The 7 Best Personal Finance Websites and Apps for Millennials

Many believe the economy has let down the millennial generation, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take control of your personal finances and thrive. Whether you need to make money fast, budget, save, manage your bills, or get accurate financial news and information—there are many quality apps and websites that can help.

Here are just 7 of the best …

WiseBread is a growing community of experts, bloggers, and regular people that come together to discuss finance. They believe that “you don’t have to sacrifice your financial independence to enjoy life.”

Their aim is to help you live a quality life, no matter your income level, and some of the most popular sections of the site fall under “Frugal Living” and “Life Hacks.” The latter gives you tips on how to make managing your finances easier through technology.

As well as personal finance, the site also delves into business and entrepreneurship.

Mint is a comprehensive personal finance app that’s available on all major devices. It allows you to craft your budget, track your incomings and outgoings, and fully integrate your bank, credit, and bill accounts so you can get an accurate overview of your financial situation.

The app also lets you set up alerts so you know what and when bills and other payments are due, you can access free credit reports, and after a few weeks of use, you can even get tailored advice based on your spending habits!

You Need a Budget is one of the best apps to budget yourself out of debt. Its core aim is to help you live within your means and it does this by giving “every dollar a job.”

This requires you to budget within your real income rather than a theoretical number.

Along the way, it will give you advice if you aren’t meeting your budget, and there are online Q&As with real experts to educate you about personal finance.

While the app costs a small monthly fee, the makers boast that the average user pays off $500 in debt during the first month.

Banking Sense is packed full of valuable resources and guides to help you better master your personal finances. This includes daily news, regularly updated tips, and advice articles that you’ll come back to time and time again.

What’s more, they never use overly-complex language. The site is designed specifically to help the average person understand the real world.

Common topics include day-to-day finances, credit cards and loans, tax, insurance, small-business finances, and much more.

There is also a vibrant community where regular people and experts can interact and share their own experiences and tips, or ask questions of others.

If you need an app to track your expenses, then Wally is the one to go for. What makes it so special is that instead of entering the information manually, you can take a photo of your receipt and it will take all the information down itself. If you have geolocation turned on it will also log where you made your purchases.

Your expenses can then be easily displayed weekly or monthly and you will soon know exactly where all your money is going.

It’s a very easy to use app, available for Android and iOS, and is a great option if you want to keep up with your daily expenses with business-like precision.

Acorns grow into great big oak trees and that’s the principle behind the Acorns app—growing your savings and investments into something to be proud of.

For the app to work effectively (which means it runs automatically in the background) you must first connect it to your cards and bank accounts. Then every time you make a purchase the app rounds the amount up to the nearest dollar. The difference is set aside as savings or is invested to in a portfolio of low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs). You set your preferences for these beforehand.

So, if something costs $5.55, Acorns takes $0.45 and puts it to work. Over time, your savings and investments grow into the proverbial oak tree. It’s the smart equivalent of a small change jar when we only used cash to buy things.

College students can use the app for free, while everyone else is charged a small $1 fee per month.

Bankrate.com is the gold standard when it comes to personal finance information. Despite being one of the most comprehensive websites of its kind, it actually started pre-internet as a newsletter in the 70s!

Decades of experience have allowed the brand to become the preeminent destination for those wanting information on bank rates, credit cards, mortgages, and more. You will also find a wealth of information to help you with financial planning, investing, and retirement.

If you’re looking for personal finance apps that do what they claim and websites that are respected and reputable, then start with these 7 and you’re sure to get your finances on track.