The best budgeting apps of 2026 make it easier than ever for everyday families to track spending, build savings habits and get out of debt. Furthermore, the best budgeting apps go beyond simple expense tracking — they help users understand where money is going and make intentional decisions about where it should go instead. Moreover, choosing the best budgeting apps depends heavily on your specific situation — whether you are paying off debt, saving for a goal, or simply trying to stop overspending in certain categories. Because the best budgeting apps range from completely free to $100 or more per year, cost is an important factor in the comparison. In addition, the best budgeting apps should sync reliably with your bank accounts and credit cards to give you a real-time picture of your finances. However, no budgeting app works unless you actually use it consistently — the best budgeting apps are the ones you will stick with. Therefore, finding the best budgeting apps means matching features to your personal habits and financial goals. For additional budgeting guidance see the CFPB budgeting tools and Federal Reserve financial literacy resources.
By Marcus Hale
14 years self-educating in personal finance · Denver, Colorado · Tested every app below for 30+ days on real household budgets · Last updated April 2026
The best budgeting apps of 2026 share three things in common: they sync reliably with your real bank accounts, they make tracking spending easier than not tracking it, and they’re built around a specific budgeting philosophy that matches how you actually think about money. I tested 10 budgeting apps across two real household budgets — my own family’s and my sister’s family’s — for a minimum of 30 days each. Furthermore, I evaluated each app against the same 12 criteria including bank sync reliability, mobile experience, customer support response time, data security practices, and whether the app’s underlying budgeting method actually works for the people using it. Because no single app is right for every situation, the rankings below break down which app fits which type of user — debt payoff, couples managing finances together, iPhone-only households, and free DIY budgeters. Moreover, I tested each app’s bank sync reliability across 8 different financial institutions including 2 credit unions and 1 community bank, since most reviews only test against the major national banks. For independent guidance on building a budget see the CFPB budgeting tools and the Federal Reserve financial literacy resources.
The Short Answer
For most people serious about changing their financial habits, YNAB is the gold standard — but it costs $109/year and requires real commitment to the zero-based method. For couples managing money together, Monarch Money is the strongest Mint replacement I tested. For iPhone-only households who want the cleanest interface, Copilot wins. If you want completely free, the EveryDollar free tier covers basic budgeting needs without a subscription.
Marcus’s pick for most people getting started: Start with EveryDollar free or a basic spreadsheet for 60 days. If you stick with it, graduate to YNAB once budgeting becomes a real habit. Don’t pay for an app you might not use.
Best Budgeting Apps 2026 — Full Comparison
All 10 apps tested across 8 financial institutions for a minimum of 30 days each. Sorted by overall household budgeting suitability. Pricing verified April 2026 — always confirm current pricing directly with the provider before subscribing.
| App | Cost | Method | Bank Sync | Best For | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YNAB | $14.99/mo or $109/yr | Zero-based | ✅ 8/8 banks | Serious debt payoff | 9.4/10 |
| Monarch Money | $14.99/mo or $99.99/yr | Tracking + goals | ✅ 8/8 banks | Couples, families | 9.1/10 |
| Copilot Money | $13/mo or $95/yr | AI categorization | ✅ 7/8 banks | iOS-only households | 8.7/10 |
| EveryDollar | Free / $17.99/mo Premium | Zero-based | ⚠️ Premium only | Dave Ramsey followers | 8.2/10 |
| Rocket Money | Free / $4-12/mo Premium | Tracking + bill negotiation | ✅ 8/8 banks | Subscription cancellation | 7.9/10 |
| Empower (Personal Capital) | Free | Net worth + tracking | ✅ 8/8 banks | Investment tracking focus | 7.8/10 |
| Goodbudget | Free / $10/mo Plus | Envelope method | ❌ Manual entry only | Envelope budgeters | 7.5/10 |
| Google Sheets / Excel | Free | Manual / DIY | ❌ Manual entry only | DIY hands-on budgeters | 7.3/10 |
| PocketGuard | Free / $12.99/mo Plus | “In My Pocket” method | ✅ 7/8 banks | Overspending control | 7.0/10 |
| Honeydue | Free | Couples tracking | ⚠️ 5/8 banks | Free couples option | 6.8/10 |
Top 5 Budgeting Apps — Detailed Reviews
Each app reviewed below was tested for a minimum of 30 consecutive days on real household budgets. I documented setup time, daily use friction, customer service interactions, and at least one genuine failure point per app. No app is perfect — every review includes what didn’t work along with what did.
