4 Best Apps for Managing Your Personal Finances

With today’s ever-advancing technology, finding apps for managing your personal finances has never been easier. But not every mobile money management tool out there is actually worth downloading and learning to use. Whether you need a program that pays your bills or simply lets you know when your bank account is running low, the solution is likely on this list.

1. Mint

While you have a general idea of how much you’re spending, if you’re like most people, you may be a little foggy about exactly where your money is going. Mint, one of the most well-known personal finance apps, solves that problem by tracking your bills and spending habits.

By linking your credit and debit cards to your account, Mint analyzes your transactions to give you a clear picture of how you’re spending your money. The app divides your spending into categories. For example, at the end of the month, you might see that you spent $300 on gas, but $500 on food. With these insights, you can make small adjustments to your spending habits and create a budget to keep yourself on track.

Mint also lets you access your credit score for free and gives you a breakdown of why your score is what it is. You can also track your investments and schedule bill payments. For bills that you manually pay, the app will send e-mail reminders or add the due dates to your phone calendar.

2. Prism

Prism gives you a complete picture of your finances by keeping all your bills updated and available at a glance. Like most people, you probably only get paid once or twice a month, but bills come due all the time. To help, Prism automatically tracks your bills and sends due date reminders to help you make your payments on time. You can schedule payments to be made the same day or several days in advance.

Simplification is the name of the game with Prism. The app eliminates the need for you to login to multiple accounts to pay your bills and gives you an easy-to-use interface with your expense information right in front of you.

3. YNAB

YNAB gives you a more traditional approach to budgeting. With YNAB, every dollar you’re projected to earn is assigned a job. It’s either spent or saved. Your debts (student loans, car payment) and non-discretionary items (rent, gas, phone bill) are assigned first, followed by your discretionary spending (entertainment, dining out).

At the end of the month, the dollars that aren’t “assigned” a job will go toward savings. With this process, YNAB helps you tackle your debt first while also helping you budget for everyday life and any unforeseen expenses.

In addition, YNAB’s detailed reports show you how your spending is progressing throughout the month and helps you spot ways you can improve it. YNAB excels at providing guidance for smart money management and financial responsibility—all for only $5 per month or $50 per year.

4. PocketGuard

When it comes down to it, most people want to know how much spending money they have. PocketGuard solves this problem and so much more. The app lets you link your credit cards and savings/checking accounts onto one easy-to-read dashboard. Every time you spend, it categorizes your transactions to show you where your money goes. That’s where PocketGuard’s similarity with other personal finance apps end.

PocketGuard differentiates itself by taking your income, bills, and transaction history and then calculating your “in my pocket” money— or the cash you will have left over after you’ve paid your bills and deposited your savings. PocketGuard also takes that same information, processes it with your individual goals, and creates an automated budget that keeps you on track.

The app doesn’t stop there. By analyzing your bill and transaction history, it actively compares your bills and accounts to other available offers in its database to present you with opportunities to save.

Achieving Your Savings Goals

Technology moves fast. From credit and debit cards to automatic bill payments, it has revolutionized personal finance and simplified financial transactions. The result? A handful of mobile apps that can help you stay on top of your expenses and budgeting.

While apps for managing your personal finances can help simplify your life, it’s always beneficial to have a financial expert on your side to walk you through the finer points. Call us today at 866-762-8392 to speak with a PlainsCapital representative about how you can achieve your savings goals.