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10 Top Financial Planning Tools and Apps in 2024

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10 Top Financial Planning Tools and Apps in 2024

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Whether you’re trying to build wealth, saving for college or planning for retirement, financial planning tools can help you budget for day-to-day expenses and reach your long-term financial goals.

For You: 9 Easiest Ways To Maximize Your Savings in 2024

Up Next: 7 Reasons a Financial Advisor Can Grow Your Wealth in 2024

These 10 top financial apps and tools can help you save money while planning for your future.

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10 Top Finance Apps at a Glance

App

Pricing

Best for

Pros and Cons

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Acorns

Bronze $3/month, Silver $6/month, Gold $12/month

Individual long-term retirement investing

Pro: Only $5 to begin investing Con: No direct bitcoin investment access

Buddy

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$9.99/month, $49.99/year

Sharing budgets across multiple accounts

Pro: Can customize categories and colors Con: Only available on iOS

EveryDollar

Free, $17.99/month or $79.99/year

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Providing structure in giving, saving and spending

Pro: Can create unlimited budgeting categories Con: Limited features in free version

Fudget

Free, $14.99/6 months, $19.99/year

Providing a simple web-based and mobile budgeting system

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Pro: 7-day free trial with bi-annual and annual plans Con: Only one budget on one device with free version

Goodbudget

Free, $80/year

Those who like the envelope budgeting concept

Pro: Email support with paid version Con: Only community support with free version

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Honeydue

Free

Couples who manage finances together

Pro: Available on Android and iOS Con: Many customer-reported bugs and issues

PocketGuard

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Free, $6.25/month or $74.99/year$12.99/month or $155.99/year

Detail-oriented budgeters

Pro: Lots of features for the price of paid versions Con: Basically useless unless linked to bank accounts

Spendee

Free; $14.99/year; $22.99/year

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Those who want to manage money on the go

Pro: Connect to more than 2,500 banks worldwide on premium plan Con: Can’t share wallet with others on free plan

YNAB

$9.08/month, $109/year or $14.99 monthly plan

Providing a flexible method for managing money

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Pro: 34-day free trial Con: No free version after trial

Monarch

$5.83/month, $69.99/year

Tech-savvy personal investors

Pro: No in-app ads or credit card offers Con: Steep learning curve due to many features

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1. Acorns

Banking with Acorns lets you automatically save and invest your money. You’ll have access to some of the highest available APYs — 3% on checking accounts and 5% on emergency fund accounts. Starting with your spare change, you can sign up quickly to pursue your money goals with an Acorn-recommended investment portfolio. The Acorns app has articles and videos for new and experienced investors to learn strategies and build confidence in investing, saving, earning and other financial topics.

2. Buddy

This simple budgeting app, Buddy, lets you track your expenses to prevent overspending. It’s completely customizable, and you can invite others to share your budget and sync their transactions with yours. Another key feature is connecting multiple accounts, including debt, to monitor your net worth. You’ll always know which bills are paid by whom.

Find Out: Average Monthly Expenses by Age: Which Group Is Spending the Most?

3. EveryDollar

Based on the zero-based budgeting concept, EveryDollar helps you plan your giving according to your beliefs, save for emergency expenses and spend money on what you need to be debt free. You can download your budget to a CSV file using the free version. EveryDollar’s financial roadmap feature lets you track your debt payoff progress and see your net worth in real time.

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4. Fudget

The Fudget budgeting app is free to download on Windows and Mac desktop platforms and Android and iOS mobile platforms. Each paid subscription includes a seven-day free trial, unlimited budgets and entries, and the ability to share your budget and account with others at no additional charge. Fudget is a simple financial tool that basically works like a calculator without syncing your bank account.

5. Goodbudget

Goodbudget modernized the time-tested envelope budgeting system designed with families in mind to help you track your income and expenses. It’s ideal for couples and families to stay on top of household spending. Financial planning with Goodbudget prevents surprises.

Registering your household for free with Goodbudget gives you 20 envelopes that you can track with one bank account. You also get unlimited debt accounts and debt payoff envelopes, can sync the web app with up to two mobile devices and retain a year’s worth of transaction history.

6. Honeydue

Honeydue may be the answer to harmony in the home regarding couples sharing bills and budgeting. Whether you’re newly married or dating or have been wed for decades, you can track your bank accounts, loans and investments in one place. The app even reminds one or both partners before bills are due.

7. PocketGuard

PocketGuard features include an advanced bill payment tracker in which you can pay your bills on time, manage your subscriptions and prevent late fees by using automatic bill reminders. You can see and organize your bills in one location and track them manually or automatically, even those paid offline.

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8. Spendee

You can control your finances with Spendee, including your bank accounts, crypto wallets and e-wallets. Use Spendbee’s smart budgets feature to help you save for future expenses and emergencies. Spendee uses a three-step approach to managing personal finances: Track cash flow by connecting your bank accounts, understand and analyze your spending habits with visuals in the app, and use smart budgets to prevent overspending.

