From clothing to groceries to morning coffee, it's easy to lose track of every purchase we make in our day to day lives. By better understanding how we spend our money, we're able to make more informed decisions about our financial future, such as budgeting and saving for emergencies.

It seems like a big order- how do you wrap your head around your finances? How do you find the time to track and manage every purchase? Luckily, there are useful and simple apps that can help you track your spending so that you can make informed choices. Here are the Perpay team’s current favorites!

1. Mint: “Mint tracks all of the money I spend and groups it together, so I know if one month if I spend too much on something, like entertainment. I like how easy it is to budget on Mint- it is all suggested based on what I spend, and what I want to spend or save. Also has reminders on bill paying, and I can even pay through the app so I don’t forget to do it later.” - Molly

2. Personal Capital: “This isn’t really a budgeting app, but it does pull together all of my spending, and groups into categories so I can see trends in spending. It also tracks “net worth”. I use to think that was only a term for people like Warren Buffet, but it is fun to track as I try and meet my financial goals.” - Evan

3. Albert: “I like this app because you can kind of set and forget. It tells you when you could save money on things, and when it sees trends in your spending that you could change. I am not a huge fan of budgets, but I do need reminders from time to time.” - Kyle

4. Level Money: “Not only does Level Money track all of your spending in a full feed with each transaction broken out, but it then tells you how much money you have left to spend in different areas. I find it easier than just plain budgeting because I can then think through my budget based on my “level” of spending in specific areas.” - Fiona

5. Mvelopes: “They take the idea of budgeting through cash in envelopes, and turned it into an app. You basically “fund” each envelope (one for food, one for entertainment, etc). They also help you figure out what each envelope should be funded at based on your priorities, not just your past spending.” - Michael

5 Budgeting Apps We Love