Fixing your personal finances can be as simple as navigating a few financial management apps on your phone. There are hundreds of apps which promise to help you to cut costs, track expenses, manage money and manage your personal finances overall.
In a world that runs on mobile applications, how can you select the best financial management apps? It all depends on why you want to use the app. For example, if you want an app that reminds you when bills are due, a cost cutting app will be useless.
If I was looking for a financial management app, I would look for the best free apps on the market. And, because there are so many, I would choose one that’s highly recommended with good reviews as well as one that has several functions and features and easy to use.
1.Mint
Mint is a beautiful, free app that allows users to manage and track their finances. With this app you can link bank accounts, credit cards and suppliers to create an all rounded view of your finances. The app also allows for the creation of budgets and investment tracking. I first found out about Mint many years ago as an active reader of the Mint Life Blog.
Link: Mint
Cost: Free
Availability: App Store | Google Play
2. You Need a Budget
Do you think that you need a budget? Then you need the You Need a Budget App. This app has a few “rules” which create a smart way of looking at your money. You can connect your bank accounts, set financial goals, track your progress using pretty charts and get some advice from the support team. YNAB will teach you how to spend right.
Link: You Need a Budget
Cost: Free for 34 days, then $50 a year
Availability: App Store | Google Play
3. Budget Simple
Budget Simple is designed to help you eliminate debt and build wealth. This personal budget software will help you to manage your money. If you don’t have a budget, this app is the solution that you’ve been looking for. After it analyses your finances, you’ll be able to create a budget planner, but expenses or even increase your savings.
Link: Budget Simple
Cost: Free (Basic Plan Only)
Availability: Website
4. Yodlee
With Yodlee, you can view all of your accounts and financial data in one place. There is also the capability to see where you are spending money and adjust your spending habits to reach your financial goals. Yodlee also has a cool miles and reward points summary which keeps track of your points accumulation and expiry dates.
Link: Yodlee
Cost: Free
Availability: App Store | Website
5. Budgt
I was attracted to this app because it is targeted towards people with strict monthly incomes. It provides you with a personal budget via which you can track your daily transactions. It allows allows users to set savings goals, receive reminders and create projections. Unfortunately, this app is only available on the iPhone.
Link: Budgt
Cost: $1.99
Availability: App Store
6. Level Money
If you need help planning for your essentials like utilities, the Level Money financial management app, is perfect for you. It allows users to set spendable limits so that they make better money decisions. With this app, you can set trackers which keep an account of your spending. This can be used to see how much you are spending each month.
Link: Level Money
Cost: Free
Availability: App Store | Google Play
7. Budget Boss
Budget Boss is a financial management tool that gives you full control over your finances. The interface can be used to set up a budget from which predictions of balances are made and presented in a graphical format. The app includes features such as credit card payment and savings calculators, the option to export data to excel and an iCloud data backup.
Link: Budget Boss
Cost: Free
Availability: App Store
8. Qapital
Qapital is an everyday banking app that helps users save money through small daily actions. To benefit from the apps full capabilities, users are required to open a new savings account which is then monitored using the app. There are specific rules of saving which are built on setting goals and taking the necessary steps to reach them.
Link: Qapital
Cost: Free
Availability: App Store | Google Play
9. LearnVest
LearnVest is a free app for financial management that provides you with your financial information whenever you need it. The app features a customisable financial plan that’s tailored to your personal finance needs. If you are stuck and need additional information, there are online classes and articles which can assist.
Link: LearnVest
Cost: $299 One-Time setup fee plus $19 month
Availability: App Store
10. Expensify
Expensify is described as an intelligent automative app targeted at business travellers who need to keep track of their business expenses. The app provides expense reports, facilitates direct deposit reimbursements, advanced tax tracking and syncs with accounts. Expensify can be integrated with numerous programmes including Quickbooks, Oracle, Sage, WorkDay, Microsoft Dynamics, Uber, Fujitsu and Thomson Reuters.
Link: Expensify
Cost: Free
Availability: App Store | Google Play
11. Digit
If you absolutely fail at saving money, Digit is the financial app that you need in your life. To use Digit, you need a checking account which has to be connected to the app so that your money habits can be analysed. Every couple of days, the app transfers a portion of money from your checking account to a Digit savings account. You can also initiate a transfer by sending a test message. There are unlimited transfers, with no minimums and no fees.
