The Most Popular Financial New Year’s Resolutions + Apps to Help You Stick to Them
When it comes time to sit down and write out a list of those resolutions, there are a few general themes that tend to emerge — fitness, travel and money being three of the most popular. Because who doesn’t want to envision a future where they’re rolling in piles of cash? But like everyone knows all too well, those resolutions aren’t so easy to stick to once January comes and goes. However, if you’re serious about making 2016 the year where you finally get your finances in order, this recent survey might be helpful.
In Fidelity’s annual New Year Financial Resolution Study they found that 72% of people are hopeful that they will be better off in 2016 than 2015. They also revealed that of those who made financial resolutions at the beginning of this year, 45% have less debt and 43% are in a better financial situation. So what resolutions are these money magicians making? Below we’ve paired three popular resolutions with an app that will make you actually stick to it. Hello, savings account, how we missed you so.
Resolution #1: Save More
The App That Can Help: Digit is an app that essentially saves your money without you realizing. After you link Digit to your checking account, it studies your spending and income history to predict your cash flow. Digit will then sneakily set aside money that you don’t really need for your day-to-day expenses. Think: a few bucks here, a few bucks there. It might not seem like much, but it’ll add up quickly. The app will send you a weekly update telling you how much you’ve saved. If you want any back, you just shoot them a text and bam, it’s back in your checking account by the next business day.
Resolution #2: Spend Less
The App That Can Help: Mint is a free app that makes budgeting super simple. Add in the accounts, cards and bills that you’d like to track and then get a big-picture version of what you make and what you spend. Mint will track your spending patterns and automatically create monthly budgets in easy-to-understand categories like groceries, coffee shops and clothing. They’ll shoot you an alert if you’re about to max out in a certain area. There is also a super helpful “trends” tab that shows you where you spend the most month after month.
Resolution #3: Pay Off Debt
The App That Can Help: Really diving into all that Mint can offer will definitely help you keep your finances in order, but if you want to figure out a solid repayment plan for all that you owe, ReadyForZero is designed to do just that. Link all your accounts (student loans, credit cards, mortgages, etc.) and the app will create a personalized payoff plan for you. It also makes it super easy to track account changes, payment due dates and money savings, and will keep an eye on your credit score to make sure nothing goes awry.
What app do you use to stay on top of your finances? Share with us on Twitter @britandco.
(Photos via Getty)
