Top Personal Finance Apps of 2019
In 2019, managing your money effectively was easier than ever thanks to a plethora of innovative personal finance apps. These digital tools empowered users to track spending, create budgets, and even invest, all from the convenience of their smartphones. Choosing the right app, however, could feel overwhelming with so many options available. This article dives into the top contenders of the year, highlighting their key features and helping you navigate the landscape of personal finance apps to find the perfect fit for your needs.
Top Apps for Budgeting and Tracking
Several apps focused specifically on helping users manage their budgets and track their spending habits. These are essential for gaining control over your finances and identifying areas where you can save money.
- Mint: A popular choice known for its comprehensive budgeting features and ability to connect to various bank accounts and credit cards. It automatically categorizes transactions, making it easy to see where your money is going.
- YNAB (You Need A Budget): A rule-based budgeting app that encourages proactive budgeting and assigning every dollar a purpose. YNAB focuses on four rules: give every dollar a job, embrace your true expenses, roll with the punches, and age your money.
- Personal Capital: More than just a budgeting app, Personal Capital offers investment tracking and management tools, making it ideal for those with investment portfolios.
Apps for Investing and Saving
Beyond budgeting, many apps focused on helping users invest and save money. These platforms often offered simplified investment options and automated savings plans.
Robo-Advisors
Robo-advisors are a great option for beginners looking to invest without the complexities of traditional stock picking. These apps use algorithms to create and manage diversified investment portfolios based on your risk tolerance and financial goals.
- Betterment: A well-known robo-advisor offering low fees and automated investment strategies.
- Wealthfront: Similar to Betterment, Wealthfront provides automated investment management and tax-loss harvesting.
Micro-Investing Apps
Micro-investing apps allow you to invest small amounts of money, often by rounding up purchases to the nearest dollar. This is a great way to get started with investing without a large initial investment.
- Acorns: Rounds up your purchases and invests the spare change.
- Stash: Offers a variety of investment options and educational resources for new investors.
Other Notable Apps
Here are a few other apps that offered unique features and valuable tools for managing your finances:
- Digit: Automatically saves money for you based on your spending habits.
- Clarity Money: Helps you identify and cancel unwanted subscriptions.
Choosing the best personal finance app ultimately depends on your individual needs and financial goals. Consider what features are most important to you, such as budgeting, investing, or debt management, and then explore the options that best align with your requirements. By leveraging the power of these digital tools, you can take control of your finances and work towards a brighter financial future. It’s a great idea to download a few trials to see which is the best fit.
I personally tried out several of these apps throughout 2019, and my experience varied significantly depending on what I was trying to achieve. Mint, for example, was my go-to for a quick overview of my spending. Linking all my accounts was surprisingly easy, and I loved the visual breakdown of where my money was going each month. However, I found the categorization a bit clunky at times; I often had to manually re-categorize transactions.
YNAB, on the other hand, required a steeper learning curve. The “give every dollar a job” philosophy felt restrictive at first, but once I got the hang of it, it completely changed my approach to budgeting. I became far more intentional with my spending, and I actually started saving more money. The downside was the manual input required; it wasn’t as automated as Mint. I also checked out Personal Capital. I was mainly interested in its investment tracking. This was particularly useful for monitoring my retirement accounts and seeing the overall performance of my portfolio in one place. I also used it for budgeting, but I preferred Mint for day-to-day budgeting.
My Investing Journey with Robo-Advisors and Micro-Investing
Being new to investing, I decided to dip my toes in with Betterment. The onboarding process was simple; it assessed my risk tolerance and created a diversified portfolio for me. I liked the hands-off approach. I didn’t need to worry about picking stocks or rebalancing my portfolio. Later, I used Acorns to supplement my investing. I liked the ’round-ups’ feature; it felt like I was saving money without even trying; Over time, I built up a small investment portfolio using just my spare change!
The Power of Automatic Savings
I also experimented with Digit. The idea of an app automatically saving money for me seemed too good to be true, but I was pleasantly surprised. Digit analyzed my spending patterns and transferred small amounts of money from my checking account to a savings account without me even noticing. After a few months, I had accumulated a decent amount of savings without any effort. It felt like magic! I called the savings ‘my travel fund’.
Looking back, 2019 was a pivotal year for me in terms of personal finance, thanks in large part to these apps. It was amazing how fast I got to understand my spending habits. Today, while many of the apps have been updated, the lessons I learned still carry over. Ultimately, finding the right personal finance app that complements your goals is key, and with some experimentation, anyone can find tools that lead to a healthier financial outlook.
