Financial Management Apps and Tools for Young Adults (2024)

By

Sharon Greenthal

Sharon Greenthal is a writer, editor, and former contributor to The Balance who specializes in parents of young adults and the financial issues the latter faces, including college expenses and student loans.

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Updated on July 15, 2021

Reviewed byDavid Kindness

A topic few high school or college students learn much about in the classroom is personal financial management.Some families focus on financial management tools as part of their children's responsibilities and family participation, but many only have cursory conversations about the importance of budgeting, planning, saving, and investing. Many young adults faced with limited budgets and financial education find that managing their money can be difficult. Apps and online tools can be the first place young adults go to get started with understanding the various topics to grasp to be fiscally smart and successful.

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Money Under 30

Financial Management Apps and Tools for Young Adults (1)

With an abundance of useful financial topics of all kinds, Money Under 30 can be a very helpful online resource, especially for young adults. With a focus on topics that are relevant to you, Money Under 30 clears away the noise of more advanced topics that you may not be interested in yet, and offers simple, informative and relatable content.

Do you need help with filing your income taxes? Money Under 30 has an article for you.

Do you have a few thousand dollars to invest and don't know where to start? Money Under 30 can help with that.

Money Under 30 won't leave you feeling talked down to or like you're in over your head. It's a great place to start your research and education about the basics of financial planning, money management and investing.

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Gen Y Planning

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As a young adult, finding a financial advisor who understands you, your lifestyle, and your goals and plans may mean going beyond who mom and dad depend on for their financial insights. Foodie and karaoke-loving Sophia Bera, founder of Gen Y Planning,is a young adult who wants to give the best advice and guidance she can to her peers. For additional millennial and young adult financial planners, check out this list.

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Start Planning for Retirement

In your twenties, retirement seems like a far-off goal, if it's even something you think about at all. Saving, from the very first paycheck, is a great way to get started planning for your future, even if you're not sure what next week may bring. If your company offers a 401K plan, jump on it as soon as you can, contributing the maximum allowed, especially if your company matches contributions. It may cost you a few lunches or bottles of good wine each month, but you'll be very glad you did it in the future.

Wally: Track Expenses as You Go

Financial Management Apps and Tools for Young Adults (3)

Figuring out where your money goes each month, especially if you are being reimbursed for expenses related to your job, is essential to planning and budgeting. It's fine to create a spreadsheet and decide what you want to spend, but seeing what you do spend can be a wake-up call and can motivate you to be more conscious of your unnecessary expenses (those lattes add up). Wallyis an app that makes it easy to get a picture of where you spend your money every day. You can take photos of your receipts, log expenses, and so much more with Wally.

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You Need A Budget

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Once you get a picture of where your money is going, it's time to start planning a little more carefully. You Need A Budget is an app that will make starting and keeping a budget simple, if not easy. You Need A Budget can help with:

  • Planning expenses
  • Planning savings
  • Adjusting your goals
  • Understanding the potential results

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Home Budget for Families

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Young adults starting their lives together as couples and those with young families have so many concerns about finances. Day-to-day expenses are always a priority, of course, but planning for their children's future adds another dimension to their financial point of view. Home Budget is an app that can be shared by multiple users to allow everyone involved to participate in planning, evaluating, and budgeting family funds. With a lot of options for customizing the app to your own needs, Home Budget is a good platform for those who like hands-on experience and want to be very pro-active in their planning.

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Financial Management Apps and Tools for Young Adults (2024)

FAQs

What's the best app to help with finances? ›

Best budgeting apps
  • Best app for planners: Simplifi by Quicken.
  • Best app for serious budgeters: You Need a Budget (YNAB)
  • Best app for beginner budgeters: Goodbudget.
  • Best app for investors: Empower.
  • Best app for over-spenders: PocketGuard.
  • Best app for couples: Honeydue.

What is the most commonly used money management app? ›

The 10 best budgeting apps for 2024
  • Rocket Money.
  • Simplifi.
  • YNAB.
  • Monarch Money.
  • Buddy.
  • Zeta.
  • Wally.
  • PocketGuard.
6 days ago

How do you teach young adults about finances? ›

If you're not sure where to start the conversation with your teen, try some or all of these six ideas:
  • Give Them An Allowance. Allowances can be a controversial topic. ...
  • Work on a budget. ...
  • Teach Them About Debt. ...
  • Practice Delayed Gratification. ...
  • Instill Good Credit Score-Builder Habits. ...
  • Make Small Savings Goals. ...
  • Final Notes.

