Saving your money and keeping your budgeting on track is getting easier every day, with the growing amount of banking and financial apps available for mobile devices. The Federal Reserve found that 39% of Australians with mobile phones accessed their accounts through mobile apps, so it’s no surprise that we’re also relying on smartphones for our budgeting needs. There are a number of free and paid applications for phones and tablets that can help you organise your money without having to write it at all down.
The Best Free Budgeting Apps on the Market
- TrackMySPEND
This app was created by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), so you know it’s going to be good. With TrackMySPEND, users can track their spending by categories, and separate ‘needs’ and ‘wants’. The app features a tracking bar to monitor spending against your budget, the option to favourite certain expenses, free backup to prevent data loss, as well as CSV exporting so you can transfer your app budgeting into Microsoft Excel. You can also sync your budget to versions of the app on other devices and use them interchangeably.
- Pocketbook – Budget Planner, Money & Expense Manager
A very popular app, this one can be integrated with over a dozen major Australian banks to give you a real-time view of your spending. Pocketbook’s ‘Spending Breakdown’ shows users their spending by category in a pie-chart for an easy look at how money is being spent. It can keep track of receipts and categorise expenses based on keywords.
- Goodbudget
Goodbudget is a personal and household budgeting app that groups expenses as ‘envelopes’ of money. With this app, users can sync and share the family budget across up to five devices so everyone is on the same page finance-wise. It’s a great app for couples or families with shared finances. The app can generate reports that compare income and spending, so you know where to make cuts. If you need more than two devices, or ten envelopes of money you will have to fork out for the premium version.
- HomeBudget Lite
This is the free version of the regular HomeBudget. With the trial, you can use 20 expenses and 10 income entries before needing to pay for the full version. It can be synced with other devices for shared budgeting. HomeBudget Lite can also set bill reminders, payees for recurring expenses and attach receipts.
- Unsplurge
Unsplurge is an Apple-only app that works with goal setting and social networking. Users set a goal or target of savings they want to reach, and monitor their progress with Unsplurge. You can connect to Facebook in order to share your success and see how well you’re doing in comparison to your friends. You cannot track your expenses on Unsplurge.
If you’re looking to really streamline your budgeting, go for an app. Once you’ve set up your categories you’re essentially good to go, and can keep all of your financial comings and goings in the one place. Budgeting apps are definitely becoming the go-to for financial tracking.