6 Best Personal Finance Software Tools (That You Need in 2020)

What is a Personal Finance Software (and Why do you need one)?

A personal finance software tool is an app or money management desktop software that helps you take control of your money.

Basically, no matter where you are in your money management journey, there is a tool that can help you reach your goals.

But not all tools are created equal. Some help with budgeting. Others help with investments. Yet others help with saving, banking, or taxes—or even everything of the above.

How do you pick the best one? You decide based on the category.

1. Budgeting

Want to create a budget and stick to it? Then pick a budgeting tool like Intuit Mint or Tiller Money or YNAB.

2. Saving

Want to save for an emergency or to buy a house? Then pick a savings tool like Betterment. Or simply open up to 25 savings accounts (each with its own goal) at a bank like Capital One.

3. Investing

Want to invest with confidence and without paying high fees? Then pick an investment tool like Personal Capital or Wealthfront. (Betterment is a good choice too.)

4. Earning

Want to manage your overall compensation to grow your earnings? This is an entirely new category that we’re pioneering with our web-based product GrowthAdvisor. Pick GrowthAdvisor to see the cash value of your Employee Stock Options. Because your stock options are not just a perk. They represent real money that you can plan for with the help of our tool.

In this post, we’ll be covering the budgeting category. Because your cash management is what will get you to save, to invest, to earn more, and ultimately, to prosper.

Without further ado, here are our top picks for 2020.

 1. Intuit Mint

Here is what Mint can do for you:

a. Budgeting:

Set up any number of budgets. Mint will track them automatically. It’ll learn how you spend your money and categorize your transactions. Or you can create your own categories.

b. Bills:

Track all your bills in one place. Set up reminders and get warnings when your balance is low.

c. Savings:

Set up any number of savings goals. They can be short-term or long-term goals. You can even illustrate them with pictures.

NOTE: You can also see how your investments are doing in simple charts and graphs. But this isn’t the best feature Mint has. It’s best to use it for budgeting. Take a look at our 12 Better Mint Alternatives.

RELATED: Intuit Mint vs. GrowthAdvisor: Best Tool to Build Your Wealth

2. Tiller Money

Here is what Tiller can do for you:

a.Budgets

Same as in the Mint budgeting app, in Tiller, you can also set up any number of budgets. Tiller will track them automatically. But instead of logging in to see your charts like in Mint, with Tiller you can rely on daily emails with a simple text-based summary of your transactions. This is as old-school as it gets.

b. Manual Entries:

If you want to get even more old-school, you can do so with Tiller. Manually enter any of your transactions into your spreadsheet.

c. Debt Management:

The beauty of Tiller is its many templates you can add to your general spreadsheet. One of them is designed for debt management.

NOTE: You can’t set up any bills or track your investments in Tiller.  Think of Tiller as an upgraded spreadsheet that updates automatically.

3. YNAB

Here is what YNAB can do for you:

a. Budgets:

Yes, you can set up your budgets in YNAB the same way as in Mint or Tiller. But YNAB offers something else. You can share your budget with your partner so you can get out of debt together. And unlike in Mint or in Tiller, you’ll need to set up the spending categories yourself. This is designed to show you where your money is actually going.

b. Savings:

The savings goals in YNAB are also different. They’re called “funding goals” and are there to fund your future spending (so you won’t get into more debt). Watch their videos to learn more.

c. Debt Management:

This is where YNAB shines. Once you connect all your credit cards to YNAB, it’ll move money from your “funding goals” to cover any transactions you make. If you exceed the amount in the “funding goal,” it’ll alert you that you have no more money to spend, until you increase your “fund.”

NOTE: If you’re not struggling with getting out of debt, YNAB may not be the best choice for you. But if you are, then on top of everything else they offer great support and lots of resources to help you.

4. Mvelopes

Here is what Mvelopes can do for you:

a. Budgets:

No more need for paper. Set up as many digital “envelopes” as you’d like and track your spending as you’d track cash. No more cash left in the envelope? No more money left to spend. Another way to think about it in your pocket. No more cash in the pocket? Then there is nothing else you can buy. (This is similar to “funding” categories in YNAB.)

b. Savings:

When you set up Mvelopes, it’ll walk you through steps to set up your goals. Two of them are focused on savings: saving money and planning for the future. You can create as many as you’d like. Check out their Learning Center to see all the savings options.

c. Reports:

Perhaps the best Mvelopes has to offer is its reports. Get reports on anything from your cash flow to your balance, spending, “funding,” and even your net worth. See the full list here.

NOTE: Mvelopes is the simplest solution to getting out of debt and taking control of your spending. As personal financial software, it offers not much else, though. No bill tracking or paying. And no investment tracking either.

5. Quicken

Here is what Quicken can do for you:

a. Budgets: 

In Quicken budgeting works pretty much the same way as in the tools above, but it offers a whole host of additional features. For example, you can reconcile your bank transactions. Plus, you can install a copy of Quicken locally on your computer and do your budgeting offline.

b. Bill Payment:

Pay your bills directly from Quicken. Set up bill alerts so you never miss a due date. Or schedule your bill payments in advance (great for those of us who tend to forget). Even print paper checks to pay your bills!

c. Investments & Taxes:

Investment tracking and tax planning are the two reasons why you’d want to use Quicken. They work together in showing you how much you have earned and how to plan your tax payments based on realized and unrealized gains. Plus, you can export all transactions for tax prep to do it yourself or to send to your accountant.

NOTE: Quicken is best when used on the web (the app is not as good). But it can be too much for you if all you’re looking for is managing your spending or tracking your savings.

RELATED: Quicken vs. GrowthAdvisor: Which is Best for You?

6. GrowthAdvisor