
Using Tech to Manage Your Finances
Technology is here to help you with money management and your personal finances. Most of us are used to spending money every day, and keeping up with every purchase can feel like a part-time job. It’s important to monitor your finances regularly, whether you are trying to stick to a budget or saving up for an expensive purchase, such as a down payment on a house or car.
You can use money management apps connected to your bank account to quickly check your available balance or see how much you have saved. This will give you a better idea of how much you can spend at any given time so you don’t go over budget. You can also plan your finances for the next several months or year to help you prepare for the future.
- You can use money management tools to keep track of your spending in relation to your income.
- Use this technology to stay on top of your financial goals and avoid going over budget.
- Choose a money management tool that is designed to meet your needs. It should be secure, customizable, and work with all your mobile devices.
LESSON CONTENTS
Using money management apps
Though dozens of money management and personal finance apps are available to budget-conscious consumers, they are designed for different purposes. Some are free, while others charge a monthly fee, but they tend to be affordable.
Most, if not all, money management apps connect to your financial institution. This means every transaction on your account will appear on the app once you upload your account information, including deposits and withdrawals. You should be able to connect multiple accounts, even those from different financial institutions, to keep track of all your money in one place.
Your current bank or credit union likely offers its own mobile banking app that is automatically connected to your account. For example, Ent Credit Union has the Ent Mobile Banking App and Ent’s Money Insight, free for all member-owners.
Once you have compiled all your relevant financial information, you can go through your information and categorize different translations. For example, you may label different income sources as “salary,” “freelance work,” or “investment payment.” You can also divide your payments into different categories, such as “food,” “housing,” “transportation,” or “entertainment.” All expenses in this category are totaled at the end of every month, so you can track how much you spend and earn from each.
Setting up the app may take a few minutes, but it will automatically organize your finances once you have the right categories in place. You can create as many different categories as you need. For more accuracy, add notes to your list of transactions to keep track of items you purchase with cash.
You can also customize the interface on the app. Most apps come with a dashboard on the home screen that shows you your available balance. Add important metrics and stats to the home screen to make it easy to keep track of the figures you care about most.
What are the benefits of money management apps?
Using a money management tool is beneficial for several reasons. It’s usually the most convenient way to monitor your available balance. If you live paycheck to paycheck, you can use this feature to avoid running out of money at the end of the week/month. Set up automatic alerts in the app, so you will receive notifications when your balance dips below a certain amount. This is a cue that you need to reduce your spending, so you aren’t left with a negative balance. Some banks charge overdraft fees when your balance drops below zero. Use this feature to avoid unnecessary fees and charges.
Most apps will also keep track of recurring charges, such as rent, your monthly utility bill, or insurance premium. Add the due date for regular charges in the app to ensure you have enough money in your account before or by the payment date. This is extremely helpful when it comes to improving your credit score. Having a bill sent to collections will hurt your rating. Use this feature to ensure you pay your bills on time.
Personal finance tools can also track spending. You can monitor specific categories of payments to see how they affect your overall cash flow. Look for ways to reduce your spending if you feel you spend too much on food, housing, transportation, or going out with friends. Use the app to compare your total spending with your total income to see how much you have leftover at the end of every month.
You can also use the app to automatically transfer some of your earnings to a separate savings or investment account as you work towards your financial goals. You can also see how much you need to save each month to reach your goal on time.
Budgeting is one of the best ways to grow your finances over time, but collecting data on your finances can be time-consuming. These apps automatically generate large volumes of data on your spending so that you can learn from your past behavior. Keep track of important statistics, such your earnings-to-spending ratio over time to see how your finances have improved.
What is the best personal finance app?
There are many mobile money management apps to choose from, but the best one aligns with your goal. If you are interested in tracking your spending and saving up a little bit every month, see if your bank or credit union offers a mobile banking app. These free apps usually have the basic features needed to manage your spending.
You may need a more sophisticated app if you want to track the value of your investments or assets. Apps like Mint or Quicken Deluxe track the price of your home, car, and investment holdings. These apps will tally the value of all your assets compared to your outstanding debts to calculate your total net worth.
The app should also work with your preferred mobile device. Most people use these apps on their smartphones, but you may prefer to go through your finances on your laptop. Make sure the app has a desktop and mobile version to give yourself more options.
It’s also important to protect your identity and avoid sharing your personal financial information with an app you don’t trust. The program should be highly rated by consumers and industry professionals. It should also provide a multi-factor security login to help protect your account.
Mobile banking with Ent Credit Union
You can always use the Ent Mobile Banking App if you are a member-owner. The app is free to use and compatible with all mobile devices. You can set up custom alerts in the app for different transactions, so you always know when something gets posted to your account. You can also track and review your spending and saving habits in Ent’s Money Insight app.
Contact a member service representative at Ent to learn more about banking with our mobile app.
Related Resources
View AllA Football Fan’s Guide to Budgeting for Game Day
Football, friends, and food are a winning trio, but without a game plan, the bill can tackle your wallet before the first snap. This guide turns tips for creating a budget-friendly game day party into an action-packed playbook so you can savor every touchdown without fumbling your finances.
5 Rookie Money Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)
Have you ever had an unexpected bill wipe out your good intentions, or caught yourself wondering, “What should I do with my money?” You’re not alone. Late-night searches for money advice can leave anyone confused. One blog tells you to skip the lattes, while another pushes a cryptocurrency side hustle. Instead of adding to the noise, this guide breaks down five of the most common money mistakes and, more importantly, how to sidestep them.