9. YNAB

YNAB uses four rules to manage personal finances: Assign every dollar a job, plan and account for irregular expenses, be flexible and regroup when life happens and stay ahead of the game by using last month’s money to pay for this month’s expenses. YNAB takes the stress out of managing money.

10. Monarch

Monarch lets you manage and track your finances in one app, including investment transactions. Collaborating with your financial advisor or another family member is easy and at no additional cost. You can access Monarch on the web, Android and iOS devices. Monarch uses AI technology to create transaction rules, categorize expenses and predictably organize your payments.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Top Financial Planning Tools and Apps in 2024

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Is Novo Nordisk (NVO) the Best Stock to Buy According to Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies?

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Is Novo Nordisk (NVO) the Best Stock to Buy According to Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies?

We recently published a list of 15 Best Stocks to Buy According to Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies In this article, we are going to take a look at where Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) stands against other best stocks to buy according to Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies.

Even after his passing in 2024, billionaire investor and mathematician Jim Simons remains known as the “Quant King” of hedge funds due to the extraordinary success of Renaissance Technologies, his quantitative trading firm based in New York. After years of researching the finance industry, Simons realized the untapped potential of employing quantitative analysis to capitalize on market inefficiencies. This insight led him to develop a data-driven investment strategy of analyzing market behavior solely using statistical and mathematical models. By identifying subtle, non-random patterns in financial data, the quant genius predicted future stock movements and generated impressive returns.

Although it is closed to outside investors, Jim Simons’ secretive Medallion hedge fund, a flagship of Renaissance, has produced ground-breaking results since its inception. The Medallion Fund raked in impressive returns of 56.6% and 74.6% during the early 2000s dot-com crash and the global financial crisis between 2007 and 2011. The fund has maintained a substantial annual return of 31.5% since its first two years of operation. At the time of his death, Simons was worth $31.4 billion, ranking him among the world’s wealthiest individuals, thanks to the strong market performance of the Medallion Fund and Renaissance.

READ ALSO: Billionaire David Einhorn’s 10 Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential and Billionaire Michael Platt’s 10 Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential.

Renaissance Technologies’ computer-driven powerhouse came off to a great start after a stellar performance in 2024. The Renaissance Institutional Diversified Alpha Fund has gained 9.05% as of February, continuing to build on its impressive 2024 return of 15.6%, which was its best since its inception in 2021. Meanwhile, the Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund has had its best start in over ten years, rising 11.85% in the first two months of 2025. Both funds are allowed to maintain sizable individual stock positions in addition to using stock index futures and options to help manage risk. However, the firm warns that it may be difficult to quickly unwind these sizable holdings without impacting market prices.

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For this list, we picked stocks from Renaissance Technologies’ 13F portfolio as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2024. These equities are also popular among elite hedge funds.

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Finance expert reveals simple trick to avoid inheritance battles for divorcees who meet new partners later in life

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Finance expert reveals simple trick to avoid inheritance battles for divorcees who meet new partners later in life

Legal and financial experts have revealed how couples who meet and remarry later in life can avoid nasty inheritance battles. 

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Americans 65 and older are increasingly getting remarried following the death of their spouse or a divorce, according to research from the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University. 

But those finding love in their golden age may need to work out how they would split their assets – including real estate and retirement accounts.

They may also have disagreements over whose adult children inherits what.

To avoid these issues, Lee Meadowcroft, of Skinner Law in Portland, Oregon, told the New York Times he advises couples to simply keep their bank accounts separate – though he noted that it is difficult to maintain separate accounts.

‘Keeping everything separate seems to work the best, but it’s a rare couple who can actually do that for a long time,’ Meadowcroft admitted.

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‘Although there are ways of protecting finances and keeping things very clear, practically, those things fall apart.’

In those cases, Meadowcroft suggested it may be better for older couples to simply stay together but not remarry.

Lee Meadowcroft, of Skinner Law in Portland, Oregon suggested older couples keep their assets separate

Americans 65 and older are increasingly getting remarried following the death of their spouse or a divorce

Americans 65 and older are increasingly getting remarried following the death of their spouse or a divorce

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‘It can get so messy and it can cause so many problems,’ he said.

Michael Fiffik, a managing partner at Fiffik Law Group in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania agreed – noting that marriage triggers inheritance rules for certain retirement assets.

If one spouse has a retirement account, for example, they may be required to name the other as a beneficiary.

But if the spouse with the account wanted to bequeath the asset to someone else – say a child – he or she would have to get their new spouse to legally cede their right to it.

For some widows and widowers, remarriage may also mean forfeiting pension or Social Security benefits.

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To avoid these issues, Meadowcroft recommended what one of his client couples, who were both in their 80s did and have a ceremonial marriage – but never actually obtain a marriage license.

‘They said, in the eyes of God, they’re married,’ Meadowcroft recounted. 

‘The state’s purpose for marriage doesn’t have anything to do with that. It’s simply who gets your stuff when you die.’ 

Sometimes it may make more sense for an older couple to not remarry

Sometimes it may make more sense for an older couple to not remarry

But for those who do decide to remarry, experts recommend taking a number of precautions – including getting a prenuptial agreement, life insurance and putting assets in a trust.

