7 Best Apps For Managing Your Money

In this post we are looking at some of the best finance apps for managing your money. There are a wide variety of personal finance apps available making it easier than ever to manage all aspects of your finances. This includes budgeting, banking, saving, investing, credit and more.

Budget Tracker & Bill Management Apps

A budget tracker can help in managing your money and bills better by giving a clear overview of payments in and out of your account. Bill management apps can help to get better deals on services you pay for and cut any non-essential bills. See these 5 tips to cut bills.

Simplifi

Simplifi is a new personal finance app owned by Quicken, a leading financial management services company. The Simplifi app helps you to see your entire financial picture, track your spending and set and manage your savings goals.

All accounts can be seen in one place; bank accounts, savings, investments, loans and credit cards. This makes it much easier to manage all your incomings and outgoings and ensure you are on track towards your savings goals.

The app will track all savings and expenses and automatically create a personal spending plan which can be adjusted any time. You also have the ability to set savings goals for different occasions such as a new home or creating an emergency fund.

The projected cash flow feature is a nice touch. By analyzing what comes in and goes out as well as the dates that bills are paid, it will help to;

Know what you can spend today based on tomorrow’s bills.
Prevent late fees.
Reduce your interest payments.
Help to maximize your savings and investments.

Pros;

Gives a complete overview of all your finances.
Comprehensive features.
Sleek modern app.
Ad free.

Cons;

Paid subscription required.
Simplifi is a stand alone product and not included in any current Quicken plans.

Simplifi is among the top personal finance apps for it’s comprehensive features allowing you to reach your financial goals with confidence. It is a quality app and so doesn’t come free. However new users do get a full 30 day free trial which we would recommend to test out the service.

Ready to take control and start managing your money better with one of the top money management apps? Visit Simplifi

Best Credit Building Apps

Having a credit history and a good credit score is important if you need access to credit in the future. It can determine the type of deals you can get such as the amount you can borrow or the interest rates. Credit can include all sorts of borrowing such as mortgages, personal loans and credit cards.

If you either have a poor credit history or no credit history at all then there are some great apps that can help you build good credit. Learn about the importance of a good credit score and the different types of credit cards.

Cleo

Cleo is an AI powered financial management app that allows users to save, borrow, budget and build credit easily.

They offer a dedicated credit builder card that focuses on helping you boost your credit score. Once registered for the card, all you need to do is deposit cash which becomes your credit limit. Then use the card at least once a month for purchasing or paying bills. As this is paid with cash you already deposited there is no interest to pay and means you won’t go over your credit limit.

Cleo also provide some great budgeting tools that work alongside your card to help you stay on top of everything. You’ll also be able to keep track of your credit score and monitor how it changes over time.

This does come at a price – $14.99 per month. However for those with bad credit it could be worth the money in the long run to improve your credit score. It will enable better access to credit in the future and reduce interest payments by allowing you access to better deals on credit.

Pros;

Easy to set up in a few minutes with no credit check required.
No interest payments.
Great for those needing to build good credit.
Simple to manage and stay in control.
Extra perks like cashback and payment advances.

Cons;

Costs $14.99 per month.

Find further information; Visit Cleo.

Self

Self is a personal finance app offering credit builder accounts that help users build credit whilst saving money at the same time.

The Self credit builder account works as a loan held in a certificate of deposit account that you pay off monthly. Each monthly repayment you make is reported to the main credit bureaus to build your credit payment history.

The loans are usually between 12 and 24 months in length. At the end of the repayment term, you receive your money back. There are 4 plans available for different needs.

In addition to this, there is also a Self Visa credit card available to people that meet certain requirements. With this card you can set your credit limit against your savings progress. Then use it for regular spending. No extra credit check is required.

Pros;

Very easy to set up and manage.
A good way to boost your credit score quickly.
Multiple plans available.
Can repay early.
Visa credit card available.

Cons;

There are non-refundable admin and interest fees.

Find further information; Visit Self.

All In One Apps For Managing Your Money

All in one finance apps can help with all aspects of managing your money in one convenient app. These apps are more geared towards longer term investing along with other features such as banking and saving, offering a complete all-in-one app for managing your money.

Revolut

Revolut is an all in one financial super app available in 30 countries that comes packed full of great features for managing your money.

There are different accounts available on either a monthly or annual subscription basis with the standard account being free. There are 2 additional tiers – premium for $9.99 per month and metal at $16.99 per month.

Revolut Features

The features will vary between account types. The free account offers the following benefits;

Free ATM withdrawals
10 fee free international transfers each month
Spend in over 140 currencies at market exchange rates
Trade cryptocurrency commission free
Interest on savings
And more.

For many people the free account will be sufficient. But the paid for accounts offer more benefits including better interest rates, overseas medical insurance, lounge passes and more.

Revolut has a very user friendly app that provides great features such as smart budgeting tools. You can set spending limits and receive notifications and get a full breakdown of your spending, keeping you in full control of your finances.

There are lots more perks available such as cashback at selected retailers when using your Revolut card. Plus an auto roundup feature to automatically round up spare change and move to your savings allowing you to reach your financial goals quicker. Particularly useful is the ability to save change in different currencies or even investing it into cryptocurrency.

Pros;

Good range of plans available.
Excellent free plan available.
Good range of features across all plans including free crypto investing.
Lots of extra perks like cashback
Simple tools like roundups and budgeting
Available in many countries

Cons;

Investments currently limited to cryptocurrencies (In the US).

