Personal Financial Management Tools.

Finding the right tool can make any job easier and even enjoyable. It’s as true in carpentry as it is in personal finance.

Personal Financial Management (PFM) Tool is any application that helps you with all aspects of your personal finances.

It’s designed to help individuals manage and track their finances more effectively and efficiently.

You can choose different software for different goals. Some software is for budgeting, others are good for investing and others are good for debt tracking and savings.

How Does Personal Financial Management Tool Work?

PFM typically works by collecting your personal data, linking the software to your financial institution, investment accounts and credit cards.

Once it has access to your accounts, it can monitor your credit, help you create a budget, offer tips and investment advice, track your savings and spending habits and send out bill pay and savings goal reminders.

4 Software To Manage Personal Finances

Some PFM software is completely free, while others charge a monthly or annual fee.

Quicken: Best Overall

Quicken is the grandfather of budgeting tools. It is one of the most established personal finance software.

It’s designed to handle all of your finances, including budgeting, debt tracking, savings goal and investment coaching.

Pros

• Bill paying.
• The software features Excel exporting, which enables you to perform additional calculations on your data.

Cons

• Mac Versions: The Mac version is not as robust as the PC version.

• Portability: Quickens data stays on your computer, users who seek financial software that operates across their personal computer, mobile phone and tablet should look elsewhere.

• Upgrades: Each year, it gains only a few new features. Therefore, it doesn’t justify the upgrades.

YNAB (You Need A Budget): Best for Habit Building

For those who just want a budgeting tool, YNAB is my top pick.

If you’ve been struggling with bad financial habits, YNAB can help you break them through a few basic financial management rules.

As you create your budget and manage your daily finances, the software provides you with tutorials that will assist you tackle some of the tougher financial topics.

Pros

• Tracking your monthly budget and take action if you’re overspending.
• Designed to encourage you create budgets based on income you’ve already earned, rather than creating budgets based on future income.
• Familiar spreadsheet layout that’s easy to use and understand.

Cons

• It doesn’t include investment tracking capabilities.
• It doesn’t automatically connect to financial institutions to download transactions. Users do it by themselves each month.

Personal Capital: Best for Investors

Personal Capital is ideal for those who want to track both their budgets and investments.

It offers robust budgeting software and provides a retirement and savings planner with tools to keep tabs on investments all in a single platform.

Pros

• Free to use
• Retirement planning and investment features that enables you accomplish financial goals.

Cons

• Some app features are more limited.
• Some users report connectivity problems with bank accounts.

Mint: Best for Budgeting and Beginners

Mint is owned along with Quicken by Intuit, Inc., it is the online version of Quicken.

Mint is regarded as the best option for beginners because it helps you make budgeting easy.

If you’ve set up budget categories, Mint will give you real time information about the amount you can spend on things like: food, fuel.

This software pulls in your bank and credit card information to analyze your spending and help you see if you’re on track when you’re just starting your budgeting process.

Pros

• No monthly fee.
• The financial dashboard tracks your net worth and provide access to your credit score.

Cons

• Account syncing can be slow.
• Goal setting options are limited.
• Lots of advertisements.

Rounding Up

Creating a budget can take time and it can be difficult to know where to start.

PFM tools aims to streamline the process so you can make your finances work for you instead of simply spending it as it comes in.

Trust me Personal Financial Management Tool is typically worth the relatively low cost if it helps you meet your personal financial goals.

All you have to do is choose the right one that’ll help you stick to a budget, save money and track your investments.

As always, let me know if you have any questions or need any further information and I would be glad to steer you in the right direction.

Happy Budgeting!