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Article written by Chris Coulter
There are tons of financial apps on the market today. Some offer an all-in-one solution. Some can help you get out of debt, while others will keep track of your expenses. There are apps that are useful for managing your money, and apps that will encourage you to save it. There are even apps designed for different types of investing. If you need any sort of financial assistance, there’s probably an app for that. But we’re going to review the best financial apps to consider if you are going through a divorce.
Managing money can be difficult during divorce. There are legal fees, you might have to rent or buy your own place, and you may be required to pay support. It can be even more challenging if your ex-spouse looked after all the bills, managed the household finances, or was mostly responsible for making ends meet. Suddenly you are responsible for something that doesn’t make much sense to you. Money management can be intimidating to the unfamiliar.
While apps won’t do all of the work for you, they can certainly help you become more comfortable money management during this stressful time.
Mint – The Best App for Managing your Money
Mint is a great app for capturing your monthly expenses, incoming and outgoing payments. You can attach bank accounts, credit cards and any other recurring or non-recurring expenses. You can even organize your expenses into categories such as mortgage payments, car expenses, vacation planning or holiday spending, groceries, education costs, retirement savings…the list goes on.
Mint is a free online personal finance application from Intuit, and it is easy to use. The online app is complemented by the free Mint mobile apps for iPad, iPhone, Android, and Windows mobile devices. Another nice thing about Mint it that it is well-supported by training videos, and a host of independent third party videos on how to use the app. I find YouTube has an explanation for everything, and in most cases the hosts are individuals like you and me doing a deep dive into the application.
You Need A Budget (YNAB) – The Best App for Getting out of Debt
Like the name says, You Need A Budget specializes in managing your month-to-month expenses. YNAB is loved by its fans because it doesn’t try to be all things to all people. If you want to establish a budget and start seeing what is happening to your money, then sign up for a trial period.
You Need a Budget is a multi-platform personal budgeting program based on the envelope method (keeping different payments in different envelops). In 2013, it was the most popular personal finance software among Lifehacker readers. You can enjoy a free trial for 34 days, and if you like it, it will cost you $6.99/month to continue using it.
Once again, YNAB offers a host of training videos, but I always like third party instructional videos as they usually tell you why they like the product and why they are endorsing it.
Wally – The Best App for Tracking Expenses
Wally is a fast way to track your expenses, income, or set a savings target. It even allows you to upload receipts. Wally tracks your daily budget, giving you a single, simple number to focus on throughout the day. Wally is completely free, and is private and secure.
Acorns – The Best App for Saving
This is an interesting concept. You attach your bank accounts, credit cards etc. to the Acorns app, and every time you use one of your cards, Acorns round the amount up to the next highest dollar. The spare change is then invested into an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund), and you can see the amount your nest egg will grow month-over-month.
Since you’re not dealing with huge dollars, this won’t produce results the way Portfolio Diversification, Asset Allocation or Rebalancing does, but you should see the change turn into dollars in a pretty quick fashion. This is not a budgeting tool, so don’t be lulled into the belief that the more you spend, the more you’ll save. It would be recommended to utilize one of the budgeting apps that you feel most comfortable with, and then incorporate an app like Acorns when you’ve mastered your budget planning.
All these tools are great if you use them on a consistent and ongoing basis. By incorporating a budget tool like Mint, YNAB or Wally, you will capture invaluable information that will reduce financial stress, and allow you to stay ahead of the curve. Who knows, you may even find it fun!