6 Money Management Apps That Personal Finance Experts Swear By

When it comes to managing your money, there’s always room for improvement. Fortunately for spenders big and small, personal finance and budgeting apps are oh-so-trendy right now, alongside infrared saunas, forest bathing, and YouTube fitness classes.

Beyond the clear pragmatism of tracking what comes in and out of your bank account, the draw of app-enabled financial literacy is clear—learning to spend and save smarter now could set you up for better financial success down the road.

That said, the market is saturated with apps designed to improve your relationship with money. To help narrow down the contenders, personal finance experts shared their top picks.

“While I’m a huge advocate for my clients learning how to budget traditionally without the apps, I do think there are great ways to use tech to budget your way to financial freedom. Mint is a great option as it consolidates all of your financial information in one place including account balances, credit scores, monthly expenses, plus the user interface is easy to use.” —Xavier Epps, finance expert and founder of XNE Financial Advising and FinanceGuyX

“My go-to personal finance app is Personal Capital. This app allows you to track your net worth and manage your money easily, and I have been using it for years.” —Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, personal finance expert and owner of Making Sense of Cents 

“A lot of people think the perfect budgeting app is the key to sticking to a budget but in reality, it’s getting control of your spending. I love EveryDollar because not only is it an easy to use zero-based budgeting app—which is the type of budget that works best for most people—the free version forces you to track your transactions manually which is what connects you to them and helps you cut down on impulse and mindless purchases.” —Jen Smith, personal finance educator and founder of Modern Frugality

“Of course, I love the NerdWallet app, which tracks my spending and also lets me know if my credit score changed. I also love using the ShopSavvy app. Especially with the holidays coming up, it’s great to scan products and check prices to make sure I’m getting the best deal before making a purchase.” —Kimberly Palmer, personal finance expert at NerdWallet

“Except for some utilities and mortgage payment, I use my Bank of America credit card for everything. The app can make a monthly budget for you based on your spending patterns, or you can customize your own limits for different categories. No more need for cash envelopes! Your dashboard will show you how your spending is tracking against your budget as the month progresses. You even get a monthly credit score update.” —Ashley Pacheco, personal and family finance coach and founder of Common Cents Lifestyle

“Although it’s not a traditional finance/budgeting app, I can’t live without Reebee. This Canadian app allows me to see all the grocery store flyers so I can plan my meals around what’s on sale. I’ll even use the app to price match to get even more savings.” —Barry Choi, Toronto-based personal finance and travel expert and founder of Money We Have