The Best Smart Phone Apps For Managing Finances

In today’s world, it’s important to be able to manage your finances on the go. The days of balancing checkbooks after the kids have gone to bed while you’re watching the evening news are long gone. Instant electronic payments and person-less transactions are all a part of our everyday lives now. Though the future has arrived faster than some of us may have liked, it has not left us without the tools to handle it. An easy downloadable smartphone app like Mint, Expenditure, or Moneybook is all you need to bring your bank account into the 21st century.

Moneybook

For those of you who still have doubts about going electronic with your checkbook balancing, I recommend testing the waters with Moneybook. Moneybook is supremely easy to use and paints a clear picture of your finances right on the home screen. It notes income and expenditures instantly, and let’s you see where you can improve your spending habits. Therefore, not only do you always know how much money is in your account, you can see where it’s all going and how frequently as well. The Moneybook app is slightly more difficult to use than Expenditure, which is the most intuitive of the three—but Mint has the most features and is the most advanced.

Mint

If you have several bank accounts, try Mint. Mint displays all the information for each account on its homescreen and will also show you your net worth along with any debits, credits and pending transactions for the month. Once you give it permission to access your accounts, nothing more is required on your part. As you spend and earn money, it will continually update on its own and any activity within any of your accounts will be displayed automatically.

Mint is also a great budgeting tool as it allows you to set monthly spending limits in categories like clothing, restaurants, fast food, groceries, gas, alcohol, and coffee. You’ll always know where you stand in reference to those limits so you can see where you need to cut back. Further, Mint encourages you to set financial goals like trying to save for retirement, buying a house or car, or working your way towards a much needed vacation. There’s a reason why Mint is frequently voted a favorite among financial professionals and if you give it a try, you’ll see why.

Expenditure

Like Mint, Expenditure tracks your incoming and outgoing funds and also lets you set reminders for repeating bills. Unlike Mint, Expenditure is not free or Android compatible and charges a $1.99 downloading fee. It features a built-in money exchange/converter for the world traveler, and a simpler interface for those who aren’t as technologically inclined. It gives the user a little more control than Mint does, however, because you have to enter all your debits and credits and then categorize them yourself. Therefore, if your short on time, Expenditure isn’t the answer for you.