5 Best Household Budgeting Apps for the iPhone

Our Picks for the Top 5 Household Budgeting and Finance Apps for the iPhone

One of my personal resolutions for the New Year was to become more financially organized, i.e. figure out where all of my money was going.  I've mentioned before that I'm a proud iPhone owner, and like many iPhone owners, I'm obsessed with finding great apps.  So, I've found some really good budgeting/household finance apps I'll share with you. 


Mint.com iPhone App

This is a free app from the folks at mint.com, and I think you'll like it— it's one of my favorites.  You can sign up for a mint.com account through the app or on the website.  I personally preferred to sign up and add all of my accounts online…it just seemed easier this way. Speaking of adding accounts— uploading bank accounts, credit cards, loans, investments, etc. is easy.  And once you do it, you can keep track of everything in one place, 24/7.  Love. It. Mint pulls in and categorizes your transactions daily, so you don't have to enter them— and that's what I like. Less work, more information. That's the way an app should be.  Within the app you can create your own budget, or let the app create one based on your spending habits. If you're worried about security (like I am), you'll like that the app is passcode protected, and if your phone is lost or stolen, you can deactivate iPhone access from Mint's profile page.


Grocery Gadget

While this app is relatively expensive (as iPhone apps go), it's totally worth it.  It's $4.99, or you can try it out for free with the lite version.  I've used several grocery apps, and I've liked a few of them…but can say with confidence that this one is the best. One thing I especially love?  I don't have to manually enter every item. I can scan it, enter it into the free web portal, use a built-in list or enter it manually. I LOVE the idea of scanning it!  Where I usually end up with problems using grocery store apps is how the items are organized.  Normally it's not very intuitive.  That's where this one really stands out.  The app can automatically learn item order as you shop, or you can arrange aisles manually.  And, for the money savers out there, you can download and match eCoupons to the items on your grocery list. Awesome.  This app actually has more features that I can even list— I highly recommend checking it out.  

DebtTracker Pro

If your main goal is to get out of debt, I think you'll find this app a great help. It builds a program to help you pay off debt based on Dave Ramsey's popular "Debt Snowball" system. You can select one of the app's built-in payment strategies (highest interest, lowest balance, highest balance) or customize your own.  I especially love the feature that allows you to see how much money you'll save by making an extra payment.  I haven't actually gotten to see this one in action yet, since I just downloaded it and haven't had a chance to make a payment yet…but I can't wait to see balances begin to dwindle! This app currently costs $1.99 at the iTunes store.

Ace Budget

One swift look at our checking account ledger and there's little question that my husband spends too much money eating out, and I spend too much money at places like Wal-Mart and Target. I can't help it…too much stuff I can't live without.  The Ace Budget app is designed to help you track spending habits and stay within your budget…and maybe put the reins on unnecessary spending.  Exactly what I need. It allows you to create budgets for as many categories as you want— and they can be daily, weekly, monthly, semimonthly, quarterly and yearly.  I put things like groceries, hair products, cosmetics, clothing, entertainment and eating out in the budget…and when I've gone over for the month, no more spending.  It even gives you monthly spending charges and reports so you can get a visual of where you're money is going. It's a very helpful app.  If you want to take a test drive, you can get the lite version for free, otherwise it's $1.99 at the iTunes store.

Bill Tracker

I normally pay all of my bills at the same time, once a month, because I get paid monthly and it's just easier that way. But, if you're a bill payer who likes to pay throughout the month, and you need a plan for keeping up with when they're due and your payment status, BillTracker is a great app! Just enter each bill with the amount due and the due date, then once it has been paid, enter the payment.  You can view the bill's status (due date, paid, unpaid) through either the Calendar or Account View.  If you want to try it out before you make the purchase, there's a free version with BillTracker Lite. Just know that you won't get all of the features available with the paid version— it currently costs $1.99 at the iTunes App Store.

Any other household budget/financing apps you love?  Share them with us!