Show me the money apps! (Android)
May 19, 2020 8:37 AM Subscribe
Micro-investing for my kids, family financial accounts tracking for me
My kids are tweens. Both of them just saved up their allowance for a year to buy phones. This says to me they're both mature enough to be taught money skills and are tech-equipped enough for me to move their money out of cash and into some form of electronic money.
Goals:
0. Tech-friendly banking. My kids already have a savings account each at our local FCU, and they have an app. But this app is super buggy, not user friendly, does not play well with the internet (my account can't be added to my Mint dashboard for example). I'm guessing the answer to this can be as easy as "just get them an account at a different, more mainstream bank that has a good app". Which I can do. But what if there was a bank account with an app that was also integrated with...
1. Micro investing app/account. You know those apps that let kids invest as little as $1 at a time or $5 per month? Are any of them evil/extortionate/dangerous and I should watch out? Are any of them dangerous? Which ones are awesome? Are there any micro investing apps that also offer banking? Or mainstream banks with good apps which already offer micro investing?
2. Family financial accounts tracking app. Currently I use Mint which only allows one user, one login, one person's accounts. I want to have a family account which lets me track my kids' accounts (investments and banking) along with mine, and also allows the kids to track their money on their own from their devices with charts and visuals etc.
Essential features:
My kids are tweens. Both of them just saved up their allowance for a year to buy phones. This says to me they're both mature enough to be taught money skills and are tech-equipped enough for me to move their money out of cash and into some form of electronic money.
Goals:
0. Tech-friendly banking. My kids already have a savings account each at our local FCU, and they have an app. But this app is super buggy, not user friendly, does not play well with the internet (my account can't be added to my Mint dashboard for example). I'm guessing the answer to this can be as easy as "just get them an account at a different, more mainstream bank that has a good app". Which I can do. But what if there was a bank account with an app that was also integrated with...
1. Micro investing app/account. You know those apps that let kids invest as little as $1 at a time or $5 per month? Are any of them evil/extortionate/dangerous and I should watch out? Are any of them dangerous? Which ones are awesome? Are there any micro investing apps that also offer banking? Or mainstream banks with good apps which already offer micro investing?
2. Family financial accounts tracking app. Currently I use Mint which only allows one user, one login, one person's accounts. I want to have a family account which lets me track my kids' accounts (investments and banking) along with mine, and also allows the kids to track their money on their own from their devices with charts and visuals etc.
Essential features:
- Everything on Android
- A one-stop shop for both banking (take deposits, bill pay, buy stuff) and micro-investment, ideally, or two separate shops that work seamlessly with each other and the rest of the internet.
- No per-transaction fees for investments, deposits, cashing out, or online spending
- Flat (and modest) monthly fees only, no surprises. Though I suppose I can live with an investment app that takes some % if they strike it rich.
- No possibility of overdrafts, ever.
- The consolidated family financial account tracking app shows the kids their own accounts only (not each other's and not mine), but shows me the kids' accounts in addition to my own.
- Some or all of this for free?
- Money tracking app can import existing data from Mint so I don't lose all my previous years' tracking when I switch to it
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An investing only option you might like is M1 finance. You can create multiple accounts under your main account and let them create/manage their own deposits in their pies individually. It allows any deposit size after the first $100 dollar deposit and allows you to purchase fractional shares so you can invest any amount. It is free for a basic account but can pay an annual fee for a checking account and some other benefits.
It will all still be 1 login but it is very easy to deposit/manage multiple accounts.
Both Ally and M1 are integrated into Mint, which I also use.
posted by M Edward at 1:09 PM on May 19, 2020 [1 favorite]