Josh Elledge - Chief Executive Angel
Statistics from Statista.com show that U.S. consumers expect to spend an average of $781 this holiday season ““ up from an average of $704 last year. The worst part is, many families end up putting those dollars on credit. The interest on $781, at the typical 18% rate, is an additional $140 over time!
Now, before you insist that there is no way you'll be spending that kind of cash, remember that holiday spending isn't just gifts. It's parties, extra travel, the tendency to splurge on pricey foods just because “it's the holidays”, wanting to make the time magical… Which means total spending can actually land a lot higher than what you assume.
Besides encouraging you to be cautious about holiday spending, let me also recommend a couple apps to help you stay on track throughout December. An app to keep you on track could very well be the best gift you'll get this Christmas. And best of all, these apps are FREE!
LearnVest (learnvest.com) is a personal budgeting, investing, and goal-setting app and website. LearnVest has areas to input your financial goals, and see your progress toward them, giving you visual reinforcement. The budget screen allows displays income, and reminds what is already dedicated for obligations, making it easier to say “no” when funds are tight. This little screen alone can be the big difference between making it to your next paycheck, or accidentally buying a $40 cup of coffee. Another section allows you to input and connect asset accounts and liabilities, to get a master view of your investments, holdings, and net worth.
LearnVest also offers an extensive financial help section, including articles on budgeting, investing, changing poor money habits, saving money, planning for retirement, and more. Users can also request help in any area, if you get stuck. LearnVest is available online, and they have a mobile app for iPhone, to keep you in check while out. One note:While the basics of LearnVest are free, interested users will find that some of the advanced portions of the site are paid features.
Mint by Intuit (Mint.com) has much of what LearnVest has, but they also have a fantastic alert feature for low funds, bills due, and more”¦ over 20 types of personalize alerts you can set. They also have a view to see all balances, transactions, accounts, and loans in one place, so users can get a full financial view in one snapshot.
Unlike LearnVest, all areas of Mint are completely free. They make their money by advertising outside goods and services that users may find useful in their financial journeys. Mint is available on multiple platforms for both Apple and Android products, including Windows 8 systems.
Personal Capital (personalcapital.com) gives you a dashboard to everything happening with your money ““ particularly as it relates to your future. This dashboard is available online ““ and via some extremely easy to use apps for tablets, and phones. The FREE Android and iPhone apps, in particular, are clean, easy to handle, and beautiful for a mobile platform.
When you open a free account with Personal Capital you are automatically directed to link all the accounts you have with various banks and financial industry firms. Investments. Credit. Cash. Loans. Mortgage. I've used each LearnVest and Mint in the past but am now personally using Personal Capital because I can manage everything in one app.
Personal Capital graphs your Net worth (the total of all your assets less your liabilities). It displays your cash flow (illustrated with two colorful graphs that shows income vs. spending). It also summarizes your investment holdings. Having all this information at your fingertips is powerful. A recent UCLA study links the Personal Capital app to a 15.7% increase in savings which is significant.
This new generation of apps is great for people wanting to manage their money, stay on top of spending, and move forward as they plan for the years ahead. It can be easy to lose sight of our bank balances during the holidays due to the mad rush to fulfill holiday obligations. Some digital help can ensure that you can have a fun and financially on-target Christmas.
