5 Finance Apps to Help You Manage Your Money

By Alicia Geigel on February 10, 2022

This article is brought to you by GradGuard. We protect college students and their families from the financial risks of college life, like providing a refund for tuition or replacing a stolen backpack when your school may not. When the unexpected happens, GradGuard’s tuition insurance and renters insurance can help you get back on track.

Every year, so many of us make New Year’s resolutions that center around changing some aspect of our lives, whether it be our diet, workout regimen, relationships, or finances. Due to the pandemic, consumer spending saw a sharp decline, while personal savings increased. This trend remained for the greater part of 2020 into 2021 and can be attributed to a handful of reasons, ranging from people losing jobs to supply shortages to inflation and price spikes. As vaccination rates continue to increase, the country is starting to return to normalcy, which means storefronts and restaurants reopening, and more money to be spent again.

Managing your finances is difficult as it is, but when you throw in a global pandemic and nationwide lockdowns, the temptation to Door Dash all your meals or endlessly shop online every day can be very real. If you are looking to be savvier with your money and budget properly, these five free finance apps will help you stay on top of your money while saving at the same time!

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1. Mint: Perhaps the most popular app for budgeting, Mint is completely free and is great if you are looking to keep track of your spending in a simple, easy way. The app itself is user-friendly and uses your personal bank information to track your spending. This includes bills, credit card payments, subscription services, or any other spending such as grocery or clothes shopping. Additionally, the app offers a credit monitoring service so you can stay updated on your credit score and how to build your credit. Lastly, Mint sends out alerts for upcoming recurring bills to avoid overdraft fees and missed payments, making for a well-rounded and comprehensive app for monitoring your money.

2. Pocket Guard: Alongside Mint, Pocket Guard is another great free app for simple money budgeting. Though the app does have paid-for packages, the app itself is free and offers a straightforward approach to managing your money. Using data from your debit and credit cards, Pocket Guard shows you how much money you have versus what you spend. Through the app, you can establish financial goals, as well as limit spending in certain areas. Certain benefits are limited in the free version, so if you are looking for something more comprehensive, consider upgrading to a paid package.

3. Personal Capital: If you are comfortable with your financial spending and savings and instead want to grow what you currently have, Personal Capital is the app for you. For one, the app is totally free, which makes it accessible for anyone who is looking to invest, whether you have a lot of money to put down or not. On the app, there are several different resources and tools available to help you grow your finances, whether it be by building a retirement account or establishing a rainy day savings account. In addition to its investment tools, Personal Capital also helps you track your spending and pay down any debt that you have, making for a comprehensive app for your finances.

4. Albert: Depending on your financial situation, you may be less focused on budgeting or investing, and more interested in building up savings for retirement, emergency purposes, buying a car/house, etc. The app, Albert, is great for you if you want to save, but don’t always have the self-control or discipline to do so. Jamie Ballard of Good Housekeeping notes, “It also uses algorithms to analyze your income and spending throughout the week, and then transfers extra money to a savings account automatically.” You heard right, the app transfers money to your savings automatically — no ifs, ands, or butts!

5. Prism: A painful part of adulthood is both managing and paying bills. Unfortunately, bills can pile up from time to time, and leave you overwhelmed with a mounting stack of financial statements you don’t know how to tackle. If you are responsible for paying several bills, whether it be rent or a mortgage, car payment, student loans, credit cards, etc. Prism is meant to help organize your bills and help you regain control of your finances. Megan Fourhman of Smart Wallet writes, “Prism is an excellent choice for anybody seeking additional structure and organization to their bill pay system. Viewing all of your bills in one place may give you a new sense of perspective over your financial obligations and prevent you from making impulsive purchases in the future.”

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Managing your life and finances is not easy, but thankfully there are several useful apps, as well as GradGuard, to help you budget and save money at the same time. GradGuard provides college students with insurance coverage for a number of things, ranging from tuition to rent to even personal items. Whether it’s finance apps or GradGuard, you are covered!

It’s no secret that college costs a lot of money. Make sure your investment in higher education is protected with GradGuard. Our affordable tuition insurance and renters insurance plans are specifically designed for college students. Customizable plans make it easy to protect your tuition, room and board, laptop, bike, and so much more.

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