- Organizing your financial life
is the first step to growing wealth
and technology can help you move in the right direction,
specifically using budgeting apps and money tracking apps.
But with the number of apps mushrooming each day,
it can be tough to know which ones to use.
After reviewing dozens of apps,
we've got a comprehensive view
of what budgeting apps are worth downloading
and which ones you can safely ignore.
Plus, it's important to think
about what you need a budgeting app or spending tracker for.
Do you need a hardcore budgeting tool
or just an investment tracker?
Or are you looking for tracking your credit score?
Every budgeting app focuses on a specific niche
and in this video, we're gonna break down the best in class
in every category.
(slow tense music)
Hey everyone.
This is Andy with The College Investor,
Investing and Personal Finance for Millennials.
If you're new to the channel and you like what you hear,
please hit subscribe so you're ready
when the next video comes out.
Thanks.
Okay, here are the best budget and financial tracking apps
selected by The College Investor.
Number one, YNAB.
YNAB is one of the premier budgeting software services.
It allows users to set a budget based on their income
and adjust categories throughout the month
when the unexpected happens.
If you earn a decent income,
but you're still living paycheck to paycheck,
YNAB can help you master your cashflow,
start saving and break the cycle.
It's by far the best budgeting specific app that we've seen.
The cost for YNAB is 14.99 per month
or 98.99 billed annually.
But if you're a college student,
you can currently get a year of YNAB for free.
All you have to do is provide your student ID
or some other proof of college studenthood.
If you're ready to try out YNAB
or any of the other apps mentioned in today's video,
please use the link in the description below.
Number two, Quicken.
Quicken is the granddaddy of personal finance apps.
And it honestly has one of the most robust systems
for keeping track of your money.
Whether you're looking to track your spending
or investments or create a budget,
Quicken can handle it.
With solid desktop options
and a pretty good mobile app
that syncs with your desktop,
Quicken should be a top choice for your budgeting system.
Number three, Personal Capital.
Personal Capital is one of the original
asset allocation, portfolio management
and net worth tracking apps.
Users can also use the app to track income and expenses.
Its strength is in the ability to track investments
better than most budgeting apps.
One word of caution though,
Personal Capital is also a financial advisory firm
and the firm will call you
to ask to purchase advisory services,
but you can just say no, that's what I did.
Number four, Tiller Money.
Tiller Money is an app that feeds financial transactions
and balance statements to an Excel spreadsheet
or a Google Sheet.
As far as apps go, it could not be simpler.
The downside is that you need
to be a bit of a spreadsheet expert
to find the app easy to use.
However, it is a top app for people
who need flexibility in their apps.
You can use it for traditional budgeting,
you can use it for financial tracking
and to build cashflow
and profit and loss statements for your business.
Number five, Kubera.
Kubera has become one of The College Investors
personal favorite money apps,
but it's focus is slightly different than most on this list.
It's a net worth tracker.
It doesn't do any budgeting,
but we had to include it in this list
because there comes a time when you graduate from budgeting
to simply tracking your net worth
and Kubera should be your tool of choice in our opinion.
It's great because it connects
just about every account you have,
including cryptocurrency.
You can add entries for private investments,
real estate, and much more.
While we're discussing some advantageous non budgeting apps,
let's review some subscription canceling apps
that will definitely help your overall budget.
These apps will analyze your spending
and then help you negotiate
or cancel your bills and subscriptions.
Anything from Netflix to your cell phone bill.
The first one let's talk about
is number six on our list, Trim.
Trim is a clever app
that helps you identify recurring subscriptions
and cancel unnecessary subscriptions.
Paying for Hulu, Amazon Prime and Netflix?
Well, Trim can help you cut those expenses
if you're looking to do so.
Plus it can also help you negotiate your cable
or your cell phone bills to help you get better pricing.
Number seven on our list is Truebill.
Truebill is a subscription monitoring
and bill negotiation service.
The cool thing about Truebill is that you only have to pay
if Truebill actually saves you money.
If you're someone who struggles
to stay on top of your costs,
especially things like cable and phone bills,
Truebill can help you save a lot of money.
Plus, Truebill has been building out more and more budgeting
and spending tracking capabilities as well.
Now let's transition to cash back apps.
There's nothing better than getting rewarded
for spending that you're doing already.
That's what these apps are all about.
