It can be tough to keep your finances in check. Whether you’re trying to save for a big purchase, get out of debt, or simply become more financially stable, it’s important to have a plan and some tools to help you along the way.
Here are 5 finance tools that can help you stay on track and achieve your financial goals.
Budgeting Apps
There are a ton of helpful budgeting apps out there that can make it easier to keep track of your spending and find ways to save money. Mint and You Need a Budget (YNAB) are two popular options that offer features like tracking your bills, setting budgets, and creating Debt Snowball plans.
If you’re not sure where to start, check out this list of the best budgeting apps from The Balance.
2. Financial Tracking Websites
In addition to budgeting apps, there are also some great websites that can help you track your finances and reach your goals. Personal Capital is a website that aggregates all of your financial accounts in one place so you can see where you stand overall.
It also has some great tools for investment tracking and retirement planning. Another website called PocketSmith offers features like bill reminders, automatic report-generation, and “what if” scenarios to help you plan for the future.
3. Financial Books/Podcasts/Articles
If you’re looking for some guidance when it comes to managing your money, there are tons of great resources out there in the form of books, podcasts, and articles. Some personal finance classics include The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco, I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi, and The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins.
For podcast listeners, check out the Dave Ramsey Show or theChooseFI Podcast. And finally, if you prefer to read articles instead of (or in addition to) books/podcasts, The Motley Fool is a great resource with tons of actionable advice on everything from investing to retirement planning.
4. Investing Apps/Websites
If you’re looking to grow your money through investing, there are also some great apps and websites that can help you get started. Acorns is an investing app that helps people invest their spare change by rounding up purchases made with linked credit/debit cards and putting the difference into a portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Another app called Robinhood waives commissions on stock/ETF trades and offers a user-friendly interface for buying/selling stocks/ETFs. And finally, if you want to do your own research before investing in anything specific, websites like Yahoo Finance and Seeking Alpha offer tons of helpful articles and analysis on individual stocks/ETFs as well as the markets as a whole.
5. Retirement Planning Calculators
If you’re trying to get a better handle on your retirement planning, there are also some great online calculators that can help. SmartAsset’s Retirement Calculator is a great tool that allows you to input factors like your current age, salary, savings, and investment return rate in order to estimate how much money you’ll need saved for retirement.
Another calculator from Fidelity does something similar but also incorporates Social Security benefits into the equation. Both calculators allow you to adjust assumptions as needed in order to get a more accurate picture of where you stand with respect to reaching your retirement goals.
There are a lot of different financial tools available that can help you stay on track with respect to achieving your financial goals—it’s just a matter of finding the right ones for you based on your unique circumstances.
Do some research and experiment with different apps/websites until you find something that works for you—and don’t be afraid to ask for help from a financial advisor if needed!