Some may call me a little old school (many may call me old), and, I admit, I’m a little slow to the world of technology. When it comes to tracking my finances I still like the old pen and paper, but I’m coming around. Since I’ve begun using personal finance software programs, I’ve realized what a fantastic time saver they can be.
Starting from scratch with tracking expenses, net worth and budgeting can be overwhelming. Building a spreadsheet, figuring out budget categories and exactly how to plan for those large expenses is often intimidating and time consuming, especially when you’re just beginning to get a good handle on your personal finances.
There is a plethora of financial software, apps, programs and courses available and it’s hard to wade through them and figure out which is best for you. But when it comes to the best personal financial software, I’ve run across some great information that may help you decide what exactly is right for you.
Reviews.com recently rated Mint, YNAB, Personal Capital and Quicken* among their top picks for financial software (with Prosper Daily as the runner up). You can check out their guide here.
Top Personal Finance Software and Tools
Personal Capital
I’ve used Personal Capital’s free net worth and expense tracking tools for a few years. Both tools keep me posted on how much more/less I am spending than the previous month and if my net worth is going up or down (they even email me this information).
Personal Capital allows you to easily sync all of your accounts in one place, giving you a clear snapshot of what your net worth, cash flow, and spending look like. After linking your accounts, you can effectively use the free tracking tools for an overall picture of your net worth and spending.
Though Personal Capital isn’t necessarily a customizable budgeting tool, it provides updated information on the overall state of your cash flow and spending. Set up is quick and easy, although you may need to re-categorize some of your expenses, as the tool automatically assigns categories.
Whether you’re looking at your spending or net worth, the tools provide easy-to-read, color coded pie charts, giving you an accurate picture of changes from month to month.
Personal Capital is perfect if you aren’t looking for a detailed budgeting tool, but still want to compare your net worth and spending from month to month without putting in much upfront set-up time.
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
I’ve been using YNAB for a couple of months now. I was actually inspired to start using their program because of an email from a reader (more in that in a future post). As I talk to people and ask around, I’m more convinced than ever that this is a tool that, given enough time and attention, could help many, many people who need to get a handle on their finances.
Since I’m not a fan of strict category budgets, YNAB is a good fit for me. The YNAB motto is “give every dollar a job” and it allows for flexibility within your budget, similar to a zero-sum budget. When used appropriately, it allows you to set spending and savings goals, and not a single dollar gets missed.
YNAB helps you work toward spending last month’s money (rather than relying on the next paycheck!), allows for flexibility, and breaks down larger expenses into smaller, monthly expenses.
Unlike Mint and Personal Capital, YNAB does have associated fees, but you can try it out for free for 34 days. After the trial period it is $5/month or $50/year.
Update: I’ve recently partnered with YNAB to provide a special offer for Centsibly Rich readers. Use this link to get three months of YNAB free!
Since I have been using the YNAB system, I’ve realized you really need to stick with it for longer than the initial 34 days to get the full benefit and get acquainted with the program. The system does require your attention on a regular basis to keep your budget up to date but, in my opinion, this is a good thing. There is a bit of a learning curve when getting started, but the tutorials and webinars are there to help you along the way.
Mint
Mint is the only personal finance software on the list that I have never personally used. But it seems I may be missing out on something here. On a quick Google search, Mint came out on top on numerous sites, plus they’ve been around for a decade and have millions of users.
Reviews.com named Mint as their top choice because of it’s usefulness and easy-to-use application. Though you do have to deal with banner ads, Mint is also totally free.
Mint is good for those who want to start budgeting, set savings goals, and plan for upcoming expenses. It allows you to link all of your accounts easily and automatically syncs your latest transactions, so there is little manual input. Initial set-up is easy, but setting your budgeting categories and goals takes a few hours in the beginning, so you should expect to put in some upfront time to get started. Once you get started, you can easily change and view your spending on the dashboard.
Do you use personal finance software? If so, what has worked for you?