These are based on the US version of the app. Account types and features vary between each country. The main thing that lets it down in the US is that investment options are limited to cryptocurrency. Whereas the UK version allows a broader mix of assets including stocks and commodities. We hope to see these expanded in the US in the future.

Find further information; Visit Revolut.

M1 Finance

The M1 Finance app is another all in one super app but is geared more towards longer term investors. This is a great app that has everything you need in one place for managing your money; investment accounts, retirement accounts, checking accounts, credit cards and loans.

There are 2 accounts types – M1 Basic which is free or M1 Plus for $125 per year (although you get the first year free).

Investing

Build your own custom portfolio of stocks and ETFs or select from over 80 expert portfolios. You can even trade fractional shares – great for those with smaller amounts to invest. Once set up it can be fully automated to invest regularly and automatically re-balance your portfolio without any intervention needed.

Retirement

You can also use the M1 app to save and invest for retirement. Set up either a traditional IRA, Roth IRA or SEP IRA for tax efficient retirement planning. There are easy to use tools to help you set the right strategy for you. It also benefits from fractional shares, auto re-balancing and no management fees.

Checking

Add the checking account to use M1 for all your everyday banking. The M1 is like most standard no frills bank accounts with no fees but not many perks. The M1 Plus however offers cashback on spending, 1% APY interest and more but does come with a $125 annual fee.

Credit Card

The cashback reward credit card pays between 1.5 – 10% cashback on purchases depending on the retailer. A good point to note is that you can set your cashback rewards to be automatically re-invested into your portfolio to help fund your growth.

Borrowing

Whichever M1 account you hold, it’s easy to borrow money against your investments. Although you get better rates with the M1 plus account. Rates are among some of the lowest in the industry, you can see a comparison with some of the other top providers here.

Pros;

Complete all in one financial solution.
Fractional share investing available.
No trading commission or management fees.
Basic account is free and you can even get the Plus account free for the first year.

Cons;

Investments are limited to stocks and ETFs.

M1 is a good platform for those that like to be more in control over their portfolios. We like how all the M1 account features are seamlessly integrated with each other and give a complete, easy to manage an all in one financial account. It is among the best personal finance apps for it’s automation, better checking and lower margin rates. You can see a comparison with other top providers here.

Make managing your money easier with M1 Finance.

Acorns

Acorns is a micro-investing platform that is great for those with smaller amounts to invest. As well as investments it also offers services for banking and saving making it an all in one platform. It is geared a little more towards novice investors or those that prefer to be more hands-off with their investments as you can only choose from ready-made portfolios.

Spare change round-ups allow very small investments to be made automatically to your portfolio. Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA and 401(k) Rollover retirement accounts are available.

There are 2 plans to choose from, personal at $3 per month or family at $5 per month. The personal plan comprises checking account, investment account and retirement account.

Family plan includes everything from the personal plan plus an investment account for your kids. We like this option for families as it can be an effective way to save for their future and there is no additional cost for adding more children to the plan.

Pros;

Very simple to set up and use with ready made portfolios.
Good for those with smaller amounts of cash to invest.
Lots of educational tools
Great savings option for families – no additional cost for each child added.

Cons;

Limited investments options and unable to select underlying assets.
No free accounts available.

You can read more information about the Acorns app in this blog post explaining how micro-investing works.

Overall we feel Acorns is one of the best money management apps with a good emphasis on helping to educate people about their finances. It is a good option for families to help save conveniently for their children’s futures. However there is no free basic account that can be found with other personal finance apps such as M1 which let’s it down a little. But all things considered it is among the top apps for managing your money.

Find further information; Visit Acorns.

Best Money Management Apps For Kids & Families

If you have kids then it’s not just managing your money you need to think about, but managing theirs too. These finance apps are aimed specifically at helping families and children to better manage their financial futures.

U-Nest

U-Nest is a financial app dedicated to helping you save for your children’s future with a simple, flexible, and tax-advantaged custodial account.

Unlike many other apps that only allow you to save for education, U-Nest offers greater flexibility. Funds saved can be used across any of your child’s life events like college, their first car, down payment on the house, wedding day or any other important milestone. The funds can be accessed by the child when they reach adulthood.

Is college debt worth it in 2023? View the pros and cons

The U-Nest account offers some tax advantages and U-Nest state the following; ‘The first $1,100 of the earnings is completely tax-free. The next $1,100 is taxed at the child’s tax rate. Anything exceeding $2,200 is taxed at the parent’s tax rate. This threshold is only applicable to gains in the account and not to the original contributions.’

It is very straightforward to use, simply register and select a savings goal. You can then set up monthly contributions with a low minimum payment of just $25 per month. One off deposits and gifts from others are accepted.

Contributions are invested into ready made ETF portfolios. There are 5 options to choose from to cater to different risk tolerances.

Pros;

Simple and tax efficient way to save for your child’s future.
Flexibility in what the funds can be used for when the child reaches adulthood.
Low minimum monthly contribution of $25.
Accounts can be set up for children that aren’t yours.
Great referral scheme where you earn $15 for each friend you refer

Cons;

Monthly fee of $2.99 per child. Although the family plan offers cost savings for more than 2 children at $5.98 per month.

Find further information; Visit U-Nest.

Best Apps For Managing Your Money Conclusion

Hopefully you will find using some of these personal finance apps beneficial for managing your money. Whether you require an app for a specific need like credit builder apps or require an all in one financial solution, these apps have you covered.

There are many more apps for managing your money that can be found on our website, view more top personal finance apps.

Please view our blog for more articles like this and join our newsletter to ensure you don’t miss our latest content.