3 Financial Apps That Will Transform How You Manage Money

Whether you're saving up for your next big purchase or simply just a rainy day, money management is a key life skill many of us tend to neglect. No matter how carefully you plan for the future, unexpected costs and life events can pop up at any time, leaving you scrambling to figure out what to do.

Just last year the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed a startling look into the financial lives of many Americans. Only 1 percent of American adults believe strengthening their emergency fund is essential to their financial success, and Bankrate.com found that 1 in every 10 Americans isn't saving for retirement. Crazy, right? Perhaps even more startling is that millennials are also less likely to save compared to older generations. But it's hard to blame them for their lack of savings when so many millennials are stuck living paycheck-to-paycheck because the median wage for millennials hovers below $30,000.

Sounds frightening. Money management is more than simply budgeting your day-to-day spending habits; it also takes into consideration your saving habits that will impact your future. Money management is something that is often in our control. While we may not be able to manage things like our job security or natural disasters that affect our living situations, we can control how we spend our money and how much we put into our savings account. Sixty-two percent of Americans in 2015 had less than $1,000 in their savings account; it's time we fixed that statistic.

Saving starts small and grows exponentially overtime. But with so many options available when it comes to saving, it can be difficult to figure out what methods are right for you. Luckily for us, techies and app developers are simplifying the way we manage money with easy-to-use tools and automated systems. If you have a smartphone, chances are you're aware of popular tools like Mint that track and analyze your personal finances. But there's a vast world of apps out there and each one contributes to your overall money management goals. Full Article

1. Digit  This handy little app connects with your bank account to analyze your income and spending habits while finding small amounts of cash to put aside for you. It's free, and Digit will subtly transfer a small amount of cash (from $5 to 50) from your checking account to your Digit savings account. Worried about saving more than you can afford? No sweat. Digit only sets aside an amount that you can save based on your income and your past spending habits. You can also access your savings account and withdraw from Digit at any time. Whether you're using that money for a big purchase or a small weekend vacation, all you need to do is send Digit a text message and the money will be back in your checking account the next day. An app like Digit helps you save money you didn't even realize you had, making savings a breeze.

2. Acorns  If you're not used to investing your money or even sure where to begin with the stock market, Acorns is a cool app that automatically invests your money into low-cost, exchange-traded funds. Portfolios on Acorns are optimized to obtain the highest expected return for a given level of risk, and savings from low-cost ETFs are given to users in the form of low management fees. Essentially, Acorns is a great app that you can "set up and forget about." Acorns takes each of your purchases, rounds them up to the nearest dollar and then invests the difference in an ETF of your choice. Of course, if you're interested in how your customizable portfolios are doing, you can always check in on your portfolio to see how it's performing over time. Unlike Digit, there is a monthly fee that ranges from $1 to 25 percent of your annual assets.

3. Level Money  Level Money likes to call itself the "mobile money meter." Once it connects to your bank accounts, Level Money helps you plan ahead for essential costs like rent and bills, then guides you toward a proposed weekly and monthly budget. The goal here is to increase consumers' awareness of their bank accounts so they can responsibly spend their assets. Level Money looks at your financial big picture to come up with the appropriate amount you should be saving each month to meet your money goals. It tracks your spending in real time, so you can see how much of your determined monthly budget is left for you to spend. A great feature on this app is the automatic save tool, which lets you dictate how much you'd like to save automatically per month. Cash that's leftover from your budget at the end of the month will also automatically be deposited into your savings account.

Managing your money requires a healthy balance. It's important to save and be frugal, but you also want to live a little. While you shouldn't blow your entire paycheck on that one night out, you also deserve to treat yourself from time to time. Simplify the process of saving money so you can focus on other aspects of your day. With apps launching online seemingly left and right, there's no shortage of tools to help you effectively reach your financial goals.