The top personal finance apps are a great way to
build healthy money management skills and habits
Personal finance apps are great tools to help you better manage your personal finances. Whether you’re saving for something big like college or retirement, managing your monthly and yearly expenses, or just building healthy money management habits, personal finance apps are an accessible and effective way to do so.
Now, there’s a significant amount of personal finance apps out there so we’ve picked out some top personal finance apps, each with their own focus and purpose, that we feel can help you manage your finances and build a healthier relationship with money.
Note: The following text is strictly for informational purposes and does not reflect an endorsement from John Marshall Bank for any of the following products/services.
Keep Track of Your Credit Score and Stay On Top of Your Finances with Credit Karma
Credit Karma is one of the most popular personal finance tools. It automatically syncs to your accounts, allowing you to receive real-time data and reporting including notifying you of potential fraud and identity theft. With this information readily available, you can make more informed decisions on your finances and spending habits.
Personal Finance Features:
- Budgeting: Allows you to establish a detailed budget for designated categories including groceries, gas, paying debts, etc. Since your accounts are synced, you don’t have to toggle between your receipts and the app. Credit Karma will recognize a purchase at a restaurant and deduct it from your “eating out” budget.
- Interface: User friendly dashboard lets you clearly see when you’re going above your desired spending limits. (The universal “red” for bad and “green” for good).
- Trends Overview: This visual representation of your spending allows you to have a quick glance at where your money’s going. The feature can be adjusted for time, allowing you to see how much you spent in a certain period, such as a vacation.
- Credit Score: As soon as you log in, your current credit score is displayed on the dashboard. This allows you to conveniently keep track of your credit score and report any suspicious activity immediately.
Balance Your Budget with You Need A Budget (YNAB)
YNAB is a great choice for those who want to take a more active role in budgeting their finances. It provides users with the information and reporting they need to take full control. While YNAB is not free (it does feature a month-long free trial), the budgeting experience, data, and customization make it one of the top-rated budgeting platforms out there.
Personal Finance Features:
- Instructional Lessons: YNAB provides online courses, guides, podcasts, and more to help you develop better spending habits. They make education a priority, allowing you to learn how to budget instead of just doing it for you and keeping you in the dark on how to budget better.
- Personalization: YNAB allows users to customize their budget to fit their lifestyles, goals, wants, and needs.
- Goal Tracking: Learn how to make budgeting goals and easily program them through the interactive interface. You can receive real time updates on your progress through data driven generated reports.
- Flexibility AND Stability: YNAB understands that life is always on the move. Goals and needs change. You may not want to buy a home right now, but five years down the line and your priorities may change. YNAB makes changing up your budgeting requirements easy while making sure the standard expenses like internet, insurance, and groceries don’t get lost in the process.
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Start Investing with Acorns
Acorns is a great solution for anyone interested in investing, no matter what stage of life you’re in. Acorns automatically invests and saves the money you put into it, allowing you to focus your energy on the other aspects of your finances. It can also track your checking, savings, and retirement accounts along with the investments you make, keeping your finances in one easy-to-access place.
Personal Finance Features:
- Hands Off: With Acorns, your investments are automated. You set the amount you want to invest on the schedule that works for you and Acorns takes care of the rest. You don’t even need to break the bank to start, just some spare change is enough.
- Investments for All Ages: Want to get your kids involved and start teaching them about savings and investments? With Acorns Early, you can. This app, designed for kids, lets you manage their allowance and even give them a debit card to gain some authority over their own finances. Don’t worry, as the parent, you’ll still have all the control you need tomake sure they aren’t racking up any overdraft fees or spending all their money on V-Bucks.
- Acorns Later: With Acorns Later, you can get some help with retirement planning, allowing you to invest in an IRA.
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Manage Your Subscriptions with Rocket Money
It can feel like everything has a subscription, these days, which is why Rocket Money is specifically designed to help you manage the subscriptions you have, need, use, and forget. On top of that, it can help you manage your everyday spending, allowing you to take more control over how your money is being spent.
Personal Finance Features:
- Subscription Management: Rocket Money tracks all of your subscriptions, even the ones you forgot you had. It then presents you a list of each subscription and how much they cost you, giving you a great overview of what you’re spending money on. If you spot a subscription you don’t use anymore, Rocket Money can even cancel it, saving you the time and the money.
- Spending Tracking: On top of subscription management, Rocket Money can also track your everyday spending so you can see how you’re using your money and how you can save some of it.
- Goal Setting: With Rocket Money, you can set financial goals and, as you work towards them, Rocket Money works with you, helping you set aside money for your next vacation or your emergency fund.
