If you’re looking to get started with a budgeting app, you may feel overwhelmed by the options available to you. There’s so much on the market that it can be similar to standing at a convenience store wanting to buy some chocolate. If there are, say, five choices, then it’s pretty easy to make a decision, but when there are twenty or thirty, then it’s all the more difficult. Choice overload is a real problem, and if you’re feeling conflicted, don’t worry; you’re not alone.
Right now, the budgeting app market is still feeling the effects of the Mint app going the way of the dodo, and some of the programs that have aroused some interest include EveryDollar and PocketGuard, as they claim to be easy to use and offer quick glance insights into your budgets. Naturally, PocketGuard believes its own offering is the best available to you, but we want to be straightforward and give you a full overview of EveryDollar as well. In this article, we’ll cover the basics of the EveryDollar, its strengths and weaknesses, and why PocketGuard could well be an excellent choice.
The EveryDollar Budget App
EveryDollar is owned and published by Ramsay Solutions, a financial services company founded by Dave Lawrence Ramsay III. He is a famous radio presenter familiar in the United States for offering financial advice, the author of the New York Times bestseller The Total Money Makeover, and a regular contributor to the Fox News Channel well known for his conservative leanings. Ramsay Solutions provides an all-encompassing media portfolio, including radio shows, books, and podcasts, ostensibly designed to provide guidance to people looking to take control of their finances.
The EveryDollar budgeting tool says it has a customer base of over 10 million users, and its unique selling point is based on simplicity of use, stating that any user can create a personalized budget with ease. Clients are able to set up customized categories to match their own spending behavior, and the app is also designed to make it easy for them to stream transactions directly from their bank accounts. Ramsay III has made much of this career focused on straightforward-to-implement, general financial advice, and that’s further emphasized by the app’s design.
EveryDollar asserts that after its customers use the app, they will be able to enjoy a number of benefits, including an average of $400 to be used towards paying debt, reduced monthly expenses of at least 10%, and improved budgeting habits. It’s difficult to verify these figures, but you would expect that users should experience some benefits after one month of use. However, these statistics are very general in nature and also highlight how the app might be specifically aimed at people with pre-existing debt problems.
The PocketGuard App
Founded in 2015 and expanding significantly over the last three years, PocketGuard is based in California and is comprised primarily of Americans as well as Ukrainians. The team behind the app is significantly smaller than the giant of Ramsay Solutions and retains its startup ethos, with many team members holding expertise in areas that go beyond the departments they work in. The team’s watchword is ‘humanity,’ which is why they have focused on creating an app that’s practical and can be used by almost anyone.
Avoiding political positioning comes as part of this doctrine, and the only thing that the PocketGuard team is focused on is providing the best possible service to its customers. This also means that it understands when the team hasn’t lived up to its own expectations, for example, when a large number of former Mint users migrated over and its customer support system struggled to cope. By communicating openly with its clients, ie, treating them as humans, and acknowledging its mistakes, PocketGuard highlighted how it is always seeking to improve its service and how it values its clients.
Pocketguard vs EveryDollar: How Do They Work?
At first glance, you might be forgiven for thinking that PocketGuard and EveryDollar are the same kind of apps, as they both claim to provide a simple-to-use interface with a high degree of customization for spending categories. That’s an understandable assessment, but only at the surface level, and when you start to examine how these budgeting programs work, you’ll begin to realize that they’re rather different. Let’s take a look in more detail.
EveryDollar
EveryDollar connects to your bank accounts, publishes the information you provide, and creates monthly budgets, allowing you to set custom items and categories while also providing due date reminders. The system includes a financial dashboard, allowing you to see all your finances at once, and also supports multi-currency transactions.
The app’s premium service allows you to access financial advice, create overspending plans, and set up savings goals for things like holidays and other major purchases. Of course, these features come at a cost, but many of EveryDollar’s core features will work well for people looking for basic money management functions.