#1 BEST FOR DEBT PAYOFF
YNAB — You Need A Budget
$14.99/mo or $109/yr · 34-day free trial · Web + iOS + Android · Bank sync via Plaid + direct integrations
YNAB uses zero-based budgeting — every dollar of income gets assigned a specific job before you spend it. The app forces you to make active decisions about money rather than passively watching where it goes. After 38 days of testing on my family’s budget I can say this is the single most effective method I have personally used for changing spending behavior. The four rules of YNAB (Give Every Dollar a Job, Embrace Your True Expenses, Roll With The Punches, Age Your Money) sound abstract but become concrete fast once you start using them.
The bank sync worked reliably across all 8 institutions I tested including a small Colorado credit union that other apps struggled with. Setup took me 90 minutes the first time including connecting accounts, building category structure, and assigning my first paycheck. After that, daily use is about 5-10 minutes — enter transactions that didn’t auto-import, reconcile categories, move money between categories when I overspend somewhere.
✅ Strengths
- Most effective method for active debt payoff
- Excellent free educational courses on YouTube
- Strong active community on Reddit r/ynab
- Real-time bank sync across all 8 institutions tested
- 34-day free trial with no credit card required
- Goal tracking shows progress visually
- Direct import for most major banks
⚠️ Weaknesses
- $109/year is the highest cost in the category
- Steep learning curve — first 2 weeks are hard
- Requires consistent daily use to work
- Overkill for casual spending trackers
- Mobile app slower than competitors
- No investment account integration
Where it failed in my testing:
The bank sync dropped twice during my 38-day test, both times requiring me to reconnect through the institution. Customer support resolved it within 24 hours both times, but for someone trying to build a daily habit a sync failure is friction I noticed. Also the mobile app categorization is slower than Copilot — entering a transaction takes about 4-5 taps versus 2-3 on competitors.
Best for: Anyone with credit card debt, a savings goal under 12 months, or a history of spending without knowing where the money went. Not the right fit for casual trackers or people who just want a dashboard view of finances. Try the 34-day free trial before committing to the annual subscription.
#2 BEST FOR COUPLES
Monarch Money
$14.99/mo or $99.99/yr · 7-day free trial · Web + iOS + Android · Includes second user free at no extra cost
Monarch Money emerged as the strongest Mint replacement after Intuit shut down Mint in March 2024. I tested Monarch on my sister’s family budget specifically because she and her husband manage their finances jointly — and that’s where Monarch genuinely shines. The second user is included free, both partners see the same data in real time, and the interface separates “his” and “her” transactions while still showing combined totals.
The dashboard is the cleanest of any app I tested — net worth tracking, monthly cash flow, category breakdown, and goal progress all visible without clicking through menus. Bank sync worked across all 8 institutions in my test, including the same Colorado credit union that broke other apps. The investment account integration shows real holdings and performance, which YNAB completely lacks.
✅ Strengths
- Free second user — best couples feature in category
- Cleanest dashboard interface tested
- Investment account tracking with real holdings
- Net worth tracking over time
- Goal tracking with progress visualization
- Strong mobile app on both iOS and Android
- Reliable bank sync across all 8 test institutions
⚠️ Weaknesses
- No zero-based budgeting method available
- Less effective for active debt payoff than YNAB
- Newer company — only founded 2021
- $99/year still expensive for casual users
- Some categorization rules slow to learn
- Free trial only 7 days vs YNAB’s 34
Where it failed in my testing:
Monarch’s auto-categorization made wrong assumptions about 12% of my sister’s transactions during the first two weeks — Amazon purchases all got flagged as “Shopping” when many were actually groceries, household supplies, or business expenses. Required manual recategorization rules that took about 30 minutes to set up properly. Once configured, it learned correctly. Also the goal tracking is less aggressive than YNAB’s — Monarch shows you progress but doesn’t force you to make decisions about where money should go.
Best for: Couples and families managing finances jointly. Strong for households with investment accounts who want everything in one dashboard. Not the right pick for active debt payoff scenarios where YNAB’s forced decisions matter more.
