Popular smartphone apps for better budgeting
25 May 2022
If you’re looking for ways to manage your money better in retirement, a number of handy smartphone apps are available to help.
Apps let you create and stick to budgets, monitor expenses, check balances, receive bill notifications, shares costs with other people, and plenty more.
Expense tracking apps, for example, provide a categorical breakdown of your weekly or monthly spending in a way that is easy to absorb, helping you decide where cutbacks might be feasible moving forward. Some are designed to sync with your bank accounts, while others provide more manual functionality. Budgeting apps, on the other hand, can give you a broader overview of your financial health.
Here are some popular apps to help you manage your money more effectively and work out how and where to make meaningful savings…
Pocketbook
Pocketbook is a free Australian budgeting app that links to your bank accounts (as well as your super and investment accounts if you want it to), then automatically tracks your transactions and sorts them into useful categories like transport and groceries. The obvious benefit is that, rather than making assumptions about your spending, you will always have a clear picture of where your money is actually going. You can then set personal budgets for various types of expenses and receive push notifications when spending too much or approaching your limits.
Frollo
Frollo is a free personal finance and budget management tool that lets you securely link different financial institutions – for example, your bank accounts, investment portfolios, superannuation, and even any overseas currencies. This is particularly useful if your goal is to maintain a broad overview of your financial position. A key feature of Frollo is the ability to set savings goals and challenges. The app also comes with a feature that gives you a financial health score between 1 and 1,000, which you can use to monitor how your wealth is progressing over time.
WeMoney
The purpose of WeMoney is to give you a ‘360-degree view’ of your finances to fully understand your net worth at any time. This free app lets you connect all your accounts – including savings, credit cards, buy now pay later, investment, and super accounts. The app will automatically categorise your transactions, but you can also use it to track bills or set budgets and savings goals. It’s worth noting that WeMoney only displays offers from its partners, so keep this in mind when weighing up your options.
Goodbudget
Goodbudget is an American budget tracking app available in Australia. The idea behind Goodbudget is to set yourself monthly limits for various categories of expenses such as shopping or coffee, enabling the app to cap your spending on the go. It’s a modern version of the traditional method of saving where you only carried what you needed or could afford to spend in an envelope. You can also access reports (such as an income vs spending report), schedule transactions, and arrange for your digital ‘envelopes’ to be topped up at certain times.
GetReminded
GetReminded is designed to help you and your family save money by reminding you when existing household bills and contracts – such as utility bills, car or contents insurance contracts, and various subscriptions – are about to expire, giving you the opportunity to compare new policies and perhaps find cheaper alternatives. The suggestions provided by the app are obligation-free, so you can use it simply to stay organised and avoid costly last-minute decision-making.
Your bank’s app
Availability: iOS and Android
Don’t forget that your bank or financial institution likely has its own app, which will provide useful features for everyday money management, but might offer special budgeting features as well. A common feature is to round-up individual purchases to the nearest dollar and transfer the balance to your savings account, while another feature to consider is bill predictions based on your payment history.
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