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Best Budget Apps for the Military

Julie Provost

Long-term planning goes hand in hand with military service. Enlistments and re-enlistments are for years at a time. Military members are always looking to the next inspection, the next physical training test, the next test to rise in rank. Just like some of their civilian counterparts, however, most don’t enjoy planning ahead with money. Those paychecks are unique in that they are broken down into amounts given for specific purposes: housing, food, and clothing allowances. This makes it easy to ensure the correct amounts are coming in and for the correct purposes. Why not monitor money going out in that same way? Make the most of it with a budget.

Manage Your Finances with Top Rated Budget Apps for Military Families

Think of the things most people are currently spending far less on in the current economic climate:

• Dining out
• Entertainment (going to the movie theatre, concerts, bowling, etc.)
• Shopping
• Fuel
• Vacation Trips
• Childcare

Where is that unspent money going? Using a budgeting tool can help ensure that your funds aren’t dwindling away on items and services that don’t benefit your long-term financial goals. Here are three great budgeting apps, each with a different level of complexity, to get you started.

YNAB (You Need A Budget)

Platforms: Web browser, iPhone, Android

Cost: $14.99/ month, or an annual $109 ($9.08/month)

Free Trial Length: ~1 month (34 days at press time)

Keep track of expenses with these 6 categories:

• Credit Card Payments
• Immediate Obligations (utilities, groceries, etc.)
• True Expenses (like annual insurance premiums)
• Debt Payments
• Quality of Life Goals (vacations, vehicles, computers, etc.)
• Just For Fun

YNAB is unique among budgeting tools in that it’s designed to have you account for every single dollar you have coming in. It also budgets with the money you have, not as projected for the month.  This app is ideal for individuals who prefer a highly hands-on approach to tracking their finances.

The build of the platform is highly customizable. It can be used with a linked account (connecting your bank so that all transactions automatically send to the app), or as an unlinked account, where you manually input your transactions. Both have their merits: using the unlinked account can help you keep an even closer eye on your spending, but the linked account is, of course, more convenient, especially for many small transactions.

YNAB hosts 20-minute-long live classes daily on their site to help you make the most of the platform. YNAB also claims that people save an average of $200 while using their free trial. That should be enough to tempt anyone into learning to budget!

Credit Karma (formerly Mint)

Platforms: Web browser, iPhone, Android

Cost: Free

Keep track of:

• Cash, Credit Cards, Investments
• Goals for savings and debt reduction
• Transactions, identified by types of spending
• Bills
• Credit Score
• Overall monthly budgets
• Cash flow

This sleek app does it all, without the more intensive style of tracking as YNAB. It features bank-level encryption and syncs with your accounts, providing all the information you need directly within the app. This platform has a minimalistic color scheme, and all text is easy to read. Goal tracking and managing are the main focus of this app. Considering everything Mint keeps track of, the information presented doesn’t feel cluttered, with a dashboard that gives a clear overview of where you’re at. Best of all, Mint is completely free. What’s more budget-friendly than that?

Monefy

Platforms: iPhone, Android

Cost: Free

Focuses on:

• Cash flow in and out
• Recording expenses by category

Monefy is the budgeting app for you if you’re after simplicity. You set a balance and log expenditures across different categories, identified by colorful icons like a basket for groceries and a little martini glass for entertainment. As expenses are input over time, a color-coded circle provides a visual overview of how much of your money is allocated to different categories. In the center of this circle are two numbers—one in green, and one in red—representing overall cash flow. And that’s it! With Monefy, you can keep an eye on your budget in a way that doesn’t feel too taxing, with pleasing visuals. The app is free, but you can unlock customization by upgrading to a pro version or allowing ads to be displayed. If neither of those options appeal, the app is great as is, at no cost to you!

Creating a budget isn’t all about pinching pennies and worrying about how much money is being spent. If used properly, a budget can give you a picture of how much you should allocate for fun things, too. Setting and being aware of a limit in that area can eliminate feelings of guilt and worry. One of these apps is sure to help you do just that. Happy budgeting!

 

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