More than 90M millennials will soon be in their “prime spending years.” Millennials have overtaken the baby boomers to become the largest generational cohort in America. In aggregate, they command $1.4T in annual spending. They have a deep antipathy to traditional financial institutions. Financial security has never been more top of mind to so many people due partly to the economic challenges driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. Personal finance management (PFM) apps are emerging to seize this opportunity and capitalize on these trends. These companies are making it easier to make a budget, invest, buy stocks, and get loans and credit cards.
Mint
Mint, Intuit’s personal finances app, is one of the most well-known personal finance apps that provides your complete financial picture in one place. Once you link your credit and debit cards to your account, Mint pulls your transactions, categorizes them, and shows how you’re spending your money. You can keep track of your bills and spending and create a budget you can stick to. The site provides access to your credit score for free, and you can get a breakdown of the factors contributing to your score to stay on top of your credit health. Plus, you can track your investments and manage utility payments.
Spendee
Many other personal finance apps are for individual use. Spendee allows you to create shared wallets with friends and family that you can use to manage shared expenses for a household budget. Import your bank transactions and let the app categorize them for you to tally how you’re spending money each month. You can manually add cash expenses for a more accurate picture of where your money goes. Keep from going over budget by creating budgeted amounts for each spending category and tracking your progress toward the budgeted amount. The bill tracker functionality ensures you remember to pay each of your bills and avoid late payment penalties. If you’re going on a trip or another special event, you can create a category specifically for that event to track your spending and keep yourself on budget.
YNAB
You Need a Budget also known as YNAB is a personal finance app that’s built around YNAB’s Four Rules. The rules – Give every dollar a job, Embrace your true expenses, Roll with the punches and Age your money – not only help you build a better budget but also help you gain control of your spending. Import transactions from your checking account and apply them to each budget category to get an accurate picture of your spending. Keep a balanced budget by adjusting budget categories if you accidentally overspend (or if you underbudgeted for a certain category). Detailed reports show you how your spending is progressing throughout the month and help you spot places that you can improve your spending. According to YNAB, the average new user saves $600 in the first two months and more than $6,000 in the first year. You can try the app for free for the first 34 days.
Everydollar
The EveryDollar app uses the zero-based budget method recommended by personal finance expert Dave Ramsey. The zero-based budget gives every dollar a purpose in the budget, hence the app’s name EveryDollar. A built-in monthly expense tracker allows you to connect to your bank to import transactions to keep up with your spending. You can even split expenses between multiple budget items. The tracker shows you the amount you’ve spent so far for the month and the amount you have left to spend. Through the app, you’ll be able to connect with money management experts who can help you with your financial planning. You’ll be able to access your budget through the app or via a desktop computer. All new users receive a free trial of the premium version of the app. You can permanently upgrade through the app menu.
Personal Capital
Personal Capital is a personal finance and wealth management app that allows you to manage your assets and investments along with your everyday spending accounts. The service integrates with more than 14,000 financial institutions so you can link your accounts within the app. While you can connect to your bank account to track spending and create a monthly budget, the app really shines in helping you track and optimize your investments. You can track your portfolio by account, asset class, or individual security. With built-in intelligence available on the tablet and mobile versions of the app, you can discover opportunities for diversification, risk management, and discover any hidden fees you may be paying. Comparing your own portfolio to major market benchmarks allows you to determine whether you’re on track to meet your investment goals. Personal Capital provides registered financial advisors who can provide you with customized advice tailored to your goals.
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