Link: Digit
Cost: Free
Availability: App Store | Google Play
12. Spendee
Spendee is a finance app that allows users to add transactions into separate wallets for easier tracking. If you want to easily see where your money goes, the Spendee app creates locations specifically for this purpose. It’s possible to sync transactions across a number of devices and receive notifications by push, email or via the app. Additional features are available in Spendee Premium.
Link: Spendee
Cost: Free
Availability: App Store | Android
13. Money Dance
Moneydance is a personal finance app that offers a number of must have features. It is loaded with options such as online banking, bill payment, account management, budgeting and investment tracking and multiple currencies. One of the highlights of Moneydance is that is provides an indepth overview of your finances. It shows account balances, upcoming and overdue transactions and reminders.
Link: Moneydance
Cost: $49.99
Availability: App Store | Android
14. Every Dollar
Dave Ramsay is a famed money guru and his teachings are evident in the EveryDollar budget and financial planning app. The beauty of this app is that you can access it on your computer or cell phone (it’s available on iPhone and Android). Budgets are easy to create and this makes it easier to manage your money and track your spending. The app also syncs across devices, so that you can have a clear and updated picture of your cash flow.
Link: EveryDollar
Cost: Free (Basic) | $99 per year (EveryDollar Plus)
Availability: App Store | Android
15. Mvelopes
Living paycheck to paycheck is not a good feeling. That’s why personal finance apps like Mvelopes are so important to financial freedom and a better financial future. The basic Mvelopes plan includes budgeting principles, plans savings, updates budgets in real time, spending and cash flow reports and net worth tracking. It’s available in the App Store and on Google Play.
Link: Mvelopes
Cost: Free
Availability: App Store | Google Play
16. Quicken Budgeting App
The free Quicken budgeting app allows users to sync financial data, check balances and the ability to enter transactions anytime and anywhere. Some of the benefits of this app are viewing personal finance information anytime, syncing checking, savings, credit card and investment accounts and updating accounts with new transactions.
Link: Quicken
Cost: Free
Availability: Amazon | App Store | Google Play
17. Budget Pulse
BudgtetPulse is personal finance software that is used to manage finances. Users can organise their cash flow, expenses and bank accounts from one interface. The app features visual charts and graphs via which you can track your process, adjust your saving strategies and manage your money better. The app also has a fundraising component through which goals can be set and financial donations received.
Link: BudgetPulse
Cost: Free
Availability: Website
18. Personal Capital
Personal Capital is an investment management app that pairs users with a virtual financial advisor. Although the app is more investment focused, users can link existing accounts so that they can track spending, net worth, the performance of their portfolio and their retirement plan progress. Some of the tools in the app are an investment checkup, a 401(k) analyser and an asset allocation assessment tool.
Link: Personal Capital
Cost: Free
Availability: App Store | Google Play
19. PocketBook
If you feel as though your personal finances are out of control, a personal finance app like PocketBook can help. This app can give you real-time health check of your finances, thus giving you the power to make changes at your leisure. Your spending is automatically organised into categories like groceries and clothing and there are options to create budgets and view transactions.
Link: PocketBook
Cost: Free
Availability: App Store | Google Play
20. Wally
The Wally app is intuitive money management at its best. It was built by ordinary people, who have struggled with financial problems and have had to them along with their families.. Users can compare their income to expenses, create a clear picture of where their money goes and set and achieve goals. With Wally, users can take pictures of receipts which can be uploaded and saved to the app.
Link: Wally
Cost: Free
Availability: App Store | Google Play
Financial Management Apps and Alternatives
Here is a brief review of all of the financial management apps mentioned on this page.
- Mint
- You Need a Budget
- Budget Simple
- Yodlee
- Budgt
- Level Money
- BudgetBoss
- Qapital
- LearnVest
- Expensify
- Digit
- Spendee
- MoneyDance
- EveryDollar
- Mvelopes
- Quicken
- Budget Pulse
- Personal Capital
- PocketBook
- Wally
Of course, if you’re the old school type like me, a spreadsheet is all you need to track personal finances. The only downside to this I’ve discovered is that I often have to wait until I have access to a PC or laptop to update.
Did you know that it’s possible to get an MBA with no debt? Read how I did it whilst working full time with an entry level salary.