If you’re like me, you’re on your phone a lot. Why not make it a force for good? You can optimize your phone to help you with your financial goals. Let me show you how!
Banking apps: TD Bank, Amex, Capital One, Discover, Chase
I pay all of my bills on my phone and love having easy access to my accounts.
Saving apps: Principal, Acorns, Ally Mobile, Groupon
While I think the Principal and Acorns apps could be better, I do like tracking the progress of my investments quickly and easily. My emergency fund is in an Ally savings account and I like looking at the balance once in a while to remind me of a goal I’ve hit. Groupon is good once in a while for deals on things like haircuts and massages.
Tracking apps: Personal Capital, Mint, Birch
I’m totally obsessed with Mint, though I’m sad the “Goals” feature on their desktop site isn’t part of the app. Personal Capital is helpful for net worth tracking and I like their charts. Birch shows you how to best optimize your credit card rewards, and I find this very helpful as I have five credit cards.
Payment apps: Venmo, PayPal, calculator
While my fiance and I have one joint account for date nights, we largely keep our accounts separate so things like bills and rent are split using Venmo. I personally like this system and would recommend it!
Cash back apps: Ebates, Checkout51
I’m a big fan of Ebates, and I just got my first check for $20! It’s so easy to install into Chrome on desktop and onto your phone, and despite my horrible memory the helpful pop-ups ensure I never miss out on cash back. Checkout51 is hit or miss, but I find that many of the products available for cash back aren’t available at my grocery stores.
Selling apps: Poshmark, ThredUp
I’m obsessed with Poshmark and have successfully sold and bought several items. I haven’t had luck with ThredUp but it may be because I use Poshmark more because I like the interface better.
Job hunting apps: LinkedIn Jobs, Glassdoor
While I like my job, I think it’s important to know what’s out there. Glassdoor is particularly helpful when scouting out organizations or finding out what people in similar roles make in your city.
Information apps: Audible, Apple Podcasts
I love downloading financial audio books to listen to during my commute, and Audible and Apple Podcasts are helpful for doing so. I particularly liked listening to “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” by Ramit Sethi on Audible, but to each their own!
I hope this helps you optimize your phone to help with your finances! Let me know if I’m missing any great apps in the comments below.