As a Christian, I want to be a good steward of the money God’s provided my family with.
Thus, I appreciate budgeting.
EveryDollar is a budgeting app that’s designed to help maximize your income and make you more financially productive.
Dave Ramsey created the app from his multiple experiences with the budgeting challenges people face. Being a personal finance guru, the app is highly recommended by numerous experts and consumers that have used the platform.
The software is modeled after the principles of a zero based budget, which aims to “give every dollar a job.” This way, you can always account for every money you’re spending, and you can say exactly where you’re putting the bulk of your funds.
EveryDollar records your transaction in the app as you work through the month. Excess funds can be rolled over to your savings account in the following month.
Pros and Cons of EveryDollar
Let’s first consider the merits of using EveryDollar to make and manage your budget:
Pros of EveryDollar
1. Easy Setup
For a simple budget, you can get going in less than ten minutes. The process is straightforward enough for any budgeting rookie to understand.
2. Multiple Categories
EveryDollar has numerous categories to accommodate all expense types. This way, it’s easier to track your expenses and prevent overspending your budget.
3. Quickly Add Transactions
After setting up, it’s time to start entering some necessary transaction details. Some information you’ll have to enter includes the vendor, the amount spent, and the category the expense falls into.
4. Accessible on multiple platforms
Because the information is stored on a cloud-based server, you can access its details from any internet-enabled device. This makes it easier to access your budget without the fear of forgetting your device at home or misplacing it. EveryDollar automatically synchronizes your info on every device that you’ll log in to.
Cons of EveryDollar
Just like every other budgeting app, EveryDollar also has its demerits. Here are some cons of the app:
1. it’s only designed for budgeting services
If you want an app that can help with more complex financial decisions like investment etc. Then you may have to opt for an alternative.
2. High cost of upgrading
At $129.99 as an annual upgrade fee, it ranks amongst the most expensive budgeting apps in the market.
The fact that they don’t offer monthly installment payments makes this app a massive turn-off for newbies to budgeting.
3. Inability to sync with bank app on the free app
If you’re using the free app, you’ll notice that it’s unable to synchronize with your bank. In the free version of the app, you’ll have to enter your transactions manually for them to be registered. This is time-consuming and can be hectic if you’re saving numerous transactions.
How to Use EveryDollar
You need to first signup to the platform before you can use its benefits. After registering, you can opt for your money goals.
You’ll be asked to enter some information. This info is needed to properly personalize the account to suit your budgeting needs.
The setup involves entering some intrinsic financial figures like your giving, debt, expenses, and income. EveryDollar will provide suggestions on budget percentages by category.
Here’s a picture of how the section looks:
If you get paid once every two weeks, then it’s best to enter your total monthly income. A more suitable alternative method may be to enter two pay cycles for the month.
Ensure you enter important expenses like transportation, food, housing, and other important expenses.
You’re allowed to alter the names of each line item. You can also add to each of the items that are on the list.
Note: EveryDollar expects that you enter the monthly payment and not the total amount that you owe. Although mortgage payment can be considered as a part of debt payment, EveryDollar did not include it in their list.
Adding Transactions
All you were doing before is to set your planned spending amounts. You’re not going to track your exact earning and spending till all your transaction has been added.
How much does EveryDollar cost?
You can use the basic version of the app for free. However, this free version requires that you manually enter your transactions. Although this can be a good thing for a newbie to budgeting, it can get annoying as you get experienced with the platform. There is something insightful about entering your expenses manually. It helps you understand how you spend money, and where you may be over-spending.
However, if you’d rather cut-off the fuss of manually entering your data, then you should upgrade to EveryDollar Plus. With this upgrade, you’re paying for the bank and credit card transaction downloading which will improve your budgeting accuracy. It’ll also save you time in preparing your budget.
If you want the Plus version, then you have to pay an annual fee of $129. Some experts believe that this is too much a price to pay for a budgeting app. But it definitely worth the price if you’re just starting as a rookie in budgeting.
How secure is the app?
Just as other budgeting apps, this app uses a multi-factor authentication system and a top-notch data encryption technique. The company has a data center where it ensures that its servers are kept secure.
Here’s direct access to EveryDollar’s privacy policy for more information.
Are there ads in EveryDollar?
Thankfully, the only ads on EveryDollar free version is an advertisement for the paid version. You can also find ads for Ramsey’s providers in the Ramsey Pros section.