But now, times have changed and we can rely on our smartphones for almost anything short of brewing us our morning coffee. So leave the sword and shield at home; there are many personal finance apps available that you can easily use to manage your monthly budget instead. Here are 6 of our favorite budgeting and personal finance apps you can install on your smartphones in order to keep check on your money right from your pockets.
1. BUDGT ($ 1.99 iOS)
Let’s begin with a simple yet powerful app. BUDGT for iOS is a clean app that helps you conquer your monthly expenses. All you need to do is set your monthly budget and the app will tell you how much money you can spend each day, taking into account what you have already spent during the current month. The app does not go deep into personal finances and thus is ideal for an individual who is a bit skeptical and just starting to keep a tab on his expenses via mobile device. Simply enter your monthly expenses and leave the rest to the app. The app will do all the necessary calculations and give you an average of how much you can spend. The app also gives you month end projections based upon your current expenses and how much money you’ll have left in savings. The principle behind the app is that by remaining conscious of how much you spend every day you will automatically spend less.
2. Toshl (Free: Android, iOS, Windows)
Toshl Finance is a great personal finance app available for both Android and iOS devices. The app helps you to keep a tab on your personal monthly finance. The user can set the monthly budget and even enter recurring bills like house rent, automobile insurance charges, etc. The expense reports from the app can be exported as PDF and Excel sheets so you can analyze the data on your computer or save a copy for your records. The app features a bill organizer that helps you to keep track of all your bills and even reminds you of the due dates. For users who travel frequently, the app supports foreign currency converter. The app updates exchange rates for the top 160 currencies daily, and you can get exact conversion rates right from the app’s servers. All the data is synced to your Toshl account and you can view it online or sync it with other devices you work on.
3. CoinKeeper (Free but offers in-app purchases: Android, iOS)
CoinKeeper is for the users who think that expense tracking is a boring and mundane task. The app brings a little amusement into keeping track of expenses by implementing an interactive interface. Just like any other finance app, the user needs to set up his monthly budget. But then, whenever he needs to log an expense, all he needs to do is drag and drop the virtual coins in the app to the correct section. The fill level and color of each expense category instantly displays where you’re overspending. CoinKeeper gives reminders for upcoming bills and monthly recurring charges. Users can also set financial goals and save up money to buy the next big thing on their wish list. On top of that, the app offers one-click report generation and compressive spending analysis using charts and graphs. The users can easily keep a backup of all the personal finances in their personal account and sync the app with multiple devices if needed.
4. Expensify (Free: Android, iOS)
Expensify is meant for users who travel a lot and are constantly moving around to different places. One thing that Expensify excels in is reading bills and receipts; it automatically tallies the expenses without you needing to type in anything. Simply take a photo from your device’s camera and the powerful OCR (Optical Character Recognition) automatically scans the bills and receipts and enters the information into the app. If for some reason the app is not able to recognize the scan, the users can add the expense manually. The app also lets you import your credit card transactions and automatically creates an IRS guaranteed eReceipt. The app also features time and mileage recording so you can track your work time and traveling expenses using the app. If you work on an hourly basis, you can enter your hourly rates and let Expensify do the payment calculations for you. The app supports automatic currency conversion for more affluent travelers. You can also monitor your trips with the app’s itinerary. It will then provide you with free flight alerts plus automatic expense reports based on your itinerary.
5. Splitwise (Free: Android, iOS)
Splitwise is basically an app that helps you share bills when living with your friends and roommates. Personally, I was using the app for the last few years of my bachelor life, while I was sharing a place with my friends. However, you can also use it at work if you have dinner plans with your colleagues. The app makes sure that everyone pays for what they own and makes splitting bills a walk in the park. Just make a group of users or add individual contacts and whenever you go out or make a collaborative expense, split the bill and the app will record the debt to your friends account as due. You can also record a personal loan if you are lending out money. The app lets you generate reports at the end of each month to keep track of all the expenses in the group.
6. Budget Buddy (Free: Windows Phone)
Finally, a personal finance tracking app for Windows Phone Users. Budget Buddy features full-fledged expense tracking and budget management for the end user. Users can set their monthly budgets and add expenses to keep track of money flow. Users can just snap a picture of their bill, receipt, cash register total, or whatever is available when they are making a purchase and the app will record it. The app also features Live Tile which makes it easy to track spending and manage monthly budgets. You can know exactly how much you’ve spent and how much is left in your monthly budget simply by looking at the Live Tiles on your home screen. The charts, graphs, and other tools provide you with an in-depth analysis of your budget, helping you consolidate your spending from month to month. You can also import and export this data to your online SkyDrive account.
Conclusion
So, these are some of the best budget tracking apps for your smartphone. I am sure one of these apps will make your financial life much easier. If you have any additional apps you would like to recommend to our readers, don’t forget to mention them below in the comments section. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