*Reviews.com also gave mention to Quicken. Quicken is similar to Mint, but comes with a price tag. It’s good for those who already have a handle on their finances, but want to be able to work on the nitty gritty details.
Don’t miss out on this great resource! If you are in need of some budgeting guidance, head on over to PowerOverLife.com and check out my friend Jacob’s ultimate Guide to Budgeting, complete with free spreadsheets and calculators to get you started today!
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, at no additional cost to you, I’ll receive a commission if you buy products through these links. See the full disclosure here.
I’m curious about the apps, but Jon is very reluctant to store any more sensitive information in the cloud than he has to. So I don’t see us using any.
I do think the act of entering stuff on a spread sheet (rather than automatic updates) makes you think a bit more about what and why you are spending. Our trick to getting started was to minimize our spending for a month at the same time we started our spreadsheet so there were fewer transactions to record.
Simplifying spending definitely makes tracking easier. And you’re so right, the act of sitting down and entering the info into a spreadsheet does make you pay more attention. I like YNAB in this respect – you do have to keep up on your latest transactions – even though you don’t necessarily enter them by hand (though you can), you certainly have to pay attention to how they’re fitting into your budget.
I think Mint and Personal Capital are pretty similar. I am a long time Mint user and tried out Personal Capital after hearing all of the PF bloggers talk about it. Unfortunately my retirement accounts don’t sync well with Personal Capital, so I never really got too familiar with it before going back to Mint.
I love YNAB! I’ve been using it for almost two years now and find that it has been amazing for saving, planning for infrequent expenses, and giving flexibility to the budget. I did not expect the flexibility part at all. But now I can see that I have no more money in my “Restaurant” budget and decide that I will still go out if I can pull it from another social spending category, but will pass if I would need to pull from a savings goal.
I’m curious to see how the subscription model works out. I bought it when it was a one time cost and you own it forever. I wonder if it hits a point where the system becomes ingrained in your habits and it is no longer worth paying a monthly fee or if it will continue to be worth it in the long run.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with the tools, Matt! I’ve had a similar experience with YNAB. I totally thought it would be restrictive and love that it’s not! What’s interesting is I’ve been tracking my spending for a long, long time, but I still think YNAB is keeping me on track a better. I really like setting the goals for the larger, irregular expenses.
Hi Amanda,
Maybe, I am a few years behind you 🙂 I am still using Excel.
I am hoping to give Personal Capital a try before the end of the year.
–Michael
I can’t break my spreadsheet habit either, Michael. I still do my it along with Personal Capital and YNAB. Maybe one day I can let go…
I have tried multiple times with budgeting software but have totally flunked each time. I even tried YNAB because I am totally down with the whole entire living on last month’s income. My problem is staying consistent with checking in with the budgets and spending categories. I’m not a good tracker. If I could just find something that would send a copy of my receipt purchases or something like that and update the software for me I would be good to go.
Thanks for sharing, Latoya! To make YNAB really work for you, you do have to check in and update/monitor activity on a fairly regular basis. That’s a good thing, but I know it can be hard to do. So, I’m thinking you’ve just come up with a new business idea! 😉 Develop pf software that updates based on receipts and accounts – without you ever lifting a finger!
Are you still using Digit, Amanda? I’ve got your referral link still, and will use it as soon as I register. But you didn’t mention it here? Did you give up on it?
Yes I still use and love Digit, Ty! I was focusing more on budgeting and tracking tools today, but I LOVE Digit for savings! I think I’m right around $1150 savings in 5 months!
Thanks for sharing about my ‘Ultimate Guide to Budgeting’, which is more for the DIY individuals. While I prefer my spreadsheets, I have tried each of the three personal finance tools you suggested (personal capital, mint, and YNAB) and all three are awesome in their own ways.
Thanks for raising awareness, Amanda! Regardless of the method… budgeting and keeping track of personal finance just makes sense!!