How to Budget as a College Student
Every semester delivers the same double punch: a tuition bill larger than last term and a flood of incidental costs — textbooks, lab fees, late-night pizzas — that evaporate paychecks and loan disbursements at dizzying speed. The average college student spends $38,270 per year on tuition, books, supplies, and daily living expenses. In a private campus, that bill rises to $58,628 (Hanson, 2025). When numbers grow that large, hoping for the best is not a plan; a written budget is. This guide offers a practical roadmap for how to budget as a college student—from mapping cash flows, choosing tracking tools, and cutting expenses without trimming the joy out of campus life.
How to Start Saving Money: Clever & Easy Steps
If you vowed this is the year you get ahead financially only to watch payday deposits disappear, you’re not alone. Gillespie (2025) notes that 59% of Americans still can’t cover a $1,000 emergency without borrowing or selling something. Meanwhile, the U.S. personal-saving rate is languishing below 4 percent—about half its long-term average (BEA, 2025). These sobering numbers explain why learning how to start saving is so critical. The encouraging news? A few clever ways to save money can transform vague intentions into steady progress.
How Can I Save Money? Here Are 10 Easy Tips
How can I save money? Picture your money as water flowing through a series of channels. Some streams nourish long-term goals, others evaporate into impulse buys, and a few leak through cracks you never noticed. Redirecting enough of that flow toward the bucket that matters most — savings for emergencies and retirement — guarantees long-term security. Savings protect your future. Yet the typical American household saves just 3.9 % of disposable income as of March 2025, roughly half the pre-pandemic norm (St. Louis Fed, 2025). The good news is that small, deliberate changes can double or triple that rate without feeling like deprivation.
Below, you’ll find proven, beginner-friendly money saving strategies you can start on today. By the end, you’ll have a clear map of ways to save money, from the daily latte decision to bigger moves like automating transfers or picking a side hustle.
Summer Vacation Ideas on a Budget
Rising airfares or tight budgets don’t have to cancel summer fun. A thoughtfully planned summer vacation on a budget can restore energy, create memories, and leave room in the checking account for next semester’s textbooks or an unexpected flat tire. Let’s nail down the numbers and map out low-cost destinations and close-to-home adventures. We also outline painless saving tricks and digital tools that track every dollar and make family summer vacation ideas on a budget a practical reality.
How to Become Financially Independent
Financial independence (FI) isn’t a distant fantasy reserved for trust-fund heirs or Silicon Valley founders. Instead, it’s a math-driven destination you can plot on a timeline — then march toward with deliberate choices every payday. In plain terms, financial independence means having the freedom and flexibility to make choices that align with your goals - without constantly worrying about money. It’s about feeling secure and confident in your day-to-day life and your future. In the next few minutes, you’ll learn the core habits, sequential steps, and digital tools that turn that definition into reality. By the end, you won’t just understand how to become financially independent; you’ll know which actions to take.
Can You Pay Rent with a Credit Card?
Can you pay rent with a credit card? Short answer: yes. Absolutely, but only if your landlord or a third-party processor will take the plastic and you are prepared to shoulder—or cleverly avoid—the fees. Roughly 22% of U.S. renters already put monthly housing costs on debit or credit cards, according to a 2024 payment-trends study by property-tech firm Zego (Salmonsen, 2024). That slice is growing because tenants want smoother cash flow and richer rewards, while landlords crave on-time payments. Still, every swipe passes through a maze of surcharges, interest rates, and utilization limits. Before you tap “Pay,” you need a plan to ensure you have a smart credit card management strategy in place.
Is it Wrong to Let Someone Use Your Credit Card?
When someone you trust — a spouse, adult child, sibling, or close friend — asks to use your credit card, the request feels innocent. Maybe it’s for groceries, a plane ticket, or an emergency car repair. But even with the best intentions, lending your credit card can end up with disastrous consequences. So, you might be asking, is it wrong to let someone use my credit card?
The short answer: Yes, it can be wrong — legally, financially, and ethically — depending on the circumstances. Even if you trust the person, the risks often outweigh the convenience. Below, we unpack the hazards, the narrow circumstances when sharing your credit card can work, and safer alternatives that protect you.
Improving Your Debt-to-Income Ratio
In Q3 2024, Americans spent 11.3% of their disposable income on household debt payments (St. Louis Fed, 2024). Still, some households suffer massive debts, using over 50% of income to service debt. When your debt payments consume too much of your monthly income, lenders view you as a riskier borrower. This results in unfavorable loan terms, higher interest rates, or loan denials.
Understanding how to improve your debt-to-income ratio helps you qualify for better financing options. In simple terms, your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) computes the percentage of your income that goes toward paying debts each month. In this article, we’ll explain how to compute your DTI ratio, what is a good debt-to-income ratio, the best debt-to-income ratio for various loans and strategies for lowering it.
What Is Cash-Out Refinancing?
What is cash-out refinance? It is a mortgage option that lets homeowners replace their existing home loan with a new one and, in the process, convert a portion of their built-up home equity into cash. In other words, if you have substantial equity in your property, you can refinance it for a loan amount that exceeds what you currently owe. The difference between the new loan’s principal and your remaining mortgage balance is then disbursed to you as a lump sum of cash.
A cash-out refinance can be a powerful way to consolidate debt, fund home renovations, or address pressing financial needs. Moreover, mortgage refinance rates are often lower than those of credit cards or unsecured loans. So, how does a cash-out refinance work? Read on for details and the pros and cons.
How to Use Personal Loans for Debt Consolidation
You may find yourself overwhelmed by multiple high-interest debts and unsure how to regain control. One way that has helped many people simplify their finances is using personal loans for debt consolidation. This article will provide actionable advice to help you consider whether personal loan debt consolidation might be the solution you need.