In years past, the way most people handled their personal accounts was to sit down at the kitchen table once a month and pour over bills and receipts. Indeed, keeping track of things like rent, grocery budget, car payment, utility bills, etc. was a time intensive process. However, technology has made the process much easier on the current generation. In fact, those who have a smartphone can now take care of nearly all personal finance issues right from their handhelds thanks to mobile apps.
Of course, there are a number of options out there on the market. So in the interest of providing readers with the best, most diverse – and light on the pocketbook – options out there, here are some of the best personal finance-based mobile apps.
Pageonce — free
This app has made a number of top 10 lists in 2012 and 2013, and has been mentioned by CNN Money and PC Magazine. Pageonce gets a lot of attention for good reason: it’s a darn good organizer. All the user needs to do is enter his or her account info and the app then consolidates all information into a single centralized area. Users can view everything from bank statements to credit card bills and they can pay these bills right from the app. Pageonce also provides real-time alerts for when bill time creeps up.
Expenditure – $1.99
This is another organizational tool but it is geared towards helping users live within their means. It offers a simple overview screen that details how much money the user has left, as well as what they are spending the most money on per month. If the user is making too many Starbucks trips or eating out too much, this app will say so. Expenditure also provides detailed info on these purchases and will keep track of recurring transactions.
Grocery Gadget — $3.99
This option aims to take some of the time out of those weekly trips to the grocery store by allowing the user to input his or her shopping list into the app. Not only that, but Grocery Gadget also comes with a barcode scanner that can be used to input products into the system. It even offers coupons and discounts.
Shoeboxed – free
There was a time when shoeboxes were the default storage options for piles of receipts, but Shoeboxed takes them out of the equation. This app stores all of the user’s receipts and even organizes them. Not only that, but users can then generate whole expense reports. The best part is that the IRS fully accepts Shoeboxed’s digitized receipts.
Adaptu Wallet – free
This app links all of the user’s accounts in order to provide them with detailed info all from one place. On top of that, Adaptu Wallet offers financial planning advice on things like IRAs and even offers up-to-the-minute stock news.
The above options should cover everything the average smartphone user would need to properly manage their personal finances. And those that install all five will likely never need another finance app ever again.
Published by Kidal on behalf of Elliot Shah. Elliot helps small businesses with their budgets. He frequently shares his budget friendly tips on finance blogs. Learn more about how to get cheap business electricity.
