No matter what your current money situation may be currently, we all have a desire to improve our finances.
Our desire to improve financially overtimes fails to turn into action due to time constraints. Life is so busy and we are always on the go.
With so many other obligations vying for our time, we usually don’t allocate the proper amount of time towards fine-tuning our money management skills.
However, technology has changed the game and now allows for sound money management right at your fingertips. With the advent of apps, you can now use your phone to stay on top of your money.
We are going to take a look at 8 apps that will help you manage your money better.
Every Dollar
EveryDollar is a free, simple, easy-to-use budgeting app (which we use) that makes keeping on track with your budget a breeze. This app was created by the financial expert Dave Ramsey to help users make the budgeting process easier and find the financial freedom that they desire.
Tracking your spending and managing your money is super convenient with the app, and it syncs across devices so whenever you open it, you’re looking at the most up to date information.
Every Dollar lets you budget confidently – the app is based on a proven plan that has helped millions of people get out of debt.
We personally use the free version but you can opt for an upgrade to the Plus version, for $99 a year, which will connect to your bank account and automatically add transactions into your budget for you.
Cinch
Cinch Financial is an app dedicated to positively changing the way you interact with your finances every day. This app solves both the behavioral and product challenges people face when making financial decisions.
The app aims to help simplify your financial life by merging money and technology with customized advice and recommendations.
After you’ve gotten signed up, Cinch assesses your financial health across four main areas:
- Insurance
- Spending Flow
- Debt and Credit
- Rainy Day Fund
Each of these areas of your financial life is then prioritized advice from Cinch about how to improve that financial pillar. Clicking on the advice gives you more details about what steps to take and matches you with recommended products that can help you save money.
You can feel confident about the recommendations that Cinch makes for you because they provide truly unbiased financial advice. Unlike most apps that earn money for recommending certain companies and products to you, Cinch doesn’t operate that way.
They also don’t sell your information to third-party companies. They charge a small fee of $4.99 per month, but this only after a full 90-day free trial!
Personal Capital
Personal Capital is a free financial app that allows you to keep track of every aspect of your finances. By linking your banking and investment accounts, including retirement accounts you can keep monitoring your budget and all investments in one dashboard.
This app offers free money management tools, as well as free financial advice based on your current financial picture.
If you want to stay on top of your investments, stocks, retirement savings, and bank accounts as well as budget your spending in a single app, then Personal Capital is the multi-platform financial portal for you.
You can even develop personalized and diversified investment portfolio so that you can achieve and track your financial goals.
Personal Capital is completely free to use. The signup process is very easy. However, you will need certain information to get started, including logins for any bank or brokerages accounts you want to add to your profile.
Credit Sesame
Credit Sesame is a mobile app that provides free credit scores and monitoring. This app offers you your Experian National Equivalency Score (ENES). While the FICO credit score ranges from 300 to 850, the ENES ranges from 360 to 840. This information will help you to gain better insights into your current credit situation.
Each month you’ll be given access to your updated credit score. This is very valuable because it will show you what type of progress you are making.
They also provide free personalized finance tips and tools updated every month. Once you sign up for FREE a Credit Sesame membership, you will get free identity theft for up to $50,000. Furthermore, it is an absolutely free product and they do not require a credit card.
Stockpile
Stockpile is a great app that allows you to buy fractional shares of stock. If the thought of buying a company trading at $1,000 a share scares you, you can buy $100 worth and get 0.10 shares. Stockpile charges $0.99 to make a trade and requires a $5 minimum investment. Furthermore, there are no monthly fees to use this service.
This app is very intriguing for parents or grandparents that want to educate their kids or young adults about investing and the stock market. Instead of giving a toy that will barely get used, or a gift card that they will blow shopping, you can give them $20 of stock in a company that they love.
For example, you can gift shares of a stock like Disney or Apple, or give a basket of stocks in a Vanguard, iShares, or other ETF.
Plus, if you sign up via this Stockpile $5 Bonus Link, you will get $5 of free stock just for creating a free Stockpile account.
Qapital
Qapital is a great banking app that works to help automate your saving and budget goals. You start by linking your checking account to Qapital as a funding account. Next, you set up goals and Qapital opens an FDIC-insured savings account at a partner bank.
Qapital lets you then set various “rules” to automate savings. For example, you can include rounding up your change after every purchase or depositing $10 to your vacation account every time you visit the gym.
Once you hit your saving goals, such as the price of a vacation or new gadget, you can transfer the money back into your funding account to spend. Alternatively, you can also get a few more perks with Qapital’s spending accounts and the Qapital Visa Debit Card.
This app is free, FDIC-Insured, and available for both iPhone and Android.
Mvelopes
If you’re familiar with how the ‘envelope system’ works, Mvelopes takes that idea and makes it digital. Mvelopes gives you the tools to track your daily spending while keeping your monthly budget in perspective.
Mvelopes gives you the ability to connect bank accounts and put classic envelope budgeting to use to track your regular spending. A universal accounts screen lets you view checking, savings and credit card balances in one place. You can even sync the mobile app with the Mvelopes web app.
With real-time budget matching, you will know whether you can buy that latte or need to wait for your budget to reset next month.
Wally
Wally allows you to balance your income and expenses by understanding where your money goes. It offers the ability to set financial goals, as well as save purchase receipts. You are then able to export the data into an Excel document.
If you have location services on, Wally will automatically identify and categorize where you are so you just need to enter the amount you spent, while smart notifications remind you of important things like an upcoming payment or an achieved goal.
The more you use Wally, the smarter it becomes. This happens because Wally adapts to your preferences and offering personalized insights into your finances.
Wally is a great app choice if you’re looking to gain a better understanding of where your money is going.
