The Money Apps That Our Personal Finance Writer Swears By
As a personal finance writer, I am constantly testing new money apps and programs looking for the most useful and easy-to-use tools. And while I haven’t tried every app on the market, there are a few that really stand out to me and which I use in my day-to-day life to manage my finances.
Obviously my financial situation is different from yours, but this is what I now use to budget, check my accounts, and set aside for goals. You will notice that some categories are missing, such as microinvestment apps . Now they don’t fit my personal needs, although you may like them.
Chase bank
I belong to Chase because they are on almost every corner of New York and I love the convenience of its ATM network. Its application is easy to use and has almost everything I need, although I would like it to offer daily text messages with my account balances , not just email. This is probably the app I use the most because it is associated with my main check / save account.
Qapital
I recently started using Qapital instead of Digit. Although I loved Digit, it seemed counterintuitive to spend $ 3 a month on a personal finance app when there were free alternatives. To be honest, I don’t like Qapital, but it’s free and easy to use. It’s connected to IFTTT and I use it to save money for specific purposes. For example, when I was on a spending freeze , I established rules by which some of the money was pumped into savings if I made purchases in certain stores / restaurants. I am currently using it to save on vacation.
Credit Karma
I’m a big fan of the Credit Karma app , which gives you your credit score and an overview of your credit report with tips on how to improve your financial life. As with many of these free apps, be wary of the financial products like credit cards they promote – they have to make money somehow, of course, but that doesn’t mean you should buy what they sell. …
Coinbase
I use Coinbase to remind myself to validate bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies (I haven’t invested in any of them through the app).
Mint
I don’t use Mint as often as I probably should (I’ve used PocketGuard in the past for budgeting, but removed it because I rarely opened it), but I save it when I want to dive deep into where my money running.
Clarity money
Clarity Money isn’t exactly a budgeting app, but that’s how I use it: it’s easy to see transactions and find simple tips for improvement. It breaks down your spending by category and lets you search for how much you spent on a specific website or store in a specific month (for example, you can see how much you spent on Amazon during February). Another feature I love: it displays a list of your recurring bills and subscriptions and helps you cancel them. As with Qapital, you can also set goals in Clarity Money. After my Chase app, I use it the most.
loyalty
If I make changes to my investment, I do it on the desktop, but I love it when the Fidelity app is reviewed from time to time. It also provides market news and analysis that I find useful.
And you? What apps do you like?