If you're like me, you like the freedom that money can bring. Budgets, investments, and proper money management are all part of creating the life that you want and making your coins work for you. But sometimes life happens, and the dreaded B-word (budget) can seem like a noose around your neck, not a resource that ensures you reach your goals. Between taking care of everyday bills, managing households, trying to advance in our work, practicing self-care, or taking on new challenges, there can seem like there's barely enough time in the day to really zero-in on financial fitness or keep up with ways we can save or invest as often as we should.
Well, these 8 money management apps make keeping an eye on your financial growth a bit easier and take a bit of stress out of it all:
1.EveryDollar
This is an app by Ramsey Solutions (yes, think, Dave Ramsey and Rich Dad, Poor Dad) and it allows you to plan your spending, manage savings and debt payments, and track expenses. Transactions can be set up to stream automatically and create custom budget reports.
2.Mint
Mint is a tried-and-true app that's easy to use for budget planning, and a place to manage all of your bank accounts. You also have an online resource for all of your personal finance needs.
3.Acorns
Another OG in the personal finance app game, the Acorns app helps you by automating your savings, rounding up your purchases and putting the extras in an investment portfolio.
4.PocketGuard
This one is great for overspenders (i.e. me) because it uses a special algorithm to track how much you earn and spend, along with your savings goals, and then gives you a limit based on those factors. It takes the guesswork and the temptation out of the equation.
5.YNAB (You Need A Budget)
If the name doesn't spark your interest, this should: Not only does this app give guidance to meet your financial goals via tutorials and educational materials, it's made to cater to people with modest incomes. YNAB sticks with the basics of personal finance because your dollars are assigned to a particular task and the account information is in real time (so no delays thinking you have money to spend when you might have forgotten about a bill due or that pack of gum you bought.)
6.Joy
This one is all about the user's happiness, and it provides financial coaching and savings resources. Joy allows you to rate your emotions when buying certain things and then logs this for a report. It's an awesome resource to keep track of your motivations for the purchases you make and evaluate your spending choices based on that. Their website also has awesome content on income-earning options, money tips and more.
7.Digit
Digit is another that uses data on your income and spending habits to automate your savings. Every few days, it will transfer money into a Digit account based on how you spend your money, your upcoming pay and the state of your linked bank accounts. There's also a text option for transferring funds.
8.Zeta
If you have a serious significant other or spouse, this app is perfect for you. Zeta is made for managing joint accounts or simply keeping track of one another's spending. There's also an option to sign up for a joint no-fee account, and their website offers resources and tips for couples who tackle to financial fitness together.
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