Personal Finance and Your SmartPhone

Today, technology is advancing extremely fast, smartphones have become one of the most powerful devices in the world. Technology is advancing fast, and it can be hard to keep up with all of the changes that come seemingly every day. There are many apps and technologies that can be useful in managing your finances. 

Smartphones have become an integral piece of almost everybody’s life, and it can make running your personal finances much easier with budgeting, paying debts, and managing bank accounts. 

The list of apps for personal finance is endless, but two of the most well renowned and used apps are Mint and LearnVest.  Both of these apps are great because right from your phone net worth can be calculated, you can review spending habits, and you can create personal goals within the app, whatever you want them to be. They are a little different in that  LearnVest offers a premium experience, buying this means that you get an ongoing with a financial advisor. For people who want the professional eyes on their bank account, this is beneficial and gives them insight into their finances they may not see themselves. Mint is a little different in that it has advertisements on it, but the ads are not actually a bad thing, they use the information about banking to recommend better banks and financial services that will save you money in the long run. This is a great part of the app because many times people wouldn’t even realize there is money to be saved, this app offers valuable information and substitutes that will help your finances. (Duffy)

Another app that is used by many people is Qapital, this helps people save money through the tiny actions you take everyday. It is easy to forget the small dollar amounts we spend on a daily basis, but they add up, and this is where this ad becomes beneficial. (Duffy)

One of the biggest apps for making payments to friends is Venmo. I personally use this on a daily basis, it allows for easy sending and receiving of cash. This app will remind a lot of people of a social network, you can see what your friends are sending one another and add a caption for each payment, but don’t worry, you can make transactions private if you don’t want anyone to see. Venmo comes in huge for me when I don’t have cash or I forgot my wallet, I can simply have a friend cover the bill then send him cash directly through Venmo.

It is also a good idea to download your banks app, this will allow you to deposit checks, look at your balance, move money to other accounts, and avoid transaction fees. 

It may worry you that all of these apps have access to your bank account, but these apps can only read your account, they have in absolutely no way the right to move your money or take money out of your account. 

I had seen many of these apps on the AppStore and used apps like them before,  however, I hadn’t tried them all out for myself. I went and researched the apps that were most popular for personal financing and read about their pros and cons, then I downloaded them myself. As technology gets better and better, it is becoming a world where we almost never actually have to go to the bank. Each of these apps have their positives and negatives, but putting them to use is important because the future of banking is through the smartphone. Many of these apps are free and offer invaluable information that we simply don’t even know exists. 

Grant Williams

Duffy, Jill. “The Best Mobile Finance Apps of 2017.” PCMAG, 28 Dec. 

2016, www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400562,00.asp.

Silveira, Elano. “Top 7 Qualities of a Personal Finance Manager App - Mobills.” Best Expense 

Tracker App & Personal Budget Software - Mobills, 28 Mar. 2017, www.mobillsapp.com/

blog/top-7-qualities-personal-finance-manager-app. (Image)