Personal Capital
This is free website. I put all my accounts in here and it provides a great outlook on what I’m spending. It will show what you have saved, what your mortgage balance is. It will also show the value of your home according to Zestimate and so much more. You can see where you need to catch up to plan for your retirement needs. It gives you a net worth amount. I prefer this over Mint but it’s generally the same thing.
Free consult
Everyone gets one free consult with a financial adviser, although I’ve never used it. It has this awesome tool to show you different scenarios. You can see when your money will run out or how long it will last. I really love it.
YNAB, you need a budget.
This app is a paid app for those of you who may need a little extra guidance. I’ve heard this is it. All the blogs and podcasts I listen to states this one is by far the most beneficial. They have great customer support to get you through the workings of the budget plan. If you want to get started for free, just listen to the podcast YNAB. You can find out what the free trial is all about. It’s free for 45 days or something, not just 30 days like most. It’s also a podcast so go sign up to listen.
Award Wallet
I use this to track my reward points on my cards. Yes, I use credit cards, however, they are always paid off every month. Even before they are due because I get all crazy about owing money to anyone. I use credit cards and award cards to take advantage of the free stuff or upgrades etc.
Max Rewards
This app is still in beta testing and I asked to get on the email list to participate. I LOVE THIS APP! It is still working through quirks but man when it works, it is amazing. This is for folks who are credit card hacking and travel hacking and all the good hacking. LOL. It tracks all the cards you have that you have entered in to the app. When you pull it up where ever you are, it recommends which card will give you the best reward.
Example, I’m at a restaurant and pull up the app. It will select Barclays Uber Visa. That’s because I will get 4% cash back as opposed to maybe 1% if I used Capital One. So, when you open the app, and hit the map icon, it brings up all the surrounding stores. It will then recommend the card to use at those places. I love it.
Pay your bills
Remember, I always pay my bills in FULL at the end of each pay period. Don’t even think about keeping the bill for the end of the billing cycle. I dislike owing money with a passion. I use cards to get airline miles, hotel perks, higher cash back percentages etc.
Credit card hacking
A new thing I just discovered at the Mad Fientist site is his travel cards page. If you sign up for his emails, he will instruct you through hacking the recommended cards. The page breaks it down to which cards have points that transfer, have fees, and all the perks. The mad fientist traveled to 14 countries and spent $947 dollars in 3 months.
This was due to his awesome travel card hacking skills. That was just for the flights and some were even flying in business class. He spent hours figuring this all out, so why not learn from him, and use his awesome tool he has on his page. I can’t get enough of this travel and credit card hacking stuff.
To be clear, I didn’t spend any extra money to charge up my cards. I would have purchased the stuff or eaten out anyway. I simply used the cards the apps recommended. To date I have $750 dollars’ worth of perks on one card already!!
Let it simmer
A little tip I want to pass along. If you know you are a spender, remove all those shopping apps off your cell phone. I removed the Amazon app and realized I spent so much less because it wasn’t so convenient. If I really want a particular item, it can wait until I get to my computer. Later when I log in to Amazon, I let it sit in the shopping cart for a few days. If after a few days, and you still really want it, then get it. You did your due diligence. LOL.
If you are going to shop on line, use the Honey extension, and camelcamelcamel. Those two things save me a few bucks. I like to use those for items I can wait on. Camelcamelcamel can set up alerts. When prices drop on Amazon for the things on your wish list, you will get sent an email.
The websites and apps I mentioned are as follows:
https://www.personalcapital.com
https://www.youneedabudget.com/
Save these links for apps to your favorites. Until next time, spend wisely, make sure you get a perk worth every dollar.