Apps for Managing Your Finances

By Tracey Dowdy

Ah January – the month of new beginnings and sobering bank statements. If you find yourself staring at financial disaster, or even if you’re in good shape and want to stay there, these apps can help.

Mint

Mint tops just about every list of “Best Apps for Managing Finances.” This secure app allows you to track transactions using your checking accounts, savings accounts and credit cards all in one place. Simple, easy-to-read graphs help you understand information at a glance and keep records up-to-date. You can create a budget, set up automatic bill payments and reminders, check your credit score, and get alerts about any unusual charges.

Platform: iOS, Android, Windows
Cost: Free

Level Money

Level Money takes the “keep it simple” principle seriously by dividing your finances into four categories: Income, Bills, Save, and Spendable. Once you input your banking information (secured by Intuit), Level Money looks at your expenses and creates simple graphs showing what money you have and what you can spend each day. Level Money isn’t an intense money management app, but if you’re looking for something simple to help you stay on track, it’s ideal.

Platform: iOS, Android
Cost: Free

Expensify

Expensify is also divided into four primary categories – SmartScan, Add Expense, Track Time, and Track Distance – and is especially effective if you need to separate business and personal expenses. If you like to keep your receipts but don’t want to keep paper copies, use “SmartScan” to take a photo of the receipt, categorize it and then add to an expense report. If you prefer to track spending manually, “Add Expense” lets you input necessary information and again add to expense reports. “Track Distance” is great for freelancers or independent contractors, as you can track mileage via odometer or by clicking “location” and using GPS. “Track Time” does simply and exactly that – tracks the hours worked – again ideal for freelancers or independent contractors.

Platform: iOS, Android, Windows
Cost: Free

Money

More suitable for business or international travel, Money tracks and balances all your cash, debit, credit and savings accounts through manual or Open Financial Exchange (OFX) import. The App includes Balance, Transactions, Budget and Reports tabs for easy reference and management. Automatically converts currencies and enters recurring transactions. All data can be backed up and downloaded to a desktop. iCloud capability allows syncing across other iOS devices.

Platform: iOS
Cost: $2.99

Dollarbird

Dollarbird is a great app if you want to get a handle on just how much and on what you’re spending your money. Simply input daily expenses and they appear as a single total for that day. Dollarbird also includes the option to color code expenses in customizable categories. If you want to see how much that Starbucks habit is actually costing you or how much you spend eating out in general, add those expenses to the appropriate category then swipe though days and see how it adds up. You can add your income and overall budget, and Dollarbird will create a graph mapping your expenses or make them available for download to a CSV spreadsheet.

Platform: iOS, Android
Cost: Free

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