How technology can help your budgeting

Technology is a wonder. It is highly flexible and can help you in countless situations. This can include your personal finances, with things like budgeting or payment apps. However, technological innovations seem to come around at lightning speed. One app might be the new hot thing one day, only to be replaced the next. This constant revolving door of apps can be dizzying to keep track of. Therefore, we hope to inform you of some of the ways technology can benefit your personal finances, and the best apps you can use to accomplish this.

Mobile payments

Mobile apps are becoming an increasingly common form of payment in place of using one’s card. After all, people carry their phones everywhere with them. So, they are certain to have it handy when needing to pay something. Transactions are incredibly easy to make. In fact, it is estimated that over 90 million Americans make use of these apps.

Additionally, many places do not require your card’s PIN to place an order through. This means that theoretically, people could use your card for all sorts of uses. Phones eliminate this option immediately. You can set the safety options on your phone any way you please.

So what are some mobile payment apps you can use, and what are their features?

Well, the most popular one you will likely find is Venmo. Venmo lets you make payments for all sorts of things. This includes direct payments to your friends and family or paying for services like restaurants. You will have to connect directly to your friends, almost like a mini social networking feature. You can also check some of the payments your friends make on the app. This could help against fraudulent activities, as you must know the people before sending them cash (at least with personal payments).

Another popular option is Zelle. It is quite popular among the banks, so integrating its use with banks can be very simple. In fact, sometimes, you can even access Zelle through banking apps. The transactions here are also rather simple to make.

Some risks

However, we should mention there are some potential downsides. For one, each app has its own safety standards. Therefore, you will have to investigate each app you download to ensure its safety.

Secondly, scammers have created some fake payment apps. Therefore, it is doubly important that you pay attention to which payment app you choose. Check out some reviews, search online to see how trustworthy the app is.

Finally, the ease at which you make payments can be both a blessing and a curse. It can put you too at ease. If you are not in the right state of mind, you could make payments you wouldn’t have dreamed of making otherwise.

Managing money and budgeting with apps

We can recommend several apps for you to help you manage your money. Each one has a slightly different focus, so you can choose which you will and will not need.

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You Need a Budget

If you are currently strapped hard for cash and need to save, You Need a Budget (YNAB) may be the right place to look. The app helps you allocate every portion of your income, and make it useful. If you make any wasteful payments, the app will tell you. It will help recommend the next course of action you should take if you are in a tight spot. You can also get some tips from online instructors. All of this help does not come for free, of course. Users pay a fee, monthly or yearly, for the service. Therefore, this app is best recommended for people who tend to struggle with budgeting and need some guidance. The results tend to be very positive, as well. Users report the money they saved far exceeded the money spent on the app.

Acorns

This app is a great option to help you start making savings with every payment you make. It’s a great way to start investing very slowly. Basically, what it does is deduct some money from every payment you make, up to the nearest dollar. It then takes this sum and invests it in an exchange-traded fund (ETF). ETFs can be bought for basically any price, so you can always invest in them. This helps you make very small time investments without getting too involved yourself. The losses you may make will be minimal.

What’s more, if you feel insecure about investing at all, there are options for you. The app gives you flexibility as to what can of fund you want to put your money towards, depending on the risk. The price of the service is also very low, ranging from $1-3 per month, depending on your particular preference. The profits you make will not be huge, but receiving an extra few hundred dollars annually is not unfeasible. These profits, combined with the low service payment, makes this a no-brainer. There is very little to lose with this kind of investment overall.

Mint as a budgeting app

Mint is a good general-purpose budgeting app that has features for many purposes. It can help you keep track of all your card and bank accounts. It helps give you create budgets and give you warnings when you are nearing it. Since the app is free and has quite broad applications, it is worthwhile for everyone to at least try out.

Wally

Wally is quite an original app. It helps you set up and streamline your budgeting very quickly. Its main feature is giving you the option of taking pictures of all your receipts. Once you have taken a picture, it automatically processes it and develops the expenses information for your budget. Everything about the app is simple and easy to use, without any obnoxious adverts getting in your way. This can be a huge help for someone with a lot of card payments. Instead of manually entering all the information yourself, the app can compile everything for you very quickly.