Is your money taking up too much of your time? Learn about the smart technology that can help put your finances on autopilot.

A financial advisor gives tips on using smart technology to get your financial house in order.

From phones to cars to the systems in our homes, many parts of our lives are “smart” these days. But when it comes to finances, some choose to ignore technology and manage money the old-fashioned way. By doing this, you are missing out on key time and money-saving strategies. After all, the more you automate your financial matters, the more confidence you’ll have that you’re on the right track with your money.

“Having a system in place that can help you automatically track where your money is going will save you time,” says Eric J. Vasil, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Managing Partner at Weintraub Financial. And when you are aware of how much you are saving, you can plan for future goals.

Luckily, there are “smart” ways to streamline almost any aspect of money management, from budgeting to saving to credit monitoring. Check out these resources:

Apps make it easy. Vasil suggests having your savings, retirement and investment accounts set up to automatically receive a certain percentage of your take-home pay. “For example, there’s the envelope method, where you put aside a certain amount of cash for a specific number of weeks for certain things. Looking at small numbers, if you made 10 dollars, save two dollars for retirement, two dollars for an emergency short-term goal fund and the rest for living expenses and debt repayment,” he says.

A great app for envelope saving is Goodbudget (Goodbudget.com), which puts your income into different categories or “envelopes” each month based on how you’d like to save the money you earn. Another smart saving app is You Need A Budget (ynab.com), a good match for those who want a simple budgeting tool. The app creates budget categories based on the money you have in the bank.

If you want an app that automates higher-level investment saving, check out Empower Personal Dashboard (empower.com). It helps you monitor your IRAs, 401(k)s, loans and mortgages, as well as savings, checking and credit card accounts. It also tracks your net worth and investment portfolio.

If you’re focused on making budgeting easier, discover other ways to take your finances online.

Spend smartly. “Budgeting and itemizing will help you understand where you may need to cut back,” Vasil says. Two good apps to track spending include:

• PocketGuard (pocketguard.com): This app connects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards and investments, while helping you keep track of your bills and your net worth. It shows how much you have left to spend after setting aside funds for your expenses and savings goals.
• Rocket Money (rocketmoney.com): In addition to tracking your spending, Rocket Money helps create budget categories and monitors your subscriptions, negotiating lower prices or canceling them if you want out.

Get a financial checkup. “Just like you visit your doctor for an annual checkup for your health, you should be checking in on your finances no less often than once a year to make sure your goals are in line with your current plan,” Vasil says. Taking a broad view of your finances—ideally, with the help of a financial advisor—can help you understand how everything works together. The check-in can provide assurance that your automated systems are working as they should, too. For example, at Weintraub Financial, Vasil and his colleagues use financial planning software called Asset Map. “The software shows how everything is working together—assets, liabilities, income and expenses—and shows gaps so we can help clients get their financial houses in order,” he says.

No matter which “smart” tools you use to help manage your money, Vasil recommends checking your accounts at least once a month so you are more conscious of how your money is being spent. Then you can adjust accounts accordingly.