PocketGuard

What Is PocketGuard?

PocketGuard is a budgeting app with one killer feature: the “In My Pocket” number. It connects to your bank accounts, looks at your income, bills, savings goals, and current spending, then tells you exactly how much money you can safely spend right now without messing anything up.

That single number — updated in real time as you spend — is what sets PocketGuard apart. Instead of asking you to categorize every transaction or build an elaborate budget, it just answers the question most people actually have: “Can I afford this?”

The app also tracks your bills, finds subscriptions, and monitors your debt balances. It syncs with most major banks and credit cards automatically, so there’s minimal manual entry required.

Who Is PocketGuard Best For?

Impulse spenders. If your financial challenge is spending more than you should, PocketGuard’s “In My Pocket” number is a constant reality check. Before you tap “buy,” you can glance at the app and see whether that purchase fits in your budget. It’s simple, fast, and effective.

People who hate budgeting. Traditional budgeting — with categories, envelopes, and line items — isn’t for everyone. PocketGuard distills the whole concept into a single number. You don’t need to track where every dollar goes; you just need to know what’s safe to spend. For people who’ve tried and abandoned detailed budgets, this approach can actually stick.

Bank-sync believers. PocketGuard’s free tier includes bank syncing, which is unusual. Most apps lock automatic syncing behind a paywall. If you want your transactions pulled in automatically without paying for it, PocketGuard delivers.

People with lots of recurring bills. The app does a good job of detecting recurring charges and bill patterns. It factors these into your “In My Pocket” calculation automatically, so upcoming bills are already accounted for when you see your safe-to-spend amount.

Pricing

The free version includes the “In My Pocket” feature, bank syncing, basic spending insights, and bill detection. It’s a functional starting point.

PocketGuard Plus costs $7.99/month or $34.99/year and adds custom categories, detailed spending reports, debt payoff tracking, cash flow projections, and more granular control over your budget. The annual plan is significantly cheaper at about $2.92/month.

Our Take

PocketGuard is a smart app that solves a real problem in an elegant way. The “In My Pocket” concept is brilliant in its simplicity — it’s budgeting for people who don’t want to budget. If you’ve ever opened a traditional budgeting app, felt overwhelmed, and closed it immediately, PocketGuard might be the approach that actually works for you.

But for debt payoff specifically, PocketGuard is a supporting player. It’ll show you your debt balances and help you avoid overspending (which is important for debt payoff), but it won’t build you a payoff plan, compare strategies, or project your debt-free date. There’s no snowball vs. avalanche comparison, no what-if tool, and no payment scheduling.

The bank syncing reliability is also worth mentioning. It works well for major national banks, but connections with smaller credit unions and regional banks can be inconsistent. If your bank isn’t well-supported, you’ll end up doing more manual entry than the app was designed for.

PocketGuard is best used as a spending guard rail alongside a dedicated debt payoff tool. Let PocketGuard keep your daily spending in check, and let a debt-focused app handle the payoff strategy. Together, they cover both sides of the equation.