10 Budgeting Apps Every Busy Mom Needs
Using the right budgeting apps can help you take control of your finances
Being on top of your finances is one of the most important things you can do for your household. To do that well, it's essential to have a budget so you can clearly see where your money is going, manage your expenses, and plan for large expenditures.
There are plenty of budgeting methods out there – from the Japanese Kakeibo method for keeping household accounts, to Elizabeth Warren’s elegant 50/20/30 Rule, and even the multi-faceted Envelope Budgeting system – each with its own strengths and quirks. Finding one that suits you is simply a matter of trial and error.
No matter which budgeting system you choose, budgets do require some effort on your part. At the very least, you’ll need to record your expenses and make some calculations.
But wait, you don’t actually have to keep a ledger to scribble in (unless pen and paper is your thing). Instead, try using a budgeting app or two.
To help you get started, we’ve picked out some of our favourites.
For a sleek, minimalist app, look no further than Dime. Launched in October 2022, the budgeting app was built by a solo student developer looking to kickstart his programming journey.
Say goodbye to the hassle of complicated expense tracking. With its beautifully designed iOS-centric interface, Dime provides insightful breakdowns of your expenditures over various time periods, allowing you to gain a clear understanding of your spending habits. The tracker allows you to analyse your expenses on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis.
Another great feature is the budgeting feature – creating and sticking to budgets has never been easier. Dime enables you to create budgets based on expense categories, empowering you to take control of your finances. With Dime’s budgeting feature, you can set spending limits for groceries, entertainment, transportation, and more. Stay on track and achieve your financial goals with confidence.
Cost: FREE
Download: iOS
Co-founded in 2020 by two local financial planners, financial advisor Cherie Wang and financial analyst Kenneth Wang, Planner Bee aims to be the ultimate all-in-one financial app. The platform is unlike any other simple budget tracker: besides expense tracking, Planner Bee also allows you to track other finances such as insurance, banking, and investments.
Planner Bee is also well-connected, thanks to with partnerships with more than 30 banks and financial institutions across six countries in Asia. The app also conveniently offers personalised insights and tips, which help you get a better overview of your finances over time.
Planner Bee is free to download and use, and is completely free of in-app purchases.
Cost: FREE
Download: iOS, Android
Wally is chock-full of useful features, such as the ability to sync your bank accounts and the creation of customised budgets to track your spending automatically. It’s easy to see why Wally stands out among the most popular personal finance budgeting apps out there.
The app provides plenty of information about your finances, all broken down into easy-to-digest sections presented through a clean and simple interface. Entering and tracking your expenses is kept easy with its built-in receipt-scanning feature, which doubles up as a convenient repository for important bills.
You can also create shopping lists to help you stick to your budget and avoid impulse buys.
Wally is free to download and use. There’s also Wally Gold, a paid version that comes with extra features like filtered data exporting and repeat notifications.
Cost: FREE
Download: iOS
Developed by Thai app developers Muze Innovation, Spendio is a simplified budget tracker that encourages you to save towards your personal goals. The app makes great use of an easy-to-read line chart that tracks your expenses as they go up and down over time – creating your very own ‘stock market’ report, coloured in bright orange.
Saving up for something is easy; just create a budget for it and top up anytime towards your goal. You can also create a separate wallet for travel in the currency of your choosing.
All these are beautifully designed features that should provide that extra motivation to rein in your spending in favour of your savings goals. But perhaps the coolest feature yet is the app’s ability to pair with your Apple Watch, unlocking the ability to input financial data via smart voice-to-text.
Cost: FREE
Download: iOS
A full-featured budget tracking app, Spendee works like a money manager that lives in your phone. Start by entering your expenses and assets, and the app will consolidate everything into an easy-to-understand graphic with powerful insights at a glance.
Then, fine tune your finances by setting smart budgets that help you avoid overspending, while encouraging you to save towards future goals.
The basic app is free to use, but you can opt in to free trials of planned paid features, such as bank account syncing and crypto wallet linking.
Cost: FREE
Download: iOS, Android
Wallet is another feature-rich finance tracking and budgeting app designed to provide a high degree of visibility for your daily transactions, which should prove useful for those who often end up surprised by how much you’ve spent on artisanal butter this month.
The app comes complete with a sophisticated ‘Cash Flow Trend’ chart, which lets you affirm your finances with a quick glance – and hopefully nudge you away from wrecking your budget this month. Other useful features include adjustable spending categories and budgets for different expenses.
Syncing your bank accounts for automatic updates (along with other advanced stuff like multiple accounts and in-depth reports) will require a premium subscription, but the free version works well enough as long as you’re faithful with recording your finances.
Cost: FREE
Download: iOS, Android
If you’re a DBS or POSB account holder, you might wanna explore your digibank app. Hidden in the ‘Plan’ tab is a whole slew of personal budgeting features on par with some of the leading budgeting apps out there.
Officially known as the NAV Planner, you can use this powerful digital tool to track your money and grow your assets to meet future goals.
NAV Planner combines data from your DBS/POSB account with any additional assets and expenses (such as CPF, property and investments) you may have for a more complete and accurate profile of your overall finances. The tool also provides personalised insights into your financial habits and offers tailored tips and solutions over time.
Besides big-picture planning, NAV Planner also provides useful nuggets such as monthly expense summaries that automatically sorts your spending into specific categories.
Cost: FREE
Download: iOS – POSB | DBS, Android – POSB | DBS
Featuring a whimsical art style reminiscent of scrapbooking, Monny seeks to gamify your personal finance journey.
The budgeting app displays your finances such as expenses and charts using cards dressed up with a cartoonish flair – good to soften the existential dread when you discover you’ve gone over budget again, perhaps?
There’s even a mascot, Monny the Bunny, who challenges you to various money challenges in a cheerily designed ‘theme park’.
This Taiwanese-designed financial app (ah, that explains a lot), stands out for its cutesy approach to what can be a stressful issue for some. Well worth checking out!
Cost: FREE
Download: iOS, Android
Unlike some other budgeting apps, YNAB (You Need a Budget) doesn’t coddle you or attempts to sugar-coat things. Instead, the app focuses on teaching you how to prioritise and plan your finances. It “requires you to be forward-looking and intentional about every dollar; it requires you to be aware, but in return you’ll be in total control of your finances, and in so doing, your life.”
Yikes, YNAB has got some pretty stern vibes going on. But then again a firm hand could be just what you need to finally get your finances in order.
Cost: Free for first 30 days, then $16.48/mth thereafter.
Download: iOS, Android
The practice of Zen espouses the cultivation of mindfulness as the key to a more enlightened life. Zenmoney wants to take that philosophy and focus it on your financial life.
Incongruously, the app’s developers are Russian, but that don’t let that detract from the app’s purpose – which is to “give you a feeling of security and confidence in your judgment abilities”.
True to its name, the app features clean, no-frills layouts with white backgrounds, the better to calmly digest the state of your finances. Colours are reserved for reports, which feature geometrical shapes and graphs for utmost clarity.
From gaining awareness of your expenses to setting individual budgets, scanning receipts, and sharing reports, Zenmoney lets you do it all with serenity.
Cost: FREE
Download: iOS, Android
Text: Alevin Chan/SingSaver.
SingSaver is a personal finance comparison platform that allows users to easily compare credit cards, personal loans, and insurance for free, while helping empower people to lead healthier financial lives through increased financial literacy.