5 Apps That Help You Save Money

Is saving more money on your list of New Year’s Resolutions? If so, you’re not alone. Increasing savings, sticking to a budget, and getting out of debt are at the forefront of many people’s goal lists this year. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources available to help you meet your goals and be better with money in 2018. Apps are a great helper when it comes to budgeting, saving, and decreasing debt. Here are five of the best apps that will help you keep more green in your pocket in the new year.

Clarity Money

If you have an iPhone, Clarity Money might be a good fit for you. Designed to help you control your finances in numerous forms—including creating a savings account—this app alerts you when you spend more than you’ve budgeted in certain areas and even analyzes your spending habits. By mining your data to create financial goals, this intuitive app could be your new cash-friendly best friend.

Mint

Android and iPhone users can both benefit from Mint, a budgeting app created by those who brought us Quicken and TurboTax. This handy app creates a personalized budget for you based on your financial data and lets you know if any unusual charges have been made (great to protect against identity fraud.) Mint also shows you your credit score and gives you tips on reducing your monthly spending—perfect for those who want to build credit for a major purchase. If you’re an investor, Mint can also help you in that arena with a tracker feature that helps you compare your portfolio to others.

Good Budget

The envelope system of budgeting—where you separate cash out into different envelopes depending on what it will be used for—has been around forever. However, the Good Budget app makes it a whole lot easier (and portable) but transferring it to a mobile budgeting option. You can even sync your account with your spouse’s so you can stay on the same budgeting page and work toward mutual family goals. Good Budget is available on iOS and Android.

Halfdollar

Whether you need help budgeting for your business or your personal spending, Halfdollar’s interactive touches make it a favorite for many. Input multiple sources of income, track down your monthly expenses, and enjoy their no-frills, user-friendly interface to keep better track of what goes into—and leaves—your bank account each month.

Digit

If ease of use and convenience are top on our list, the iPhone app Digit might be the right choice for you. The app analyzes your spending patters and income and automatically takes money out of your bank account to put into savings. Though it varies, the amount usually ranges from $2-$17 every few days and stashes it where you can’t spend it (unless you put in a request.) You can always change the amount of money that is moved over and all your money is stored in an FDIC insured account (though the app does keep the interest earned as a fee.)

Saving money is all about changing habits and becoming more mindful of unnecessary expenditures. Easy-to-use apps can help you strengthen good financial habits and help you build up savings that can later be used for large investments or to pay down debt.