Happy new year, Betches. We’ve said thank you (next) to the past year, made our 2019 vision boards (ok, maybe that was just me) and have mustered up a more motivated outlook on life. Still, we’ve spent the entire month of December buying sh*t for our loved ones and it’s very possible (ok, entirely accurate) that our bank accounts are empty AF.
So many people want to get their finances in order in the new year. But it’s hard. Literally, every article you read is like, “skip the Starbucks” and you’ll literally be a millionaire. I’m here to tell you that is not the case. If I skip Starbucks, I’ll just be cranky. And still poor.
For me, the hardest part of getting my finances in a somewhat respectable state is knowing how much I can and cannot spend if I want to save a certain amount of money in the right categories. Like, do I need to start taking Uber Pools? Or not order Postmates so many times a week? Probably all of the above, but whatever.
A busy betch might not have time for all that planning and luckily, there are a zillion apps to help you figure this hard sh*t out, so you can get back to watching Love Island. We’ve outlined the perfect budgeting apps for every personality type.
The Type A Betch: Mint
Mint is a free money management and financial tracker app that pulls all your credit cards, bank accounts, investments, (LITERALLY all your finances) together in one neat little package.
TBH, I use Mint all the time. And yes, I’m Type A as f*ck. I like that I can see everything going on with my money in one place, get notifications about unusual spending (usually some online sale let’s be real) and budget out in different categories.
Mint essentially analyzes all your spending and then shares what you are spending in each category. It’s semi-intense with all the graphs and charts, but for anyone who likes to be in control, this will be your financial heaven.
Because you can link your checking or savings account, it also can see how much money you bring in every month, allowing you to see if you are ending your months with positive or negative funds.
You then can create a budget based on what you spend in each category and how much you want to save each month. It’s super easy, and the notifications are frequent, but not annoying. Perfect for any Type A betch trying to save her way to the top. Or at least to a new pair of shoes.
The Straightforward Betch: EveryDollar
EveryDollar LITERALLY only keeps track of your budget, so if you are looking for any sort of detailed money tracking (investing, etc) this is NOT the app for you. I personally like this app because it’s focused and if you are on top of your sh*t, it’s super easy to use. Hence: a straightforward betch.
When I signed up for EveryDollar, I had to input my own money goals and my own spending, for things like my electricity bill or my water bill, you know, the important stuff.
So I input everything manually and estimated the best I could all my basic expenses. Then you pick your money goals, to which I wanted to say, uhhh to be able to live?! Instead, I chose to save like a few hundred dollars each month. I should mention the free version of the app doesn’t connect your bank account to the app, but the visuals created based on your manual inputs are enough to help get your finances in order. Super easy, straightforward and to the point. Got it?!
The Chatty Betch: Albert
If you like texting a random person about your finances, Albert is the app for you. Kidding. From what I gathered in my very serious journalistic research, when you use the Albert app, you also have the opportunity to text a real person about your finances. Pretty neat-o.
If you are a chatty betch who likes to talk to your Uber drivers and make conversation with random people in public places, this is the app for you because you can LEGITIMATELY text a financial counselor (if you want) by using this app. I had to add “Albert” to my phone contacts in the sign-up process for the app, because apparently there are human financial experts at my fingertips now. Lucky me. Even though I have no idea who the f*ck Albert is, it’s really nice that I wouldn’t have to Google all my finance questions and could literally just text someone and be given the answer.
In terms of budgeting, the Albert app allows you to set specific spending goals (i.e. I want to buy a car) and work specifically to save toward that goal. I like that it keeps you very focused on your financial goals, in addition to sending a ton of reminders through texts. A lot of texts. so you better be ready to talk to Albert…a lot.
The Lazy Betch: PocketGuard
Similar to the other apps, PocketGuard will connect to your bank account and do the heavy lifting for you in terms of understanding what’s going on with your finances. I imagine if someone is looking at mine they are thinking, “does she really wear that many clothes?!” to which I will answer, “YES, yes I do”.
You can also create spending limits and savings goals, but there is one different quality that makes this whole process slightly less tedious: it finds where you COULD be saving more money.
PocketGuard will analyze your finances and tell you where you could be saving money, which I kind of love? Like, yes, tell me what to do – I’m clueless in this department. You can also upload bills that and get someone named BILLSHARK™ (a mysterious person on their end) who will go and make your bills cheaper by finding you deals and sh*t. This sounds too good to be true but who the f knows.
And there you have it. I hope you all go and download an app, remember your bank password and are able to pick out all the stop lights in recaptcha in order to download one (or many) of these apps to meet your money goals. Who knows, before we know it all of us will be buying new purses and going on vacation, regardless of whether or not we are a lazy or chatty betch.
Is one of your 2019 goals to start saving money? What apps do you love for budgeting? Lmk, because I need as much support as I can get.
Images: Shutterstock; Giphy (2)