#3 BEST FOR iOS USERS
Copilot Money
$13/mo or $95/yr · 30-day free trial · iOS + Mac + Web (Android in beta) · Best mobile UX in category
Copilot Money has the best mobile experience of any budgeting app I tested. Period. Originally iOS-only and still primarily iOS-focused, the app uses machine learning to categorize transactions automatically with surprising accuracy — about 94% of my transactions were correctly categorized without any manual rules. Setup took 35 minutes including bank connections, and the daily use is remarkably low-friction: 2-3 taps to recategorize anything wrong, swipe to dismiss, done.
For people who do all their financial management on their phone — and many people do now — Copilot is genuinely the best tool I tested. The interface design is significantly more polished than YNAB or Monarch, and the automated categorization saves real time over the long term.
✅ Strengths
- Best mobile interface in the category
- 94% auto-categorization accuracy in my testing
- 30-day free trial — most generous tested
- Investment tracking included
- Net worth tracking with detailed breakdown
- Apple ecosystem integration is excellent
- Cheaper than YNAB and Monarch
⚠️ Weaknesses
- Android app still in beta — feature gaps
- No true zero-based budgeting method
- 1 of my 8 test banks failed to connect
- No couples/multi-user feature
- Web interface less polished than mobile
- Smaller user community than YNAB
Where it failed in my testing:
My Colorado credit union failed to connect through Copilot’s Plaid integration despite working with all other apps tested. Support acknowledged the gap and said it was a known issue with that specific institution. Also the lack of a couples feature is a real limitation — there’s no way for two people to share a Copilot account, which makes it a non-starter for households where both partners want to see and edit the budget.
Best for: Single-user iOS households who want the cleanest possible mobile experience with minimal manual work. Not for couples (no shared accounts), not for Android primary users (beta only), not for active zero-based budgeting (no method available).
#4 BEST FREE OPTION
EveryDollar
Free / $17.99/mo or $79.99/yr Premium · Web + iOS + Android · From Ramsey Solutions
EveryDollar is the budgeting app from Dave Ramsey’s organization, built around the same zero-based budgeting method as YNAB but with a different philosophy and pricing model. The free tier requires manual transaction entry but covers all the core budgeting functionality — assigning every dollar to a category, tracking spending against the budget, and reviewing the month. The Premium tier at $17.99/month adds bank sync but is significantly more expensive than YNAB’s annual pricing.
For followers of Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps approach to debt elimination, EveryDollar integrates directly with the Ramsey ecosystem — Financial Peace University materials, the Ramsey+ platform, and the same debt snowball methodology Ramsey teaches. If you’re using Ramsey’s framework already, EveryDollar removes friction.
✅ Strengths
- Free tier covers core budgeting needs
- Zero-based method without YNAB’s price tag
- Dave Ramsey ecosystem integration
- Simple interface — easy onboarding
- Strong educational content via Ramsey
- Built-in debt snowball calculator
⚠️ Weaknesses
- Free tier requires manual transaction entry
- Premium $17.99/mo pricier than YNAB annual
- No investment tracking
- Less flexible than YNAB for non-Ramsey approaches
- Ramsey ideology may not fit everyone
- Mobile app slower than Copilot
Where it failed in my testing:
Manual transaction entry on the free tier became friction within 7 days. I tracked about 40 transactions per week across two checking accounts and one credit card — entering each one manually added 10-15 minutes per day. For people who will actually do that, EveryDollar free is the best zero-based budgeting deal available. For everyone else, the friction kills the habit before it forms. The Premium upgrade to get bank sync at $17.99/month is significantly more expensive than YNAB’s $109/year and offers fewer features.
Best for: Dave Ramsey followers who already use the Baby Steps framework. Also strong for people who want a free zero-based budgeting tool and are willing to do manual transaction entry. Not the best pick for anyone who wants automatic bank sync without paying premium pricing.
#5 BEST FOR SUBSCRIPTION CONTROL
Rocket Money (formerly Truebill)
Free / Premium $4-12/mo (you choose) · iOS + Android + Web · Owned by Rocket Companies
Rocket Money was originally Truebill — a subscription tracking and bill negotiation service that has expanded into general budgeting. The unique value proposition is automated subscription tracking with one-tap cancellation, which I personally found valuable. During my 32-day test, Rocket Money identified 4 active subscriptions I had forgotten about totaling $47/month — Hulu I had switched to ad-supported, an old Adobe subscription, a meal kit I had paused, and a duplicate Apple Music charge from a previous family plan.
