Are you living paycheck to paycheck? Is the idea of a savings account only a dream? Do you experience panic attacks when you pay bills? Are you simply overwhelmed by the management of money? Have no fear, you’re not alone. “44% of Americans don’t have enough cash to cover a $400 emergency,” says Dani Pascarella of Forbes. A big problem is the lack of financial management knowledge. However, with the power of technology, we have the opportunity to get our finances in order with these top apps on the market.
Accounts Management
- Personal Capital is a financial dashboard where you can see everything involving your money in one place. With its massive suite of tools, you’ll have all your financial information at your fingertips. Apple Google Play
- Wallet is a budget and finance tool that includes automatic bank syncing for your balance and expenses. Financial information and other details are displayed in easy visualizations to help you plan out your finances. Apple Google Play
Budgeting
- YNAB (You Need A Budget) offers extremely helpful tutorials for financial management. With YNAB, every dollar is accounted for whether spent or saved. With this app, you are able to see where your money is going and how it is spent. Apple Google Play
- Prism, like the Personal Capital app, shows all your bills and financial accounts in a single app, giving you a complete picture of your finances. Prism automatically tracks your bills and sends due date reminders to help you prevent late payments. You can also pay your bills through the app. Apple Google Play
Savings
- Digit evaluates your spending habits and transfers money from your linked bank account into your Digit account. Every few days, Digit makes a transfer based on a set of variables. Digit then calculates a non-essential amount that you won’t notice based on your spending patterns. Apple Google Play
- Qapital allows you to save money through gamification. Like Acorns, Qapital rounds the purchase price of an item up to the nearest dollar then places the difference into a savings account. Apple Google Play
Credit
- Credit Karma is a safe source to view and compare your credit scores weekly at no cost. They also provide tools to show how reducing debt or getting a new card will change your score. Apple Google Play
- Credit Sesame is a no-charge credit monitoring service. The free basic service provides you with a free monthly credit score updates, credit monitoring and analysis. It even provides self-service tools to restore your identity and correct errors and fraud. Apple Google Play
Investment
- Acorns is an automated savings app connected to credit and debit cards. When making a purchase, the program rounds up your purchase to the nearest dollar then puts the difference into an investment account. Apple Google Play
- Stash offers a low-cost method to build a diverse portfolio. The Stash app helps you learn how to make the best investment decisions yourself. It includes educational content customized to your investment preferences. Apple Google Play
Retirement
- Mint analyzes your spending habits, income, and other financial transactions. The program helps to set financial goals for every step of life. Apple Google Play
- Vault allows anyone to open an IRA, Roth IRA, or SEP-IRA account for their investments. This is especially good for freelancers. Vault gives you the ability to invest based on a specific percentage of your income and prepare yourself for your future.
The best money management apps are the ones that help you make significant changes in your life, but you have to take the first step. Change is hard. Money is challenging, especially if you don’t have a lot. However, we have powerful tools at our disposal to eliminate the excuses we often come up with when we rationalize why we don’t have enough money to make ends meet. With these tools, you too have the power to change the circumstances of your life.
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