Disagreements and arguments over money are the second largest cause of divorces in the US. The first cause of divorce of course, is infidelity or cheating on the spouse.
According to various sources, money related issues between couples account for 25 percent to 40 percent of all divorces in the US. In the year 2022, the US recorded 689,308 divorces. Which translates as 172,627 couples or even more, divorcing due to disagreements over money.
Connection between Money & Divorce
Most of these disagreements over money start after marriage, especially when issues such as sharing income and household expenses. If one of the spouses agrees to bear all expenses, fine.
Because there would be no disagreements of any kind. Usually, though, both spouses are obliged to spend and that becomes the major bone of contention. Each one feels they’re bearing a greater chunk of the household financial burden. Or they wish their spouse would do more.
In some cases, divorces occur when sharing money because one spouse suspects the other is hiding a part of their income or isn’t disclosing how much they’re earning.
4 best budget app for couples
In such scenarios, one of the best things that couples could do is use budgeting apps that are specially designed for a household. Budgeting apps for couples can give both partners, accurate information about where their money is going and lets them know if they’re overspending or underspending under some head.
Studies reveal that couples that use budgeting apps can save anything between $383 per month to as much as $2,886 per month, depending on your lifestyle, location and size of the household.
If you would like to use these budgeting apps for couples, continue reading. Because I will be writing about the best budgeting apps for couples for 2024.
1. EveryDollar
If you’re fan of the Dave Ramsey Zero Budgeting Method or Debt Snowball Method, this wonderful budgeting app, EveryDollar, might prove very useful.
EveryDollar is free to use, though the premium version is available at $17.99 per month. EveryDollar is available for Android and iPhone users and can be downloaded and used free. You can upgrade to the premium when necessary.
EveryDollar comes loaded with various features. It allows you to set a budget under various heads. Additionally, it allows you to set due dates for various bills such as electricity, subscriptions and more. You can also set up a savings fund free, through their app.
EveryDollar syncs with your bank account and does real time tracking of each transaction- incoming and outbound.
The process is automatic and hence, you can get a clear picture of the money you spent with credit cards, debit cards and bank transfers, at the end of each day. You can also split bills with your partner, where needed.
Additionally, you can get expense reports and other data to find whether there were some unwanted or unplanned expenses somewhere.
Also Read:
- 10 Ways To Track Expenses With Best Money Tracking Apps List
- How to Make a Budget Plan (15 Budgeting Tips)
- 12 Tips On How To Budget Money On Low Income In 2024
- How to Save Money from Salary?
2. HoneyDue
HoneyDue is free and there are no premium versions available. According to users, this is one of the rare apps that’s specifically created to meet the financial needs of couples or even roommates.
This app is simple and easy to use for everyone. Some of its superb features include bank account syncing, which means both partners can connect their accounts with the app to enable expense tracking.
It comes with real-time transaction tracking. That way, you’re always updated about who paid money and for what purpose. HoneyDue allows you to split bills. Furthermore, it has a due date reminder that ensures you pay all bills on time and don’t have to bear late payment charges.
With HoneyDue, it’s also possible to connect your investment accounts and other accounts and check progress. This app works in the US and four other countries, including Canada and the UK.
3. PocketGuard
PocketGuard comes in two versions. One of these is free and has some limited but superb features. The premium version comes at a one-off lifetime fee of $79.99. This is a very highly rated personal budgeting app that any individual, couple or household could use.
PocketGuard allows you to sync your bank accounts and any other financial accounts both of you might have. It provides free bill tracking and income tracking. This keeps you on top of spending all the time. This app also provides free analysis and spending reports so that you know where every dollar goes.
There’re several other features such as setting a budget, fixing goals for saving, debt payoff plans and free cash tracking. You can also manually input expenses that were met with cash and hence, couldn’t be recorded by the app.
It’s possible to get transaction history at any time since PocketGuard comes with a memory feature to store account sheets.
4. Goodbudget
Goodbudget works on the principles of the good old envelope budgeting system. This means you can create envelopes on the app for various expenses and allot a certain amount of money for payment. You can schedule transactions and fill reload envelopes when they’re empty after spending.
Additionally, Goodbudget gives you free debt tracking and analysis. This means you can repay the dues on the debt on time and avoid stiff late repayment fees. Furthermore, they have a live income to expense tracker.
This tracker is very useful to know how much money has gone from your salaries or wages and how much remains. This also serves as an alert when you’re overspending for something.
You can request from the app for reports on various envelopes and find where and when the money was spent.
You can sync Goodbudget with the device of your spouse or partner or roommate, as the case may be. This means, both persons can know how much money the other is spending and caution them if necessary.
Goodbudget is free to use and the premium version comes at a fee of $70 per year. Which version to use depends on your financial and budgeting needs.
Conclusion
These are the top four budgeting apps for couples in the US. Millions of people in America are already using these apps and saving money from their monthly expenses. You too can start saving today as a couple, with these apps.
Ashwin (Win) Honawar is an accomplished journalist and poignant author with 33 years of experience. He is renowned for his daredevil journalism and engaging narratives that explore various facts of human life and the resilience of the human spirit.
