More Month than Money? Apps to Help with Money Management
Do you have weeks when it feels like you just got paid, but then you go to the ATM and your balance isn’t what you expected it to be? Or maybe you have your eye on a bigger-than-usual expenditure—a trip with your family, or a new car, or mattress—but you never seem able to save enough to make the purchase? Perhaps you struggle to remember to pay your phone bill by the due date, so then you get charged a late-payment fee every month. Or maybe you’re just looking to save a little for retirement, and aren’t sure how much you should be putting away.
Most people will tell you they frequently worry about money. That’s just as likely to be true for people with ADHD, who often find the many details of money management frustrating. But open your laptop or pull out your smartphone, and you can find an array of programs and apps that can be important tools for financial health. Best of all, most are free or low-cost.
Bill paying and budgeting
- Mint and Prism are tools to make sure you don’t miss bill payments. Once set up, either one will track all your bills and send you reminders. Prism has a feature that lets you pay bills directly from its app. Both also help you create a budget to see where all your money is going.
- Vault is a budget-planning tool. It’s a basic app that uses a calendar to show you how much money you can expect to have in your account on a given date in the future.
- If you’re trying to be more thoughtful about how and where you spend your money, YNAB (You Need a Budget) is a tool that helps you prioritize spending and saving before the money is even in your pocket. In addition, YNAB’s website offers a short, free budget-related workshop online each day, as well as a blog that offers how-tos and tips for making your money go farther.
To help you save
- Qapital lets you choose a goal and then create rules for how you’ll save for it. One might be the “round-up” rule—if you buy something that costs 5 dollars and 30 cents, for instance, Qapital will put 70 cents (the difference between one dollar and the 30 cents) into a savings account in your name. It’s tied to your bank account so it all happens automatically. You can change the rules to meet your lifestyle needs—the “Set It and Forget Rule” might be good for you if you want a certain amount to go into that savings account once a week but don’t think you’ll get around to doing it yourself.
- If you’re wondering where your money has been going, something like Spending Tracker might be what you need. It will show you where you spend money and make purchases. Spending Tracker does require you to enter things manually. If that feels like it’ll end up being another item on your to-do list that you might not get around to, you might want to choose an alternative. One is PocketGuard [https://pocketguard.com/]. The “In My Pocket” feature collects all your financial data and lets you know how much money you have left to spend each day.
- Wally is another options that can help you see where your money goes and keep daily and long-term budgets. It uses charts and graphics, which can be a lifesaver if you understand information better when you can see it as a picture.
- If you pay for most of your expenses with hard cash, you might want an app like Shoeboxed, which lets you scan receipts with your phone and track your spending that way.
To help you get organized
- Calendar reminders are useful, but once you’ve snoozed them a couple of times, they’re not much help. But an app like Due will remind you that you need to buy life insurance or pay your rent, and it will keep reminding you until the payment or project is completed. It can keep reminding you for years, if you need it to. It’s kind of like having a nagging friend on your phone.
- There are plenty of apps for creating to-do lists so you don’t have to remember things or find a place for them on your calendar.
Looking for more?
- Apps to Help You Get Through the Day
- Apps for Smoother Mornings
- Managing Money and ADHD
- Getting Organized
Find these programs and apps here
Join the discussion: What programs or apps have helped you manage your money?