Is there anything that our Smartphones can’t do nowadays? I can use Face Time to make calls and see the person I’m talking to in real time, Words with Friends to keep me amused for hours on end, Instgram to make every photo I take look professional, update my online blog when I’m standing in line at the grocery store, and I can even file my taxes using the Turbo Tax app right from the palm of my hand. On top of all of these things, financial apps for Smartphones are now picking up speed and gaining popularity. I’m talking about apps like Mint.com, Manilla and Debt Minder, which streamline bills, categorize spending, and can even tally your savings to help get you to your goals. Like a little mini financial advisor in your pocket. But don’t take my word for it; check out this article by Jill Duffy and Sara Yin for PCMag, highlighting the top ten financial apps:
“With the world in what seems to be a perpetual financial crisis these past few years, it’s tough to know where you, as an individual, actually stand with your money, unless you have some help. And I’m not talking about shoeboxes full of receipts.
Thankfully, a wealth of financial apps on the market, most of them free, gives you plenty of options for learning how to be more responsible with your personal finances. Whether you’re trying to handle your own income and expenses, managing an entire household, or running a small business, there’s a program that can help get your finances in order.
Some of the most popular and well-known personal finance apps work on the premise that better money management comes through centralization and visibility. If you can see, at a glance and in one place, where all your accounts and spending habits stand, you’ll be better equipped to make better decisions to stay within your budget.”
Click here to read the top ten list of financial apps, how much they cost, and what each one does.
Now, if you’re like me, you’ve been using an “old school” Excel spreadsheet for years to track your income, savings and expenses. And there’s obviously nothing wrong with that at all– except that if I want to look at it, I have to open up my MacAir, pull up the document, and then hope that I updated it from the last time I looked at it. These apps cut out a lot of steps because they automatically categorize spending for you, and everything is updated in real time. I didn’t think I would be a fan, but turns out, I can dig it.
