“A penny saved is a penny earned” – is the gyaan our elders have always taught us.
In the good old days, every family had that little diary, with monthly expenses written down in it. But in today’s cashless times and plastic money, keeping a track of your monies can actually be a task. In fact, it has been studied that we tend to spend more with credit cards in our wallets, than actual bills. If only we had all our finances- the income flow, the credit scores, the spends, the investments- in one place, it would be much easier to make better decision about it isn’t it?
Worry not, with fintech apps on the rise, managing your money has never been easier. They cater to everyday needs of everyday people. With these apps, one can do a lot more than just adding up the expenses; you also get to track your investments, and make your money grow in a more controlled manner. They connect with your bank accounts, remind you of your bills and help you keep track of your credit scores. With them, you can make sense of your budget, put your smartphone to better use, and be the responsible adult you are supposed to be!
These Money Manager Android/iOS Apps will make managing money a breeze!
1. Walnut : It is the one of the most commonly used expenses tracker app. You can set yourself a monthly goal of expenses, and the app reminds you when you when you under/over spend. The app also tells you how much should you be spending on a daily basis, in order to meet your goal. Besides, you can set it to remind you of monthly bills. The app scans through your messages to list out the ones related to bank or card payments. With color-coded categories, you know where is the extra dough going off to.
2. Mint: The most popular app for personal finance management. It integrates all your accounts and tracks all sources of money outflow. It gives an overall picture of your financial situation. It gives out a clear analysis of your spending habits and even gives you investment and saving advice. It provides you with your latest credit score, along with factors contributing to it. Not to mention the bill reminders, option to pay bill through your account, and the budget creation, and the app becomes a jack-of-all-trade for your financial needs.
3. Splitwise: ideal for those in college, or those living with flatmates. It lets you split up expenses among various people in a group. If you have been travelling with your gang, this is a great way to note down who paid for what, so that you can settle your debts later. What’s more, it gives a simplified picture of who owes how much to whom, and saves you cumbersome (and potentially quarrelsome :P) calculations.
4. Fisdom: This app is handy for those who have parked their money with mutual funds. It allows you to invest in the top performing mutual funds, and shows you how your portfolio has been performing.
5. Homebudget: it ain’t always easy to manage household budget. This app lets households with multiple income sources to create and manage one pool, reminds about bills, tracks expenses. It is color-coordinated for different categories of spends, and the interface is clean
and easy to use.
6. Mvelopes: the unique feature on this app is that it lets you create pool for different categories of expenses. For example, I can allocate 1000/- to entertainment, 2000/- to shopping, and so on. If I finish up the quota allocated to one head, it would remind you to
stop spending on that head, or withdraw funds from another envelope into it. The overall amount you spend, thus, stays the same. An amazing way to discipline yourself!
7. My Tax India: “nothing is certain but death and taxes”- goes the saying. One might even dare say that mortality is probably less complicated than tax calculation! To assist you in the annual hassle, here is this handy app, wherein you can enter your income from all sources, and all the relevant details. It calculates your projected tax, and gives you advice on tax saving mechanisms.
8. Moneycontrol: for all those dabbling in the adrenaline-inducing world of stock markets, this is go-to app. It gives you up-to-date information about share price movements, and lets you know how your portfolio has been performing. Additionally, it suggests what action should you be taking with your investments, given the situation of the markets. It is also a source of financial news and has a very active discussion forum. There you go!
These and many other apps would certainly make it easier for you to reach your finance goals. However, the question of security and possible fraud would cross your mind. Since managing your money is a very sensitive and involving affair, and one wouldn’t always trust an app to do it for you.
To put aside those fears, these finance apps come with 128-bit/256-but encryption and are usually verified by Macafee/Verisign or other such secure services. Besides, most of these apps only have read-only permissions and cannot move your money. While some apps, like Mint, do have an option wherein it can pay monthly bills directly from your account, it is always optional and you can choose not to utilise this facility. Besides, the overall benefit one derives from better management of finances, outweighs the slim risk, if any, associated with such apps. So, go ahead and keep a tab on the dough!
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