/20/30 budgeting rule, which splits your finances into three main categories:

• Essentials: 50% of your income
• Savings: 20% of your income
• Wants: 30% of your income

Here are 20 common things to include in a budget:

Some of these 20 budget items might not apply to you, but they are all things that are frequently overlooked by those who are budgeting.

1. Rent

The first and biggest fixed expense to consider is your rent or mortgage payment. It’s such a big item, it might even be easy to forget!

But be sure that you are allocating a portion of your monthly income to paying rent and other associated living expenses, like water, electricity, and heating or air conditioning. 

2. Food and Groceries

Food can be a pretty big expense if you don’t budget wisely. If you’ve moved out and have a new job, you might get carried away going to new restaurants and ordering appetizers, dinner, and drinks on a regular basis.

Don’t fall into this temptation; instead, add food costs to your budget, and set aside a fixed amount for eating out. The majority of your budget should be put toward groceries, which will save you money long-term.

3. Daily Incidentals

It might not seem like you’re spending a lot of money on your daily latte from your favorite cafe, or a drink after work. But these costs can add up substantially over the course of a year. You should try and total these costs and include them in your budget.

4. Irregular Expenses and Emergency Fund

It’s difficult to budget for one-off expenses because you won’t know about them in advance, but you should always have some money set aside for them.

If you learn about an impending expense (like a wedding) you won’t be caught off guard. Irregular expenses can sometimes shred your monthly budget, so try and set aside money for them even if it’s only a one-time thing.

5. Household Maintenance

Household maintenance is an inevitable living expense. If you hire cleaners to clean your apartment once a month, or take your car to the carwash, be sure to include these costs in your budget.

Household cleaners, repairs or replacement for damaged appliances, and furniture cleaning can all be expensive as well, and you should remember to budget for these.

6. Work Wardrobe and Upkeep

Does your workplace require that you wear a suit and nice shoes? Then budget for the cost of replacement items as they wear out and also budget for the cost of dry cleaning and shoe repair. A solid work wardrobe may essential if you’re going to continue making a good income.

7. Subscriptions & Data

Subscriptions to music services, streaming services, and online publications are frequently overlooked in household budgets, so be sure to include them if you have them. Remember that you should also budget your phone and data usage to make sure your plan isn’t too expensive for your means.

8. Guests

Do you have family or friends that visit you each summer or for the holidays? If so, then you’re probably going to spend extra money on groceries, laundry, and transportation when they visit, not to mention your “showing friends around town” expenses.

The best way to account for this budget item is to put a small amount of money away each month, even during the months where you’re not going to have any visitors.

9. Travel Expenses

The opposite of the last item, you’ll want to budget your trip whenever you travel out of town to visit family or friends. How much you choose to budget for depends on how you’ll be traveling, where, and how far.

Figure out where you’ll be traveling and determine what the gasoline/train/flight costs will be, and also be sure to budget for lodgings and food.

Vacationing is a whole different story. Typically, long vacations require their own distinct budget because there are so many costs associated with longer trips.

10. Memberships

You might have to pay monthly fees if you’re a member of a gym or yoga studio. Definitely include these budget items in your budget. If you’re a gym member, be sure you keep track of how often you actually go to the gym.

It’s so easy to sign up for a monthly gym membership and wind up not going for a long period of time.

Memberships can be pretty expensive, so make sure you make a habit out of going so it’ll be worth the expense (plus, your body will thank you for it).

11. Prescriptions and Medicine

It’s difficult to predict prescription costs because you never know when an illness is going to strike, but you should include over-the-counter medications on your budget. Common budget items medicines include Tylenol, Advil, Tums, and Claritin.

12. Pet Care

Our furry friends bring so much joy to our lives, but they can also take quite a bit out of our budget. Be sure to plan for veterinary costs, like vaccinations and checkups, as well as monthly costs like grooming and pet food.

13. Bank Account Fees

Banks occasionally charge fees for their services, including low balances, transfers, account maintenance, and overdrafts. Include these costs in your budget. You can use these budget items to determine where your finances are going awry every month.

You might also consider switching from a corporate bank to a credit union. Credit unions usually have much lower rates and fees than large banks.

14. Parking

Parking is another expense that’s easy to forget about, but it can add up in huge increments over time.

If you’re commuting to work in an urban area, chances are you’re going to have to pay for parking now and then, or perhaps you’ve signed up for a monthly parking plan at your job or at a parking structure.

Include these expenses in your budget, and leave additional room for when you’re going to pay for parking when you visit an amusement park or when you’re traveling.

15. Car Registration

Most people budget for gasoline costs, but people often forget to budget for car registration costs.

In some states, like California, car registration can be fairly expensive, so you’ll want to account for it in your budget so you won’t be surprised when you get that notice in the mail that your current registration is about to expire.

16. Entertainment

Who says that you can’t budget for fun things, too? You should budget for any and all expenses that pertain to “having fun,” whether that’s going out clubbing, going to the movies, or attending concerts.

It’s difficult to budget for entertainment because you might never know when you’re going to be doing something fun (some people prefer to be very spontaneous with their entertainment activities).

When you’ve itemized all your living spaces, determine how much money you have left over and set aside a decent portion of it for entertainment purposes.

Even if you don’t use your entire entertainment budget each month, you’ll be able to put the extra cash away in savings or roll it over to the next month.

Don’t be afraid to give yourself more than a few bucks for entertainment! Saving money is no fun if you’re always stuck at home. And always remember that the more you cut back in other areas, the more you’ll be able to allocate to your entertainment budget.

17. Birthdays

Budget for birthdays! Even if you prefer your birthday to be low-key, you might want to dish out some money on a cake or a nice bottle of wine, and you should always keep some money in the budget for friends’ birthdays. If you have children, you’ll definitely want to budget to throw birthday parties

18. Holiday Gifts

The holidays can be taxing because of the huge financial strain that gift-giving has. But you can make the holidays a whole lot easier on yourself and your finances if you practice holiday season budgeting.

Estimate how much you typically spend on gifts around the holidays, and then divide by 12: that’s how much money you’ll want to put away each month.

Here’s a pro tip for you: oftentimes, memories are far more worth the expense than a gift is. If you don’t have young children, you might consider taking your family on a short vacation rather than spending an exorbitant amount of money on gifts.

You could spend a huge deal less, you’ll cut down on all the time you spend holiday shopping, and you’ll create memories with your family that are far more valuable than material goods.

19. Charitable Contributions

A donation to a favorite charity is a worthy expense, and it’s an item that you should definitely include when you’re planning out your budget if you’re altruistically inclined.

Read Also: Common Budgeting Mistakes People Make

Make a list of your favorite charitable or religious organizations you may want to donate to on a monthly or annual basis. You might also want to leave room for “unexpected charitable causes,” such as fundraisers for injury-stricken people.

20. Labor Union Dues

You might not pay much attention to this budget item if your dues come out of your wages, but if they don’t, you’ll definitely need to include them on your budget.

You can either include them as an additional expense, or you can generally subtract them from your income. 

Whether you include all of these items in your budget or only a few of them, you’re bound to ease your money stress and improve your finances when you begin budgeting and tracking your spending.

Final Words

Utilise the tools mentioned above to create an effective budget. Some of the tools are free while few of them you can get to little money, your focus should be on the features they provide.