You may think that personal finance apps used on smartphones are just for millennials and members of Generation Z. You may also feel that phones are only for talking and texting. Well, smartphones have fortunately come a long way in helping us accomplish many of our daily tasks.
Specifically, the app store on your phone has a variety of programs that can help you manage your finances. From keeping track of your spending patterns to monitoring your retirement account, smartphone apps can make financial management easy, and even if you have debts, there are programs which you can use, which offer consolidation loans to unify your debt.
So, take a look at our list of easy-to-use personal financial apps that can help manage your spending and saving patterns.
Financial Management: Mint
Mint is an all-in-one free financial management application. Mint allows you to connect all bank accounts, credit cards, recurring bills, investments, and retirement accounts to the app. You can then get a complete picture of your income versus your expenses. Mint can alert you of when bills are due, and even lets you receive a free credit report. Not only is it comprehensive, but it is incredibly easy to set-up.
Vacation Discounts: Skyscanner
Skyscanner is a no-frills travel app that scans multiple airline websites to find the lowest airfare prices. You can easily and quickly compare and book flights, hotels, and car rentals. The app allows you to search for flights by month, destination, or vacation type (ex. “last minute” or “solo travel”) instantly. Its interface makes the logistical planning of your vacation straightforward.
Entertainment Discounts: Groupon
Even in retirement (or on the road to retirement), it is still important to enjoy life and have fun. It is true that entertainment activities can add up over the long-term, but fortunately, there are apps like Groupon. Groupon allows you to find discounted prices for events, leisurely activities, restaurants, and even domestic and international vacation getaways. Groupon’s user-friendly app makes it easy to search for what exactly you need to have a great time.
Transferring Money to Friends and Family: Venmo
We all find ourselves in situations where we want to send money to a family member or need to split a check with friends. Luckily, apps like Venmo can make this process painless. Venmo allows you to securely connect your credit card account to the app to transfer funds to others. You can send or request payments and keep track of transactions, and Venmo also notifies you of when a transfer is complete. The sign-up process begins online, but connecting to the app is quick and easy.
Transaction Security: TrueBill
Due to the number of expense we take on in a given month, it can be challenging to keep track of unwanted subscriptions and overspending. TrueBill allows you to get a complete picture of where your money is going, and helps you identify subscriptions you may have forgotten about. The app will even help you cancel them. This tool is an excellent way to find and take care of unwanted purchases that may be draining your budget.
Investing: Acorns
You can never have too many investment opportunities. While Acorns may not make you a millionaire, it can provide additional savings. Acorns rounds your debit and credit card transactions to the nearest dollar. From there, the app invests these “round-ups” into ETF traded funds in diversified portfolios that you can select. You can even go beyond these “round-ups” to invest up to $30,000. This app is a great way to add to your retirement or save money for a grandchild’s college education.
Grocery Discounts: Grocery IQ
As we all know, groceries can significantly add up. At the same time, scouring the newspapers for coupons can also take more time than you are willing to spend. Grocery IQ can take care of this problem. This app allows you to search for specific items, and will then find the closest store with the best price. You can also type in grocery rewards card numbers and find coupons that can be taken off at the register. Grocery IQ is an excellent way to find savings and discounts on grocery items without combing newspapers or the internet for coupons.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to personal finance, budgeting, and finding ways to save money, technology can be a huge help. Many things that we had to do manually years ago have been automated or made more accessible through the advent of mobile apps. Whether you are looking for a cheap flight for a getaway, or want to monitor your budget more closely, there is likely an app that can help.
