Looking to download the best possible personal finance app? You’re not alone – but today, with so many mobile tools on the market, it can be tough to figure out which are worth it and which are a waste of time.
The first step is to consider your most pressing personal finance needs. Are you attempting to set aside funds for a major purchase like a car or a house? Fighting a battle against monthly budgets which leaves you constantly scrimping and saving prior to pay day? Or simply looking to expand your knowledge of personal finance to make the best choices for your hard-earned money?
Whatever your preference, there’s sure to be a personal finance app to fit. Here are six popular options to consider.
Robinhood
Curious about investments and the stock market, but concerned about the difficulty of getting started with a traditional investment portfolio? Check out Robinhood, a personal finance app that bills itself as a disruptor in the world of online brokers. The app is built around a simple and intuitive user interface, so you can invest in stocks for specific companies, purchase Exchange Traded Funds across a particular sector or region, and tap into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The app also includes tools to help users keep up with market news and make smarter investment decisions based on what they learn. Do be aware that the app is not as comprehensive as other brokerage options – but for a stripped-down investing tool with low costs and usable features, Robinhood is definitely worth a download.
Venmo
Venmo is such a popular app, it’s practically a verb; so if you’ve never uttered the phrase “Can you Venmo that to me?”, then it’s absolutely time to download the app and find out why Venmo is such a great personal finance tool. To start, the Venmo app offers an easy way to pay friends and family or request money, with just a few clicks on your mobile phone – so you can quickly and easily split a lunch bill, pay for your half of the taxi fare, or settle up group vacation expenses. Your Venmo balance can be funded through a bank account, credit card or debit card, and you can also transfer money from Venmo into your bank account. Besides making payments easy, Venmo is also a useful tool to track your expenditures and improve your budgeting skills.
Acorn
The Acorn app is based around a creative financial concept – investing your spare change. You can link this personal finance app to your bank account and credit cards; from there, the app will automatically round up purchases and invest the small increments of “change” into the stock market, via a diversified combination of stocks and bonds. Acorn does have some fees, but these are less than what you’d pay with a traditional broker. You can also customize your investments, depositing money more or less quickly and choosing to be more conservative or aggressive in terms of where your money is going. The ability to invest with such small sums makes Acorn a useful personal finance app for young investors or anyone who wants to learn the basics of investing without spending too much money up front.
You Need a Budget
You Need a Budget is a personal finance app for people who, well, need a budget. The app goes beyond traditional budgeting tools with an innovative method based around four rules for successful budgeting – give every dollar a job, embrace your true expenses, roll with the punches and age your money. What do these rules mean for you and your money? You can find out more by downloading the You Need a Budget App, which provides plenty of easy-to-understand tutorials, tips and tools to help you dive into your finances and win the battle of budgeting. You Need a Budget does come at a cost of around $6.99 per month, but there’s also a free one-month trial available – and the app claims that the average user will pay off $500 in debt during their first month.
Spendee
Searching for a personal finance app to help manage shared expenses? Spendee helps users create shared wallets to make financial tracking and decision-making easier for roommates, couples, families and anyone with expenses in common. Other favorite features on the Spendee app include the ability to connect bank accounts and cards as well as manually input cash expenses; customized categories of spending; cross-device functionality; and multiple currencies so travelers and digital nomads can manage their money more easily. Users call the design simple and intuitive, taking some of the hassle out of financial chores like tracking bills, creating budgets for a variety of expenses, and managing shared finances between multiple people.
Clarity Money
Personal finance app Clarity Money made it into news headlines last year when the app was purchased by financial services company Goldman Sachs; and in February 2019 it was reported that an Apple partnership and credit card launch for the app was also on its way. For now, users can continue to enjoy the app’s core features which have made it a standout star on the personal finance app scene. There are machine learning tools that analyze your finances and help users make smart decisions about where their money is going, including a much-loved feature that provides reminders about recurring charges, to help stop unused subscriptions from slowly draining your budget.
