Thinking Out Loud

If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to save more money this year, try downloading a free finance app that tracks your spending. I just started using one of these and it has been quite illuminating. The amount of money that goes towards food is usually the kicker for a lot of us (or coffee, ahem). Some of these can actually link to your accounts and offer free credit score tracking (for a small fee). Here are my top three:

Goodbudget: This app allows you to preset budgets for each category. For example, set a daily and/or monthly food budget, going out budget and such. It will send you alerts when you are getting close to your limit. This app does not give you the option to link your bank accounts however.

Level Money: One of my favorites. This app DOES link to your accounts and sort of digitally recreates the effect of opening your wallet. The app will subtract your expenses from your account and then divide up what’s left for you to spend each month in each category. It tells you what you can spend per day, week and month.

Mint: This app also allows you to create budgets in various categories. It’s more for the visual person as it warns you with bright banners when you’re getting close to your limit. It also provides credit score access for a small fee.