Ways You Can Use Technology To Attain Personal Financial Freedom

Ways You Can Use Technology To Attain Personal Financial Freedom: While 61% of Indians can clearly articulate their financial life goals, only 24% have a plan in place to achieve these goals according to a survey by Aviva Life Insurance. It is, therefore, no surprise that so many people in the country struggle with financial issues like debt. Knowing about savvy investments and saving plans is not enough. People need to put proper financial plans in place in order to achieve financial freedom which is the best gift you could give your dependents and yourself. One brilliant way of doing this is manipulating the many personal finance software currently available in the market. If you are fresh out of college or in the middle of your promising career, below are software you can use to get your finances in order.

Ways You Can Use Technology To Attain Personal Financial Freedom

Budgeting Applications

Budgeting is very important when it comes to managing your finances and helps you avoid overspending. Thankfully, you no longer have to do it yourself if you don’t want to. Simply download any one of these three budgeting applications; Mint, Quicken or YNAB. All you need to do is link your bank account or credit card to the app. Alternatively, you can set up categories and manually fill in how much you earn, how much you spend say on transport, food, and gas and how much you want to save. The application then takes it from there. Not only does it analyze your spending but it also highlights areas you can afford to cut back on. You’ll be alerted on the due dates for paying bills or when you have a low balance. Mint is completely free. Quicken, on the other hand, charges $34.99 per year. It offers additional features like debt tracking and investment coaching. YNAB charges $6.99 per month. This is because aside from expense tracking, the app has tutorials to help you make tough financial decisions and enhance your financial literacy.

Cashback Credit Cards

If you love spending and pay your bills via plastic, then a cashback credit card is a must-have. Essentially, these are reward programs devised by credit card companies whereby you get a certain percentage of purchases made using the card paid back to you. They work like travel reward credit cards but instead of points or miles, you get money. Cashback credits come in different types; tiered, bonus and flat percentage cards. Some, depending on the company, pay an equal rate for all spending. Others pay higher rates if you spend on specific categories say gas. Others still pay higher rates if you spend a stipulated amount of money. It is however, important to note that they only work if you pay your bills on time and pay the full amount. Either way, they are a great way of maximizing your credit card. Aside from bringing you extra cash, they also help motivate you to pay your bills on time which prevents fine fees and poor credit scores.
Other useful software when it comes to managing your personal finances are bill management applications. Prism for example tracks your bills and pays them as well. For investment advice the Personal Capital app can come in handy. If you are cohabitating and would like to share your expenditures equally, the app Spendee will prove very useful. Turbotax can help with taxes and Future Advisor with making savvy financial decisions. These are just but a few of the many personal financial softwares you can use to help you attain financial freedom. Knowing your financial goals is not enough. You need to learn how to put in place proper plans to help you achieve these goals. True to the words of Dave Ramsey, “ Personal finance is 80% behavior and only 20% head knowledge.’