How do you find the best personal finance software? Start by figuring out what you want to do in the personal finance arena. Personal finance software covers a very broad spectrum from budgeting software to investing software and from loan software to retirement planning software. For the best budgeting software, start with You Need A Budget at YNAB.com. YNAB is the premier budgeting software, but it’s not free. If free budgeting software is what you are looking for, head over to mint.com.
Now let’s talk about the best personal finance software for investment management. There are a number of great websites that have emerged recently to take on the challenge of removing the financial advisor from the personal finance equation. The goal is to offer premier investment knowledge for a fraction of the cost. Invest like the rich, but pay a reasonable fee. This list of the best personal finance software options for financial management will grow and contract over time as more players enter the game and they each vie for a piece of the advisement pie. I’ve ordered this list with my favorite company on top. You’ll find a full review of the best personal finance software options in the links.
Online financial management has changed quite a bit over the last few years. Figuring out the right allocation of securities between various asset classes is not something that I particularly enjoy doing and paying a financial adviser isn’t something that I can afford. There are clearly a number of people like me in that regard because these new players have developed excellent products for an ever growing niche.
A few things to remember:
1. Study the fee structures closely so that you know what you will pay. Some charge a flat monthly fee and others charge you based on the size of your portfolio.
2. These options provide the best personal finance software to help you with financial and investment management. You cannot currently find a one-stop shop for budgeting, college planning, retirement planning, financial planning, life insurance planning, etc.
3. Some of these companies are brokers, but most either have you set up your own account, or set up a brokerage account on your behalf. I prefer to have a separate brokerage account because these companies are new players and if my money is in a large, strong brokerage, I can get it even if one of these start ups is gone.
These companies have developed the best personal finance software for financial management providing the small-time investor big time tools and advice. These companies provide their service for a fraction of the fees charged by traditional advisers and provide some of the same services. In fact, they probably do the asset allocation and rebalancing better because they rely on complex algorithms to help them determine your appetite for risk as well as when to rebalance your portfolio, thereby maximizing your returns. Investment management methods once exclusive to expensive advisers are now available to ordinary investors. Happy investing.