Years ago, if you wanted to have a better grasp on your finances, you would have to talk to an accountant, a CPA, a financial advisor, and/or a bookkeeper. On the one hand, having a face-to-face interaction was nice, but finding a trusted advisor along with paying the high fees just doesn’t make sense for everyone.
The truth is that many people simply don’t need the expansive services (estate, tax, insurance, and financial planning) that individual advisors offer. Instead, the average person needs answers to everyday financial questions, help with budgeting or paying down debt, and making a plan to reach their goals.
Nowadays, we live in a world where most people are plugged in almost all of the time and go online for help with many things, finances included. There is a plethora of tools you can use now to manage your finances like a pro. Here we’ve rounded up some of our favorites:
Credit Scores
If you take care of your credit, then it will take care of you. Here’s our pick for a resource that will help you be proactive when it comes to monitoring your credit score.
Credit Karma Simulator
Credit Karma was created in 2007 and its mission has always been to empower you to understand your credit scores for free. Our favorite feature? The Credit Karma Simulator. This awesome tool allows you to see how your credit score is impacted by different financial actions, like taking a loan out for a house, getting a credit limit increase, or having your wages garnished. It’s like having the ability to see into your credit score’s future!
Investing
Investing is probably one of the most confusing aspects of financial planning for the average person. Here are our favorite tools for helping you invest on your own:
Acorns
Acorns is a mobile app that allows you to invest on the go. You control how much and often you invest. You can even invest in spare change! In order to recommend the most appropriate stock portfolio, Acorns asks you a series of questions like your age, time horizon, investment goals, and many risks you’re willing to take. You don’t have to have an account minimum and to begin investing you only need your “round-up” or lump sum to be at least $5. Whether you are just learning about investing or you’re a pro, Acorns makes it easy to save and keeps you in control of your money.
Personal Capital
Personal Capital is an all-in-one online investment toolkit. A highlighted feature is monitoring your investments for free. Personal Capital will automatically monitor your portfolio, and objectively manage your assets, and due to its software, which allows for automation, the fees are lower than traditional wealth management companies.
Calculators
While we’d all like a crystal ball to see into our financial futures, these calculators are the next best thing, giving you a snapshot of how certain scenarios will impact you. Whether you need help saving for a house, retirement, or for your child’s college, you’ll get an answer that will lead you down the right path.
NYT Rent vs. Buy Calculator
Is it better to buy or rent? The New York Times Rent vs. Buy Calculator can help determine whether it’s better to buy a home rather than rent an apartment. The calculator takes the costs associated with buying a home, like down payments, mortgage rates, and the costs of selling a home, and shows the corresponding costs to rent.
SavingforCollege.com’s State Tax 529 Calculator
We love how easy this calculator is to use. All you need to input is your state of residence, your marital status, and your taxable income. It calculates how much of the 529 tax benefits would be worth to invest in your state’s 529 plan rather than picking an out-of-state plan. You can change the data to fit your needs and download the report as a PDF to review for later use.
Organizing your Finances
Whether your goal is to track your daily expenses, see where you can cut corners, or plan for a long-term financial goal, these tools can give you a hand.
Mint
Mint houses all of your financial information like bank accounts and credit cards in one place and gives you the ability to track your spending and saving habits in real time. Through Mint, you have the tools to make a budget and saving goal that works for you or gets advice and alerts about suspicious activity or overspending. If you have investments, Mint will show you your investment style and may expose hidden fees that aren’t always obvious. Ultimately, it is a great tool to help you be accountable for your budget.
Shoeboxed
With the tax season upon us, it would be helpful to have all of those loose receipts and files in one organized and secure place. That’s what Shoeboxed does for you. Since 2007, Shoeboxed has been helping many turn crumpled pieces of paper and files with coffee rings on them into digital data. With five affordable plans, you can go “paperless with accurate, verified data” that is organized, and archived with an app that can be integrated with your current tools.
Runner- Ups
While these tools didn’t make our top list, they still deserve an honorable mention.
Wealthfront
If you are looking for long-term investment management software, then Wealthfront is the tool. This robo-advisor prides itself on producing world-class investment research. You get the same service you would get from an advisor, except the advice, guidance, and investment management come with much lower fees and taxes. No matter if your investment is in a non-retirement account or a retirement account, Wealthfront will give you a personalized asset allocation determined by your risk score and your account’s tax status all while ensuring that your portfolio is diverse. You also get the option to see if your investments will continue to do well with its Portfolio Review, which analyzes your portfolio and provides actionable recommendations.
Finovera
Do you need help keeping track of and organizing your bills and statements? Finovera is able to link all of your accounts, bills, and loans in one place and store them in a digital file cabinet. You can see where all of your money is going, understand your spending habits and organize documents like bank statements, bills, and tax papers online. This tool acts like a personal accountant, helping you manage your finances and it is absolutely free!
Betterment
If want to look at investing from another perspective Betterment is the tool you need. With its $0 account minimum and goal-based tools, Betterment allows you to have more control of your portfolio. Ultimately, this robo-advisor tool uses its customized portfolio allocation and smart automation methodology to give you better returns.
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