Best Personal Finance Tools and Budget Apps for Couples

One of the biggest issues of contention between couples is money. Talking about finances, planning for the future, and remaining on the same page is vital if you want to maintain your relationship--and be successful with money.

Planning out money dates can be one good way to work toward common financial goals and stay on track as a couple and household. But you don’t have to rely solely on occasional discussions to keep your finances in sync.

Best Budgeting Apps for Couples

This Valentine's Day do something a little different for yourself and your loved one - get your finances in order. Here are some of the best personal finance tools for couples.

1. Empower

(Personal Capital is now Empower)

If you’re looking for a complete picture of your finances, Empower is a great choice. It pulls in your bank account, credit card account and investment information and provides an overall view of what’s going on with your finances.

As a couple, this can be a great way for you both to see what’s going on and monitor your overall financial health. You can see your joint and separate accounts, including your separate retirement accounts in one place. Empower allows you a holistic view of your money, allowing you to make future plans. There’s even a free tool that analyzes the retirement account fees you’re paying and helps you find a better way to invest.

Visit Empower or read the full review here

2. Twine Savings App

One of the most interesting apps available for couples is Twine. Just as you’re twining your lives together, the Twine savings app helps you work toward common goals. The app, offered by John Hancock, allows you and your partner to move money from your individual accounts into a shared account, based on your goal.

Not only can you work on a shared goal using savings, but there’s also an investing component. Whether you want to save up for a vacation, a wedding, or even a longer-term goal, you can use Twine to help you save and track your progress--together.

Read More: Twine App Review

3. Betterment

This robo-advisor offers joint accounts so you can grow your wealth together. Not only that, but you can link outside accounts with Betterment for a bigger look at your investment picture.

However, it’s not just about setting up joint investment accounts for goals. You can also gift a call with a financial planning expert, using the marriage planning package to help you set goals and figure out how to achieve those.

Read More: Betterment Review

4. PocketGuard

Looking to take things a step further with budget analysis? PocketGuard is a great tool that can help your joint finances in a way that takes things to the next level. In addition to allowing you to pull information from bank accounts, credit card accounts, and investment accounts, this app also uses advanced categorization. With the help of this categorization, you can see where the money is going--including where it might be wasted on unused subscriptions.

PocketGuard will also help you find cost savings by recommending simple actions you can take to reduce what you spend. A personalized budget, based on your goals as a couple, as well as your bills and spending, can be automatically generated by PocketGuard, making it fairly easy to get moving with the financial conversation and make the most of your money.

5. Better Haves

Many people like the envelope system of budgeting, and there are even apps that focus on an envelope approach that doesn’t require cash. Better Haves takes this concept and syncs it so you and your partner can see exactly what’s happening with the shared budget.

Each person can see what’s available overall, and even see what’s going on inside each of the envelopes. This is useful when you’re both spending money, but you aren’t in each other’s presence. Plus, you can create shared envelopes for things like utilities and groceries, and individual envelopes for personal spending.

6. HoneyFi

If you want a full-service couples money app, HoneyFi might be a great choice. You start by answering questions about your financial styles and how you manage money as a couple. Set up alerts to let you know about transactions--and stop nagging your partner for receipts.

Plus, HoneyFi even allows communication through the app. You can comment on transactions so your partner can see the categorizations and it makes it easier to ask questions in a non-confrontational way.

7. Honeydue

With this app, couples can make big-picture plans together, track shared expenses, and even make comments. Plus, it’s possible to restrict what information you share, so you can still surprise your significant other.

You can also use Honeydue to remain focused on the most important goals you have together, and track your progress so you don’t spend too much time on the little things that don’t matter as much to your long-term goals and needs.

8. HomeBudget

Just what it sounds like, HomeBudget is an app designed to help your entire household get on the same page. Once you get it set up, you can sync your bank accounts and see spending in various categories. Everyone involved can check-in and see what you’ve got available, and even keep track of recurring bills and due dates.

Plus, another a great thing about about HomeBudget is that you can invite others in, including kids and other household members.

9. EveryDollar

For couples interested in zero-based budgeting, EveryDollar can be a good way to make sure that the whole household remains on the same page and that every dollar has a job, as Dave Ramsey says. In fact, Every Dollar is developed by Dave Ramsey.

You can group all budget items together, and use it for goal planning to make sure your money is working for you. On top of that, if you decide you need a little extra help with your finances, you can use the local providers feature to help you find experts in your area that can help you meet your goals.

10. MyFICO

While you don’t have a joint credit score, your finances will be better as you both improve your individual credit situations. Tracking your credit and identifying problem areas (and fixing them), as a couple can help you improve your finances down the road and open you up for additional opportunities. MyFICO offers a family plan that allows for quarterly credit score updates and monitoring.

11. Grocery

You can see when your partners been to the store, but that doesn’t help you much if you needed them to grab some eggs. One great app to use is Grocery. This app provides you with a way to manage one of the most common--and important--shared financial tasks you have.

Sync your list, check off items as you go along, and see if your partner added anything before you start shopping. It’s a good way to stay on track and make sure you’re not wasting time.

12. Splitwise

Maybe you like to keep your finances separate and split expenses. Splitwise can easily help you keep track of bills and divvy them up in a way that you agree to. It’s a good way to keep track of your shared expenses and make sure you’re both paying as agreed.

Similarly, you can use an app like Venmo to ask your partner to send you money or you can send payment through Venmo as well. However, when you use these apps, you still need to touch base regularly and talk about money.

Managing Money Your Way

In the end, managing your money as a couple is all about finding an app that fits your style. Whether you keep separate accounts or have a big pot, or whether you use a hybrid system, there’s an app that can help you and your partner set goals and make progress together.

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Empower Personal Wealth, LLC (“EPW”) compensates Webpals Systems S. C LTD for new leads. Webpals Systems S. C LTD is not an investment client of Personal Capital Advisors Corporation or Empower Advisory Group, LLC