Sticking to Your Budget – There’s An App for That!
By Domi Garcia
These days it seems like there is an app for everything. You can monitor your health, keep track of your appointments, and purchase almost anything you want – all with an app. New apps are appearing all the time, seeking to deal with the daily tasks or issues we encounter. But did you know that there are apps that can help you to stick to your budget?
Advantages of Budgeting Apps
Budgeting apps have several advantages over other budgeting tools, including the following:
- Access your budget anytime
As with mobile apps, an obvious advantage of using a budgeting app is the instant accessibility of your budget. With an app, your budget is always as close as your phone or tablet. This accessibility allows you to stay aware of how well you are sticking to your budget.
- See budget in real time
Relatedly, you can view your budget and how your actual spending is measuring up to your plan in real time. This can be helpful in evaluating progress and making decisions.
- Test out decisions
When you are trying to decide whether to make a purchase, take on more debt, or allocate money differently, many budgeting apps will allow you to “try out” the decision before you pull the trigger. Apps can show you how any particular decision will affect your current budget and goals.
- Track all transactions – even cash
If you’ve tried keeping a budget before on paper or a spreadsheet, you know that it can be hard to track all transactions. You can keep receipts and take notes, but there is a great potential for error. Having an app allows you to record transactions as you make them, whether you pay in cash or by credit or debit card.
- Set alerts to avoid costly mistakes
Besides all the tracking features, apps can also help you to avoid missing deadlines, which can cost you in fees. You can set alerts to remind you to make payments on time.
- Automate so you don’t have to think about it
Even better than being alerted to the need to make a payment, you can automate your recurring bills to pay automatically. Not only will your bills get paid on-time, but you won’t even have to do anything to make that happen.
- Make routine tasks easier
Finally, budgeting apps can make routine financial tasks easier. From categorizing transactions to taking pictures of receipts, apps simplify the activities we need to do to maintain your budget. And we all know that we are more likely to do tasks if they are simpler and easier for us.
What Budgeting Apps Are Available?
If you are interested in using a budget app to help you achieve your financial goals, you can find some help in evaluating the best apps out there in articles here and here. Not sure you’re ready to go that far? Federated Bank offers mobile banking and mobile Bill Pay, both of which can help you achieve some (though not all) of these benefits.
