In this post earlier this week I mentioned 4 apps that I had tried out for budgeting in 2015. Today I want to get a little bit deeper into these apps because I know a lot of people have a lot of different needs when it comes to budgeting. I mentioned some apps in this post about my money management plan for 2015 and I wanted to do a little review/overview of them. First let me say that the screen grabs for the Mint apps below are from the iTunes page...not my personal account..so don't worry :)
Let's jump in:
What is it?
Ever struggled to keep your throwaway spending under control? Cash-Strapped is for you!
Set a daily, weekly, fortnightly, 4-weekly or monthly budget for all your disposable income and keep track of it quickly and simply. Every time you spend money at the pub, on snacks or takeaways, or that impulse purchase, just enter the amount and your remaining budget will be recalculated immediately.
No messing around typing in loads of info - this app does away with all the complexity so that you actually bother to do it.
Feel richer at the end of each period, in the knowledge that you'll have some idea how much you spent!
info taken from iTunes description here
Easily add a transaction out of or deposit into your budget with no hassle
Why I like it
Just like the description says - you don't have to enter tons of info to use the app. Spending entries are user defined. I've used apps before - like Mint - where it auto-defined your purchases and I couldn't figure out what I spent $134 on groceries when it really was a clothing trip to Target. If you define the purchase you remember what it is. You can also add in titles like 'shopping trip with Katie' or 'Johns birthday present' so you remember exactly what you spent and exactly what is was for.
Additionally, I love the budget allowance countdown. It is straight forward - there aren't any charts or graphs on the front page so it's simple to see that I have $40 left until my budget resets.
The only thing that may be a downside for some users is that you can only set one budget. So I plan on using this, as intended, for disposable income. It is just for the so many odd dollars I allot to spend on whatever I feel like in a week. I think this app would make a fun challenge - to see how much you can carry over to the next week. This would not be good to manage a more specific, or complex budget.
What is it?
WellSpent is an easy-to-use budgeting app that helps you take control of your spending habits by helping you stick to your budgets! Using WellSpent has helped us pay debt faster, save for down payments and keep our expenses in check during family vacations. Enjoy more control over your finances and discover the guilt-free way to spend your money.
We designed our app so it would be super easy to use so you can focus on keeping your money WellSpent, not in silly settings, unnecessary features, and gimmicks offered by other apps.Why I like it
The best part about this app is that you can set multiple budgets. This is great because you can set a disposable income budget, the house/mortgage/utilities budget, a savings budget, etc. There are multiple budgets available and you can keep track all in one place.
Purchases/entries are also user defined in this app as well and it's pretty straight forward. Much like Cash Strapped you can keep track of expenses in a way you'll actually remember and they aren't preassigned to certain categories. You don't have to link your accounts on either Cash Strapped or Well Spent.
What is it?
The free Mint app pulls in all your personal finance accounts and investments into one place, so you can track your spending, create a budget, receive bill reminders, and save more money. You can also check your credit score for free.
info & images taken from the iTunes description here
This app automatically links your accounts to one app. Track your spending through your bank, add in bill reminders, and create budgets. It is an all in one app that corrals everything in one place.
This isn't my favorite app though because I can do the same thing through my bank's app. I create my bigger budgets on paper and pretty much just pay things as they come in so this app isn't really for me. It also automatically categorizes your spending and I just felt that it never really lumped things into categories where I wanted them to be. Pretty much I only need to budget my disposable income and make sure i'm not over spending. Every other bill gets paid when it comes in because I know how much it will be.
Mint Bills & Money
What is it?
Mint Bills (formerly Check) is an award-winning app that stays on top of your bills & money for you, so you never miss a bill or get hit with overdraft & late fees again. Just set it up once and the app goes to work – proactively staying on top of your bills and monitoring your bank accounts and credit cards, all in one place. When bills are due or funds are low, the app will let you know so you’re never caught off guard.
info & images taken from the iTunes description here
Why I like it
This app is great because you can link accounts and pay bills all in one place. No more setting up individual payments on individual websites. Pay with the swipe of a finger and get bill alerts all in one app. You don't have to keep track of paper bills and you don't have to wait until you get an email. Just pay and go.
Again, though, this app isn't for me. I already have a lot of auto paid bills set up on the individual company websites. I don't really feel like going back through and setting it all up again. This would be great however if you are the sole bill payer or the sole person responsible for paying the bills. I can see how this would help you swipe and pay easily each month. I even think that this app plus the Well Spent app would be the best together.
I hope this little review/overview was helpful for your budgeting goals this year. I can't wait to keep up with the Cash Strapped app because I think that will prove to be the most effective for my needs. But I would love to hear from you and what you're doing this year for your finances.
What apps are you using? Do you have any budgeting tips?
xoxo, Moe
xoxo, Moe
Great post!
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