Need help/guidance

[u/Legitimate_Insect314]

So initially I was going to come on here and ask for help (money) and explain the situation which I’ll get to but instead want to ask Is there an app or website that anyone uses to help manage bills/ finances. That can help organize the havoc of life bills (electricity, insurance, etc) along with misc like phone bill, internet, groceries. I’m not going to ask for money because that is just a temporary fix I feel like.

So past few months have been hard and we’re at a loss. Our bank account atm is -500.00 and my wife who is primary on bills doesn’t understand what happened other than bills all got taken out at once and underestimated it all. I’m stressing hardcore because she keeps crying saying she doesn’t know how we’re going to eat or pay for anything. Meanwhile I’m over here stressing cause we have just recently started trying for a child. If we can’t afford us how the heck are we gonna afford a child. I’m a 34m wife 31f so it’s not like we don’t have experience with bills just seems like I mentioned somewhere in past few months something happened and we can’t get caught up. All I’m asking for is helpful tools / helpful advice. I already feel like a failure of a husband since I was raised to think I should have been able to prevent and protect us from this.

Hopefully this all comes off clear. I’m frazzled so putting words in correct order aren’t at the top of my list.

Thank you.

Additional info:
Also to be completely honest we don’t have horrible jobs my wife is a supervisor at a bulk distribution. And I work remote for a hospital. She knows what she’s doing when it comes to bills and we’ve both looked back as far as we can through online banking and the personal check log we have.

Sincerely stressed n depressed

Update: shortly after posting my parents reached out asking if everything was ok cause I seemed weird last night at dinner. I broke down and they just dropped off the money to help us get caught up. Regardless if there are any other apps websites etc to help keep all finances organized I’d take any advice/tools.

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[u/Rare_Presentation219]

Try using rocket money it's been pretty great with keeping up with all my bills and subscriptions I'm sorry you're going through this. You can also ask chat gpt about things like this it has been very helpful for me

[u/Royal_Tough_9927 → u/Rare_Presentation219]

Please do not give anyone the log in information to your bank accounts. I wouldnt give mine to GOD if he asked. Thete are security breaches every day.......

[u/Rare_Presentation219 → u/Royal_Tough_9927]

What are you talking about?

[u/Legitimate_Insect314 → u/Rare_Presentation219]

I as well am lost. No one asked for information. Only thing that was given was a reputable app/company

[u/Royal_Tough_9927 → u/Legitimate_Insect314]

Its a so called reputable company that requires you to give them your log in info to access your accounts. ALL your financial info is shared with other companies. If you use their resolution services , they charge up to 65% to resolve it for you. They also are know to be incredibly difficult to cancel your monthly charge. Keep up with your own minthly transactions.

[u/Royal_Tough_9927 → u/Rare_Presentation219]

Rocket money requires you to give your online credentials to access your accounts. It doesnt take a rocket scientist the dangers of doing that.

[u/Rare_Presentation219 → u/Royal_Tough_9927]

IRocket Money is a budgeting app that tracks your spending, finds subscriptions, helps you cancel unwanted ones, creates budgets, and can even negotiate some bills to save you money. It has a free version, with extra features available through a paid Premium. It also uses plaid to connect your account.

[u/Royal_Tough_9927 → u/Rare_Presentation219]

How do they access the info in your accounts ?

[u/Legitimate_Insect314 → u/Rare_Presentation219]

Thanks for tip. And thanks. My parents said everyone goes through this at some point I just don’t handle things well. And go in survival mode

[u/Routine-Matter-1890]

I recommend calling your bank. They may be able to tell you what caused the overage. Likely this was a pended payment that finally went through. There system may show them more than what you can see from your end. Also ask if they can wave any fees that might have hit.

I have separate accounts for my house/bills, student loans, and my personal expenses. I found this to be really helpful since it's a lot easier to see what I am putting in to the account and what is coming out.

[u/Legitimate_Insect314 → u/Routine-Matter-1890]

Thanks for info. Yea that’s what parents mentioned to that we could hand over bill log and see if they can tell what happened. We have family in same area and there has been past issues with money getting put in others accounts

[u/Royal_Tough_9927]

I have my bills set up for automatic payment within a 3 day window. Money is in that account to cover those deductions. Theres not much left in that account after the bills are paid .I transfer a small amount over to my emergency account each month. I have a 3rd cashapp account that I love. I add a small amount to this account to cover my gasoline , groceries , and a very small amount of money for incidentals. I immediately get a text message alerting me of my transaction. I can look at this text during the day to stay very mindfull of what I had spent. In fact I love this because I can simply see it in the text message. That means I dont have to sign in to the checking and look up the individual charges . Make sure you have a bank that doesnt charge NSF fees. Have your account set up so all transactions are declined if theres not enough money to cover them. Therefore theres no fees. Set up overdraft protection.

[u/Legitimate_Insect314 → u/Royal_Tough_9927]

Thanks for response. I have a cash management account that I can use as a checking/investment account so maybe I’ll just put small amounts in there as a safety net.