A new financial software tool, called Cinch, can help you not only save money, but also plan your financial future.
Basically, it is like hiring your very own Chief Financial Officer.
Using the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation, Cinch creates a detailed assessment of your current financial situation, including spending habits and preferences, debts, and large monthly expenses and then offers personalized guidance to optimize each area with the only goal being to improve your overall financial health.
Instead of being a one-size-fits-all software platform, like some other apps, Cinch continuously assesses your finances via machine learning and other data-based techniques. In other words, just as your financial situation changes day to day, so does Cinch’s recommendations.
For example, here are just a few things that Cinch can do for your bottom-line:
- find you a cheaper auto insurance policy
- track the pricing and features of common expenses, like credit cards or cell phone plans to make sure you have the right one for your needs
- help you get to the first $1,000 of your emergency fund
- offer tailored strategies to efficiently pay off your debts
However, that’s just the beginning.
Cinch plans to continue incorporating new capabilities to its tool, adjusting to feedback from its customers. This includes retirement planning, health insurance price comparisons, tracking 401(k) accounts, and many other useful functions.
While it hasn’t added the functionality yet, Cinch is aiming to automate the headaches of your finances, like automatic money transfers related to a budget you’ve plotted or making direct payments to your debts.
“Our philosophy is: it’s hard to become a financial expert,” says Kerri Moriarty, Head of Company Development at Cinch. “So we’re moving towards doing some things for you, especially in the area of bill optimization,” Moriarty adds, noting that most people don’t know which obligations to pay off first in order to most quickly repay debt and have the least amount of finance charges.
So having a company like Cinch calculate optimal payoff scenarios – and then actually handle those debt repayments on your behalf – would take a lot of stress off consumers.
Of course, this will be tailored to each user; if you don’t like to give away that much control to the app, it can scale its functionality based on your preferences.
While handling basic financial tasks may seem within your reach, when you’re facing multiple financial decisions or numerous, complicated financial choices and options, “software can do this far better for people,” says Sean Collins, the co-founder and CEO of Cinch Financial.
And he should know. With over three decades in the financial services industry, Collins has a keen eye on what consumers want – and don’t want – when it comes to managing their money in the modern era. And above all, consumers want trust when it comes to their money.
Cinch and Fiduciary Responsibility
Unlike most other personalized fintech tools on the market, Cinch sets itself from the competition by combining automation and personalization with a fiduciary responsibility.
This means that the software is designed to work in the best interest of the user and to assist in making sound financial decisions for consumers – not selling ad space, auctioning personal info to the highest bidder, or steering users towards disadvantageous services (i.e. high-interest loans).
In short, Cinch’s business model is built on making their users rich and debt-free, not enriching third-party sellers.
Interested in adding Cinch to your financial arsenal?
Cinch has a simple process to get started.
Users share their basic financial information at sign up, such as whether they rent or own their home, their family size, and so forth.
Financial accounts like checking or savings accounts are linked to Cinch; however, Cinch only uses this info to check account balances, transaction history, and credit score.
And that’s it. You’ll begin receiving useful info about your spending habits and recommendations for your finances.
You’ll be happy to know that Cinch offers a free 90-day trial after signing up, which makes it pretty much a no-risk deal if you want to try it out first. After 90 days, Cinch’s fee is $4.99 per month. (Businesses can benefit from using Cinch, too—click here to email them for more info).
Bottom line: If you’re looking for a great way to upgrade your finances, and take your money-management to the next level, Cinch is definitely worth a serious look.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, however, all opinions expressed in this article are my own.
