Expense tracking apps you should use: How to budget like a boss

It’s payday! Woo!

Ever since I graduated from university and began my working life, one day I’ve always looked forward to is when my salary gets released.

I start thinking about what should I treat myself to, scroll through my wishlist on shopping apps, and ask my friends if they want to meet up.

And before I know it, I’m eating grass till my next payday…

Doesn’t this story sound familiar?

Even if it doesn’t happen to you, I’m pretty sure it has happened to a friend of yours at least once.

Let’s say it happens to you all the time. I bet a major concern of yours is running out of money in the middle of the month, isn’t it?

Fortunately for us, this issue can be solved when you budget your expenses for the month beforehand.

So ask yourself, how much do you spend in a month?

If you haven’t been keeping track of your monthly expenses, it’s time to do so now!

Find it hard to remember everything you’ve spent on for the month?

Lucky for us, we live in the digital age, where everything is so convenient and accessible with smartphones. There are literally apps for everything!

So if you need help with tracking your expenses, here are some free apps for you to consider!

TL;DR: Expense tracking apps to help make budgeting a breeze!

1. Household Account Book

Keeping track of your finances can really be such a chore. That’s why having this app filled with bright colours and adorable characters can be a way to motivate yourself to keep track of your expenses!

Household Account Book helps you keep track of expenses from a wide range of categories, such as your rent or transport for the month.

However, note that this app only serves the most basic features required for expense tracking, so if you’re looking for something that can sync to your bank accounts or track your investments, you can consider some of the other options listed below!

2. Money Lover

As its name suggests, this app is perfect for those of you who really love your money and want to keep a good record of your expenditure.

Money Lover has a wide array of features, allowing you to quickly key in your expenses, track your credit card and bank account expenditure, and set budgets tailored to your spending habits.

Furthermore, the app also provides you with a clear and comprehensive report of your expenditure, letting you know where you can cut back on your spending.

As an added bonus, Money Lover functions on multiple platforms, giving you access to your information on your PC or smartphone!

3. Monny

Managing your expenditure can be as fun as playing a video game!

Monny takes a more fun and whimsical approach to something as taxing as keeping track of your daily expenses.

The app allows you to take on mini-challenges offered by their mascot and earn tiny achievements to encourage you to build up your spending habits!

Monny also provides their user with features to make their expense tracking journey a breeze, such as daily reminders, monthly spending reports, and award incentives which will be helpful, especially to those who are new to managing their expenses.

ALSO READ: 10 best expense tracker apps to manage your finances

4. Planner Bee

Want to take your finance management game a step further?

For those of you with multiple bank accounts to keep track of or those of you who love to make investments, Planner Bee is the way to go!

Especially for those of you who are good at budgeting, Planner Bee gives you updates on your expenses separated into different categories.

The app also works with quite a few insurance and investment companies, allowing you to keep track of all of them even while you’re on the go!

5. Seedly

Besides hosting a finance blog chock full of valuable tips, Seedly also has its own expense tracking app!

Along with helping to educate people on financial knowledge, Seedly has designed an app that aims to help its users break down their expenses.

The app provides users with easy-to-understand graphs that help to give them a clearer idea of their spending habits.

Their expense tracker app is made such that even someone who is a total novice at their personal finances can quickly get into the habit of budgeting without being confused by all the technical terms that come with personal finance.

As an added bonus, the app also allows you to reach out to Seedly’s personal finance community , giving you access to tips for investing , savings , and even fun life hacks !

6. Spendee

Need to stay within your daily budget, so you don’t overspend?

Spendee is a user-friendly app designed to help users control their expenditure!

The app tracks your daily spending and helps to put it into a graph for its users.

Furthermore, the app also allows users to set budgets and saving goals, sending them notifications when they are about to hit their budget for the day.

However, one drawback of the app is that you will need to sign up for their paid plans to sync your bank accounts.

7. Toshl Finance

Trying to keep a close on your expenditure?

Toshl Finance is an app that allows its users to key in specific information about their expenditure, such as adding locations, descriptions or even photos.

The app also allows users to view their expenses weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, allowing them some flexibility when managing their finances.

Moreover, the app also links to multiple banks worldwide while also supporting all sorts of currencies, including some cryptocurrencies!

ALSO READ: 8 best budgeting apps every career woman needs to have

8. Wallet by BudgetBakers

All the information you need inside a single app!

With Wallet by BudgetBakers, you can consolidate all your expenses from your different bank accounts and automatically assign them to various categories.

The app also provides its users with various graphs and reports to give their users a clearer idea of setting their budgets.

Wallet by BudgetBakers also has a group/family sharing feature that allows users to help each other with their spending habits!

9. Zenmoney

No fancy visuals or cute mascots, just a simple white background and numbers that you need to see.

Zenmoney is a smart app that can predict what you will likely be spending your money on based on your expenses from the previous months without any distracting visuals.

Users can sync bank accounts from a wide range of global banks to Zenmoney and even create entries for your expenses by retrieving information from your text messages, talk about efficiency!

If you’re someone who prefers function over aesthetics, you can consider using Zenmoney to track your expenses!

Other ways to help your monthly budgeting

Perhaps you’re a fan of more traditional budgeting methods. We’ve got you covered!

Here’s how you can use financial management methods such as the 50-30-20 Method and the Six Jars Financial Management System.

Did you know that you can survive on $600 a month in Singapore?

If you’re saving for your retirement , here’s a quick hack to getting up to 3per cent cashback by topping up your CPF !

Happy budgeting!

This article was first published in Seedly.