4 personal finance tools you need and why

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice. See Lexington Law’s editorial disclosure for more information.

A typical high school education doesn’t include classes on crucial life skills such as balancing accounts, understanding credit cards and loans, keeping track of earnings or paying bills on time. Yet, all of these are essential skills for maintaining financial health, as well as building and managing credit.

Luckily, we live in a time where technology gives us easy access to personal finance tools that can fill our knowledge gaps. The right set of tools can help automate your finances and set you on the right track. To help you get started, we have a guide to the four types of personal finance tools you need most—and why. 

1. Budgeting tools

You can make all the money in the world, but if you don’t know how to budget, you won’t be able to get very far. Spending money you don’t have and using credit cards or loans to stay afloat is one of the fastest routes to credit trouble. 

Budgeting is crucial for so many reasons. It can help you figure out how much you have coming in versus going out, identify areas of overspending and decide how much you can realistically save. 

Some of the most popular online budgeting tools are:

  • YNAB (You Need A Budget): YNAB is an easy-to-use budgeting tool that implements a four-step method to help people gain control of their finances. You can link all of your accounts to it so that you can see bank accounts, credit cards and loan balances all in one place. Next, use the app to create a budget, set goals you want to achieve, plan for monthly and non-reoccurring bills and even create a budget with a partner. 
  • Mint: Mint is a popular free budgeting tool. It syncs all your financial accounts in one place so you can see your cash, credit card balances, investments and bills together. The app looks out for you by notifying you when charges have increased and when you’ve paid late fees and by sending you overdraft protection alerts. You can set goals and track your progress as you save up to buy a house or pay down a loan. Mint also offers 24/7 credit monitoring services. 
  • PocketGuard: PocketGuard categorizes, organizes and analyzes your expenses, monthly bills and subscriptions into an easy-to-view summary. The program automatically reviews the numbers to help you see how much money you have to spend after taking care of all your bills and necessities. PocketGuard links all your accounts so you can keep track of your bills, review your investments and track your goals in one place. 
  • HoneyDue: HoneyDue is a finance app made for couples. Couples can link all their accounts within the app to get a comprehensive overview of how the partnership is tracking financially. You can choose what you want to share, set combined goals, split expenses in your budget tracker and more. The app is free, sends reminders about upcoming bills and even allows you to chat with your partner within the platform about transactions made. 

Note that many of these tools come in both desktop and mobile app forms, so you can access and bring your budget with you wherever you go. 

The best part about these budgeting tools is that everything is automated. You no longer have to create a budget on paper or spreadsheet and then update it manually. Instead, you link your accounts once, set your goals and budgets and the app does all the work for you. The app will tell you when your subscription prices have increased or when you’ve been hit with a late fee and even show how your investments are tracking for your retirement goal. Your entire financial overview can be accessed with just the touch of a button.

Budgeting can help you see how much you have coming in versus going out, identify areas of overspending, decide how much you can save

2. Online and mobile banking tools

Nowadays, it’s basically guaranteed that your financial institution has online and mobile banking tools. While it’s easy to forget about these tools and only log in when you want to move money around, there are a lot of other ways your bank or credit union’s app can help you. 

For example, here are three things you might be able to benefit from through your bank or credit union’s online and mobile banking tools:

  • Online bill pay: Most banks and credit unions now have online banking or mobile apps that allow you to pay your bills online. As you don’t have to schedule a trip to the bank every time you need to make a payment, online bill paying helps you make your payments on time. 
  • Mobile check deposit: Many financial institutions now allow you to take a picture of a check to deposit it into your account—without visiting the bank teller. This saves you time and enables you to get money into your account faster. 
  • Credit score: Some consumers can see their credit score through their financial institution’s online banking platform. This can help you monitor your score and act quickly if you see significant, unexplained changes. 

3. Investment tools

Investing is crucial to preparing for retirement and making the most of your money. Thanks to inflation, keeping your savings in a regular savings account actually means you lose money each year. To make your money work for you, it’s best to invest it and hope to see long-term gains in the market. 

There are apps and sites that make it easier for people to invest. Some of the most popular apps are:

  • Acorns: Acorns has a unique approach to investing that’s meant to make you feel like you’re not depriving yourself when you’re putting money aside. The app rounds up every transaction you make to the nearest whole dollar and invests that small difference. Over time, you will grow the balance sitting in your investment portfolio. Of course, you can also choose to contribute more if you’d like. Acorns is particularly great for people who feel they don’t have enough disposable income to start investing. 
  • Fidelity: Fidelity offers two types of support for investing: robo-advisers or dedicated advisers. Most people starting in investing opt for the robo-adviser route. You pay a small fee, set your risk tolerance and the automated system invests on your behalf. It’s a hands-off approach that allows beginners to easily enter the world of investing. 
  • Robinhood: Robinhood is a commission-free stock trading and investing app. This platform is fantastic for those just starting on an investment journey as there are no minimum account balances required and no commissions. You can even purchase fractional shares in a company, so you can start investing with as little as $1. Robinhood also allows its users to buy cryptocurrency. 
  • Betterment: Betterment is a user-friendly investment platform that allows individuals to get started investing with as little as $10. Using robo-advisers, the app ensures all your investment choices are optimized and adjusted for the best possible outcome. You get started quickly with Betterment by walking through the portfolio options and risk levels, setting your goals and determining how much you want to invest. Betterment charges a straightforward, simple fee of 0.25 percent for its services. 

There’s a common misconception that you need a lot of money to start investing. That’s simply not true, and many of these online investing platforms are trying to help people get started, no matter how much they have to put aside. And, the sooner you put money into the market, the sooner you can benefit from compound interest. 

Managing your credit is a critical part of maintaining your personal finance. Your credit report and credit score can dictate whether or not you get approved for products (credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, personal loans, etc.) and with what interest rate and loan terms. Additionally, your credit can even impact your job and rental applications. 

It’s important that you keep up to date with your credit. If you do so, you’ll know what your lenders will see when you apply for new credit, and you can address sudden unexplained drops in your credit score quickly. 

Luckily, there are services, such as bank institutions for example, that will let you check your credit score for free. Lexington Law Firm can also provide you with a free credit score during an initial credit consultation offered to consumers interested in the service. And, if you don’t have the time to commit to monitoring and managing your credit, Lexington Law Firm can help you with that as well.

Which resources can help you?

Personal finance can feel challenging and overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to. Review your financial situation to decide where you could use a boost, and then check out some of the tools we’ve suggested here to see if they can help you. If you take advantage of these resources, you just might turn into a bit of a personal finance expert yourself.

Note: Articles have only been reviewed by the indicated attorney, not written by them. The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website owner, authors, reviewers, contributors, contributing firms, or their respective agents or employers.

Reviewed By

Anna Grozdanov

Associate Attorney

Anna Grozdanov was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, but moved to Arizona with her family. Ms. Grozdanov grew up in Arizona and went on to graduate Magna Cum Laude from the University of Arizona with a B.A. in both Philosophy and Psychology. Ms. Grozdanov finished her first year of law school at Pepperdine University School of Law in California, but returned to Arizona where she graduated from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Since graduating from law school, Ms. Grozdanov has worked in Estate Planning, Estate Administration, Probate, and Personal Injury. She has extensive experience advising and working closely with clients and applies these skills at Lexington by helping clients achieve their credit repair goals. Ms. Grozdanov is licensed to practice law in Arizona. She is located in the Phoenix office.