It’s easy to find yourself with very little in your bank at the end of each month, especially when you might not be assessing your outgoings perhaps as much as you should. So, it’s handy that we can seek resources that help us with our surplus spending.
The easiest and most accessible way for some good budgeting support is through apps, right in the palm of your hand.
1. Yolt
Yolt allows you to view all of your accounts in one place and even fits your spending into neat categories which helps you to understand where your money is going and how to maintain your finances. You can even set and track your budgets by categorising your spending.
For example, you may want to spend £200 on groceries per month and £150 on personal care. Yolt will help keep track of these funds and let you know if you’re underspending or overspending, ensuring you can always try to keep on top of your finances.
2. MySupermarket
MySupermarket is great at helping you get the most out of your money. It allows you to weigh supermarket prices side-by-side so you always have the cheapest option. The features help you to find the best supermarket for your entire shopping list, as well as the ability to scan products in real-time, and instantly compare prices for that item.
You will rarely miss a deal with this app as it has ‘price alerts’, so you’re notified as soon as a cheaper option becomes available. The personalised vouchers you receive from the app mean you can save money on groceries and everyday essentials, setting the grounds for great net-savings at the end of the month.
3. Money Dashboard
Money Dashboard gives you instant access to your financial accounts and enables you to organise your finances effectively, so you can see exactly what you are spending in clear groups, making money management a little easier. The app displays your finances simply to show your incomings and outgoings in coloured graphs, providing a more engaging and easy-to-understand experience.
Another feature of the app is a budget planner which enables you to set financial goals and hopefully stick to them. The budget planner will let you know what you can spend each month and keep you in the loop with what you have left over, aiding you on your journey to saving!
4. Idealo
Idealo finds and compares the best deals and prices of any product you want, so you can save on most of your new purchases. The app works by finding what you are looking for, then collating all the offers on that product and allowing you to favourite, track, and buy it for the best price on the market!
The app is easy to navigate and use, and with its barcode feature it means you can scan your desired product and find the best deals immediately, making the app an easy option for saving money.
5. Chip
Chip is an app which securely connects to your bank account and is ideal for those who want to have a modest pot of savings at the end of the month.
The app is compatible with most UK bank accounts and helps you set aside money into a savings account by using an Al (artificial intelligence) powered algorithm to evaluate how much you can afford to save that month and starts saving it for you.
6. Onavo Extend
Onavo Extend aims to save your mobile data each month and stay within your monthly data-cap, saving you money by minimising your data usage. The app compresses programs and files before downloading them, meaning less space is taken up, so less data is used in the process.
It also saves web information instead of having to re-download every time you open the browser, protecting your data allowance and consequently saving the money you would usually have spent buying extra. Apps that use the most data are also shown in a chart which displays the megabytes used, so you can easily see which apps are draining your data the most.
7. Monzo
Monzo helps you manage your money by allowing you to set spending targets and sending you notifications if you’re spending too much, too quickly! This feature helps you to cut your spending before it’s too late. The clear summary of your spendings displayed on the dashboard means you can see exactly where your money is going, whether that is on groceries, shopping or eating out that little too much.
If you know where your money is going, it is far easier to maintain your spending surplus and save a little extra each month.
These apps do go to help a long way, and they can be downloaded for free, if your device supports them, from your relevant app store, whether that be the Apple app store, Google Play, or on Android.