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By Emily Roberts
For the Financial Independence Hub
So many areas of our lives were impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic that it’s easier to pick one that wasn’t massively altered by locking down, staying at home and avoiding touching strange surfaces at all costs. It should come as no surprise that there has been a massive increase in the use of personal finance apps in 2020, with 59% of people in the UK using a mobile banking app.
But picking the right finance app for you will depend on what you need it for. Are you in desperate need of some guidance for managing debt repayments? Or are you looking for the perfect platform to manage your investment portfolio? Or are you simply looking for something that will help you keep track of your day to day spending?
Staying on top of your invoices
Any freelancer will tell you that getting the work is only part of the battle; the biggest challenge is getting paid. If you run your own business or you’re set up as your own limited company, you need a finance app that helps you stay on top of your invoices, manage your budgeting and accounting, and help calculate your tax returns. Software like FreeAgent, Coconut, Paymo or Fyle all offer different kinds of banking and finance support for freelancers and self-employed people so you can keep track of work going out and money coming in.
Easy access to your investment portfolio
If you have an investment portfolio set up, you’re going to want to be able to access it at all times to see how well your money is working for you, and to check if any urgent changes need to be made. Some investment apps are set up to help you get started, others are aimed more at the veteran investor who knows exactly what they’re looking for.
While there are some variations (some require you to manually enter all your holdings information, others will download it for you), they’re all set up to help you get real-time information and updates and allow for maximum flexibility. It’s always worth doing your research before you commit, even with popular platforms like M1 Finance, for example, so read the reviews and do the legwork. A good investment blog or review site, like Optimized Portfolio, will tell you exactly what each one has to offer.
Managing those Debt Repayments
As much as we’d all like to avoid it, we all find ourselves in a position where we’re paying off money every now and again, and without the right support it can feel like a never-ending struggle. To help you avoid the mounting pressure that comes with a seemingly insurmountable debt repayment, it’s well worth downloading an app that helps you plan and manage for how you can start getting your finances in order.
Some apps, like ChangEd, round up the figures from online spending and puts the extra into an account where the final total will be repaid. Others, like Mint, calculate how much you need to save to meet a pre-set goal and will track your progress.
Emily Roberts is a young writer who is passionate about literature and blog writing.
