How to Use Financial Apps to Help Budget Your Spending

One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to improve your financial health during the next calendar year. The New Year symbolizes a fresh start, encouraging reflection on past financial behaviors and setting new goals for your financial future. Long-term financial objectives like home ownership, education funding, or retirement planning require ongoing management, making early in the New Year an ideal time to reassess your progress and update your current plan. 

If one of your resolutions is to gain better control over your finances, you’re in the right place. This article will look at various online apps you can use to better manage your wealth in 2025 and beyond. The availability of financial management tools and resources makes managing your finances much easier than in the past. 

At SGL Financial, our Buffalo Grove financial planners specialize in helping people create comprehensive financial plans, including using various financial apps designed to budget spending, track investments, and measure overall financial well-being. 

Setting Your Financial Resolution for 2025

You are committed to improving your financial well-being, but how do you turn that goal into a realistic action plan? Here’s a look at some of the more popular “fintech” platforms that can facilitate this process:

1. Personal Budgeting Apps

• Mint: Known for its comprehensive digital budget approach, Mint syncs with your bank accounts, credit cards, and investments to provide a real-time overview of your financial status. It categorizes your spending, sets budgets for different expense categories, and alerts you when you’re nearing budget limits. This app is perfect for those who want a holistic view of their finances without much manual input.
• You Need a Budget (YNAB): YNAB follows the principle of giving every dollar a job, encouraging you to plan your budget before spending money. It’s particularly useful for those who want to break a paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. With its educational approach, YNAB can be a game-changer in how you think about money.
• PocketGuard: This app tells you how much “spending money” you have after accounting for bills, other types of spending, and savings goals. It’s straightforward, focusing on what you can spend now, making it an excellent resource for daily budgeting.

SGL Tip: You manage your spending habits. Don’t let your spending habits manage you. 

Listen to our podcast, “New Year, New Money Mindset.”

2. Employee Compensation Benefit Apps

There are several apps where you can easily manage your compensation benefits from your employer: 

• Carta: Managing these benefits can be complex if you’re an employee with stock options or RSUs (Restricted Stock Units). Carta simplifies this by providing a clear view of your equity compensation, helping you understand when and how to exercise your options for maximum financial benefits.
• Morgan Stanley at Work: This app is designed to manage employee benefits, including equity compensation. It offers tools to simulate different exercise scenarios, aiding in strategic planning for wealth growth.

3. Aggregated Financial Platforms

• Empower (formerly known as Personal Capital): This platform aggregates your financial data and provides general advice based on your financial goals. It’s a useful tool for tracking and planning services, offering a dashboard that displays your cash, credit, investments, and mortgage.
• Quicken Simplifi: Simplifi focuses on helping you control your spending while tracking your investments. Its strength lies in its intuitive interface and the ability to set custom savings goals.

4. Credit and Debt Management

• Credit Karma: Besides checking credit scores, Credit Karma provides tools to help you manage and pay down debt. This can be particularly useful if improving your credit health is one of your New Year’s resolutions.
• Debt Payoff Planner: Apps like this focus solely on helping you devise a strategy to pay off debt faster, which could be part of your financial resolution for 2025.

How to Stay on Track with Your Financial Resolutions 

Staying on track with financial resolutions requires discipline, consistency, and the right tools. Begin by setting clear, measurable goals—such as saving a specific amount monthly or reducing debt by a target percentage. Break these goals into smaller, actionable steps to maintain focus. 

Leverage financial apps to track your progress, create alerts for bills, and monitor spending habits. Regularly review your financial status to adjust your strategy as needed. Building new habits takes time, so celebrate small victories to stay motivated. 

Accountability is key—share your goals with a trusted partner or advisor who can help you stay committed. Finally, view setbacks as learning opportunities, not failures, and keep pushing forward. The adherence to resolutions is a marathon, not a sprint

SGL Tip: You are rewarded when you pursue one of your goals. Consider this an opportunity to create a new goal! Think of your pursuit as steps in the right direction.

Tips for Using Financial Apps More Effectively

Setting up alerts is an important part of effectively utilizing financial apps to manage your finances. These notifications can keep you on top of bill payments, alert you when you’re approaching budget thresholds, and notify you of any unusual activity in your accounts, helping you avoid overdrafts or fraud.

Regular reviews are another critical practice. Dedicate specific times each month to review your financial status. This is your opportunity to adjust budgets, reassess your financial goals, and ensure you’re on track with your financial resolutions.

Security should always be a priority when using financial apps. Ensure you use strong, unique passwords for each app or service, and enable two-factor authentication wherever it’s available to add an extra layer of protection against unauthorized access.

Education is also key. Many financial apps come packed with educational content to improve your understanding of financial management. Take advantage of these resources to learn more about money management, especially if you’re just starting your financial journey.

Lastly, financial apps provide convenience but shouldn’t replace professional advice for increasingly complex financial decisions. That’s why you should consider consulting with a team of financial advisors in Buffalo Grove who can offer personalized guidance tailored to your financial situation.

Ready to kick off your New Year’s resolution to improve your financial well-being? Let’s get started.