A new year means new resolutions, and there’s no better way to kick-off the new decade than taking charge of your financial future. Whether your financial goals this year include getting started with investing or simply creating your first budget, there’s an app for that! Read on for some of our favorite apps for making this your savviest financial year yet.
Best for diving into investing: Acorns
Acorns is on a mission to make it easy for anyone to start investing, one penny at a time. Its “Round-Ups” accounts allow you to invest spare change by automatically rounding up your purchases to the nearest dollar and investing the difference in one of its five portfolios. With no minimums to start, this micro-investing approach makes venturing into the world of investing easy and automatic. (Fees starting at $1/month.)
Best for splitting expenses with no drama: Spendee
Whether you already split some expenses with your family or are preparing to share costs with a future roommate, the Spendee app makes splitting costs smooth with its Shared Wallets feature. With a Shared Wallet, members can track collective expenses together and access easy-to-read visualizations of who paid for what – perfect for keeping costs covered without confrontation. (Note: While Spendee is free, Shared Wallets is a paid feature.)
Best for saving for an epic ICDC trip (or anything else): PeakMoney
For those who have major saving goals, the PeakMoney app will keep your savings and motivation high. Tell the app your savings targets to receive awesome visualizations and recommendations for how to get there, as well as ways to save even faster with automatic transfers and round-ups. The app also gives you inspirational quotes and tips to keep you focused on the end goal as you watch your savings grow.
Best for getting smarter about your subscriptions: SubscriptMe
From streaming services to shaving supplies, chances are you’re a member of at least a few subscriptions. But this of-the-moment business model can make it easy to forget exactly where your money goes every month. Enter SubscriptMe, an app designed to give you an easy overview of all your subscription spending. Use the app to get a complete picture of your subscriptions spend by category and set reminders for upcoming bills and charges – a great way to prevent those post-free trial fees.
Best for when you just need a plain budget: Wally
The Wally app aims to keep budgeting simple and intuitive, perfect for first-time budgeters. Connect your bank accounts and let Wally help you keep a pulse on money coming in, money going out and how your actual spending stacks against your budget. The app automatically organizes your expenses into categories like Clothing, Dining Out, Beauty and more, making it easy to set specific budgets for every area of your spending.
Best for a 360-view of your financial health: Mint
Mint has been a go-to finance app for years, and it just keeps getting better. Fast and free to set up, Mint brings all your accounts into one view, manages your bills with alerts to avoid late fees and overdrafts and creates smart budgets based on your actual spending patterns. The app also offers a free, instant check of your credit score (basically the performance indicator of your financial health and a key factor in getting loans, leases, etc.), plus tips to improve it. Owned by financial software company Intuit, Mint also keeps up with the latest in data security to ensure your information is always protected.