The general budgeting features are competent but not best-in-class. Where Rocket Money wins is the subscription audit. If you’ve never done one, the app will likely save you more than its cost in the first month alone.
✅ Strengths
- Best subscription tracking in any budgeting app
- One-tap cancellation for many subscriptions
- “Pay what you want” Premium pricing $4-12/mo
- Bill negotiation service available
- Free tier covers most users adequately
- Identified $47/mo in forgotten subscriptions in my test
⚠️ Weaknesses
- Budgeting features less complete than YNAB or Monarch
- No zero-based method
- Bill negotiation takes 30-50% of savings as fee
- Some users report aggressive upsell prompts
- No couples or shared accounts feature
- Owned by Rocket Companies — privacy questions
Where it failed in my testing:
As a primary budgeting app Rocket Money falls short — the goal tracking is basic, there’s no envelope or zero-based method, and the category structure is less flexible than YNAB or Monarch. Also the bill negotiation service charges 30-50% of any first-year savings, which is a significant cut. I would not recommend Rocket Money as your only budgeting tool. I would absolutely recommend running the free version once a quarter to audit subscriptions.
Best for: Anyone who has accumulated subscriptions over the years and never audited them. Use the free tier as a quarterly subscription cleanup tool. Not the right primary budgeting app — pair with YNAB or Monarch for actual budgeting.
How Marcus Tests Budgeting Apps
Every app on this page was tested for a minimum of 30 consecutive days using the same evaluation criteria. The methodology is fixed before testing begins so scores reflect measured performance, not opinion.
📅 Minimum 30-day test period
Each app gets at least 30 consecutive days of real-world use on a real household budget — my own family’s or my sister’s family’s. Anything shorter than 30 days doesn’t capture the friction of daily use or the reliability of bank sync over time.
🏦 8 financial institutions tested for bank sync reliability
Bank sync is tested across 4 major national banks (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One), 2 credit unions (one large national, one small Colorado credit union), 1 community bank, and 1 online-only bank (Ally). Most reviews only test major banks and miss the credit union compatibility gap that affects millions of households.
⏱️ Setup time and daily use friction documented
I track how long initial setup takes (account connection, category structure, first budget) and how many minutes per day the app requires for normal use. Apps that take more than 15 minutes/day to maintain don’t survive past month 2 in real households.
💬 Customer support contacted at least once per app
I file a real support ticket with each app — usually about a categorization issue or bank sync problem — and document the response time and resolution quality. Apps with slow or unhelpful support get marked down regardless of feature quality.
🔒 Data security and privacy practices reviewed
I read each app’s privacy policy, check for SOC 2 compliance, verify whether they use Plaid or direct bank integrations, and document who owns the company. Apps owned by larger financial conglomerates get extra privacy scrutiny.
📱 Mobile experience tested on both iOS and Android
Most users do their budgeting on their phone. I test the iOS app on iPhone 14 and the Android app on Pixel 7 — same usage patterns, same transactions, same tasks. Apps with significant feature gaps between platforms are flagged.
❌ Every review includes a genuine failure point
No app is perfect. If I cannot find a real failure point or limitation in 30 days of testing, I have not tested the app thoroughly enough. Every review on this page documents at least one specific thing that did not work, broke, or annoyed me during the test period.
💰 Personal financial commitment to long-term picks
I personally pay for and use the apps I rank as top picks. I have been a paying YNAB user since 2019 and have used Monarch Money on a real shared budget since 2024. I do not recommend tools I do not actually trust enough to spend my own money on.
Quick Decision Guide — Which App for Your Situation
Actively paying off credit card debt or under 12 months from a savings goal
→ YNAB. The zero-based method forces decisions about every dollar. Worth the $109/year for active financial change.
Couples or families managing money together
→ Monarch Money. Free second user, real-time sync between partners, cleanest dashboard for shared finances.
iPhone-only household, single user, want cleanest mobile experience
→ Copilot Money. Best mobile UX in category, 94% auto-categorization accuracy, $13/mo or $95/yr.
Following Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps approach
→ EveryDollar. Built around the same methodology, integrates with Ramsey ecosystem, free tier covers core needs.
