A good smartphone isn’t cheap, especially if you care about special features and hardware capabilities. Of course, the better the mobile phone is, the more you’ll have to pay. These days a top of the line iPhone can run more than $1000. However, they can be a wise investment that pays for itself in a relatively short amount of time.
Using your smart phone as a budget assistant is a great example of this. And all you need to get started are the right apps. With that in mind, here are some of the most popular smartphone budgeting apps for helping you manage your finances:
Mint
Mint is a great tool for those with multiple active accounts. While many budgeting apps give you the option to collect data from multiple sources, Mint is easily miles ahead of the competition in terms of intuitiveness and overall presentation. Everything is simple and easy to use, and all the details you need are always a few taps away.
You Need a Budget
To be honest, you’ll need a computer to get the most out of YNAB. But that doesn’t take away from YNAB’s terrific application software. Once you get used to it, this is more of an advantage than a downside though. This is because the desktop counterpart greatly extends the app’s functionality. You can create separate budgets for each account. You can also organize and style your reports in any way you want. Or even automatically add payments from your mobile phone — it’s all there. The app can also teach you how to manage you budget better. It’s not free, although the good news is you can get a 30-day free trial so you can try it out before committing.
Moneywise
This is one of the more advanced tools on the market for budgeting apps, but its complexity shouldn’t scare you away — it’s perfectly suitable for beginners as much as for “power users.” The app is full of useful features, but the most important ones are always easy to find and use. Moneywise can help you manage investments and other complex financial assets and operations, and it’s one of the few tools that can do it truly well.
My Budget Book
One of the more feature-rich apps in the budgeting category, My Budget Book has pretty much everything you’ll ever need to keep your finances in check. For example, it has everything you need, from detailed expense reports with grouping features and graphical representation of data, to very precise information on individual expenses. Planning ahead becomes a breeze when you can visualize your upcoming expenses and recurring payments in one click!
Easy Envelope Budget Aid
Another rather simple tool, EEBA takes a popular real-life approach to budgeting — using envelopes for organization — and brings it to your device. It seems a bit simple at a first glance, and while it’s true that it doesn’t boast the dozens of special features that some of its competitors offer, it still has more than you’d expect from a free app.
Photo Credit: Johan Larsson
I’ve been using the Easy Envelope Budget Aid for more than a year now and I’m pretty satisfied with it. It doesn’t track your bank account or investments since it is just an envelope system, but it is very good if you want to track your spending.