Acorns
The new Acorns app is a great way to save more money and invest at the same time. The app basically works by rounding up purchases made with a debit card to the nearest dollar and invests the difference in a mix of low-cost, exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Fees are pretty low at $1 per month, with an expense ratio of 0.25 percent-0.5 percent. The small but steady contributions allow you to take advantage of compounding growth to save for retirement, for a child’s college education, or for a future home.
Mint
Mint is a great app for budgeting, as it takes all of the tedious, time-consuming work out of making and following a budget. The app links to your bank accounts and credit card accounts and gives you a real time look at your finances every time you log into the app. You can set up a monthly budget using preset categories and the app will automatically categorize each transaction that hits your accounts so you can easily see how close you are getting to your spending limits. To save more money out of your paycheck, add a savings amount to your budget and pay that amount to your savings account every month. You may be able to set it up as a recurring transaction that is automatically paid through the online features of your bank’s webpage.
Savings Goals
The Saving Goals app is just what its name implies – an app for managing your savings goals. To use the app efficiently, you must input the amount of money it would take to reach a particular savings goal and when you intend to reach that goal. The app will calculate the amount that you will need to save weekly or monthly to reach each goal set within the predetermined timeframe. The app will also keep track of your progress for you, saving you the hassle of constantly recounting and recalculating what you need to do to reach your goals.