12 Apps for your Financial Goals in 2022
In times of high inflation, saving money is especially important to help you stick to a budget and plan for your long-term financial goals. Luckily, there are plenty of modern tools to help you plan, budget, track, and save. From digital money management platforms to apps that automatically divert money to savings, there are ample ways to get closer to the financial future you want. Consider these 12 apps you can start using today:
Note: Mariner Finance does not endorse any apps reviewed below. Individuals should independently evaluate whether an app would be helpful and/or of interest to them.
1. You Need a Budget (YNAB)
Before you can budget and set goals, you need to understand how much you have, earn, and spend. That’s where a budget is critical. YNAB can help you organize your finances, set goals, and save for the future.
YNAB uses four rules to help you plan:
- Give Every Dollar a Job
Categorize every dollar you earn by how it will be spent.
- Embrace Your True Expenses
Prepare in advance for fund large, infrequent expenses. For example, you could have a fund to pay for a new water heater or car repairs even before you need them.
Rolling with the punches gives you a pass if you don’t exactly follow your budget while still allowing you to stay on track.
The final rule sets a goal to spend money that is at least 30 days old. This means you don’t live paycheck-to-paycheck, you spend less than you earn, and prepare for the future.
2. Good Budget
Another budgeting app, Goodbudget uses the traditional envelope system to budget money for monthly expenses and savings. Using digital envelopes, you set aside money for expenses, debt payments, and long-term savings. Goodbudget also has reporting tools that highlight your spending habits looking at income vs. spending.
3. Mint
A free money management app powered by Intuit, Mint allows you to connect all your financial accounts in one easy-to-use digital space. You can quickly sign up and sync your bank account with the app. Then Mint helps you track investments, spending, savings, and budgeting goals. You can create budgets and use the tool’s helpful suggestions to improve your spending habits.
You can also track your bills and set alerts to prevent unnecessary expenses, like overdrafts, before they happen. With the app’s free credit score check, you also can stay on top of your credit while getting tips on how to improve it.
4. Prism
Prism is a free bill management tool that can assist in keeping your bills organized. You can stay on top of your bills, set recurring payments when they are due, and help to avoid late fees and credit dings. The app places the most important bill statement info into your calendar app and allows you to see all of your bills and account balances in one place.
5. Trim
Trim is an automated app that acts as a personal financial assistant. Its goal is to connect your accounts, analyze your spending, and find areas where you can trim your budget. Have a subscription you never use? Trim will ask if you want to cancel. Pay too much for internet and cable? Trim will try to find the best deal and negotiate on your behalf. Same goes for high interest rates on credit cards. Even medical bills! Any savings are automatically directed to a high yield savings account.
6. Ibotta
Ibotta is a free app that serves as a virtual coupon clipper. Whether you shop in store or online, you can earn cash back rewards through the platform. Ibotta partners with hundreds of retailers, restaurants, home improvement centers, pharmacies, and more to help you find cash-back offers where available. Download the app and then browse for available offers. By linking loyalty accounts, the app helps to find savings for you whenever you shop and purchase at your favorite stores or sites.
7. Chime
A free online banking app, Chime helps to automate savings. By linking a Chime checking account with a Chime savings account, you can set up an automatic debit from your paycheck of up to 10 percent. Using a Chime Visa card, you can also round up on every transaction you make and have the money automatically go into your checking account.
Some other features of the app include:
- Overdraft protection up to $200 through SpotMe®
- Automated savings features
- Free money transfer (up to $2000) to friends and family
- Access to more than 60,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide
- Transaction disable feature if your card is lost or stolen
- Free debit card replacement
- Compatibility with Google Pay and Apple Pay
8. Qapital
The Qapital app is a budgeting app that automates savings. Set savings goals—big or small—and rules on how to reach those goals. Opt for traditional savings where you choose a weekly percentage or try the if-this-then-that model where you set unique ways to transfer dollars to savings. For example, you can choose to save a certain dollar amount every time you treat yourself to that latte you don’t really need. Or maybe you spend too much time on social media? Connect your accounts and save a dollar every time you post or tweet. There are several rules that can help you save without even realizing you are. If you shop in big box stores and tend to spend too much, when you don’t hit your average spending amount, the difference can go to savings.
You’ll need to connect your checking, credit card, or PayPal account to take advantage of all Qapital has to offer. You can’t use a savings account to fund your Qapital account, and you’ll need to choose a single checking account.
9. Acorns
An investor app, Acorns helps you build a financial investment portfolio from a small start. Once you fill out a survey addressing your goals, timeline, and risk tolerance, the app selects diversified Exchange-Traded Funds EFTs for you; there’s even an option to invest up to 5 percent of your portfolio in a Bitcoin-linked EFT. Once your account is set up, you can add to the funds manually, through an automated process, or by rounding up credit or debit card purchases. Just about everything about the app is automated, and there are no minimum investments to start. It also provides a checking account that has many of the features as your traditional bank.
10. RetailMeNot
Among the easiest ways to save money is to pay less on purchases. RetailMeNot helps you find coupons, discounts, rebates, and promo codes that can save you money. And the RetailMeNot Deal Finder™️ will automatically combine promo codes and cash back offers to maximize your savings. Although the site’s biggest focus was once for nonessential purchases such as clothes and restaurants, it has greatly expanded its offerings. Now you can scroll through savings for:
- Health
- Beauty
- Fashion
- Food
- Home
- Travel
- Tech
- Family
- Entertainment
- Gifts
11. Honey
Another coupon-focused app, Honey automatically finds and applies relevant coupon codes for items in your cart, saving you money on your online purchases. You simply shop as you normally would do online but before you check out, you click onto the downloaded Honey icon and hit “apply coupons.”
Honey works with more than 40,000 companies, including such popular sites as:
- Amazon
- Bloomingdales
- Crate & Barrel
- Expedia
- Forever 21
- GameStop
- Groupon
- J. Crew
- Kohl’s
- Macy’s
- Nike
- Nordstrom
- Papa John’s
- Sephora
- StubHub
- Target
12. Long Game Rewards
If you enjoy playing games, the Long Game app lets you play and save. The app gamifies saving by enticing you to save by allowing you to unlock games that might reap financial rewards. The app partners with two banks: NBCK and Varo. You need an account with one to save and play. Once you open an account, you earn coins with deposits. The more money you save, the more coins you can earn. You can then use the coins to play games on the app. Some of the games pay out winnings in more coins, but others allow you to earn actual money that you can add to your savings. There’s even a weekly lottery drawing with a grand prize of $1 million.
