The personal finance landscape can be treacherous, but you don’t have to go it alone. A wide selection of resources are available to help keep you organized so you can avoid those pitfalls that might leave you scrambling to pay your bills, mortgages and loans on time. Because your smartphone and computer travel with you everywhere, we’ve collected a number of effective apps and web services that aren’t only free: they provide critical insights on your personal spending habits, expense patterns, trends, upcoming bills and more when they matter most.

At New Beginnings, we believe strongly in actionable information that empowers individuals and clients looking to control their spending habits, improve their credit rating and securing a future by acting now. These 4 apps, part of our 2-part article, might just give you the insight you need to further augment your financial goals.

Wally
If you’re having difficulties sticking to a budget and want to ‘gamify’ your spending (who doesn’t want to make budgeting more fun?), Wally might just be the app for you. Available on both iOS and Android, Wally allows you to turn your everyday spending, from your morning coffee to your next stop for gas, into a more wholesome, enjoyable experience. Wally lets you not only put in the time of transactions you’ve recently made, but also tracks their location, too; using this information, you can remind yourself that over the span of a given month, you’re more likely to spend money in selection locations buying specific items. If you’re not comfortable giving your information away to vendors, Wally can act as a secure tool that moves where you do, so your expenses can always be tracked.
epost Bill management can be overwhelming. Paying your bills on time won’t only make your more creditable to a variety of vendors, it’ll also become a habit you’ll keep with you your entire life, further discouraging you from pushing these important dates off. epost, from Canada Post, can assist with your multiple bills by allowing you to more easily act on what bills need to be paid at what time through a basic, easy-to-understand interface. Bills that are epost compatible will also save you money, as you can choose to receive them instead of paper statements, which aren’t as ecologically sustainable as e-bills and can often get lost in the clutter. Check your online banking interface for access to epost, as it should be available to most major financial institutions.

Mint
The proper management of your financials comes down to information and insight on your money, loans and spending habits. Mint is all about communication, letting you know where your money went each money, divided by gas, restaurants, electronics, investments and many other custom tags. It connects directly to your bank accounts and credit cards (while remaining completely secure), keeping you accountable for every single one of your expenses, loans and even mortgages. Mint doesn’t let you slip through the cracks very easily, and for good reason: one of the leading contributors to debt or financial difficulties is lack of actionable information, which Mint does well. You can download Mint for multiple mobile  platforms, like Android and iOS, in addition to using the web version at www.Mint.com.

Mint Bills
If you’ve already immersed yourself in the Intuit ecosystem, looking into Mint Bills might be a no-brainer for those looking to stay up-to-date on their bills. Unlike epost, Mint Bills doesn’t give you a detailed rundown of your statement, however it does give you fair warning for when you should expect your bills and even allows you to pay directly from the app to a connected bank account or credit card. It has push notifications to Android Wear smartwatches, so be sure to pick this app up if you’ve bought into the Android ecosystem.