Five Best Apps For Personal Finance


In these days of cloud-based banking and the pervasiveness of smartphones and tablets, there is no reason not to have a good picture of your finances. Being able to know at a glance your entire financial picture and having the ability to transfer and pay bills from anywhere is a modern convenience. Following are five of the best apps with which to manage your personal finances.

1.   Level Money

Level Money, which is available for Android or iOS operating systems, is a free and easy budget tracking app. After setting the program up to sync with your bank and credit card accounts, you can set up a budget. The program will then use your current financial picture, along with the budget you set to help you keep your spending in any category within your means.

2.   Mint

Mint is from Intuit, the makers of Quicken, which has been the premier personal finance software on computers for decades. After a short-lived PDA version, they switched to the cloud-based Mint. Like Quicken, Mint allows you sync to virtually any banking, credit, brokerage or lending institution to keep all of your finances in one place. In addition, you can add asset and debt accounts for things like homes and vehicles so you always have a complete snapshot of your net worth. It also has built-in budgeting software. If you have your finances spread over a wide variety of places, Mint is probably the app you have been looking for. It is available for Android or iPhone.

3.   Manilla (Update: Closed)

Manilla, a free app for iOS or Android, also links and syncs with all of your financial accounts. It can remind you to pay a bill and help track your budgets. Manilla is unique in that it will also track points and balances in rewards programs, travel points systems and places like Groupon.

4.   Digit

Digit is a great app for people who have a hard time saving money. Like the others, it syncs with your bank and credit accounts. What is different with Digit is it keeps track of your spending habits and then siphons off small amounts of money that it decides you don’t need right now to a separate account. The account doesn’t earn any interest, but if you have a hard time putting money aside for a rainy day, Digit may be your new best friend.

5.   You Need a Budget

You Need a Budget, free for Android and iPhone users, is an excellent program for people who, well, need a budget. It allows you to sync all your accounts, track them on the go or your computer and makes sure you know how much or how little, you have to spend in any given category. For the budget conscience, you need You Need a Budget.

Everyone’s personal financial picture is different. Where you keep your money and how you use it will determine which app is right for you. Install one or more of these apps on your smartphone or tablet and keep in constant touch with your money and your personal finances from anywhere with a connection.