It’s hard to believe that the iPhone is just a bit more than 10 years old. Who would have thought we could have a computer in our pockets that would also let us make phone calls and write text messages.
It’s clear that practically all of us now take our smartphones for granted. If you don’t believe how important these little devices have become just go sit in a waiting room somewhere. We’d be willing to bet several dollars that at least 80% of the people will be doing something with their smartphones.
What are your most popular apps?
Is the camera your most popular app? Is itGoogle, Chrome or Safari, ESPN, Twitter, or your music app. We love all of these. We also love our bank app that now allows us to make deposits. All we have to do is take a picture of the front of a check and it’s back and presto! The money is immediately deposited in our account.
Financial apps
There are now almost more financial apps than you can count. One of the most popular is Prosper Daily (formally known as BillGuard), which will not only track your spending but also protect your credit cards from fraud and mistakes. There’s also Level Money that acts kind of like a mobile money meter and helps track your daily cash flow. LearnVest will monitor your money, and Level Money will tell you how much you can afford to spend on a day-to-day basis. Qapital will entice you to save through gamification and small actions you take every day. If you have trouble saving money, there’s Digit, which will save money for you, and Acorns that utilizes a smart system called “round-ups” that will help you save money practically painlessly.
Good and bad debt
The above-mentioned apps can help a lot with your finances, but what if your problem is that old demon debt?
Some experts believe there is such a thing as good debt and bad debt. Good debt to them is where you use the money to do or buy something that will increase in value. The number one example of good debt to them is a mortgage, as the house is almost certain to increase in value over the years. They think that borrowing money for educational purposes can also be good debt.
Just about everything else is bad debt, and at the top of this list is variable debt, and especially credit card debt.
A personal loan is generally considered to be bad debt as is a personal line of credit. However, these loans usually have fixed interest rates. This means their interest rates remain the same throughout the life of the loan. They also normally have a fixed term. For example, a personal loan might have an interest rate of 9% and a term of three years. At the end of those three years, the loan has been paid off and the borrower owes nothing more.
Credit card debt is very bad debt for two reasons. First, it usually has variable interest so that the credit card issuer can change the interest rate just about whatever it wants to. Second, credit cards are based compound interest. What does this mean? Here’s an example. Let’s suppose you owe $1000 on a credit card at 12% interest. The next month you will owe $1012 and will then pay 12% interest on it.
Apps for debt management
There are debt management apps that can help you with your struggle. One of the most popular of these is Ready for Zero. It’s designed to help you pay off your debts and build your wealth. Other popular apps for managing debt are Pay Off Debt, which has been around since 2009, and Debt Manager, which can help you track and pay off all your debts using the fastest and cheapest way possible.
There is also Debt Tracker Pro, which has a very simple user interface that allows you to focus directly on paying off your debts. It’s built around the debt snowball system, where you would be encouraged to first pay off the debt with the lowest balance.
Debt Payoff Assistant also uses the snowball method for getting out of debt. It will track multiple debts, and has built-in calculators and charts that showing your progress towards becoming debt-free.
In conclusion
If your finances are a mess, and if you’re seriously in debt, take heart. As you have read, there are apps available that could help you get your finances under control, and more importantly, to get your debts paid off in a timely fashion. Spend a few minutes online reading about these apps, and then choose one. You’ll be glad you did.
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