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My husband and I have been married for eight years. After adding two kids into the mix, our finances became more complicated.
We needed to know who was responsible for which bills, what we were saving for, and where our money was going each month.
So we started trying financial apps.
We found there wasn't one perfect solution. Instead, we pulled together a small stack of tools that make our money visible, keep us aligned and remove some of the friction of financial decision-making.
If you and your partner want to get on the same page about money, consider these options.
💰 A banking app: Tracks progress toward family goals
One of our first financial downloads was the Ally app. We opened a joint high-yield savings account before we got married because we wanted to travel, and this felt like the most equitable way to put money away toward those new adventures.
Years later, that same Ally account has become the hub of our family savings. We keep our emergency fund there and have sinking funds for predictable expenses, such as home improvements, car maintenance, holiday shopping and travel.
With a high-yield savings account, you get a higher interest rate than a traditional savings account, which can help your money grow faster. Ally lets us redirect the monthly interest payments we get to specific savings buckets. When one bucket gets low, we shift the interest payments there to rebuild.
For example, last fall a big car repair nearly wiped out our car maintenance sinking fund, but after a few months of redirecting our monthly interest payments, we’re back up to a $500 buffer. I also use this as a tool to fund my holiday shopping.
Every July, I redirect interest payments to our holiday sinking fund and, by Christmas, I have a healthy budget for presents. Roughly 3 in 10 (32%) holiday shoppers in 2024 still had debt from the previous holiday season, according to NerdWallet’s most recent holiday spending report. I’m determined to not fall in that trap.
👉 How it could help your relationship:
- You can both see your savings goals and add money to them anytime.
- Having separate buckets takes the stress out of spending because you’ve planned for it. Nothing kills a vacation vibe more than wondering how you’re going to pay for it when you get home.
- Setting goals for each bucket can help you feel like you’re making progress saving money together.
» MORE: Find the best high-yield savings account for you
🛒 A grocery list app: Spreads the mental load and keeps spending in check
Before downloading a grocery list app, I was responsible for planning the meals and making the list. If one of us forgot the list, or wanted to stop on the way home from work, we were out of luck.
We tried a few grocery list apps before settling on the free version of Bring, and it changed a lot for our marriage. It created a shared sense of responsibility over our pantry. If one of us sees we’re out of paper towels or we need milk, we can pull up the app and add it to the list. It also helped us cut down on buying things we already had at home.
This kind of coordination matters more when you’re trying to stay on a grocery budget. The USDA predicts grocery prices will rise 3.1% in 2026 — a faster pace than in recent years — making it even more important to avoid waste and unnecessary purchases.
I love how the app updates in real time, so if I’m at the store, my husband can add items that will appear on the list. We have multiple lists for all kinds of shopping — a list for our regular groceries at Aldi, a list for our monthly Costco haul, and lists for upcoming travel, like a summer beach trip.
👉 How it can it help your relationship:
- Makes it easier to stay in sync, even when you’re shopping at different times or on the go.
- Spreads the mental load of meal planning and can lessen resentment.
- Cuts down on duplicate and impulse purchases, helping you stick to your budget.
🧠 A budgeting app: Reveals your money psychology
There have been times where we sat down at the end of the month, wondering where all our money went. Sound familiar?
We open up our credit card statements, scroll through bank transactions, and check our Amazon order history, trying to piece it all together.
Some of this has to do with inflation, which might keep rising in 2026, says Elizabeth Renter, NerdWallet’s senior economist.
“When it costs more to buy the things in your regular budget, it makes sense to pay a bit closer attention to where your money is all going,” she says.
So we tried out Monarch.
I liked that we could link all of our accounts to get a full picture of our household finances in one place. But we quickly ran into a challenge: categorizing our spending.
Outside of our mortgage and utility bills, we realized we don’t naturally think in categories like “groceries” or “home goods.” Instead, we tend to budget in two main ways: by retailer (Target, Costco, Amazon); and by setting a cap on our joint credit card for shared household expenses.
A single Costco trip might include groceries, home goods and things for the kids — all in one transaction. And as long as we weren’t over our agreed limit, we didn’t pay much attention to the details.
Using a budgeting app showed us that this approach can hide spending patterns. Turns out, when everything is lumped together, it’s harder to spot impulse purchases.
We didn’t continue using Monarch, but trying a budgeting app did help us see where our money was actually going.
👉 How it can help your relationship:
- Gives you an honest look at your spending in one place.
- Can take you from “we should spend less” to making more specific decisions about where to cut back.
- Can help you feel more in control of your finances.
» MORE: Our editorial team reviewed the best budgeting apps of 2026
Other tools that help us manage money together
Over time we developed a system for coordinating our finances that helps us feel like a team — even though we split responsibilities. These other tools help support that system day to day:
📱Shared notes on our phone: This is our space for ongoing money decisions. We use a shared note to track progress toward savings goals and keep an eye on spending while traveling. It’s also where we list priorities for tax refund money and co-write financial goals for the new year, checking them off as we go.
🗓️ Family calendar: This is how we stay on track day to day. Sure, we use our digital calendars to add birthday parties and vacations, but we also schedule reminders to pay bills, transfer funds or check on subscriptions.
NerdWallet’s app also has a cash flow feature where you can see your expenses and income in one place.
