We live in a fast-paced world in which most of us are always on the move. This can make finding time to sit down and take stock of things that require some serious thought and consideration – such as our finances – increasingly difficult. However, the good news is that technology means there are more ways than ever to keep track of your bank account. Here’s a selection of the best money management apps out there.
BILL TRACKER
iOS - £1.49
The idea behind this handy app is simple but well executed.
If you're managing several bills every month - gas, electricity, broadband, phone, etc. - then Bill Tracker could give you an ideal way of making sure they're all paid on time.
It provides a built-in calendar which you can use to input the bills you regular pay every month and help to keep tabs on them. You can add any number of bills and the app will send you reminders until you mark the bill as paid.
Bill Tracker also gives a list of all bills paid and the total money spent on them, so you can get a 360-degree view of where you stand with your finances from month to month.
If you’re not a big fan of drawing up a pen and paper budget – or you know you’re particularly forgetful – then this app could be a lifesaver.
HOME BUDGET CALCULATOR
iOS - Free
Home Budget does exactly what it says on the tin – and does it very well. Featuring a bold and colourful interface with icons for different accounts and budget types, you can add your salary, bills, income, and total outgoings.
Though it may look a bit daunting at first, the app is pretty easy to set up and provides automatic updates on you financial situation – so you can see exactly how much money you’ll have left at the end of the month and how much you need to set aside for your regular bills and other expenses.
Of course, this app are only as accurate as the information you put into them. But once you’ve added all your receipts and bills, Home Budget will create graphs which fluctuate from month to month showing all expenditure – helping to give you the best picture of your finances.
ACCOUNTS TRACKER
iOS - £1.99
Accounts Tracker is another money management app based on a simple but well-implemented idea. It allows you to input your starting balances for any credit cards, current accounts, savings, etc. After doing this, you can then enter all you monthly bills and the app will work out how much you owe in total.
The app also allows you to set reminders for any bills or any regular payments, e.g. that outstanding credit card balance you’re paying off. A graph feature also shows how much you spent last month compared to this month.
For the most up-to-date status of your account, why not download the official mobile banking app for your account provider? Here are a few popular ones:
SPREADSHEETS
Even though there isn’t a particular application that I’m going to recommend here, spreadsheets definitely deserve a mention. From multi-million pound businesses to stay-at-home parents, many people use spreadsheets on a daily basis for working out a monthly budget, which can easily be viewed on smartphones, tablets and other devices. If you think that budgeting using a spreadsheet could work for you, it’s worth downloading one of the apps on the following pages :
iOS: http://www.geeksquad.co.uk/articles/top-productivity-apps-for-apple-ios
Android: http://www.geeksquad.co.uk/articles/top-productivity-apps-for-android.
HomeBudget with Sync
iOS - £2.99
If you’re looking for an app that’s really on the money when it comes to managing your household finances, you can’t go far wrong with this. With just a few taps of the screen, HomeBudget can help you deftly track everything from regular bills and costs after you’ve entered all your income and outgoings. You can get easy-to-follow reports and graphs that keep tabs on your spending and best of all, you can sync the app with other devices in the house, so your partner or housemate can stay updated too.
PocketMoney
iOS - £2.99
Are you looking for a personal finance guru in your pocket that not only has a great-looking interface but runs seamlessly too? If yes, then PocketMoney could be the answer. The basic idea of this nifty app is that it allows you to see exactly where your money goes every month so you can identify areas to make savings. At a glance, the app neatly presents all your accounts, savings, etc., all in one place, and can really help you to see how cutting back on those weekly takeaways or Amazon impulse buys could help you save up for that big holiday.
Expensify
iOS/Android– Free
If you regularly travel on business and rack up expenses, then you’ll know how much time-consuming extra work is involved, filling out regularly expense reports and claiming back your spending. Well look no further than Expensify: the easy way to create quick and easy expense reports. In a nutshell, the app lets you take pictures of your receipts, track mileage and business travel and – using SmartScan technology – saves you the hassle of manually entering endless numbers. What’s not to like about that?
Groupon
iOS/Android/Windows Phone/Blackberry– Free
There’s no better way to give your finances a healthy glow than by bagging a bargain. Groupon offers great deals on everything from the latest fashion trends, to the latest restaurant in town – and you could just be a few taps of your smartphone away from getting discounted tickets to a weekend getaway or big music event. Perhaps the app’s best feature is that it notifies you of all local deals you might be interested in, so you can grab a great deal as soon as you see it.
Barclays Pingit
iOS/Android/BlackBerry– Free
Are you always the one in your group of friends borrowing a bit of extra dosh because you never have any cash on you, or can’t wait until payday before meeting up for after-work drinks? If so, this app is a must! It allows you to transfer up to £1,500 a day to anyone you owe money to – whether they bank with Barclays or not. You just need a UK-registered current account, a UK mobile number and be aged 16 or over. Best of all, it’s all completely secure and takes just a couple of seconds – so you won’t have to constantly keep on top of IOUs!
BillMinder
iOS - £1.49
If you’re regularly lumped with late fees for bills, it could be putting a serious drain on your finances. This intuitive and smartly designed app will ensure you never miss a payment again, by gathering all your bills together in one easily accessible place, so you’re only a few taps away from the important info you need. BillMinder allows you to set bill reminders, create monthly bill calendars, set up automatic payments and view your bill history. You can even create offline notifications, so you won’t be caught short. Best of all, you can sync your account with your other half or housemate/s, so everyone can stay on top of due bills.
ShopSavvy Barcode Scanner
iOS/Android– Free
Do you want to knock £s off your food shopping bills, but don’t want to spend hours searching the shelves for the best prices? Why not let ShopSavvy Barcode Scanner do it for you?
All you need to do is scan a product’s barcode with your smartphone’s camera and this ingenious app will summon up a list of local and online prices in a matter of mere seconds, so you can find the best price. What’s more, it also supplies other helpful info, such as delivery costs, so you can be sure you’re getting the best deal.
Debt PayOff Planner
Android - £0.69
Whether you have personal loans, overdrafts or credit cards, keeping track of debts – not to mention different interest rates and charges – can be a real balancing. This app could really help you to take the pressure off and stick to your goal of paying everything off and looking forward to a debt-free future. You can work out how many payments each debt has left until it’s cleared, how many days until that debt’s paid off, which debts should be paid off first and repayment tips and suggestions. It may not have the prettiest interface, but it’s handy graphs and tables make it easy to get your debts organised – and if over 300 5-star user ratings are anything to go by, it’s helping many people pay off what they owe.
We hope we've given you some useful app ideas for mastering your money. Do you use any great apps for your finances? We'd love to hear about them! You can share them in the comments box below.