Five mobile apps to help you manage your holiday spending and beyond
The holiday season, which is just around the corner, is a great time to derail your budget. However, there are plenty of mobile apps that can help you manage your budget and still save money since they are always with you. Here are a few to help you stay within your budget this year.
Mint
Mint helps you stay top of your spending and cash flow. From creating budgets to tracking and paying bills to sending you alerts for unusual account charges, Mint is like having your accountant following you around. It even provides tips for reducing fees and saving money. Mint is owned by Intuit, which specializes in financial and tax software and tools. This might give you piece of mind since you will have to share financial information with them to get the most out of this app.
Paribus
Have you ever purchased something only to see the price come down a week later? Many stores have a policy that offers a refund if the price of an item drops within a certain amount of time after you order it. Paribus watches for price drops at stores with price adjustment policies, like Amazon, Home Depot, Office Depot, and Staples, just to name a few.
How does it work? You connect your email to Paribus, which operates in the background to monitor emailed receipts for opportunities to get money back. Whenever you’re eligible, Paribus files price adjustment claims on your behalf and you keep 100% of the savings. There is one hitch – you have to give Paribus access to your email account in order for them to deliver on their service. If you have an email account you use exclusively for promotions and receipts, this system could work especially well for you.
Wally
Wally brings all of the financial information into easy view so you can quickly take control of your finances. You can set a savings target, spending budget (helpful in the holiday season) and income, which you can quickly reference on the main screen. It lets you quickly create and view expenses, keep track of money saved and your saving goals. Neat features include social and location tools for your expenses, allowing you to record not only how much you spend, but also where and with who, as well as detailed infographics of your spending.
You Need A Budget
You Need a Budget (YNAB to those in the know) is unlike any other budgeting app you’ve used before. YNAB helps you stop living paycheck to paycheck, pay down debt and manage unexpected expenses. It’s built around a fairly simple principle – every dollar has a job.
You Need a Budget forces you to live within your actual income. If you get off track (and who doesn’t occasionally?), YNAB helps you see what you need to do differently to balance your budget. Although users pay a small monthly or annual fee for YNAB, the service and support are worth it. Online classes with a live instructor for Q&A to help you learn budgeting basics are included.
GoodBudget
Did you ever have different envelops or jars to help you budget. Well GoodBudget is the digital version. It helps you manage your finances using the envelope budgeting method without carrying around a stack of envelopes when you need to make payments.
Instead of trying to reconcile envelopes with a spouse or partner later, your budgets sync across all of your devices from iPhone to Android so everyone knows where money is going. The app can help you learn how to save for big purchases and actually put that plan into place so you can save for a vacation or a new car.
Featured Blogs
- Aging and Our Body’s Ability to Heal Itself
- Keeping Health Insurance After a Layoff
- Waking Up to the Impact of Insomnia
- How Life Insurance Benefits Women
- What experts say about raising the retirement age
- Coverage for healthcare treatment denied? Here’s what you can do.
- Sharing the Road with Cyclists
- Buying Life Insurance for an Elderly Parent?
- Medicaid Unwinding: Your Questions Answered
- Living Your Best Life After 60
- Buying Health Insurance: A Millennial’s Guide
- Self-Love Ideas for Valentine’s Day
- Life Without Clutter
- Set Yourself Up for Success with Your Fitness Routine
- Winter Hydration – Do I Need It?
- I’m 60+; Do I Need Life Insurance?
- Why Do I Keep Breaking My New Year’s Resolutions?
- Closing Out the Year with a Smile!
- How to Enjoy a Long Layover
- 6 Cold Weather Safety Tips
- 10 Tips for Managing Cholesterol Levels
- How Much Life Insurance Do You Need Right Now?
- 3 Top Tips for Better Posture
- Building Bone Density for Seniors
- Living Outside Your Comfort Zone in Retirement
- 3 Top Habits that Lead to a Happy Life After Retirement
- Should You Insure Your Gifts?
- Everything You Need to Know When Retiring Under 65
- 7 Benefits of Slow Travel
- Utilizing Medicare Preventative Services
- The Harsh Reality of Credit Card Fees
- Keeping Your Health Insurance Affordable
- 7 Tips to Weather Challenging Periods in Your Life
- What is a Variable Annuity? 4 Key Details You Should Know
- 4 of the Best Ways to Stay Healthy this Summer
- How to Prevent Sun Damage to Your Eyes
- 3 Tips for Safer Grilling
- When the Sun is NOT Your Friend (What You Need to Know about Sun Exposure)
- Tips to Avoid Stress Eating
- Common Exercise Pains – How to Work Past Them and When to Call for Help
- Signs Your Identity Has Been Stolen (and what to do about it)
- How Does Inflation Affect Life Insurance?
- Know the Benefits of Walking
- Do Brain Food Supplements Really Work?
- Ways You Can Spend Less on Gas
- What Are Alternatives if LTC isn’t Right for You?
- 4 Tips for a Less Stressful Summer
- Veteran and Medicare Benefits Work Together
- What are the Safest States From Natural Disasters?
- How to Choose an In-Home Care Provider for Your Loved One in 5 Steps
- 7 Myths About Your Back Pain
- 5 Foods that Will Help Keep Your Mind Healthy
- Don’t Throw Away Those Used Coffee Grounds
- I’m 50 Years Old. Should I Keep My Life Insurance?
- How to Spot Government Imposters
- 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Life Insurance Policy
- Happiness Through Healthy Food
- 5 Step Checklist to Choosing a Health Insurance Plan
- 5 Creative Spring Décor Ideas
- 10 Ways to Maintain Healthy Joints
- 3 Incredible Healthcare Smart Technologies Coming Your Way
- Do I Need a Long-Term Care Plan?
- Senior Diet: To Meat or Not to Meat
- How to Take Care of Your Personal Intangible Assets
- Dream All-Inclusive Trips to Escape the Cold
- Five Health “Hacks” For Happy Holidays
- Do You Know What These Key Insurance Terms Mean?
- HIPAA: Why is it important to me?
- Life Insurance Facts to Consider
- Will Plan F be Discontinued In year 2020? The Answer is Yes and No
- Commonly Asked Questions About Life Insurance
- February is American Heart Month: We want you to take it to heart
- Start the year with a review of your insurance coverage needs
- Apps to help you manage your time and productivity
- Making the most of an annual insurance review
- Have a happy holiday season
- Time for Review Your End of the Year Financial To-Do List
- Five mobile apps to help you manage your holiday spending and beyond
- Open Enrollment For Health Insurance is Here!
- Four things to know about Medicare Open Enrollment
- It’s Time to Take a Walk!
- September is Life Insurance Awareness Month
- Protect Yourself From Health Insurance Fraud and Scams
- How Do Drug Formularies and Drug Tiers Work?