We’re at the end of 2019 and the national debt issue isn’t letting up. Many people struggle with debt – whether it’s because of student loans or because of accumulated credit card debt, or for other reasons. It’s never been more important than it is now to have a set of money-management skills that will help you balance your finances and stay afloat.
Especially when the big city is becoming even more difficult to live in, being money smart will make all the difference between being able to pay your rent or not. While managing your personal finances can seem daunting and difficult, there are tools out there that you can use to help. You can also seek out the aid of a non-profit credit counseling agency that can teach you how to use these tools effectively, as well as come up with a debt repayment plan.
Here are a few money management tool apps that you can use on your own or with the help of a certified Credit Counsellor.
Mint
Mint is a free app and it is an effective financial planning resource that you can use to create a budget and track spending. It offers the convenience of having all of your finances in one place by allowing you to connect your bank and credit card accounts, as well as enter info about your monthly bills.
It will send you reminders about when bills are due and alert when you are about to hit a budget limit. The most useful bit is that it will track your spending habits and then give you the advice to help you have better control over your spending.
You Need a Budget
You Need a Budget (YNAB) is a great app if you are struggling with the debt partially due to the built-in “accountability partner” that keeps you on track and lets you know where you’re slipping up and how to remedy it. You can set up weekly or monthly budgets but also create budgets for other purposes, like when it comes to buying Christmas gifts, for example.
While there is a monthly or annual fee (depending on which you choose), you may just find that the services worth it. After all, the investment may encourage you to stay on track and actually use the app to your benefit.
Wally
This completely free app helps you spend tracking in the most convenient way: instead of having to manually enter in your expenses you can instead take a photo of your receipts and the app will be able to read them and add the total to your monthly spending. You can also enable geolocation on your device and it will automatically record where your money was spent as well.
With a clean design and an easy-to-use interface, you can’t go wrong with Wally if you are looking for something simple to use that will help you track your monthly spending.
What Works for You?
Not everyone is the same when it comes to managing money. There are a lot of apps out there that can help that are totally free or that offer free trials. Take a look and see which one works for you!
