Financial Planning Apps | Cash Central Blog

Managing finances can be a difficult task, even downright overwhelming. According to CNBC[1], studies have shown a whopping 85% of Americans confess they feel stressed about money at least some of the time, while 30% reported they have financial stress constantly. Between maintaining a budget, paying off debt, and striving to meet financial goals, there’s a lot that falls under the umbrella of finances. In today’s age of technology there are many apps that can help make it easier to manage your finances. Read on to learn about the different types of financial planning apps available to you.

Robo Advisors

When searching for a financial planning app you will most likely encounter what are known as robo-advisors, which are platforms that have little to no human supervision. With these apps you enter your information, and then the app uses the data to make automated recommendations to help you reach your goals. One of the great things about these automated apps is they can usually track things day-to-day and give suggestions as you go, so you always have the most up to date information. A lot of financial apps are either free to use or are available for a low monthly fee. Here are some different types of financial planning apps you may come across.

Budgeting Apps

A big part of financial planning is maintaining a budget, where you dedicate a certain dollar amount to each spending category and then track your spending to ensure you stay within that limit. This can be a tedious process and it can be easy to lose track of where you’re at throughout the month. Budgeting apps are great because they will usually track your spending for you, so you always know exactly where your money is going. From there, you can usually pinpoint where you may have opportunity to save. A lot of budgeting apps also offer features that allow you to set budgets for certain categories of spending and will alert you when you start to get close to that limit. They may also recommend areas you could save in that you might not have realized yourself.

While the core functions of budgeting apps are usually similar, depending on your overall goals there are apps that will cater to your specific needs. This includes things from simply monitoring your daily activity, to tracking your spending, and meeting financial goals such as saving money. If you’re interested in budgeting apps, The Balance has a list of apps they recommend along with a description of the services offered by the apps.

Investing Apps

On the other end of financial management, you may be looking to build more wealth and increase the value of your hard-earned money. Learning the ins and outs of investing can be difficult, but the great news is there are apps available to help with this, too. These apps typically only charge a small monthly fee depending on the service you choose and allow you to invest the amount you’re most comfortable with, from small amounts to large. Investing with these apps is usually referred to as micro-investing as people are typically investing a lot less than what is usual. There’s no need to be an expert on investing either, as the app often gives suggestions on where you should invest to make it easy.

Just like budgeting apps, there are different investing apps depending on what your investing goals are. You can find investing apps to help you save money, save for retirement, or to save for long term financial goals. If you’re interested in investing apps, Nerd Wallet[2] has a list of recommendations you can choose from.

While managing finances can be an overwhelming task, hopefully you’ll find an app that will make it easier by using the resources listed above. Be sure to check out the Cash Central Blog for more information on how you can budget and meet your financial goals. If you ever need help bridging a financial gap, remember you can always log in to your Cash Central account to request a loan.

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Robo Advisors

Budgeting Apps

Investing Apps