5 Apps Changing How We Manage Money

Money management can feel like a daunting task these days. From trying to figure out what credit card to use to managing all of your bank and investment accounts, it can be hard to maximize your dollars.

Thanks to technology, though, it’s getting easier to keep track of what’s going on in your financial life. Here are some of the next-gen financial apps that can help you make the most of your money.

Integrate investing into your finances

It can be hard to juggle all the different aspects of financial life.

The app: If you’re looking for a way to get more of your financial transactions in one place, M1 Finance is an investment platform that offers more than just investment.

In addition to making it easy to invest, M1 Finance also allows you to borrow against your portfolio at a relatively low interest rate of between 2% and 3.5%. Additionally, M1 Finance offers a credit card that provides up to 10% cash back, depending on where you spend. Finally, M1 Finance has a digital checking product you can access with a debit card and that offers up to 1% interest.

It’s an all-in-one stop for savvy investors who want to use their assets wisely. In addition to a taxable investment account, M1 Finance also offers a tax-advantaged account.

The cost: There are two tiers for pricing, one that’s free and Plus, which costs $125 a year. With Plus, your credit card annual fee is waived, and you get a better interest rate when you borrow against your portfolio.

Maximize your credit card rewards

Credit cards can be great tools to help you save money and earn rewards — as long as you’re careful about how you use them. If you make a plan to spend only what’s in your budget, and you pay off the balance each month, you could get more bang for your buck.

But are you getting the best rewards based on your spending and your credit cards?

The app: UThrive is designed to help you choose the right card for each purchase. Connect your credit cards, and UThrive will analyze your spending to determine which card is likely to give you the best rewards for your purchase.

You can also use the dashboard to see how much you’ve earned each year, as well as what you’ve missed out on. With the help of UThrive, you can have the potential to increase your rewards for every planned purchase you make.

The cost: Uthrive is free to use.

Better manage your bills and schedule payments

Planning ahead for recurring bills or common expenses can be difficult, especially since not all bills’ due dates line up with your payday. For example, you might get paid every other Friday, but a recurring bill is taken out of your account on the 20th of each month. Depending on the day of the week the 20th falls, it might not always match up with your payday.

The app: Prism is an app that can help you manage your bills, schedule payments and see where everything falls in your personal economic cycle. Prism is connected to thousands of billers and can also connect to your bank account. Information about your bills is displayed in a list or calendar, and you can see the most important items.

On top of that, Prism provides you with an overview of your income and paydays, and you can even schedule your bill payment at your convenience, based on when you know money is coming in. You can set reminders as well, helping you avoid late fees.

The cost: Prism is a free app. However, depending on the biller involved, there might be a bill pay fee based on your payment method. However, Prism shows you the fee ahead of time so that you can decide whether to pay through the app.

Track all your assets in one place

Tracking your total investment portfolio can be a challenge, especially when you consider the difficulty of importing data about alternative assets like cryptocurrencies.

The app: Kubera is designed to help you see all of your investments in one place.

It’s possible to connect your bank accounts and brokerage accounts, or you can simply keep track of your favorite ticker symbols. Kubera also allows you to connect to cryptocurrency exchanges and supports decentralized finance (DeFi) assets on several blockchains. You can even track your non-fungible token (NFT) values using Kubera.

Not only that, but you can track different values of assets like homes, cars, precious metals and even domain names you own. Kubera will also help you by calculating your internal rate of return (IRR) on your different investments and your portfolio overall.

You can add assets that aren’t included with online accounts and customize your portfolio to help you see everything in one place. Finally, Kubera tracks your activity and will release your financial account information to your beneficiary in the event of your death.

The cost: Kubera costs $150 a year after the end of your $1 14-day trial.

Manage income and expenses, including shared household expenses

Creating a budget and sticking to it can be tricky, especially if you share household expenses with someone else.

The app: Spendee is designed to help you see everything in one place — and help you create budgets and stay on track with your financial plan.

It’s possible to connect your bank accounts and various e-wallets, as well as your crypto wallets, to Spendee to get an overview of your financial habits. You can also add cash expenses manually so that everything is reflected in one app.

Spendee can help you create special budgets for different financial goals, is compatible with multiple currencies and allows you to set reminders for important financial dates such as bill due dates. Additionally, Spendee lets you set up shared wallets, so you can manage household expenses with a spouse, other family members or roommates.

The cost: Spendee offers three different pricing tiers, each with different functionalities and features: free, $14.99 per year and $22.99 per year.