Top Money Management Apps You Need in 2018

You already check your smartphone a thousand times a day. Why not use it to check up on your money?

 

Mobile banking is nothing new, offering ATM locators, instant money transfers between accounts, deposits via photo, and more. But what if you want to go a step further in becoming a master of your money? You’re in luck. There’s an app—actually multiple apps!—for that.

 

No matter if you’re starting out and just want to track your spending or are ready for the deep dive into investments, here are some of the most popular and user-friendly financial management apps.

 

 

Free Apps

Mint is one of the most popular financial apps and for good reasons. It’s brought to you by Intuit Inc., the same minds behind Quick Books and TurboTax. Mint is best for budgeting but less effective at managing investments. It’s ideal for the beginner to proficient budget user.

 

Features:

 

Clarity Money offers unique features to save you money, although it doesn’t offer specific budgeting tools. This app would work well next to a strict budgeting app to help show where you can save money and automate saving.

 

Features:

 

Personal Capital is a comprehensive financial dashboard that tracks and clearly displays assets, liabilities, and net worth. In once glance, you can see all of your balances and account standings. This is a deeper dive into financial management, but if you’re interested in taking that leap, this is a great place to start.

 

Features:

 

Wally is a simple app for tracking expenses. It’s a great way to see where your money is going, which is the first step in building a budget!

 

Features:

 

 

Subscription-based Apps*

*Most of these have a free trial period to test out the app and services.

You Need a Budget (YNAB) does more than just track your spending, it helps you build a personalized budget and stick to it. (And let’s be honest, we all need support when it comes to sticking to our budget!). The app helps you become the master of your financial fate by giving every dollar a purpose, identifying your true expenses, and allowing you to stay flexible for unexpected life events. If you are looking to get out of debt with a budget, this is the app for you.

 

Features:

 

Budget Boss only costs $.99 on the App Store, but it can see into the future. Once you enter your income and expenditures, this app automatically graphs and predicts your checking and savings account balances up to two years in the future.

 

Features:

Tiller is aimed at those looking for a more hands-on approach to constructing a balance spreadsheet. Tiller connects with various financial institutions to combine all info and transactions into one Google Doc and then keeps that document updated.

 

Features:

 

Acorns helps you save painlessly and effortlessly. And for next to nothing (it’s free to college students and charges $1/month for most users). When you make a purchase with a card connected to Acorns, the app rounds the purchase up to next highest dollar and puts the difference into a portfolio that you select based on your risk preference. Now your pocket change is actually working for you, instead of sitting under the dryer and in between couch cushions! Depending on your spending habits, you could be seeing your investment account grow by a few hundred dollars in no time.

 

Features:

 

LearnVest is similar to Personal Capital in that it creates a finance dashboard for you, along with offering investing and budgeting tools. It gives more investing and financial planning advice with successive subscription levels. With their Premium Plan, you get a personalized finance plan and advisor and access to even more tools.

 

Features:

 

 

These apps, and others like them, can work well as complimentary tools to a budget you built, or they can help you build one from scratch. Either way, they are a valuable tool to help you better understand and control your money and how it’s spent.

Return to Get Help