Credit cards are handy, but that’s also the very reason they can land you in a big mess. You just keep buying stuff till your debt builds up, then you wonder where all that money went. For those looking to get out of debt, especially in an uncertain economy, Springcoin may be the thing you’ve been waiting for. It’s a personal finance tool that’s leveraging big data tool for consumer-facing services, launching “the first automated debt relief coach with human expertise,” as Springcoin puts it. It was called DebtEye during its beta period.

Using aggregated consumer data from financial institutions and credit bureaus, Springcoin can determine near real-time actionable items/recommendations for a consumer to get out of debt. An example would be limiting Starbucks spending to $10 a week if they notice a user is spending too much at Starbucks.

“Today the average American carries more debt than ever due to a few key reasons. First, most Americans lack of a basic level of financial education and money management skills. Second, wage increases have not kept pace with inflation and the general cost of goods and services such as medical care and tuition expenses. Third, Americans’ savings rates have been dropping steadily and many are at unhealthy financial risk. Up to 43 percent of U.S. households are just one unexpected financial event away from having to carry high interest debt (source: 2012 Assets & Opportunities Scorecard by CFED).”

Moreover, it’s a cost-effective service at only $8 a month, with a basic plan, compared to credit card counseling solutions that could charge you $50-$120 a month. The basic plan is inclusive of spending monitoring, bill reminders, basic financial education tools and rewards. SpringCoin Premium at $35 a month is a full-service debt relief plan that provides all of the benefits above, and negotiation tools for lower payments, automatic bill payments, a complete set of financial education tools, and 24/7 financial advice.

What makes SpringCoin better than other personal finance solutions? It integrates highly advanced technology, software analytics, and personalized financial education to get consumers out of debt faster and create healthy, sustainable financial habits.

“Integrated with Transunion and other institutions to access data, we’re able to develop real-time profiles on customer spending,” explains Springcoin founder John Sun. “We can also see what their monthly income is, and what their spending is across categories.  Based on this differentiation, we then take the data points we have and match them to our algorithm for optimal points for recommendations on spending.

“As the customer uses the software, we see how their behavior changes month-to-month. We adjust our recommendations accordingly to keep the customer on plan, making the right kind of payments and getting customers into a habit of savings.”

Big data powering personalized finance services

Being able to leverage data for personalized consumer services is an important development in today’s world, where expectations are on the rise and analytics improves services across the board. Another company putting big data to good use is startup Enloop. It provides people advice on whether a business idea will take off or not. It saves time and money during the early stages of business development.

In other personal finance news, Mint just launched a new Android tablet app, which advances Mint’s mobile portfolio, now inclusive of smartphones and tablets on iOS and Android. HelloWallet also released an app that provides personal finances tracking and recommendations to workers, as it works directly with employers to help workers save for retirement. It also provides personalized recommendations at the individual level. Here are some of the best of personal finance apps that we compiled in recent weeks.

Contributors: Kristina Farrah