Before we got married, my wife and I settled on a budget system we really liked—Daily Budget. The problem with that is that all the tracking is done locally on-device, so if we have 2 devices, 2 phones, both running the same budget since we merged our finances, we can no longer use that app.
We’ve tried more traditional budgets, where we track spending and set limits, but it just seems that every month we go over budget on most categories. The budget system just isn’t working like it was on Daily Budget when we had separated finances.
We really like the format of having a daily budget and getting a good idea of how much spending money we can afford that the Daily Budget app provides. Are there any similar apps that sync between devices?
Have you tried GoodBudget? It’s an envelope-based budget app that syncs across multiple devices. You and your wife could both have it installed and update spending on your phones while tracking the same budget in real time.
@Blair
I haven’t! We liked Daily Budget because it was super simple—basically showed us how much we could spend every day. Does GoodBudget work similarly in terms of simplicity?
Zander said: @Blair
I haven’t! We liked Daily Budget because it was super simple—basically showed us how much we could spend every day. Does GoodBudget work similarly in terms of simplicity?
GoodBudget is slightly more involved since it uses the envelope system, but once you set it up, it’s fairly easy to track spending and see what’s left in each category. It’s not as focused on daily spending amounts, but it does a good job of keeping everything in sync between devices. Worth checking out!
We use You Need a Budget (YNAB). It’s not exactly the same as Daily Budget, but it helps us plan ahead and has excellent syncing across devices. It helps us stay aligned on goals and spending, even when we’re out and about with separate devices.
Zander said: @Micah
Thanks! YNAB seems to come up a lot. Do you feel like it gives you that same visibility into how much you can spend day-to-day?
It doesn’t break it down by day as much as by category, but it does let you see what’s left for the month and helps you adjust if you overspend in a category. It takes a bit of getting used to, but we’ve saved so much more using YNAB versus other budgeting methods.
Check out Honeydue. It’s great for couples, syncs easily across devices, and lets both of you track spending. It’s more focused on sharing and visibility, which might work well for your needs.
Addison said:
Check out Honeydue. It’s great for couples, syncs easily across devices, and lets both of you track spending. It’s more focused on sharing and visibility, which might work well for your needs.
Thanks for the suggestion! Is Honeydue free, or does it come with a cost?