Friday, January 19, 2024
There is so much in our lives that can be uncertain and personal finances are high on the list. While there are plenty of people happy to share advice it can be hard to know who has the experience to guide you.
For many of us, finances feel complex and confusing and, as finance concerns have shifted, so has the way we choose to spend our money. Deloitte reports weakened spending confidence in the US and our recent UK poll found a similar feeling among Brits, with 63% of respondents claiming to be more conscious of what they spend their money on compared to a year ago.
Whatever your financial goals are for the coming year, you’ll find an array of personal finance apps out there to help you better understand and stay on top of your money. Here are some of the different types of tools at your disposal.
Neobanks
Neobanks offer banking services through apps and websites, with no brick-and-mortar branches.
You may have heard of some of the bigger names in neobanking like Chime in the US or Monzo in the UK, but there’s a long list of neobanks out there, with more emerging all the time. And whether your priority is saving, tracking or borrowing, there are features to suit all needs. If you’re interested in digging deeper into neobanking check out our guide to neobank safety and how to choose the right one for you.
Budget tracking apps
If budgeting is something you struggle with, you’re not alone and there are great apps out there that track spending to help you take control of where your money goes.
You Need a Budget (annual or monthly paid subscription options) and Personal Capital (free) can help with this. Not only do they help you visualize where each of your money should go each month, but they help you develop better financial habits along the way. These tools teach you how to build a plan for allocating all of your money, as well as how to be prepared for the unexpected costs and adjust when life doesn’t go according to plan.
Bill monitoring apps
At this point subscription services like Netflix and Spotify are part of our everyday lives. The problem is how easy it is to sign up for these things and quickly forget that you’re paying them each month.
Personal finance apps that track your spending — like Rocket Money (formerly Truebill) (free or paid premium options available) — keep track of your monthly subscription charges, making it easy to see which charges are recurring for you each month. It can help you save money to take a look at this every so often to make sure you’re canceling any services you aren’t using anymore. TrueBill is free to use but charges 40% of the money they save you.
Retirement planning apps
If you’re looking to focus on investment and wealth building, personal finance apps like Betterment (free to use but takes a percentage of the money you make investing through the app) and Stash (different levels of paid monthly subscriptions, depending on your goals), both offer free retirement calculators, as well as a wide range of financial services. To calculate your retirement needs, you simply enter some basic information (age, income, when you’d like to retire, etc.) and they’ll help you figure out how much you should be saving each year.
Investing apps
For investors that are just starting out, there are some great personal finance tools that let you get your feet wet with low financial risk. Companies like Acorns (plans ranging from $1-$5 per month) let you invest any sum of money, so you can start with very small amounts if you just want to start to get the hang of investing. They let you trade in real time and always have a quick view into how your money is doing. Apps like these let you learn the fundamentals of investing as you go, without taking significant risk.
Learn more in our guide to robo-advisors.
If you’re a more experienced investor, there are tech tools to help you monitor your investments, or diversify your investment strategy, such as Blooom (paid plans available). Once you link your existing retirement account, they ask you some questions and then build you a plan for investment diversification, based on your goals. When you want to check and see how things are going, Blooom will give you different viewing options based on how detailed you want to analyze your finances. You can view your investments at a glance, or you can get more granular and look at the specifics of each investment.
Apps to help you shop smarter
If you’ve found yourself taking longer to buy things recently, you’re not alone; our research found that shoppers now take 30 percent longer to make a purchase than they did a year ago. It’s never been more important to have all the facts before you commit to a purchase. You can read reviews, write reviews and find companies you can trust before parting with your cash.
Your banking app
If your own bank has an app and you haven’t spent time exploring what it offers recently, it’s worth taking a look. It might have more features than you realize. While each app is different, possible features might include an option to view all your subscriptions in one place, receive real-time notifications when you spend money, round up transactions and automatically send the difference to another account, pay in checks or even view the accounts you have with other banks. If you haven’t checked recently, now’s a good time to see what’s already available to you.
Ahonestreview report December 2022: The cost of living: A growing crisis in consumer confidence?
Cashback apps
If you’re looking to make the most of your purchases, cashback apps and discount providers offer an easy way to economize your shopping. You can make money on everyday items or activities purchased either online or in-store. Check out our guide to cashback apps to see how you can earn while you shop.
Bottom line
There are endless personal finance apps out there, and once you figure out what your goals are for this year, you can find the right mix of tools to help you get there. Don’t forget to check reviews to find the right tool for you, and if you’re already using financial apps to make the most of your money, leave them a review on Trustpilot to let others know which tools have helped or hurt your financial goals.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. Sail away from the safe harbor.
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