Have you ever wondered — as you’re standing in line at Costco – how much can you spend today, and what can you afford to buy? Personal finance apps offer quick answers to these nagging questions. Managing your money’s not about spending less, it’s about spending right. When you give each penny you earn a job, it’ll work just as hard for you, as you worked to earn it in the first place. Let’s close Amazon for a minute and delve into these five financial apps that will help you manage personal finances.
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Thanks to financial guru and wealth advisor, Dave Ramsey, creating a budget can be fun with EveryDollar. With his new budget tool, you can say goodbye to stress and hello to confidence in your financial future. It’s so easy to use, and the basic service is free. You can create your first budget in 10-quick minutes with its customizable templates. It also lets you connect to your checking account for seamless expense tracking. EveryDollar syncs across your smart devices, so you can manage your budget anywhere.
Use Dave’s app to turn your goals into winning financial strategies that come with sound advice and easy to follow baby steps that wipe out debt.
Master your money and get more out of life with Mint. Bring together the essential components of your financial life, including bills, credit score, and bank and credit accounts, in one, easy to understand app. When you know where your money is going, you can choose where to cut back. Use Mint’s money management app to create budgets, track investments, and discover more ways to save.
Like all apps, Mint requires a fast and reliable Wi-Fi connection. Utilize only the best smartphones from reliable carriers, such as T-Mobile, with the most advanced LTE 4G network in the world. According to a recent report from OpenSignal, T-Mobile is now the fastest network (beating out Verizon and AT&T).
The strategy behind Acorns is that by you investing your spare change, you can grow wealth through micro investing. Add the cards you use to make purchases and spend like you usually do. Acorns rolls your purchase price up to the next dollar and then automatically invests the change across a diverse amount of 7,000 stocks and bonds for the best possible return, with reasonably low risk. Set up recurring investments or add a large lump sum whenever you have a few extra bucks. Withdraw your investment anytime you want.
YNAB personal budgeting software only has four simple rules that will help you gain control of your money, get out of debt, and save fast. Real-time access to all your financial data makes it simple to manage your expenses on-the-go, while debt paydown tools help you kick the debt habit for good. YNAB does not offer an investment tracking tool, but you can try YNAB free for 34 days with their 100 percent money back guarantee. See for yourself if you can save $600 in the first two months — as most new users do — entirely risk-free.
Learn to make better financial decisions with PocketGuard. It works just like your wallet, only better. Instead of focusing on your spending history, PocketGuard looks forward to your projected available cash that’s “left in your wallet.” You can still easily compare your spending habits and track your payment trends over time. PocketGuard is a simple tool that lacks some of the sophisticated features of more complicated apps and the ability to add cash transactions. However, if you simply want to know how much you can spend today, then PocketGuard will work for you.
Managing your finances isn’t about restricting access to your hard-earned money. Who wants that? Money awareness makes it easier to cut down on overspending, helps you set and reach your future goals, and support your happy lifestyle. Yes, you can have that new watch or even a big house in the country. Just put your budget app to work and watch your dreams grow when you manage your personal finances.
Anurag Choudhari is the co-founder of Geekenized Technologies LLP, a web development & digital marketing agency that helps various SMBs & SMEs in developing & maintaining their online presence.
