How to use online budgeting tools

Contents:
What are online budgeting tools?

Online budgeting tools are websites or apps that help you track your income, bills, spending and savings, without needing to manage lots of paper statements or complicated spreadsheets. Instead of manually adding everything up yourself, these tools let you input your income and outgoings, and then they automatically calculate how much you have left, show where your money is going, and highlight where you could save. Many of these tools are free to use, or have a free basic plan.


Why they’re beneficial for households
  • Simple and quick to use without paperwork: Many tools are designed to be user-friendly, make a plan in a few minutes and update easily.
  • Clear view of your finances: A tool helps you see exactly what’s coming in (salary, benefits, pension, etc.) and what’s going out (rent/mortgage, bills, food, transport, subscriptions, etc.). This clarity makes it easier to plan.
  • Spot potential savings or overspending: By breaking down expenses into categories, you can quickly see where you might be overspending (e.g. takeaways, subscriptions) and where you could cut back.
  • Plan for unpredictable income or bills: The tools often allow for variable income and expenses (weekly, monthly, yearly), making them useful if your income fluctuates.
  • Reduce stress and stay on top of bills: Having a clear monthly budget helps avoid unexpected shortfalls and can help you budget for essentials first.
  • Access to help, support or benefits if eligible: Some budgeting tools also check whether you might be entitled to financial support or benefits.
Woman with calculator and receipts

Here are some examples of actual tools/services you can try:
  • IE Hub: A free online budgeting tool where you can build a full budget (income, outgoings, debts), check if you’re missing support or benefits, and even share your budget securely with creditors or support workers if needed.
  • MoneyHelper Budget Planner: A simple, free planner that helps you list income vs spending, categorise costs, and see what’s left after bills. Great for a quick overview or first budget.
  • Starling Bank Budget Planner: Their free online planner (usable by anyone, not just Starling customers) helps you map out essential and discretionary spending, set savings targets, and better organise monthly budgets.
  • Support + budgeting with Lightning Reach: While not strictly a budgeting tool, Lightning Reach is a portal that helps people access financial support (benefits, grants, help with bills) which can complement budgeting efforts if you’re on a tight income.
Who can benefit & when it’s most useful
  • People on tight or limited budgets, or with irregular incomes (zero-hours contracts, self-employed, benefit recipients).
  • Households wanting to reduce overspending, perfect if you want to cut back on non-essentials or keep spending under control.
  • Anyone wanting to plan for the future, save for a goal, prevent debt, or make sure bills are covered.
  • People seeking to check if they’re eligible for support, benefits or help with bills, especially useful in tougher economic times.
  • Individuals who want stress-free money management without lots of paperwork, just a quick online tool.
Family saving money
How to get started

1. Gather information: recent bank statements, payslips, household bills, known subscriptions or regular outgoings. This helps make your first budget accurate.
2. Choose a tool: pick one of the tools provided overleaf or select one yourself that you are comfortable with
3. Input your income and expenses: include everything: rent/mortgage, bills, food, transport, subscriptions, irregular costs (e.g. car tax, insurance) many tools allow you to input yearly costs and they will convert to monthly average.
4. Review the summary: see what’s left over, what’s going out, where you spend the most. This gives clarity and enables decision making (e.g. cut some subscriptions, set savings goals).
5. Use the output as a plan: adjust your spending, set budgets for each area (essentials, non-essentials, savings). Rinse and repeat each month to stay on track.

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