Best apps for budgeting

[Thaiyogamassage]

I need to get my financial shit in order for the new year.

I need a way to budget my personal and household expenses, and also my business expenses as I'm self employed. At the moment I'm transferring money into savings accounts for later and scribbling stuff down in a notebook which is far from ideal! Any tips gratefully received.

Lots of people I know rave about You Need A Budget (YNAB)

Personally I use a notes tab on my phone 😂 Would not recommend for everyone but it works for me! I marry it up with a Monzo account with 'pots' for each budget line, which I transfer into my main account when spending. I pay for the upgraded Perks account which lets me attach virtual cards to the pots - so my Sainsbury's/Gousto come out of a groceries pot automatically, etc. again, a bit of a faff in general but works for me.

@LittleRedRidingHoody Thanks, I had a look at ynab and wasn't sure about connecting it with my bank accounts. Not that I have loads of money to steal! I'll have a look at Monzo.

You don’t need to link YNAB to your bank accounts, it’s good for money mindset particularly the annual costs that can catch folk out. I found it helped me get on top of my money post separation.

I've been doing YNAB for a year, don't link with my accounts, just spend a few minutes every day inputting my spending - I doubt most people do it every day, but I like it that way, makes me feel in control.

I now know what I spent on groceries, petrol, utilities, clothes, birthday presents etc for a whole year and find that very useful.

I will say it was a big learning curve but their customer service was fantastic and they extended the free trial and helped me work out what I was doing wrong.

I just use a simple spreadsheet. I only have my income, outgoings and keep track of savings.
I used to have one bank account for bills and one for my spending money so I could keep track but sounds like Monzo is the way forward.