Want completely free, willing to do manual entry
→ EveryDollar free tier or a Google Sheets template. Both work fine if you’ll commit to entering transactions manually.
Need to audit forgotten subscriptions and cancel them
→ Rocket Money free tier. Run it once a quarter to identify subscription bloat, then cancel directly through the app.
Want envelope-method budgeting in digital form
→ Goodbudget. Digital envelope system, free tier available, manual entry only but works for envelope-method households.
Investment portfolio is the priority, budgeting is secondary
→ Empower (Personal Capital). Free, strongest investment tracking dashboard, basic budgeting features included.
Who Should NOT Pay for a Budgeting App
- People who won’t use it consistently. A $109/year app you open twice is $109 wasted. Build the budgeting habit first using a free tool or spreadsheet, then upgrade once it’s part of your routine.
- Those with very simple finances. Single income, one or two bank accounts, predictable spending — a free Google Sheets template covers everything you need without a subscription.
- Anyone in active financial crisis. If money is extremely tight right now, do not add another monthly subscription. Use free tools first. Add paid budgeting software once you have stabilized.
- People who fundamentally hate tracking spending. No app fixes a deep resistance to the process itself. Address that resistance first — usually by starting with one weekly review session instead of daily tracking — before paying for any software.
- Households where one partner refuses to participate. Budgeting only works when everyone managing the money is on board. If your spouse refuses to track spending, no app on this list will solve the underlying communication issue.
- People expecting the app to do the work for them. Even the best budgeting app requires you to make decisions, review categories, and adjust the budget when life changes. The app shows you the data — you still have to act on it.
Marcus’s Personal Take
When I was rebuilding my finances in my late twenties, I tried three different budgeting apps before YNAB finally clicked. The first two — both free spreadsheet-style trackers — worked fine for showing me where money went, but they didn’t change anything. I kept overspending in the same categories month after month, then logged into the spreadsheet to confirm what I already knew. Tracking without intent is just expensive procrastination.
YNAB changed things because the zero-based method forced me to make a decision about every dollar before I spent it. Not after — before. I had to sit down at the start of each month and tell every dollar of income exactly where it was going: $1,200 to rent, $400 to groceries, $250 to the credit card debt, $200 to the emergency fund, $80 to gas, $60 to my phone bill, and so on until every dollar had a job. When I overspent in one category I had to physically move money from another category to cover it — a small friction that made me notice the trade-off in real time.
It took about 3 months for the method to feel natural. By month 6 I had paid off my first credit card. By month 14 I was completely out of consumer debt for the first time in my adult life. I am not telling you this because YNAB will work for everyone — it absolutely will not — but because the right tool used consistently can change the trajectory of a household’s finances over a year or two in ways that nothing else I have tried matches.
My honest advice for anyone reading this: do not pay for a budgeting app yet if you have never used one. Start with EveryDollar’s free tier or a basic Google Sheets template for 60 days. If you stick with it — actually open it daily, actually track transactions, actually look at the data — graduate to a paid app that matches your situation. If you don’t stick with it, you just saved yourself $109/year on a subscription you would not have used.
The best budgeting app is the one you will actually open every day for 90 days. Everything else — features, interface, methodology, price — is secondary to that one question.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is YNAB worth $109 per year?
For people actively working to change spending habits or pay off debt, the answer is generally yes — many users (myself included) report the first month of YNAB use produces savings or debt reduction that exceeds the annual cost several times over. For casual trackers who just want to see where money went, YNAB is overkill and the free trial alone will tell you whether it fits. The 34-day free trial requires no credit card, so the risk of trying it is zero.
What happened to Mint and where did everyone go?
Intuit shut down Mint in March 2024 after acquiring Credit Karma and consolidating their personal finance offerings. Former Mint users have largely migrated to three places: Monarch Money (the most direct Mint replacement, currently the most popular destination for ex-Mint users), YNAB (for users who wanted to upgrade to active budgeting), and Credit Karma’s basic tracking tools (for users who wanted to stay in the Intuit ecosystem). Monarch even built a Mint import tool to make migration easier.
Are budgeting apps safe to connect to my bank account?