What is the best financial advice for a young person? ›

8 financial tips for young adults
  1. Learn self-control. If you're lucky, your parents taught you this skill when you were a kid. ...
  2. Control your financial future. ...
  3. Know where your money goes. ...
  4. Start an emergency fund. ...
  5. Start saving for retirement. ...
  6. Get a grip on taxes. ...
  7. Guard your health. ...
  8. Protect your wealth.

Why is Mint shutting down? ›

In less than two weeks, the budgeting app Mint — which once had 3.6 million active users, including me — will shut down forever. According to its parent company, Intuit, Mint wasn't making enough money, so Intuit began the app's closure in January.

Why is mint going away? ›

Mint recently announced: “Reimagining Mint as part of Intuit Credit Karma will expand our capabilities,” which is them trying to put a positive spin on the fact that they're shutting down their budgeting app capabilities—and Mint budgeters won't be able to access their budgeting accounts or continue budgeting starting ...

Is there a free money management app? ›

Mint is the free money manager and financial tracker budgeting app that brings together all of your finances. Plan ahead! From account balances and budget planners to tracking expenses and debt payments, all your money management is now in one place.

What is the best budgeting app for beginners? ›

Six of the Best Budgeting Apps
  • Best Overall: You Need a Budget. ...
  • Best for Beginners: Simplifi and Tiller. ...
  • Best App for Investors: Empower. ...
  • Best for Debt Management: PocketGuard. ...
  • Best App for Couples: Honeydue. ...
  • Best for You and Your Financial Adviser: Monarch.
Jan 31, 2024

What is the 50 30 20 rule? ›

The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals.

How do I set up finances in my 20s? ›

Financial moves to make in your 20s
  1. Develop good budgeting habits. ...
  2. Pay down debt. ...
  3. Automate your savings. ...
  4. Build good credit. ...
  5. Start saving for retirement. ...
  6. Make sure you and your loved ones are covered financially. ...
  7. Work toward owning your home.

Why do young adults struggle with financial literacy? ›

Young adults face major financial decisions about their postsecondary education, jobs, and careers. They also are starting to live independently and form their own households. These changes require careful management of income and expenses and financial planning.

What Millennials want in a financial advisor? ›

ADVISOR SATISFACTION

Millennials are most likely to be dissatisfied with their financial advisor's responsiveness to requests. This will be a recurring theme among the youngest wealthy investors, for whom the accessibility and immediacy of mobile technology and social media has elevated their expectations of service.

Where should a 25 year old be financially? ›

20k is the ideal savings amount for a 25 year old

“Ideally, your savings should reach $20,000 by the time you turn 25,” says Bill Ryze, a certified Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and board advisor at Fiona. The national average for Americans between 25 and 30 years of age is $20,540.

What are young adult financial issues? ›

What Are Common Financial Mistakes Young Adults Make? Some common financial mistakes that young adults make include high credit card debt, a lack of financial literacy that leads to poor budget choices and a lack of savings, not having an emergency fund, not addressing student loans, and not planning for the future.

What is the best free budgeting app? ›

Best Budgeting Apps Of May 2024
  • YNAB (You Need A Budget): Best for Setting Goals.
  • Empower Personal Dashboard™: Best for Tracking Net Worth.
  • Goodbudget: Best for Envelope Budgeting.
  • Oportun (formerly Digit): Best for Passive Saving.
  • Monarch Money: Best for Replacing Mint.
  • PocketGuard: Best for Tracking Spending.
May 1, 2024

Is there a free financial app? ›

Mint is the free money manager and financial tracker budgeting app that brings together all of your finances. Plan ahead! From account balances and budget planners to tracking expenses and debt payments, all your money management is now in one place.

What is the easiest budgeting app to use? ›

  • Best overall. Rocket Money. See at Rocket Money.
  • Best for diving into the details. YNAB (You Need a Budget) See at YNAB.
  • Best for debt pay-off planning. PocketGuard. ...
  • Best for zero-based budgeting. EveryDollar. ...
  • Best for envelope budgeting. Goodbudget. ...
  • Best for an overall snapshot of your finances. Quicken Simplifi.
May 3, 2024

What is the best free money saving app? ›

8 best money-saving apps of 2024
  • Oportun.
  • Qapital.
  • Goodbudget.
  • Chime.
  • Current.
  • Acorns.
  • Rocket Money.
  • You Need a Budget.
Dec 18, 2023

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