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‘Having a prenup is important because it forces a conversation of what happens if this marriage ends because of death,’ Ginger Skinner, a colleague of Meadowcroft’s who works as a founder of an estate law practice in Portland, explained.

She noted that the discussion in itself can bring to light assumptions or differences between spouses, even if it is uncomfortable.

Life insurance, meanwhile, allows people to allocate assets intended to be inherited by spouses or children from previous relationships.

And for those who have significant assets, trusts can protect their financial legacy. 

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Is your partner ambitious? 3 financial red flags in a relationship

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Is your partner ambitious? 3 financial red flags in a relationship

00:00 Speaker A

Picking a partner is one of the most consequential decisions you can make in your financial future. But nearly a third of Americans are uncomfortable discussing money in their relationship, according to a recent survey from Talker Research. Joining me now to talk all things finances and relationships, we’ve got Patty Assay, a finance expert with more than 1 million followers on TikTok. She’s also the author of a new book, “Never Date a Broke Dude: The Financial Freedom Playbook.” Patty, great to have you here in studio.

00:28 Patty Assay

Thank you for having me.

00:30 Speaker A

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Okay. So, as we think about this, I got to ask you, how do you define a broke dude? We should just get that out of the way.

00:36 Patty Assay

Yeah. I’m so glad you asked that, because being a broke dude has very little to do with your bank account. It’s someone who regardless of gender can’t match your ambition, drive, commitment, or work ethic, right? You want someone that matches your energy. You can’t be hustling, and the person sitting on the sofa, eating Cheetos. And I always say you don’t have to match me dollar for dollar, but you do have to match me hustle for hustle. So, that’s what’s important.

01:01 Speaker A

And so when it comes to relationship red flags, what should people be on the lookout for?

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01:06 Patty Assay

All right. I’m going to give you three. The first one is if they ask to borrow money. That tells you that they’re not good with money because they’re asking to borrow money, and that they’ve run through all their friends, all their families, and haven’t paid them back, and now that they’re asking you to borrow money. That’s a huge red flag. The next one is the person that’s always in between jobs, can’t get a job, can’t find a job, don’t have a job. They don’t want a job, all right? And that person is not going to change. And lastly, if a person doesn’t want you to earn your own income, or insists on merging accounts, that means that they’re trying to control you with your finances, and that’s a huge red flag.

02:00 Speaker A

There are plenty of, of stereotypes and expectations around dating, namely that a man should pay for everything. That’s one of the most popular. You say that that’s outdated. Explain more on that.

02:16 Patty Assay

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That is so outdated, because what women don’t understand is that notion came from the patriarchy. The patriarchy created that, because women couldn’t work. We couldn’t have their own bank accounts. So we were dependent on men for our finances, and that was a means of control. So today, if a woman expects a man to pay for everything, she has to understand that in exchange for that money, she’s giving up her power and control over her own life. So each people, they should be financially independent, and they should contribute to the finances of the relationship.

02:51 Speaker A

And so as you’re starting that contribution together, what are some of the early steps for the conversations about merging finances, about making sure that for all the goals that you’ve collectively set together that you’re hitting those in stride?

03:04 Patty Assay

Sure. There’s I, I put seven in the book, but I’ll just give you a few. So the first one is, you want to make sure that your financial goals align. Maybe you want to buy a house and build investments, and the other person wants to live in an apartment, and they’re happy that way. Your financial goals have to align. You have to know, are you a saver? Are you a spender? What are your money habits like? You also have to know what their credit score is, because you can’t even rent an apartment without a good credit score, right? I mean, it’s crazy. What their debt to income ratio is, how much money they make, whether you have to support other people later on in life, like maybe you want to support your parents, and the other person’s like, “No. Why? I don’t want that.” So those are all the conversations that you need to have before you say, “I do,” because by that time, it’s too late.

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04:04 Speaker A

And so as you’re thinking about people who’ve successfully picked right partnerships, and, and had those conversations, and made sure that they are charting that path forward together, where have you seen them continuously have check-ins over time as well, and how important are those check-ins?

04:22 Patty Assay

Those check-ins are huge. And you really need to have a check-in every six months. You need to sit down, put it on the calendar, because if you don’t, you’re not going to remember. Every six months, you’re going to sit down and you’re talk- going to talk about your financial goals. “Are we there yet? What can we do to get there? Are you frustrated about something? Am I frustrated about something?” Get those out on the table, because that’s going to help you in the long run.

04:52 Speaker A

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Just lastly, while we have you here, how do you understand perhaps the changes that need to be made when your financial priorities change as well over time? Say, you’re starting a family. Or say you’re looking to own a home in the future.

05:05 Patty Assay

Right. So you need to sit down and figure out how much money you need in the future, and what budgeting you need to do now, because if you just have a child, it’s so expensive, and if you’re not ready for it financially, it’s a huge strain on the relationship. So anytime there’s things that are upcoming, sit down, talk about it, and make sure that you’re on the same page.

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