Getting Your Finances in Order With the Help of a Smartphone
If you have multiple bank accounts, credit and debit cards, and bills to pay, getting your finances in order can be a challenge. Luckily, advances in smartphone technology and improve banking and finance apps now allow you to do everything from paying bills to setting budgets, right from your smartphone.
If you're looking to start improving how you manage your personal finances, keep reading to learn about a few of the best apps for mobile banking and money management.
Start Mobile Banking
Mobile banking is becoming an increasingly popular option. This has prompted most of the leading banks and credit unions to improve their mobile banking sites. Most of the leaders in the industry have also released mobile apps designed to allow customers to track their purchases and accounts right from their smartphone.
Utilizing mobile banking apps makes it easy to track both debit and credit cards. You can use these apps to pay bills, transfer money between accounts, and even manage your accounts.
One great way to take advantage of mobile banking apps is to use them as a resource to track spending on credit cards. With the ability to quickly check how much you've spent and how much credit you have remaining, you could convert more of your spending over to credit cards. This allows you to take advantage of reward programs, and to earn points or cash back on all of your daily purchases, while also helping to ensure that you don't spend too much.
Another great way to take advantage of mobile banking apps is to set up alerts on your smartphone, to let you know when you've overdrawn or are close to doing so, alert you when bills are due, and more.
Use an Expense Tracking App
Besides mobile banking, there are plenty of other apps that can help you keep your finances in check right from your smartphone. For instance, the app, Mint, by Intuit Inc., allows you to track your spending, create budgets and manage each of your debit and credit cards. The app, You Need a Budget, is designed to help you create a budget to aid in paying off debt fast. There are plenty of other financial apps out there that can help you do everything from setting aside money for future expenses to planning for retirement, and more.
If you're planning on tracking your expenses and charting your spending through your smartphone, it's important to take measures to ensure that you aren't making mistakes. With a small touchpad and lots of numbers to input, mistakes are all too easy to make.
One simple way to reduce the chance of mistakes is to use a stylus. For instance, the Samsung Galaxy Note8 comes with the S Pen, which allows for increased efficiency and productivity when working from your smartphone. You can type faster, without having to worry about hitting the wrong keys on a touchscreen.
Start Some Sneaky Savings
Once you've set up a plan for managing your spending, tracking your expenses and paying your bills, it's time to take the time to use other smart financial planning resources. Setting up a way to save a little money at a time is a great way to do this. There are tons of apps out there that can help you start a savings account.
If you're interested in investing money but aren't sure how to get started or don't have a lot of extra money to invest, Acorn is a great resource. With this app, you can start investing by simply rounding up on your everyday purchases. The app then automatically invests your money for you, choosing stock at the risk level that you select.
If you want to save money by rounding up on purchases, but don't want to invest, Digit is a great choice. Digit tracks your spending and estimates how much you could be saving. Then it automatically withdraws that amount and sets it aside for you each week.
If you're ready to get your finances in check, pay off debt, and manage your money better, any of these apps can help you get started.