Why We Built EveryDollar – Ramsey

Every money goal starts with a budget. And that’s where EveryDollar comes in!

EveryDollar’s been helping people budget and take control of their money since 2015. But our story began decades before.

A (Brief) History of EveryDollar

Back in 1992, money expert and bestselling author Dave Ramsey (maybe you’ve heard of him) started giving financial advice on the radio. One piece of advice he gave over and over again (and hasn’t stopped giving since) is this: Get on a budget and live on less than you make.

Dave continued to share the importance of budgeting through Financial Peace University. And while the budgeting forms in the FPU workbook were a good start, he knew people needed something more if they were going to make budgeting a habit.

In the early 2000s, Ramsey Solutions created personal finance software on CD-ROM (throwback!) with some basic budgeting capabilities. Then came an online budgeting experience called Gazelle Budget. Both were an improvement over just using a spreadsheet, but we knew we could do better.

Eventually, the team started spinning up ideas for an on-the-go tool that would help people budget the Ramsey way. And finally, in 2015, we launched the free and premium versions of EveryDollar!

What Makes EveryDollar Different

Two words: zero-based budgeting (it’s hyphenated, so it counts).

Zero-based budgeting is a method that makes sure every dollar has a job to do inside your budget—whether it’s giving, saving or spending. It’s all about telling your money where to go before it leaves your bank account.

Dave Ramsey said it best: “The goal of a budget is to assign every single dollar a name, on purpose, before the month begins. When you know where your money is going, you have control over it instead of it controlling you.”

Every. Single. Dollar. (Now you know how we got our name!)

Other budgeting apps focus on showing you what you’ve already spent. But EveryDollar helps you plan for the month ahead—so you can actually build better money habits and make progress toward your goal.

Why We Built EveryDollar

For starters, there wasn’t a good zero-based budgeting app—especially one that was free and easy to use. So, we created it!

But mostly, we wanted to help people live out the money principles Dave’s been teaching since the very beginning: Save for emergencies, pay off debt, build wealth for the future, and give generously. And we know that a monthly budget is the key to all of it.

We created EveryDollar for the people who are taking steps to change their financial future and their lives. We built it for the single mom trying to cover bills and groceries, the college grad managing their first paycheck, and the couple saving for retirement.

We built EveryDollar for you. To help you get on the same page as your spouse. To help you spend and save with confidence. To help you break free from the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and ditch money stress. Because a budget should get you closer to where you want to be!

EveryDollar Today

EveryDollar now has over 10 million budgeters and counting, with both a mobile and web app.

Over the years, we’ve added more helpful features to make it easier to create and stick to a monthly budget—like paycheck planning, custom budget reports and tracking recommendations (just to name a few).

The EveryDollar experience may be sleeker (that green never looked so good!). But what hasn’t changed is our commitment to helping people achieve financial peace. And it’s the stories from our users that really get us excited to keep making EveryDollar even better! Like these:

“Love EveryDollar! It keeps me on track and mindful about where and how much of my money is going out. It is very easy to use!” — Lindsey P.

“This is truly the best app ever! I’ve tried other budgeting tools, but the zero-based budget system is the best. And when it’s connected to your bank, it is simple to make and track your budget.” — Stacey H.

“I’ve been using this app for about two years. It changed my financial life forever. This simple, minimalistic . . . platform has helped me take control of my finances.” — Robert A.

“EveryDollar is the best simple budgeting app on the market. Not only is it easy to use, but it will change your behavior with money. If you’ve been accustomed to spending until you run out of money and then being mystified as to where all your hard-earned cash went . . . the EveryDollar app will compel you to be intentional and make you question your decisions about what’s really important in life. . . . It’s a game changer. I began realizing I had more money than I thought when I started using [EveryDollar] and so will you! — Marie T.

“I have been using EveryDollar for over five years. This app made it very easy to create a budget every single month. I have been able to pay off $12,000 in debt in five-and-a-half months, and I have saved eight months’ worth of expenses.” — Jasmine F.

That’s why we do what we do.

Whatever your goal, EveryDollar wants to help you reach it—one budget at a time!