Good to Great: How to Scale With an Outsourced CFO

Without a way to track your funds, your money situation can spiral into a muddled mess. But fortunately, a slew of easy-to-use finance apps make it possible for you to do everything from monitor your budget to track your long-term investments.

With thousands of finance apps at the tips of your fingers, however, it can be hard to choose the best ones for you. That’s why we’ve put together this list of 5 personal finance apps millennials shouldn’t live without.

 

YNAB

https://www.youneedabudget.com

One of the most popular finance apps out there, YNAB (short for You Need a Budget), helps millennials take control of their money. So whether you’re living paycheque to paycheque or enjoying a long-awaited influx of cash, YNAB can help you master your cash flow and break destructive habits.

Price

$84/year

Features

• Real-time information from any device
• Goal-tracking
• Gorgeous graphs and reports
• Secure data
• Custom categories.

Limitations

• Must do your setup on a desktop computer
• Credit card transactions are treated as transfers (which can be confusing)

All in all, YNAB’s stellar reputation is well-earned. This easy-to-use app has helped many millennials take control of their finances and work toward lofty goals.

 

Raiz (Formerly Acorns)

https://raizinvest.com.au/

Past generations emptied their pockets at the end of the day and dropped spare change into a jar. Over time, the pot filled up, and eventually, they took the coins to the bank for a pleasant little windfall.

Today, though, most of us don’t use coins at all, so we don’t have the luxury of “spare change” that adds up over time. The Raiz app changes that. It takes spare change from your purchases, rounds them up to the nearest dollar, and invests the difference in ETFs.

Price

$1, $3 or $5 per month, depending on your subscription level

Features

• No minimum investment required
• A “robo-advisor” chooses and manages your portfolio automatically
• You can customise your financial goals and investment preferences.

Limitations

• Limited to a handful of pre-built investment portfolios, which is fine for investors starting out.
• Its price structure tends to have high fees for accounts with small balances

 

Personal Capital
https://www.personalcapital.com/

Raiz is great for starting small, but when you’re ready to go big with your investments, you’ll need a different type of app, like Personal Capital. Many financial apps provide a general view of your finances, but this one is future-focused. It offers multiple views of your investment holdings, sound personalised advice and retirement estimations. And now, Personal Capital also includes cryptocurrency-tracking features.

Price: A fee of 0.89%

Features

• Personalised retirement planning
• Cryptocurrency tracking
• Smart category assignment.

Limitations

• It doesn’t let you enter manual transactions
• No credit health information
• It has a high minimum balance requirement.
  

Trim
https://www.asktrim.com/

Once you catch the investing bug, you may want to use more of your income for planning for the future. If that’s the case, the Trim app can help. It helps you to see where you could trim your spending. Do you have subscriptions you’re not using? More expensive plans than you need? Trim manages the nitty-gritty, and they say their average user saves $620 each year!

Price

Free

Features

• Analyses your spending patterns
• Negotiates lower prices on everyday expenditures (internet, phone bills, etc.)
• Uses 256-bit SSL encryption and two-factor authentication.

Limitations

• Not necessary for people who already keep a close eye on their spending.

 

Expensify
https://use.expensify.com/expense-management

Keeping track of receipts can be a real pain. You might end up with photos of receipts on your phone, in the cloud, on your desktop--what a mess. Expensify allows you to scan receipts and track time or mileage for tax deductions in one systematic place. It pulls information from the receipts, including date, time, amount and merchant and stores everything in a CSV file. Then, when tax time comes around, you’re ready! 

Price

Free

Features

• Mileage and GPS tracking
• Accounting software integration
• Submit receipts directly to manager or accountant.

Limitations

• The user interface has a steep learning curve.
  

Keeping track of cash flow, debt, financial goals, investments, and expenses can be onerous. But when you use apps to automate much of this work, you can focus your energy on other things: work, studies or family and friends.

And if you need to address the big picture of your financial life, reach out to us at Altus. We can help you create a complete roadmap with stops along the way. So even if retirement feels like it’s a lifetime away, you’ll never regret starting to plan for it early.

To talk with a wealth adviser, fill out this form. Or, if you’re more of a talker, give us a call at +61 2 8908 3444. Discussing your financial goals with an experienced advisor can set you on a productive, meaningful path for life.