5 Best Budgeting Apps for Doctors

Creating a budget from scratch can be difficult.  Individuals who have never created a budget think the process is simply tracking your purchases and what gets deposited into your account…it’s much more complicated than that.  A household (or business) budget has to be comprehensive, transparent, honest, and easily understandable. 

When my wife and I set out to create our shared budget, we had no idea it would take months to perfect.  The process is so difficult that I have created a FREE budgeting app that I offer to any reader who subscribes to my newsletter (at the bottom of this post)!  There are, however, many great applications that exist that can make the budgeting process much easier.  If you think you are better off using an app to budget, then here are the 5 best budgeting apps for doctors. 

Mint

The first app on our list of the 5 best budgeting apps for doctors is Mint.  Mint (Mint Mobile) are products of Intuit.  You likely know Intuit as the creators of TurboTax, Quickbooks, and Credit Karma, amongst other products.  Their budgeting app Mint has created a splash in the personal finance community with a user-friendly way to budget. 

For starters, the app has now been around for quite some time, building a following, and helping Intuit use feedback to create a user interface that is easy to navigate.  Secondly, the app is free.  Third, the process to link your accounts (banking accounts, credit cards, subscriptions, loans, etc.) to the Mint app is relatively straightforward.  This allows users (both young and old) to easily create a budget that factors in all of their revenue streams, expenses, investments, and debts. 

For physicians and non-physicians alike, Mint has solidified its place as one of the best budgeting apps on the market. 

Cost: $14.99 per month or $99.00 annually.  There is a 34-day free trial available too!

The pros of Mint

• Free
• User friendly and well established
• Easily link to multiple banking accounts, credit cards, investments, etc.
• Great customer support

The cons of Mint

• Tracks money after transactions made, meaning little room to direct money proactively
• Can be overwhelming for individuals looking for a bare-bones budgeting app

YNAB (You Need A Budget)

The second app on our list of the 5 best budgeting apps for doctors is YNAB (You Need A Budget).  Unlike Mint, YNAB does allow you to proactively control how you plan to spend your money.  This gives the user more control over how they build their budget.  In practice, this means that as soon as your paycheck hits your banking account, you can tell the YNAB app what percentage of that payment should go to various expense categories.  These categories can include shopping, investment goals, savings, loan repayments, you name it!

Given the control that YNAB allows, it has made a name for itself as one of the best budgeting apps you can buy (because it is not free).  The YNAB website offers a wide variety of resources and support for customers who wish to understand the nuances of the app.  Just like Mint, YNAB also has a streamlined process for linking your accounts (banking, credit, investments, etc.) to the app. 

Cost: $14.99 per month or $99.00 annually.  There is a 34-day free trial available too!

The pros of YNAB

• Allows the user to have more control over their budget categorization
• Easy to link your accounts to the app
• Great resources on the app and website
• App available on smartphones, computers, tablets, Apple Watches, and Amazon devices

The cons of YNAB

• One of the more expensive options compared to other apps on this list
• Requires some time investment to fully understand the nuances of the app

EveryDollar

EveryDollar is a budgeting app created by Ramsey, the company created by Dave Ramsey.  This app has earned a place on this list for ease of use and zero-based budgeting, similar to YNAB.  Now, it is important to note that there are two versions of this app.  There is a free version, and a paid (premium) version.  I will do my best to describe the specifics of both.

Let’s talk about the free version first.  I see the free version of EveryDollar akin to building your own spreadsheet.  Using the free version of this app, you manually enter both your income and expenses.  You also manually create your own budgeting categories and set your own bill reminders.  As you can see, the free version, or ‘EveryDollar Lite’ (as I like to call it), is simple and straightforward… and relatively bare. 

Now, onto the premium (paid) version.  The paid version of EveryDollar offers substantially more features.  For one, the paid version allows you to link your accounts to the app.  With this link, your income, expenses, investments, etc. will automatically appear in the display.  Additionally, the premium version creates custom reports for you based on your transaction history. 

Cost: The basic version is free.  The premium version offers a 14-day free trial, and subsequently charges $12.99 a month, or $79.99 annually.

The pros of EveryDollar

• There is a free version of this app
• The paid version of the app provides custom expense reports based on your spending habits
• This app offers a zero-based framework for budgeting (similar to YNAB) that provides the user with more control

The cons of EveryDollar

• The free version of the app is limited and offers substantially less than Mint (which is free)
• The premium version is less expensive than YNAB, but still pricey

Goodbudget

The next budgeting app on our list prioritizes planning over anything else.  In the Goodbudget app, you can proactively manage how your monthly paycheck is split into various categories (envelopes as they are called in the app).  Each of these envelopes is a spending or expense category that you manage.  

Unfortunately, the Goodbudget app does not link to your banking accounts.  You can manually enter your current account balances however.  If you choose, you can individually input your income, account balances, investments, cash-on-hand, debts, etc., and subsequently decide how you wish to categorize each of these in your envelopes. 

Similar to EveryDollar, there are two versions of Goodbudget.  There is a free version and a paid version.  The free version only allows one account on a maximum of two devices.  The free version also limits how many envelopes (categories) you can create.  The paid version of the app (Goodbudget Plus) allows you to have an unlimited amount of accounts and envelops across a maximum of five devices.  Goodbudget Plus also offers more features that I have not highlighted here. 

The app works on smartphones and the internet.  Their website provides extensive support and supplemental resources regarding how best to utilize the app. 

Cost: Goodbudget is free, and the paid version (Goodbudget Plus) charges $8.00 monthly, or $70.00 annually.

The pros of Goodbudget

• Offers a free version of the app
• Allows the user extensive control over how they categorize their income (using the envelope system)
• One of the less expensive paid options if you choose to pursue Goodbudget Plus

The cons of Goodbudget

• The free version is very limited
• Unable to link accounts to the app

Personal Capital

The last app on our list of the 5 best budgeting apps for doctors is Personal Capital.  Personal Capital’s application is more than just a budgeting tool.  It also doubles as an investment platform as well. 

For starters, the app is free.  Personal Capital offers multiple features including the ability to link you banking accounts, credit cards, investing accounts, etc.  The app does allow you to create expense categories of your own, however it has a default set of categories that are already quite thorough.  The app also offers periodical spending snapshots based on your spending habits. 

Lastly, the app tracks your net worth based on information uploaded to the app.  It also offers a portfolio tracker, monitoring your investments productivity throughout the year.  The app is available on smartphones and the web. 

Cost: Free

The pros of Personal Capital

• Free
• This app is unique as it combines budgeting with investment features
• Offers the ability to link multiple accounts to the app

The cons of Personal Capital

• Does not provide extensive budgeting features found on other apps

Take home points

There are many ways to proceed when it comes to building the perfect budget for you.  Some individuals want complete control over each and every aspect of their budget…what goes in…what comes out.  If that is you, then I have created a great FREE budgeting Excel spreadsheet that you can get simply by signing up for our newsletter below!  However, if using spreadsheets is not for you, then the apps listed above are great for helping you create an honest and transparent budget. 

Only by understanding the nuances of your budget can you truly take control of your finances.  A comprehensive budget is the foundation for reaching financial freedom! If you need more tips on how to perfect your finances, make sure to check out the 52 Best Ways to Improve Your Personal Finances! As always…

Stay motivated!

The Motivated M.D.

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What budgeting apps have you used?  Let us know in the comments below!  We love to hear from you.

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