How much did you spend eating out last week? How much did you spend at the bars last month? Keeping track of expenses like these can be the difference between saving enough for retirement and not having enough when the bill finally comes due. It’s not easy to monitor how much you are spending in an efficient manner on your own though. I’ve tried using excel sheets after combing through my statements from my bank, credit card, etc. to try and outline my expenses and create categories. Let me tell you it is a tedious and time-consuming task. There are much more effective ways out there to monitor your spending habits in a simple, integrated way.
My 5 favorite apps to track my personal expenses are:
Mint - Mint can link all of your bank accounts, credit cards, and investment accounts into one platform to help you manage your finances. They also have an easy to use budget forecasting tool that will send you alerts when you get close to and go over the budget that you originally set for yourself or one that they have projected based on your previous spending habits. They will also make helpful recommendations for credit cards, checking and saving accounts, and even brokerages based on your how you are spending your money.
Clarity Money - You can link all of your credit cards and bank accounts to it for seamless real time updates into where you have been spending the most money. The app also allows you to easily flag recurring expenses for common areas and can help you cancel subscriptions if you feel that you’re spending too much for a service. Clarity also categorizes your purchases into things like food, entertainment, and health. The best feature however would have to be the integrated savings functionality. You can set aside a certain amount of money into a clarity savings account each month for trips or purchases that you’d like to save for.
Mvelopes - Users set aside a certain amount of money each month for spending categories. Mvelopes has various membership levels, however, they all require fees, the most basic starting off at $4 a month or $40 for the year. Mvelopes has auto transaction syncing so in real time you will know where you are at with your goals. More expensive packages include features like 1 on 1 support with a personal finance trainer and a customized debt reduction plan tailored to you.
PocketGuard - This app (like the others) can link to your accounts and categorize purchases. Pocketguard can also, however, break down your budget into daily and weekly amounts (accounting for bills and savings goals) so that you are on top of your purchase outlook over a shorter period of time. They will also look for other ways to help you save on your bills. For instance, they leverage BillSharks to help their consumers reduce their bills every month.
Personal Capital - Personal Capital allows you to track and invest through the account. It will categorize your purchases by account and type of spending. It also has a few unique features like projecting “What if?” type scenarios into the future to see how much you would save at a given age subject to the stipulations. Another awesome part of the app is it will help you find hidden fees that you might not be aware of that your broker or financial advisor is charging you. These fees can have a serious impact on your returns and Personal Capital will show you how something as small as 40-50 basis points can really add up over a long-time horizon.
