Top ten budgeting apps: balance your books with tech downloads
Now you’ve finished reading about The Budget, have you thought about your own finances? Look no further because technology has the solution. Melissa York introduces the apps that will get you back in the black
METER READINGS
99p, Apple App Store
Never have an unexpected or inaccurate utility bill land on your doorstep again by keeping a tab on your household energy and water usage. Enter readings and the app calculates your costs and savings, then presents them in graphs. It can monitor nine meters at a time, the currency can be changed for homes abroad, data can be exported as a CSV file to spreadsheets, and UK users can even compare usage and costs against rival suppliers in their local area to get better deals.
EXPENSIFY
Free, Apple App Store & Google Play
Busy people who travel or entertain a lot for work will love this app. It separates your professional expenditure from your personal expenditure so one doesn’t bleed into the other. Simply take a photo of your receipts and catalogue them in the app. Turn those into a pdf and email them straight to the boss. It even logs miles driven and tracks purchases if you have a spending limit. Especially useful if you need to file expense reports on the move, or if you’re prone to losing bits of paper.
VOUCHERCLOUD
Free, Apple App Store & Google Play
If you’re used to trawling the internet looking for deals and savings, then VoucherCloud is the app for you. It’s a one-stop shop for all the best bargains from leading restaurants, shops and attractions. After a quick search, you’ll be taken to a list of offers in the form of online voucher codes, printed vouchers, and vouchers on the go. Get deals on everything from pizza chains to aquariums. Launched in 2010, this app has now gone global.
ACCOUNT TRACKER
£1.99, Apple App Store
The complexity of managing multiple incomes and outgoings across several accounts often discourages people from budgeting. However, everyone seems to agree that one app makes it easy – Account Tracker. This app, designed by Graham Haley (the same man behind Meter Readings), has got five star reviews across the board, which is no mean feat given the grumblings of “impossible to use” and “too complicated” that often meet money saving apps.
POCKET MONEY
£2.99, Apple App Store & Google Play
Don’t be fooled by the cute logo – this money saving app means business, literally. Using your iPhone, iPad or Android device, monitor expenditure, cash flow and the general health of your finances. Just enter your various outgoings and PocketMoney will track transactions, giving you a breakdown of how much you’re spending and how you can save more. At £3, it’s not the cheapest app in the world, but then you could make that money back within a couple of days.
VAT TOOLBOX
Free, Apple App Store
In theory, Brits should find it easier to budget than shoppers in other countries because VAT is added before purchase. But in a lot of countries this isn’t the case which often results in some unexpected charges once you get back home. This free app makes sure that frequent travellers or Brits who do business abroad don’t end up paying more than they bargained for by using a simple interface to calcuate VAT across all EU member states, as well as sales tax in the US and Canada.
STOCKWATCH
£3.99, Apple App Store
Keep track of all your investments while you’re out and about. This comprehensive app supports around 50 exchanges, allowing you to track unlimited stocks, mutuals, futures and more. You can also customise watchlists and portfolios so it only shows the investment sectors you’re interested in. Stockwatch also offers financial news, full screen basic and technical charts, and a sync service so data can be backed up to a cloud and saved to your laptop when you get home.
UK SALARY calculator
Free, Apple App Store
If you’ve just switched jobs and you’re in between paychecks, this app is for you. It calculates prospective take home salary based on UK tax rates. Choose from the 2014-15 or 2013-14 tax year, then let the app calculate national insurance, student loans, pension contributions and income tax including the 40/45p tax rate, leaving your take home salary. Budgeting for a change in circumstances means you can make an informed decision before you accept that new job or promotion.
TOSHL FINANCE
Free, Apple App Store & Google Play
Toshl Finance wants to make budgeting fun for people who don’t want to get bogged down in data. The interface is simple and personable with aimiable characters that make you chuckle while acting as your personal financial advisors. As well as tracking income and expenditure, you can set up weekly, daily, or monthly spending limits and personal savings goals. The app also won The Europa Award 2013 for Best Commerce, Finance or Payments Startup.
FUEL ECONOMY CALCULATOR
69p, Apple App Store
If you commute to work by car, you’ll know it takes a sizeable chunk out of your income. Fuel Economy Calculator monitors and improves your spending by tracking how much you spend at the pump. Log fuel stops for as many vehicles as you choose and it calculates your monthly spend on average, your fuel costs per mile, how far you travel, how much a particular journey will cost you, and the furthest distance you travelled on one tank, so you become more fuel efficient.