It’s easy to get advice these days on how to spend money but often you’re stuck with the bigger question – how you spent it! Personal finance apps might not make you a millionaire overnight but can surely help you keep you track expenses and plan your budgets better. We've picked some cool apps that bring some serious functionality to your mobile screen and make sense of your monthly expenditure.
Mvelopes
Imagine breaking down your monthly budget (based on your income) into smaller category-wise budgets (food, gas, entertainment etc.) and then putting those amounts into envelopes. Mvelopes takes this simple idea and executes it in a well-designed app. Once you exhaust a spending envelope you wait till the next month or transfer money from another envelope. The free version of the app allows you to create 25 categories of envelopes and also syncs up with four of your accounts, tracking online transactions too.
Available on: Android, iOS
What we like: The simple yet effective category-wise envelope.
Money View
One of the best India-specific personal finance apps, Money View, offers a snapshot of all your personal finances. At one level it is an expense manager, allowing you to set monthly budgets and then keep tabs of category-wise spending. It’s also a bill tracker that ensures you never miss a payment deadline and scans your texts (but claims it will not store OTPs and bank account numbers) as it organises your bank balances and credit card accounts.
Available on: Android
What we like: Versatile personal finance manager.
Officetime
So you are one of those professionals for whom time is money. Officetime keeps tabs on how productive your time is, and how it could be more than useful. It tracks your billable hours and how you are spending your time; it helps that the App also features an Apple Watch version and works well offline too. It’s not just time tracking, Officetime also keeps tabs of your expenses and allows you to generate invoices for expense reimbursements.
Available on: iOS
What we like: Integrates both time tracking and expense tracking.
Good Budget
This app also works in a similar envelope-style like Mvelopes (it used to be called Easy Envelope Budget Aid) that helps you understand your spending habits better. Good Budget’s key differentiator is how you can share these budgets with your partner or spouse across devices seamlessly, just in case you need more than a friendly nudge! The app flits effortlessly between recurring payments and an ‘irregular’ option that tracks non-routine expenses
Available on: Android, iOS
What we like: ability to share budgets across devices with your loved ones.
Wally
Wally does all the things that good expense trackers do – tracks your expenses and bunches your spend category-wise, and a little bit more. It uses your location to automatically identify and categorise the venue – all you need to do is fill in the expenses. The app’s other cool feature is its ability to scan expense receipts without you having to type in a lot of details, while the smart notifications feature updates you every time you reach a savings goal.
Available on: Android, iOS
What we like: Location based expense tracking.
Mint
Most personal finance apps do an effective job with expense tracking; Mint does a little bit more. It focuses on the big picture and your overall financial position. It does this by integrating your card accounts and bank accounts while keeping track of your expenses, income and cash flows. If you like to deep dive into your financial transactions, this is the app for you; Mint analyses your spending habits and gives you handy tips about where you can save.
Available on: Android, iOS
What we like: The big picture.
HomeBudget
Some personal finance apps can be overwhelming and difficult to wade through, HomeBudget simplifies things a bit with a user interface that’s easy on the eye. Colour coding and clear categorisations make this easy to navigate while the family share option allows you to coordinate and share bills with your spouse or family members. The income section works well for professionals with multiple income sources while a powerful search tab allows you to easily find items using different search parameters
Available on: Android, iOS
What we like: Clean, clutter-free UI.
