This post 6 Must-Have Apps for Managing Debt appeared first on Daily Reckoning. Remember the old days? When you'd sit down at your kitchen table with a stack of bills on one side and a checkbook on the other. Paper envelopes were opened and receipts saved as you desperately tried to organize your finances. Managing your money was a full-day affair and even after you'd finish, it was hard to tell exactly where you stand. Times have changed. Tracking your money and staying on budget is easier than ever now with the abundance of financial applications. You can automate bill payments, track financial goals, and know your actual net worth by the month, week, day, or even second. However, there are a lot of choices when it comes to selecting which finance apps you should consider. Today I'll share my top six must-have apps for managing credit and debt. Here are my top picks: Cost: free Platform: Android, iOS, Online Yes, this app really is free. The Credit Karma app has three tools I like to help manage your credit: 1) You can access your credit score at no cost, 2) you get a credit report, and 3) you receive credit monitoring if anything important changes on your TransUnion credit report. That can help you spot identity theft. How Credit Karma makes its money is by analyzing your credit score and suggesting ways you could improve your credit through recommended products. If you buy one of the recommended products, Credit Karma receives compensation from the bank or lender backing the product. Also, it's important to note that the credit information provided by Credit Karma is based on reports from TransUnion and Equifax, so your credit score is not a FICO score. Cost: Free
Platform: Android, iOS, Online Another free credit score app I like is Credit Sesame. You get a monthly Experian credit score and credit monitoring, plus Sesame summarizes your monthly debt payments and shows a list of your total debt and balances. Credit Sesame is not as robust as Credit Karma, but it's still worth trying so you get a free credit score from a different credit bureau. Also, Credit Sesame can provide you with an estimated value of your home and real-time tips on how to save money on home loans. Cost: Free Platform: Android, iOS, Online This is one of my favorite all-around personal finance apps. Mint is great for tracking your spending and managing your budget. The app pulls your banking and credit card transactions and categorizes them so you can see where your money is going each month, week, and day. You can also set up bill reminders and balance alerts, and be notified when you're charged a bank fee. On top of these functions, you can set financial goals and set up a budget to keep you on track to meet your goals. Mint only reads your account information so you can't move money or make payments through the app ? which is good news or bad depending on your comfort level with third-party financial apps. Cost: Free Platform: Online I really like this simple and straightforward calculator tool to help you get out of debt. Unbury.me approaches debt repayment in two different ways: - The ?debt snowball' method
- The high interest rate method (or ?avalanche')
You enter all your debt information into the calculator and it will quickly compare which debt reduction method will work best for your situation and finances. You can play around with the monthly payment amount, and the chart will update to show your remaining principal balance, how much interest you'll pay, and a debt freedom date. Cost: Free Platform: Online When will I be debt free? CNN Money created a handy-little free calculator to help answer this question for you. List out your credit cards and other loans, and based on your debt repayment choice, the outcome of your plan will be calculated based on three variables: - Minimum payments
- Fixed monthly payments
- The debt-free deadline
If you choose to be debt-free by a certain deadline, your monthly payments will be calculated based on that date. And if you choose a fixed monthly payment option, your debt payoff date will depend on the monthly payment you choose. Cost: Free Platform: Android, iOS, Online If you have multiple credit cards, you will have reward points and frequent flyer miles in multiple programs. AwardWallet helps keep all your reward information in one place. AwardWallet tell you when your points are about to expire. I can't tell you how nice it is to only have to log into one platform to track all my points and miles. The basic version of AwardWallet is free. Premium starts at $5 for six months. There are no shortage of quality apps to help you manage your credit and debt. In later issues I'll dive into some solutions to help you better manage your savings and investments. To a richer life, Nilus Mattive
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