Try These Apps for Financial Planning

Hate balancing your budget and your checkbook? Do you struggle to keep up with your savings account or monitor your retirement accounts? Technology is making tracking personal finances easier than ever.

Streamline your finances and your life with the latest apps for your smartphone, tablet and computer. Many apps are free, too, making being money-savvy even more enticing.

Mint

The Mint app collects all of a user’s financial information in one place, providing a clear overview of assets, bills and spending habits. The app updates in real time so users always know their financial status including credit card spending, 401(k) investments and loans.

Chad Reid, who works in communications for a tech company, is a self-proclaimed “huge Mint.com user,” saying he uses the free app daily and recommends it all the time.

“I literally have more than a dozen accounts attached to it: three savings accounts, two student loans, three credit cards, a checking account, two IRAs and my 401(k),” he says. “I love that I’m able to see my exact net worth on any given day. Plus it’s a great way to see my spending.”

Over 20 million people use Mint to track and manage their money, including bill paying with the company’s new feature, Mint Bills. You can set goals, too, like saving for vacation. The app will show you how you’re progressing on your goal and will tell you how much you can spend at a given time.

Stash

Stash, an iOS app, helps users investing in the stock market. Investments start with as little as $5. Users choose investments based on their interests, beliefs and financial goals. Over 30 investments are curated for users in three categories: “I believe,” “I want” or “I like.”

Users can start small to gain confidence and learn as they go. Stash offers advice and recommendations as well as a glossary of terms to help users understand investing terminology.

Wallaby Financial

Ever wonder which credit card you should be using to get the best deal at specific retailers and restaurants? Enter Wallaby Financial. It sends users alerts about which credit card to use at groceries and restaurants, ensuring users get the best rewards and cash back offers.

Available for iPhone and Android, the Wallaby Financial app can help users monitor interest rate changes, review available rewards, check recent spending and see increased fees and suspicious activity.

Digit

Digit, an SMS-based communication tool for iPhone and Android, securely links to a user’s bank account and calculates exactly how much the user can afford to save each week. A free service, Digit guarantees it will never overdraw a user’s account. Digit rewards users who keep enough money in their account with a free Digit Plus program. The service also rewards $5 for every successful referral.

Qapital

Qapital, the free, first-ever gamified personal finance app that lets users save for things they want. Designed with consumer behavior in mind, the app, available for iOS and Android, is automated to help users start saving immediately. Qapital users can set goals, like saving up to pay taxes or stashing away cash from each paycheck. The savings can be automated, eliminating the need for manual transfers and reminders to save.

It can also be formatted to work with user’s habits, such as rounding up spare change or saving money when users come in under budget on groceries.

Clink

Clink, a savings and investing app, takes a percentage of credit card purchases and invests the money into an exchange-traded fund. The investment helps users essentially tip themselves while they’re enjoying day-to-day activities. Want to invest more or less? Simply adjust the percentage Clink invests.