In year 2017 we find that more and more information and resources are available to us at the touch of a button. Want to know how to make guacamole? Google a recipe and find a cooking video on YouTube. Interested in finding a soulmate? Swipe right on Tinder. Looking for ways to keep track of your finances? There are actually a variety of financial planning mobile apps available to you on your smart phones. Some of these include:
Mint
Mint is a useful application which allows you to sync all of your accounts to keep track of daily expenses. Every time you swipe one of your cards, the expense is immediately documented under the app. Mint also shows you where your money is going through percentages and visual tools such as pie charts. For example, you might find that 30% of your total expenses are going toward going out to eat. You can utilize this feature to minimize spending in certain areas. Mint also notifies you of credit card bill due dates, which can help increase your FICO score in the long run by preventing you from making late payments. You can set budgets for yourself and Mint will tell you how close you are to making your goals, but the main purpose of the app is to give you a personal financial overview through totals, percentages, and visual charts. This is a great way to visualize your financial situation and come up with ways to make it healthier.
BudgetSimple
If you are mostly interested in the budget feature of Mint, you might want to try BudgetSimple. This application focuses on the budgeting aspect of financial planning. It makes the process of creating and maintaining budgets extremely simple. By leveraging this tool, you can create a budget, keep track of where your money is going, and figure out ways to achieve your desired spending levels in different expenditure categories. BudgetSimple assists this process by suggesting areas where you can cut spending or grow savings. Applications like these are especially helpful if you are interested in getting out of debt and meeting a specific savings goal. The “easy to use” nature of this tool makes it super user friendly and straightforward.
Level
Level takes your total income, subtracts your bills and amount you wish to save, and produces a value which indicates how much you have left to spend today, this week, or this month. This app helps you understand just how much you should be spending on a daily, weekly, and/or monthly basis in order to meet all financial obligations while also saving a bit of your income. Frequently check this app to make sure you aren’t overspending!
Download applications such as Mint, BudgetSimple, and/or Level to make financial planning simple, interactive, and fun!
