Money software does not make you richer by itself, but it does stop the slow leaks: the subscription you forgot, the invoice you never sent, the account you never look at. These are the tools I recommend for the four jobs that matter, budgeting the m...
Sections
4
Budget every euro
Freelance and business
Invest and track net worth
Score and credit
Budget every euro
The method first and the app second: give every euro a job before the month starts, and the month stops being a surprise. It is the one on this list that pays me nothing, and it is still where I would start.
YNAB
The one that works when two people share the money. Both of you see the same accounts and the same plan, so the money conversation stops being an argument about facts.
Monarch Money
Finds the subscriptions you forgot about and cancels them for you. Run it once and look at the list, because one or two forgotten subscriptions can cover what the app costs.
Rocket Money
The all-in-one for people who want their money organised for them, with no system to build first. Accounts, bills and investments sit in one place, and it has been around long enough to trust.
Quicken
Freelance and business
What you move to when the accountant asks for real books and a spreadsheet is no longer an answer.
QuickBooks
Free invoicing that is enough for a one-person business. Send the invoice the same day the work ends, while the client still remembers how happy they were with it.
Wave
For getting paid in person without signing a card terminal contract. Useful if you run workshops or sell at events.
Square
Invest and track net worth
One dashboard for every account, so you can see your net worth without maintaining a spreadsheet for it.
Empower
For the person who is never going to get around to investing on purpose. It rounds up your purchases and invests the change, so the habit builds without you having to decide anything.
Acorns
A net worth tracker that handles several currencies, property, crypto and accounts in different countries on one balance sheet. Useful if your money lives in more than one country, which US-only apps handle badly.
Kubera
Score and credit
Watch your score before a lender does it for you. Free, and it tells you what is moving the number.
Credit Karma
Builds credit from nothing, slowly, without handing you a card you can overspend on.
Self
Your free FICO score and credit report straight from the bureau, with alerts when something changes. Check it once a quarter and before any big loan, so errors get fixed before a lender sees them.
