Money management and budgeting apps: Tools to stay on top of your $

Budgeting has a rough reputation—it probably conjures images of spreadsheets, endless columns of numbers, and tracking every dime. But creating a budget helps you gain control of your finances and make informed financial decisions about your spending. It also can help you identify where you can save money by cutting back. And here’s the good news: It doesn’t have to be a chore! Digital tools can make budgeting much easier, even…fun?

Money management apps that have a budgeting feature, including the Spruce mobile banking app, can help you get organized and stick to your plan. Here’s a closer look at how money management apps can help you take control of your finances.

Budgeting apps: Know where your money goes

Money management apps can be useful tools for tracking your spending habits and identifying places where you might be spending too much. You can use apps on the go, making it easy to get a pulse check on your financials and savings goals before making impulse buys in the check-out line. And perhaps best of all, leaning on technology means you’re not spending extra time on a budgeting method that requires recording income and spending yourself.

Spruce’s budgeting tool tracks your spending by category for transactions such as food and dining,  entertainment, and health and fitness. The app automatically sorts your spending—making it super easy to see where your money is going, where there’s room in your budget, and where you are going over.

Worried about your spending in a specific category? With the Spruce mobile banking app you can select spending categories to watch more closely. For example, say you think you might be spending too much at restaurants: Add food and dining to your watchlist, which is easily accessible from the home screen on your Spruce app. You can even set limits to help keep yourself in check. 

Money management tools and the benefits of saving 

Regular saving is key to building financial stability and staying on track to meet goals. It also provides cash you can use to treat yourself to something fun occasionally without busting your budget.

By getting a feel for your spending with a budgeting app, you can spot places to save. Want to save more? Adjust the dials on your spending to free up cash you can stash.

Using a money management tool to save can help:

1. Cover you in an emergency. If your car breaks down, your furnace goes out, or you are suddenly laid off, an emergency savings fund can help cover expenses so you don’t have to take on debt. Experts suggest trying to build up emergency savings equal to three to six months’ worth of expenses.
   
   
2. Track your progress. With a money management app, you can easily check your account balance regularly. Seeing your progress as deposits build in your bank account can be a great motivator to keep you working toward your goals.

3. Prepare for big purchases. Saving on the regular in a sinking fund can help you fund planned expenses. For example, you can build up enough cash over time to pay for a well-earned vacation or to cover the cost of holiday gifts.
   
   
4. Help you reach long-term financial goals. Strong saving habits can help you work toward financial stability and short-term goals now. It can also help you reach bigger goals down the road, like funding your retirement, saving for a down payment on a house, or paying for your child’s college education.

How money management tools can help you plan to save  

On top of tracking spending, money management apps can help you create a plan for saving. With Spruce, you can set up two separate saving goals in addition to your Extra Savings account, and all three account balances can earn interest if you’ve opted in!

Say you’re considering a “savings first” budget that prioritizes savings and sets limits on spending categories. For example, you want to save $100 each month, and your monthly take-home pay is $2,000. You could use Spruce or another money manager app to set aside the $100 first and consider automating the savings to make your life a little simpler. Then build your budget around the remaining $1,900.  

How Spruce can help with budgeting and more 

There are many ways to create a budget. Different strategies work for different people — the best approach is the one you can stick to. Remember that you can always tweak your budgeting method along the way as your needs change.

And, with Spruce, there are loads more tools along with our budgeting features that can help you be better with money.  For example, Spruce offers fee-free overdraft protection up to $20,^{Disclaimer number6. Go to disclaimer for more details.} and the ability to get paid up to two days early.^{Disclaimer number2. Go to disclaimer for more details.} Funds in Spruce accounts are also FDIC insured through Pathward®N.A., Member FDIC.*

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This information provided for general educational purposes only. It is not intended as specific financial planning advice as everyone’s financial situation is different.

* Funds are insured by the FDIC on a pass-through basis, subject to applicable limitations, restrictions, and requirements for such FDIC pass-through insurance, when the funds are received in your account. FDIC insurance only protects when an FDIC-insured institution fails. Spruce and H&R Block are not banks or FDIC-insured institutions, but Pathward^® N.A. is an FDIC-insured depository institution.