Thanks, Jacob! Your tools are perfect for those that want to DIY (though it’s not totally DIY since you graciously went to all the work to set them up!). They are great resources and it’s so awesome that you are offering them up for FREE!
I don’t really care too much for Mint or Personal Capital. I like this app called Thrifty. I’ve used it and it’s easy to keep track of where my money is going. Here is a link to their website: https://tools.keepthrifty.com/
Thanks for sharing, Steven! It’s great you found a tool that works well for you. I will definitely click over and check it out!
That’s a good list, I use both Personal Capital and Quicken myself. And of course, the most versatile of all personal financial software products – Excel!
Thanks, Jon! You just can’t beat a good ol’ spreadsheet, in my opinion! 🙂
I use to utilize mint.com. However I made the switch to personal capital due to their investment analysis. I love how detailed it is and I think it blows mint out of the water.
Plus it’s fun seeing what personal capital thinks about my goals for retirement 🙂
The tools Personal Capital offers for investments and retirement are amazing (and free!). I know – I like putting in my info and seeing what they say about my goals too! 🙂
It’s a little odd that YNAB would offer it free for 34 days (I would have thought 30) but can’t complain about the extra 4 days right?
Great softwares to use for budgeting, I’m pretty old fashioned and use normal Excel but I have found softwares to be helpful in my budgeting life!
They’re probably giving you time to get it set up and take full advantage of a full month, I’m guessing? With my link it’s 3 months free, so that gives plenty of time to try it out.
I still keep my spreadsheet (and also still keep a checkbook register 🙂 ), but I like utilizing many of the benefits the software offers too!
I personally prefer YNAB if you are halfway serious about budgeting or Personal Capital to simply track spending and investment growth.
Mint is a free version of Quicken that is good for creating a basic budget, but you can only add accounts that can link to it & not all of mine could, so I gave up on it.
I don’t do Quicken anymore. It was my budgeting software of choice in the prior decade, but now it’s too expensive for what it offers. If you are going to pay, YNAB is the only way to go as far as I’m concerned.
Thanks for the great feedback on what’s worked well for you, Josh! I’ve never tried Mint, but YNAB and Personal Capital are my top choices as well! I have tried Quicken but, like you, I’m not a fan of the fees.
This is great information and all in one place, Amanda. We’re old school with a spreadsheet, Mr Groovy’s expense tracker. But we keep it in Google Drive where we can access it anywhere. It’s on our site but if anyone wants it just contact us.
I don’t hear much about Dave Ramsey’s Every Dollar app. Have you? I noticed there’s finally an android version.
Thanks for sharing, Mrs. Groovy! Even though I thought I would let go of my old spreadsheet system when I started YNAB, so far, I am still hanging on to it. I have a fond attachment to it, for some reason…probably just the familiarity.
I actually did just hear good things about the Every Dollar app a couple of days ago. I haven’t had the opportunity to check it out though, so I cannot speak from experience.
I am a total pen and paper girl also, but I do love YNAB. It definitely takes a few months to get used to. I still somehow confuse myself because I get paid the last day of the month and pay rent on the first. Not sure why this complicates things for me! But I love it and now that it is a completely solidified habit for me, it is much easier and I see the beauty of it.
Old habits die hard (with the pen/paper), I guess. I still write all my lists with pen/paper – the act somehow helps me remember better when I forget my list! It’s great that YNAB has become a habit for you and is continuing to work well. 🙂
I’m in Australia and have found most of these tools link to US accounts only unfortunately. Is that how YNAB works too? We use an app called Home Budget that has worked for us as it syncs across multiple devices. Always on the lookout though for alternatives. Thanks for the post. Luke.
Thanks for stopping by, Luke! I’m not sure if YNAB works with accounts outside of the U.S. and Canada. My guess is it would not. There is always the option to manually enter banking information. That would be a bit more tedious, though. I’ve never heard of Home Budget – will definitely check it out, though!