You get rewarded via gift cards
or cash back for spending money.
With that, let's jump into number eight on our list.
And that is Ibotta
Ibotta is an app where users upload receipts
and get cash back for their normal purchases.
You can even earn cash back
when you shop at stores like Aldi
or other discount grocers
that don't accept coupons.
Our founder, Robert
(dramatic music)
uses this app and gets around two to $3 per week
just by submitting his grocery store receipts to the app.
It's not life-changing money,
but hey, every dollar counts.
Number nine on our list is called ReceiptPal.
Like Ibotta, ReceiptPal allows you to submit photos
of receipts to earn points.
Points can be redeemed for gift cards,
to sites like Amazon or other similar retailers.
The payouts from ReceiptPal seem to be lower than Ibotta's,
but you can also double up on the apps
taking receipt pictures of both.
Number 10, Rakuten.
Rakuten is a shopping portal and mobile app
that offers cash back in the form of a check
when you spend money at certain online stores.
Formerly called Ebates,
this app is an amazing way to save money on Groupon offers,
cruises or even Walmart online orders.
Plus Rakuten is offering a $10 bonus when you sign up.
All right, let's jump to investing apps.
There's been a whirlwind of change in the investing space
over the last few months
with almost every major brokerage
going to a commission free trading model.
This was driven by the wide adoption of investing apps
to really help consumers with small portfolios
get started with investing.
Our 11th app on the list is Fidelity.
Fidelity is a high quality brokerage company
that supports nearly every type
of tax advantaged investment account
and brokerage accounts as well.
You can use the app to buy and sell stocks,
options, and ETFs for free.
This brokerage earned a score of 100 out of 100
in our most recent review
and the app is excellent for most investors.
It's also named our number one best free investing app.
Number 12, M1 Finance.
M1 Finance combines the best
of individual stock investing with robo-advisors.
Users can create their own portfolio
and rebalance it regularly.
The whole app is completely commission-free.
This is one of the best apps to invest
for longterm investors,
because it easily allows investors
to dollar cost average their portfolios
and rebalance as new funds enter the portfolio.
And then number 13, Robinhood.
Overall, Robinhood has changed the game
when it comes to investing apps,
but it does have its limitations.
It does offer commission-free trading,
crypto and much more,
but it does not offer tax advantaged investing
through options like an IRA like Fidelity.
If you're someone who has a bit of money in The Sandbox
for trying out trading strategies,
Robinhood can be a good choice.
After all, the app offers free stock and ETF trades.
Perhaps you're in a relationship
and you're looking to budget your money together.
Well, we've got a solid list for you as well.
These apps are designed for couples
that have shared or partially shared finances.
Each one has features
that allow you to communicate with your partner,
budget together and work towards joint goals.
So, our app on our list is Zeta.
Zeta is a financial tracking and budgeting app
that allows couples to manage money separately and together.
The standout feature in Zeta is the bill splits feature
that helps couples track who owes whom money. (laughs)
The great thing about Zeta is that it helps empower couples
to work together with their money.
What about credit score monitoring?
Well, we've got an app for that too.
As we all know, keeping track of your credit score
is extremely important.
Your credit score can help you get better deals on loans,
but it could also cost you an apartment or a job
if you have poor credit,
that's where these apps come into play.
They help you understand your credit history
and your credit score
and give you insights on how you can improve it.
Number 15, Credit Karma.
Credit Karma is a financial marketplace
that seems committed to giving its customers the ultimate
and great money experiences.
It gives you a free credit score,
free tax prep services, and much more.
Plus they recently announced a high yield savings account
that should be extremely competitive.
That takes us to our 16th app on the list, Credit Sesame.
Credit Sesame was one of the original credit score
and monitoring apps.
It has stayed in its lane continuing to offer a full suite
of credit monitoring and tools.
If you're just looking to manage your credit score
and improve your credit history,
check out Credit Sesame's easy to use tools.
Well that rounds out our list everyone.
In the end, the best tool
is the one that you'll actually use.
And there is always a right tool for the job.
So try one out,
see if it works for your style
and hopefully it helps you make positive improvements
in your financial life.
To learn more about any of the apps mentioned in this video,
we've placed all of their links in the description below.
Thanks for hanging out today.
This is Andy from The College Investor,
will see you in the next video.