Keeping tabs on our finances is currently more important than ever. The cost of living and inflation are at all time highs. Post-covid recessions are lurking, and tensions between Russia and Ukraine have all played into the global economic crisis. So making every penny count is something each and every one of us will benefit from at the moment.
Tracking our spending habits is one of the easiest ways to reduce our unnecessary monetary outflow. Tracking apps offer a simple, consistent way of following our daily spending, and help us visualize and become aware of how much we actually use” says Rob Colville, CEO of The Lazy Trader. Here are five different personal finance apps that can help you to save money in 2022.
Mint
Possibly the best known personal finance app, Mint has pretty much everything in one place which makes it easy to track your spending across a range of accounts and types of credit. You can track your bills too and even set bill reminders to prevent you from missing anything and falling behind. Mint can categorise all of your spending, making it easy to visualize at a glance and work out where most of your budget goes. This can help you to better understand where your money goes, and where potentially you can make cutbacks to gain savings. On top of all of these features, the app gives you access to your credit score for free, as well as insights and tips on how you can improve this. If you want a good all-rounder for keeping an eye on your finances then this is one to consider.
Spendee
One of the benefits of Spendee is that you can create shared wallets with friends and family. This enables you to manage shared expenses for a household budget, perfect if you’re in a house-share or other situation where you’re splitting bills. When you’re working out finances between a group of people, things can easily turn ugly. Using an app where everyone can see exactly what’s been contributed, what you each owe and when you need to pay can help you to avoid arguments and awkward conversations. It makes what can sometimes be a difficult situation with money much easier to manage. On top of this, Spendee offers many of the standard features you’d expect in a tracking app too, such as bill reminders, the ability to add manual cash payments and creating a category for special events like vacations. It doesnt have to be used with a group, and can be used for general personal finance budgeting for individuals too.
Honeydue
Like Spendee, this is another collaborative tracking app, but Honeydue is specifically aimed at couples. This interactive app enables two people to manage household expenses together, excellent for couples who want a transparent view into their finances. Research has shown that money is one of the top reasons couples argue, even the most organised couples can sometimes struggle and find that there’s conflic when money is involved. So using an app that’s specifically designed to make life easier is always going to be worth considering, it can be beneficial for your relationship, as well as your money! Coordinate your bills, communicate easily with your partner in the app and collaborate on your own terms across all kinds of accounts.
PocketGuard
The PocketGuard app is ideal for people who have a tendency to over spend, who are after routine reminders of how much they can spend on a regular basis. You can use a free version or utilise a paid subscription if you want to access more features, it’s useful to know that PocketGuard Plus is one of the more affordable paid budgeting apps available. If you enjoy using spreadsheets as part of your budgeting journey, the PocketGuard Plus membership comes with the ability to export transactions directly to Microsoft Excel. The website has a handy blog to help to educate users more about money management. This app has the ability to recommend personalized offers on similar services to snag you lower rates on bills such as cable and cell phone service. It even tracks subscription services in your budget to help ensure you aren’t paying for something you aren’t using.
Your Bank’s Own Mobile App
Did you know that your own banking app will have many features you need to be able to track and monitor your money? Each bank will be different, but most of the apps that the bigger companies offer will have visual tools from pie charts to setting limits and more to help you to keep on top of your finances. Since you’re spending directly from your account, there are no third party apps involved which can streamline the process and is something many people will prefer. It might not have as many different features as some of the above apps, and if you have lots of accounts with different banks and companies this might not be the most effective method. But if you want to keep it simple it’s something to consider. Login and take a look at what your banking app offers in regards to personal finance tracking, as it might be more than you realise.
When it comes to budgeting effectively, the process begins with establishing priorities for how you spend money. Knowing exactly how much money comes in and what goes out is crucial in order to achieve the financial goals you set for yourself. Keeping on top of your bills, getting the best rates for the things you pay and keeping an eye on your credit score are all things that everyone should be in the habit of doing. A budgeting app can be a great tool to help you do this, streamline the process and make it a simple and easy part of your life admin routine.
Do you use a personal finance app? If so, which one and what do you like best about it? Have you found that using a personal finance app has helped you to manage money better and reach your finance goals?
