Appsolutely: Debt Snatching Apps
Our smart devices allow us to keep up with the pulse of culture and couture, but what if I told you there were an app for snatching your debt into formation? Yes, there is a app for that… actually several.
No matter if you are paying off debt for your piece of mind or to reach a goal (like buying a house or car), the reasons for doing so are never off key. Things like interest rates and debt-to-income-ratios are a pain to battle with while paying off debt.
There are several methods under the sun to paying off debt, one of the most popular is the snowball method. This Dave Ramsey tactic is one of the tried and true ways to gather up and kick out debt. While this tactic is the holy grail of doing so, the way to tract your progress is motivation to see the motion of your hard work. Being able to see where you want to be will always give you the fuel to keep going.
The longer you hold onto that debt, the more interest you’ll be paying over the life the loan (your credit card is technically a loan, beloved). Yet, the faster (and more effectively) you pay off your debt, the less interest you’ll need to pay. The tea that will allow it to be is that you saving coins. When you save time and coin, you are able to funnel those funds to other goals. FTW!
Anywhoo, back to the apps! Appsolutely is a special highlight that chit chats about apps (one of my favorite things (Oprah voice). The funny saying “there’s an app for that” is actually real life like the matrix. No matter if you take the blue or red pill, there is an app to help ease any issue or intention you may have.
So what are some of the many apps that allow you to gather debt and throw it out like Tyrone? Here are some of the ones that I recommend:
Debt Payoff Planner
Cost: Free.99
Pay off your debt and for free? Sign me up! This app features allow you to see how long it will take for you to repay all of your debt. It also tells you the amount of money you’d be saving in interest by using specific debt-paying techniques. This app can help you create a detailed, step-by-step plan for paying your debt off. The fact that it allows users their own customization is what makes it appsolutely worthy!
Tally
Cost: Free.99 to download (read between the lines)
A new kid on the app block, Tally takes mobile debt management a step further, acting as an automated line of credit for your credit card debt. If you carry high-interest balances on multiple cards and can’t qualify for one of the best balance transfer cards, Tally can help by managing your cards. While this app is cute, it does offer to manage your credit card debt for you. With that comes some ‘extras’.
The Real: You scan your credit cards with the app, and if you qualify, Tally opens a line of credit from which it pays down your cards in the optimal order (paying more toward higher-interest balances, but making all minimum payments on your behalf so you don’t need to worry about managing cards on your own). If this works for you - give it a shot!
ReadyForZero
Cost: Free.99
Talk about one-stop-shop? Whew.. ReadyForZero gives you all that and more - FOR FREE! Check what I mean.. The mobile version seamlessly integrates with their full Web platform, and offers all of the same features. Once you link your credit cards, bank accounts, and loan information, you’ll get a total picture of your debts, chart form, and be able to determine a debt payoff date.
The app also allows you to check your credit score, make payments, and receive email alerts each time you reach a milestone. It allows you to see your daily and monthly progress with their innovative chart tracker, which let’s you track how much you saved in interest payments over time.
Debt Tracker Pro
Cost: $1.99
Debt Tracker Pro is an easy-to-use app for Apple and Android devices. Simply enter your debt, payment amount, interest rate and due date. It features a cool slider that allows you to control how much extra money you can contribute toward your debt each month.
Debt Tracker Pro uses the snowball method for eliminating debt, but you have the ability to create your own plan as well. Once you decide on a strategy, the app does the rest. It shows you a recommended payment amount as well as how much you can save.
I know that this post speaks more about apps, but I have some honorable mentions to throw into the debt talk as well:
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
While this is a budgeting tool, it is uber flexible for users. Create a category to budget for your loan payments. Don't set up your auto, student, or other loan in YNAB. Budget for your payment each month, pay it on time, laugh at debt. Great tracking tool for debt and bills! This one is bae!
Undebt.it
This is a free, online debt snowball calculator and management tool that will help you quickly develop a debt elimination payment plan. While this is a web-based tool, it is still effective as any app! This tool has 7(!) different accelerated debt payoff methods to choose from (including your own custom plan). The most popular is snowball and avalanche (High interest).
Tea: The ‘snowball method’ is a strategy where you pay the minimum balances on all your debts except one, and put all the extra funds toward that single payment. Once that account is paid off, you take all the money you were paying on the previous payment and put it toward the next loan, and continue until you’re completely debt free.
Unbury.Me
Not under a Louie Store, but ‘unbury’ you from under your mountain of debt! This new kid on the block is free and allows you to create a log-in via Facebook or your email. This visually appealing site allows you to play around with a couple debt reduction strategies. The graphs are easy to understand and give you a clear view of the various benefits of each option.
Just enter your debts and adjust the settings to see how various methods will affect your monthly payments and payoff dates. You can see your total payments and interest paid over time. Easy!
Companies are seeing the value in mobile experiences and what better way to use the same methods that you use to keep up on gossip to be what you keep up with your coint/debt?
Are you a fan of any of these? Do you have any additional ones to add to the list?