Budgeting and managing your finances can be a daunting task, but there are a range of personal finance apps available that can help you do just that. Your financial decisions and activities can affect your current and future financial health, and personal finance apps can ensure that you stay on top of your money. They help you track, budget and manage your funds in a way that’s simple and fun. They also help you get a full picture of where you’re at, so you can ensure you’re living within your means.
Here are 11 of the best personal finance apps:
1. Mint
(iOS, Android, Windows – Free)
You can track all your bank accounts, credit cards, investments, loans, retirement funds and monthly spending in one location. Mint categorises and displays transactions with graphs and charts. You can also get bill reminders, low-balance alerts and sync the app with other platforms, such as your Mint.com account. It can suggest financial products to you that could save you money in the long term, such as low-interest credit cards or high-interest savings accounts. It can also create a budget based on your spending history and warn you if you’re going over the budget.
2. Level Money
(iOS, Android – Free)
Level Money can be automatically linked to your bank accounts and update transactions the way banks do, allowing it to detect your financial situation and display your cash flow and expected savings with infographics. It acts as a mobile money meter – at the start of each month, it will fill up with your estimated income based on your spending history and then subtract recurring bills and a savings rate of around 7%. The money remaining is what you can spend. You can view your daily, weekly and monthly income and remaining budget balance at a glance to help you stay on track.
3. Check
(iOS, Android – Free)
Formerly known as Pageonce, Check sends out reminders when your bills are due, so you can pay them instantly from your phone or through scheduled automatic payments. You can view all your bills, bank accounts and credit cards in one centralised place and set up alerts that tell you when your funds are low or if you’re going to approach your credit limits. You can also track your monthly spending so you know where you can save.
4. Spendee
(iOS, Android – $1.99)
Spendee analyses your income and expenses before providing you with financial advice and infographics that detail your expenditures or a summary page that lets you see where your money is going, which can be helpful in changing your spending habits. Your expenses will be placed in categories, like entertainment, car, family and personal. You can also set up frequent payments, allow notifications, take photos of bills and notes, and even export data and editable categories to Excel, CSV and Google Drive.
5. Dollarbird
(iOS, Android – Free)
Dollarbird allows you to track your monthly income with a calendar that also charts your net worth over time. It has a colour-coded chart that shows you what you spend money on (e.g. groceries, clothes and medical). You can also set up recurring transactions and bill reminders. When you enter recurring income and expenses, it can estimate if your monthly spending will go over budget, which gives you the opportunity to cut back. You can also view a detailed account of your five-year financial projection plan.
6. Manilla
(iOS, Android – Free)
This app consolidates all your financial information in one place, including your bank accounts, credit cards, reward programs and loyalty cards. Manilla helps you stay on top of your bills with a calendar and automatic reminders. Digital filing cabinets store your bank statements, notices, offers and other records so you can view them later. You can also see how much money you owe or the number of points you’ve accrued and their expiration date from over 3500 businesses and services.
7. Expensify
(iOS, Android, Windows – Free)
This app is designed for business purposes, and allows you to scan your receipts, create expense reports, and link your debit and credit cards from different banks to manage your spending habits. If you’re travelling by plane, you can set flight alerts and convert currency. If you’re travelling by car, you can input the number of miles you’ve travelled and how long you’ve been on the road. You can also export data to other apps with Expensify.
8. PayPal
(iOS, Android, Windows – Free)
With the PayPal app, you can access your balance and transaction inquiries, as well as add, withdraw and transfer funds to your friends. The app is designed as a digital wallet, so you can use it to make purchases in stores, restaurants and other local establishments that accept PayPal payments (the app can show you which places near you accept PayPal). You can also keep track of your online purchases and monitor your financial activities. You can even take a picture of a cheque and send it to your bank for deposit.
9. Personal Capital
(iOS, Android – Free)
Personal Capital is designed for managing your investments and assets so you can make sense of your retirement accounts and plan for the future. It has a fee analyser and calculator that shows you if the fees you’re paying for are too expensive, as well as an Investment Check-up that analyses your portfolio. It offers charts and graphs to show the performance of your income, spending and investments so that you can monitor your finances. The app acts as a digital financial adviser.
10. Google Wallet
(iOS, Android – Free)
So far only available in the US, Google Wallet allows you to send money to anyone using a valid email address and make payments through your smartphone by waving your phone in front of a payment terminal. You can also track online orders, view your purchase history and spend your Wallet Balance if you order the Google Wallet Card, which is free.
11. Venmo
(iOS, Android – Free)
After you link this app to your bank account, you can transfer money instantly to your family and friends. You can also request money for paying bills or dinner. Transactions can occur via text message with Venmo. However, if you’re using a credit card, there’s a 3% transaction fee.
Personal finance apps make it easy to keep track of your spending, saving, investments and retirement planning, and most importantly, you can do all of that anywhere, anytime. They also provide up-to-date details and visual representations like graphs, which allow you to make better informed decisions and stay on top of your finances. If you have fallen off the budget wagon, consider using one or more of these apps above to get your finances back on track.
