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Not only can today’s software and apps for personal finance help you track your activity and manage your money, they can also help you with mastering financial basics and setting long-term goals. Here are the five best options.
The most established in one of the earliest personal finance software products available, Quicken has a wide variety of abilities. You can import bank data, pay bills, and export to Excel — where you can manipulate and perform additional calculations. Track the value of your assets and calculate your total net worth.
You can even manage personal and business expenses, even rental payments from tenants. Available for Windows, Mac OS, iOS, and Android. Subscriptions start at $35.99 per year.
Mint, by Intuit, has become one of the most popular tools for budgeting and tracking expenses. It can import bank and credit card information to analyze spending while identifying areas for improving your finances.
You can set up alerts for low balances and due dates, helping you to avoid late fees or overdrafts. Get real-time budget information, broken down into categories. There are free desktop, iOS, and Android versions.
If you’re trying to invest on your own, a low-cost way to get some personalized advice on diversifying your portfolio is through the FutureAdvisor software, which partners with Fidelity or TD Ameritrade accounts. The final decisions are up to you.
Be aware, there is a minimum entry threshold of at least $5000 in investable assets required to sign up for the software. FutureAdvisor charges a flat annual fee of 0.5% of the managed assets, which are billed quarterly at 0.125%.
TurboTax, by Intuit, is one of the most user-friendly tax software available at the consumer level, although it is pricey. However, there is a basic version that will let you file your federal and state tax return for free if all you use is form 1040 with no attached schedules.
Nonetheless, it will expertly walk you through tax preparation to create and file an accurate tax return. If your tax preparation is more complicated, TurboTax Live will connect you to a CPA or Enrolled Agent offering personalized advice and answering questions about your tax return. There are web, smart device, and desktop versions.
Personal Capital simplifies investments across all your financial accounts – banking, mortgage, credit, investment – into a single platform. This allows you to have your complete financial picture in one place, without having to switch between multiple screens and logins to figure out where your finances stand.
Targeted at those with a portfolio of over $100,000, Personal Capital is obligated to provide users advice that works in their best interest. The core software is free, but you are charged a fee for the service and there may be fees for additional features.
While Quicken will certainly come in handy with a range of personal finance needs, you may find it worth your while to have more than one or all of the above software/apps for helping you manage, take control, plan, and grow your financial future.