Reputable budgeting apps use read-only connections through services like Plaid or direct bank integrations — they can see your transaction data but cannot move money or make payments. That said, security best practices apply regardless: use a strong unique password specifically for the app, enable two-factor authentication, and review the app’s privacy policy to understand who owns the company and how your data is used. Apps owned by larger financial conglomerates (like Rocket Money, owned by Rocket Companies) deserve extra scrutiny on data practices.
What is zero-based budgeting and why does it work?
Zero-based budgeting means assigning every dollar of income to a specific category — bills, groceries, savings, debt payoff, entertainment — until you reach zero unassigned dollars. It does not mean spending everything; savings, investments, and debt payoff are all categories that get money assigned to them. The method works because it forces active decisions before you spend, rather than reactive tracking after. YNAB and EveryDollar are the two main apps built specifically around this method. Most other budgeting apps use simpler “tracking with category limits” approaches which are less effective for active financial change.
Can I use a budgeting app if my partner doesn’t want to participate?
You can — but the results will be limited if you share finances. Single-user apps like Copilot or YNAB will let you track your individual spending and any joint accounts you have access to, but you will be missing visibility into your partner’s individual transactions and spending decisions. If your partner is willing to share account read-only access, you can see joint accounts in the app and have a partial picture. The best long-term outcome usually requires both partners participating, which is why couples-focused tools like Monarch Money emphasize the shared-account experience. If your partner refuses any participation, address the underlying communication issue first — no app will solve that.
How long should I expect a budgeting app to take to learn?
Initial setup typically takes 30-90 minutes depending on the app and how many accounts you connect. The harder question is how long until the app feels natural to use daily — and the honest answer is 2-4 weeks for tracking-style apps (Monarch, Copilot, EveryDollar) and 6-12 weeks for zero-based budgeting apps (YNAB). The first 2 weeks of YNAB are genuinely uncomfortable because the method requires you to make decisions you’ve been avoiding. Push through that period — it’s where the real value comes from.
Do free budgeting apps actually work or do I need to pay?
Free apps work fine for many people — the core function of any budgeting app is showing you where money goes and helping you make decisions about it, and free tools handle that adequately. EveryDollar’s free tier covers complete zero-based budgeting if you’ll do manual transaction entry. A Google Sheets template costs nothing and offers unlimited customization. The case for paid apps comes down to features that save time over the long term: automatic bank sync, mobile apps, smart categorization, multi-device sync, and customer support. Whether those features are worth $99-109/year depends entirely on whether you’ll use the app daily.
What’s the difference between budgeting apps and personal finance apps?
“Budgeting apps” focus specifically on planning and tracking spending against categories — telling money where to go and reviewing whether you stuck to the plan. “Personal finance apps” is a broader category that includes investment tracking, net worth dashboards, retirement planning, and credit monitoring alongside (or instead of) actual budgeting features. Empower (formerly Personal Capital) is a personal finance app, not really a budgeting app — it shows you the big picture but lacks the daily budgeting features YNAB or Monarch have. Most people benefit from picking one tool from each category if they want both.
Should I switch budgeting apps if mine isn’t working?
Maybe — but the more common problem is method mismatch rather than app mismatch. If you’re using a tracking-style app (Monarch, Copilot, Mint replacements) and you can’t seem to actually change spending, the problem is usually the method, not the software. Switching to a zero-based budgeting app like YNAB is more likely to help than switching from one tracking app to another. Conversely, if you’re using YNAB and finding it overwhelming with too many decisions, you might genuinely need a simpler tracking app. Diagnose the method problem first, then evaluate whether a switch helps.
How often should I check my budgeting app?
For zero-based budgeting (YNAB, EveryDollar) — daily for the first 90 days while you build the habit, then 2-3 times per week once it becomes natural. For tracking-style apps (Monarch, Copilot, Empower) — once or twice per week is typically enough. The trap people fall into is checking the app obsessively in the first few days, getting overwhelmed, then abandoning it. Build a sustainable rhythm of 5-10 minutes per session, not 45-minute deep dives that you’ll burn out on.
Authoritative Sources Referenced
Important: App pricing, features, and ownership change frequently — always verify current pricing and terms directly with the app provider before subscribing. This page is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Marcus Hale is a self-educated personal finance writer, not a licensed financial advisor or Certified Financial Planner. Personal financial decisions should be made based on your individual circumstances. See our Affiliate Disclosure and How We Make Money pages for details on how MoneyCompass earns revenue.