Can Zeta Help Couples Get Their Finances on the Same Page?
Introduction
Many couples find that loving each other is easy, but sharing their financial situation is not. In fact, a Policygenius study found 20% of people keep their finances separate, which can be a stressor that causes people to break up. But when couples manage their money together, financial issues are rarely a reason they plan to leave their relationships.
Image Description: A couple discussing their finances together, using the Zeta app on a tablet.
What is Zeta & How Does It Work?
Founded by Aditi Shekar and launched in 2018, Zeta is a website and app that allows you and your partner to track cash flow, net worth, budget, and financial goals. Each person in the couple has to register for the site to use it as it’s meant to be used. Zeta is free but makes money from product partnerships and plans to have a tip jar in the future.
You both add your accounts: checking, savings, investments, and debt, marking each account as shared or personal. On personal accounts, you can mark whether your partner is allowed to see balances and transactions. Zeta links your financial accounts with Plaid, which uses end-to-end encryption to transfer your information and keep your account passwords separate. Zeta only has the information in your financial accounts; it never has access to them.
Image Description: The Zeta app interface showing linked financial accounts and their statuses.
Features of Zeta
Transactions
The transactions section tracks spending in real-time. You can assign categories and write notes to each other on each transaction. If you’re sharing bills, you can also split the transaction to show who owes what portion.
Image Description: A screenshot of Zeta’s transaction tracking feature.
Spending
The spending section shows your overall cash flow and how it stacks up against your budget for each spending category. A calendar feature shows when bills are due.
Image Description: A calendar view of upcoming bill payments within the Zeta app.
Goals
The goals section is an area to track financial goals like vacations or buying a house. Zeta will tell you how much you’ll need to save each month to reach that goal.
Image Description: A visual representation of a savings goal for a vacation.
What’s Good About Zeta?
A Complete Picture of Your Finances
Zeta is a great tool to have a complete picture of your finances individually and as a couple. It updates in real-time so you’re able to see how your spending stacks up against your budget at any moment. Tracking spending by category also allows you to fully understand where your money is going every month and create realistic budgets to avoid debt.
Image Description: A couple reviewing their complete financial picture using the Zeta app.
Similar Web and Mobile Experiences
Although setting up a budget is easier through the web interface, the mobile app is similar to the online version. The app lets you update your account on the go, which is great if you’re trying to track cash transactions.
Image Description: The Zeta app’s consistent experience across web and mobile platforms.
Excellent Customer Support
Zeta offers a 25-minute product demo where a member of their team walks you through the site. The demo provides tips you might not figure out on your own. The support team is responsive and helpful, solving issues like connecting credit cards and tracking cash transactions.
Image Description: A Zeta support team member providing a demo to a user.
What’s Bad About Zeta?
Time-Consuming Setup
Setting up a profile can be a weekend project. While the help desk is slower to respond during weekends, give yourself plenty of time to get everything in order.
Image Description: A user dedicating time over the weekend to set up their Zeta profile.
Clunky Interface
Zeta can connect to more than 10,000 financial institutions, but if you have to add an account manually, you’ll only be able to see balances. Additionally, the app isn’t as intuitive as it could be when it comes to tracking cash transactions and viewing personal accounts.
Image Description: A visual representation of the Zeta app’s interface challenges.
Manual Goal Savings Updates
You have to update your goal savings manually, and trend lines to show how well you’re keeping on track with your plan would be helpful.
Image Description: A user manually updating their savings goals in the Zeta app.
Is Zeta Worth It?
The initial time investment is significant, and it can take time to develop the habit of tracking spending accurately. However, Zeta has the potential to be a helpful tool for understanding where your and your partner’s money is going every month. Future improvements are expected, including automatically deducting bills from your income to show a more accurate view of monthly cash flow.
Image Description: A happy couple successfully managing their finances with Zeta.
