Your financial life doesn’t need to be a hot mess. Organizing your finances is the first step to meeting any kind of financial goal. Fortunately, there are plenty of money app platforms out there that help with making a budget and reaching your money goals.
I am all about things that can make my life easier and help me keep track of my money. Below I am sharing apps that I have actually used before and I think are worth it. Best part? These apps are free, which is a no brainer in the world of finance.
1. Mint – The Best Money Management App
The best money app I have ever used by far is Mint. It is easy to sign up and manage. Plus, did I mention the clean design? The user interface allows me to look at categories of purchases so I can analyze my spending habits. I have organized it so the categories are in line with my budget sheet in google and I can update effortlessly.
One of the best parts about Mint is the goal setting feature. Set up a goal and Mint will track your progress for you. This is how I have been saving for trips and future expenses.
Linking your accounts is the most tedious part, but once set up I found it was worth the time.
2. Qapitol – The Best Automatic Savings App
This is a money app that helps you save. The idea is that you are “invisibly” saving for a future event or trip. You do have to open up a separate account with them. There is no minimum balance or service fees attached to the savings account.
You can set the app to automatically draw a certain amount from your checking account every week or every two weeks. If Qapitol notices you are low on funds or overspent in an area, they will double check prior to pulling money from your account. This keeps all overdraft possibilities at bay.
3. Personal Capital – The Best Wealth Management App
This is the best app for looking at your overall net worth. Personal Capital allows you to look at both your investments and everyday spending accounts. The ability to look at your portfolio, check it any hidden fees, and watch your net worth keep rising can be addicting.
We strictly use it for the above features and not for everyday money management. That is where we rely on Mint. Personal Capital truly shines when it comes to managing your investments in one place.
4. PayPal – The Best App for Sending Money
PayPal is the easiest app to send money with. It is fast and secure. All you need to do is connect your checking account and sending money to friends is free. Not to mention a large majority of online retailers allow checkout with PayPal. You are protected with PayPal just like with a credit card, so I often use this for online purchases.
5. Credit Karma – The Best App for Monitoring your Credit Score
This is a free website, but also exists as an app. You can check your credit score to make sure you are keeping your finances healthy. They have a simulation tool that shows how paying down debt or applying for anew credit card changes your score.
While I do not keep this on my phone all the time, I did for sometime. I keep an account with them and signed up for credit report alerts so that I can see when a major change appears on my credit report.
6. Google Sheets – The Best App for Budgeting Spreadsheets
I know that there are so many amazing budgeting apps out there. You Need a Budget (YNAB) was a little bit too type A for me. Mint budgeting was not versatile enough. I found it most challenging to completely customize a budget with set apps. So we went back to the spreadsheet, and I can easily share this with HisFI.
I don’t know about you, but google sheets also seem easier to use than excel. Because it is a shared sheet, we can update it from wherever we are using the google sheets app and the other person will see it.
7. Joy – The Best App for Money Mental Health
Joy is an app I discovered while attending FinCon 18. I thought it was brilliant! It is an app that is centered on the idea of mental health and financial health. Their statement starts with Money is never “just money”. This app allows you to track your spending, but in a way that asks what the emotional ties to a purchase are. The app will suggest ways to save or provide a money coach if needed.
8. Earny – The Best Price Matching App
We have talked about the amazing power of Earny before. This app links to your Amazon account and your credit cards with price match guarantee. Most credit cards offer price match, but Chase and Discover are known for this. Earny will track your purchases and notify you when a purchased item has been lowered in price. Most of the time, the credit cards let them submit the claim for you. Depending on the credit card, you may have to do so yourself.
I bought a jacket a year and a half ago and ended up getting $40 back. That alone was worth keeping the app on my phone and linked to my Amazon account.
9. Your Own Bank – The Best App because you Just Should
So this may sound crazy, but I did not have my own bank app on my phone forever. I use a credit union and always logged into a computer whenever I needed to move money around. It was really HisFI being so horrified that I did not use mobile check deposit that persuaded me to download the app. Turns out, mobile check deposit is a major bonus.
I use the app to quickly check where my finances are at or move money around if needed. I have a second checking account, and another savings account, but since these are not my primary account, they do not get to take up prized space on my phone.
There are a ton of apps….
There are endless money app options that help make your financial life easier. These are only the ones that I have found are worth it to keep on my phone. (Digital clutter is a real problem.) I know that Venmo needs to be on my phone, but I suppose I am just an elder millennial who hasn’t yet given in.
Personal finance apps have given me some serious peace of mind. The more user friendly the better. What apps do you use to organize your finances? What apps have made your financial life easier?
