This post is long overdue. Perhaps I encountered difficulty com
Let’s start with the basicspiling this list because every week, new favorites are being added to the list. So think of this as an ongoing conversation.

USAA Online Banking & My Banking App: Almost everyone is signed up for this with their bank, pretty much every bank offers it. I check this if not twice, once a day. I honestly used to go days without checking my account because I was nervous to find a balance lower than what I expected. Browsing through your actual spending helps put things in perspective.  I also pay bills with my banking App. I can honestly say, this is the bank i have been the most happiest with

My Credit Monitoring Service: Signing up for a good credit-monitoring service is helpful in a variety of ways. It allows you to check and review your credit report as needed and also allows you to track changes including new accounts, whether creditors are responding to your request to remove items and monitoring overall credit health. Some services are better than others. I know that a few banks, including mine offer this option to their users for a reduced cost. So check with your bank before going with a service.

Credit Karma: This is an absolutely free and pretty useful resource.  They also have an iphone app. They will provide you with information that is on your credit reports. A score is also provided but it not a real Fico score and not accurate, so it does not substitute your actual report. My Credit Karma score is about 20 points lower than my actual credit score. But it is a helpful and instant way to keep an eye on things such as my utilization, new accounts, inquires, and estimate impact of new actions.

MyFico.com:  Name sound familiar? This was one of the first site I visited when I began cleaning up my credit. The forums are invaluable and filled with people sharing everything from their success calling backdoor numbers (the number you call to ask for a reconsideration if you were denied for a line of credit or an increase) to experience with Goodwill letters and other matters. I even search this site to see what people are saying about certain credit cards such as “How easy is it to redeem the rewards points for XYZ”.

Who Gave Me Credit- Not a very fancy site but before I apply for any new accounts I check Whogavemecredit.com. This site allows you to see what scores are being approved, the amount of credit they were approved for and the interest rate they received by different finance companies. For instance I checked this site out before applying for my Citibank credit card. I am considering buying a car at the end of the year, so I have been looking at what scores are being approved by who, and what the rates were. This also helps prevent you from applying for accounts you most likely wont get approved for.

Learnvest: While this has a few kinks and only works wen you use it, Learnvest is a great way to build a budget that goes with you. Thinking of going out for dinner and wondering how you are doing on your budget? Learnvest is great for that. They offer several free articles and options as well as paid programs.. I’d say stay away from spending money on the products. See if you can handle the basics like budgeting yourself. I am looking into their Financial planning options.

I’m sure as I move along this journey there will be other apps and sites that are useful. Whenever I make updates to this list I will post a notice on my social media networks. If you do not follow all or any of them, now is your chance.

I’d love to hear your input whether or not you find these options helpful and others that I might have left off the list.