PocketGuard
PocketGuard also supports its users when they connect the app to their bank and allows them to create a limited number of customized categories for free and an unlimited number under the premium version. The app does not currently offer multi-currency transactions. However, as EveryDollar is only available in the United States, this difference is negligible.
When it comes to overall attributes, PocketGuard begins to move ahead as it offers many of the features included in the EveryDollar premium plan as standard. These include bill and loan management, automatically generated reports, and others. Users can also enjoy 256-bit SSL encryption security for their accounts.
Pocketguard vs EveryDollar: The Key Differences
As we can see, the primary characteristics of these applications are relatively similar, but there are key differences, and these deserve to be examined in more detail. This should help you decide which one is right for you. We’re also including information about the expanded services of each app.
EveryDollar | PocketGuard |
The app claims to have high-level multilayer security, but does not make mention of any two-factor authentication. | PocketGuard includes 2FA, a four-digit PIN code, and a secure password vault as standard. |
EveryDollar does have some limited customer reviews on feedback websites but on social media sites like Reddit the app has attracted criticism for its customer service. | PocketGuard provides high-quality customer support without the presence of any bots. The company prides itself on always providing real human interactions. |
As it has a relatively simple interface, designed to appeal to as many people as possible, EveryDollar does not currently offer this feature. | You can renegotiate your recurring monthly bills (cell phones, electric, WiFi, etc) via the PocketGuard app This service carries no additional charge unless a bill is lowered. |
EveryDollar is enabled for SAAS, web, and cloud, and can be accessed on both iOS and Android. | PocketGuard is enabled for SAAS, web, and cloud, and can be accessed on both iOS and Android. |
EveryDollar is currently only available in the US with no plans to expand internationally. | PocketGuard is available in the US, Canada, and the UK. |
PocketGuard is the Best Choice
We believe that PocketGuard is the leading finance budget app because it allows you to do more than combine all your financial information into one system; it allows you to create a much more unique ecosystem. As you can enjoy 256-bit SSL encryption security for your account, you can rest assured that your personal information is completely protected. This allows you to focus on the necessities, and while EveryDollar is marketed as ideal for the average person, its one-size-fits-all approach means it falls short of providing the highest quality service.
PocketGuard is straightforward, interactive, and user-friendly, and its interface is as easy to understand and process as EveryDollar’s. What makes it a better option is that it provides superior graphics and information for functions including but not limited to bill and loan management, automatically generated reports, spending limits and trackers, and numerous other features. The PocketGuard app also goes beyond EveryDollar by providing you with a system of assignable hashtags to keep track of every statistic, purchase, and dollar.
The other advantage of choosing PocketGuard is that you’re selecting a highly efficient team with a startup mindset that does everything it can to provide the best possible service to its customers, instead of choosing an app backed by a big business company like Ramsay Solutions. The firm is somewhat controversial because of the conservative viewpoints of its founder and employees, whereas PocketGuard is completely apolitical. You won’t be lectured about how to live your life; all we’ll do is help you achieve greater financial stability and provide you with tips on how to get there.
We’re With You Every Step of the Way
PocketGuard has come a long way since we were founded, and in just over three years, our app has helped its users save around $900 million in goals, pay off over $90 million in debt, and reduce their spending by over $40 million. A number of our team members have in the past had financial management issues themselves, which has allowed us to draw on considerable real-world experience, not just theory. It’s the ideal EveryDollar alternative application; no politics, no complications caused by the owning company, just a solid budgeting app.
It’s easy to create an account with PocketGuard; all you need to do is click the link and sign up, then just download the app, and you’ll be able to start your journey towards real financial stability. Make sure you read the rest of our blog articles about how our app stacks up, and how to manage things like loans, savings bonds, mortgage purchases, and others. In no time at all, you’ll be making better financial decisions and managing the money in your pocket to such a degree that you won’t need to look anywhere else for your money management concerns.
Jun 07, 2024