Apps are the cool way to finance.
First you have that stroke of ‘ok I need to get my sh*t together’ and start sorting our your money. Then you move it online and have some fun automating the entire process (yes it’s fun). The thing is, there’s more and more of these apps out there, and they all seem to do the same thing.
I tested quite a few of the apps and have a few favourites that I think are especially helpful for students. All recommendations are my own - not a single affiliate on here.
Coinkeeper
My money diary. As the name suggests, it’s basically an app that tracks your spending and income and helps you follow your budget. It’s got a simple but nice design using coins and different colours to show you where you’re at with your budget (yes, red = bad). Every time you spend money, you pop onto the app and drag your ‘Bank’ coin to the ‘Grocery’ coin, for example. There’s also a nice desktop version.
Pros:
- Control - only you put in the expenses and you decide how much
- Very simple and easy to understand
- Budgets are part of your expenses so it’s easy to see how you’re doing (see how the little coins fill up?)
Cons:
- Easy to forget to put in an expense
- Hard to record refunds
What I’d use it for: As I said before: my money diary. It’s great for those just starting out with budgeting as it helps you manipulate the expense system to the grain, and it forces you to be conscious about your money. It’s also great for those who are excessively controlling (#me) and need to know where every single expense goes and when.
OnTrees
Another cool budget and spending app. This one, unlike Coinkeeper, connects with your bank and uses the transactions on your bank account to calculate expenses and income. Might take some time to understand how it works, but once you do it’s simple to use. Also has a desktop version.
Pros:
- No need to manually enter any amounts
- Pretty nice graphs and designs to see how you’re doing
Cons:
- All expenses are bank transactions, so you can’t add an expense you made with cash
- Budgets are separate to your expenses
- It automatically puts your expenses into categories so you have to keep readjusting them into the right ones.
- Your expenses are your bank transactions (not great for people like me who has several bank accounts with several debit cards)
What I’d use it for: Once you grasp the basics of tracking expenses, OnTrees is good to get an overall view of your account transactions. Also it makes it easy to see if you’ve got unexpected expenses or a £100 seems to have disappeared from your account.
Money Dashboard
Basically a more flexible version of your bank account. It all syncs together and you get to see all your transactions on one app. The big plus for me is that you can see each separate bank account and compare the transactions between them. You just have to set up each tag so that the app knows which expense is what (the times I had to tell it that Matched Betting was not entertainment…)
Pros:
- Several bank accounts on display
- Handy planner and calendar to plan for bills, etc
- Budgets work as a percentage - I like that
Cons:
- Have to manually tag everything the first time you use it
- No reports
- Takes time for everything to sync (could also be because of my bank account)
What I’d use it for: MD is the budget app for everyone. It’s easy to use and makes expenses easy to track. Once you know your way around a budget, MD will help you keep track of it and you won’t need to use anything else. Also has an easy to use desktop version.
MoneyWiz:
A pretty advanced budgeting software and app. Takes time to set up but really helps you get into the nitty gritty of your finances. Also connects with your bank but you still have the flexibility to manually add transactions and even refunds. The interface is pretty user friendly and easy to understand - especially on Macbooks (I tried it on the university’s one).
Pros:
- If you get the Apple version it all syncs beautifully between devices.
- Can create some pretty cool reports - trends, net worth, forecasts, etc
- Easy to see the budgets and will tell you the bills coming up
Cons:
- It can get a bit overwhelming, especially when starting up.
- Gotta pay - £2 (there is a 7 day trial)
What I’d use it for: Only used this one a couple of times, and more as a software than an app. Good to have a very in depth overview of your finances thanks to the very detailed reports. For the very personal finance pro who wants everything to sync together and have an overall picture of the money.
Chip
Nice app that helps you save. You connect it to a specific bank card and it’ll just randomly take out some money and save it onto the Chip account. Funny design: settings are basically talking to a bot. Not sure if I like that yet but it’s interesting.
Pros:
- Helps you reach your savings goals faster
- Easy to understand
- Easy to cancel the transfer if you don’t want to save
- Can set goals in the app
Cons:
- Lack of clear interface: just have a chat and that’s it
- Can’t attach several bank cards
What I’d use it for: To save up for a small goal. You don’t even notice the money leaving your bank account so it’s great to have that little extra for your goal. Personally I’ll use it for little luxuries or a short trip somewhere - the big goals need to be calculated carefully.
Revolut
Great app for those who travel a lot round Europe/change currencies often. You connect your bank account, top up your Revolut account and can easily switch from one currency to another without getting charged any foreign exchange fees. The cool part: you can very easily send and receive money from others, and they don’t have to have a Revolut account! (tried and tested myself) And if you want to take it to the next step, order the card and use it in a shop - really great for traveling.
Pros:
- Very easy to exchange currencies and no fees
- Very detailed: can see the exchange rate, your several currencies, etc.
- Great to send and receive money
Cons:
- Need to keep topping it up
- Ordering the card costs £5
- Free cash withdrawals are limited at £200 a month - after that you’re charged.
What I’d use it for: Weekend and short trips to another country. The quick and easy way to exchange currencies means you don’t have to plan too much ahead. Having the card helps, although you can’t withdraw as much as you like - there’s a better one below.
Debts Break (Apple)/Debt Payoff Planner (Android)
App to track all your debts (the Apple and Android version are pretty similar). You insert the different debts you have with their interest rates, amount left and date started. It also has a payoff plan (highest interest debt first, lowest remaining balance first, etc) and the coolest part: a calculator. You can even create reports and compare how you’re doing with each debt. Pretty sweet.
Pros:
- Easy to understand and nice design
- Has all you need to organise debts
- Gives you a clear picture of your debts and how you’re doing, especially with reports
Cons:
- Doesn’t connect with a bank account or debt provider
- Can’t add recurring payments that don’t have starting or ending balances, e.g. phone bill
- More payment options: bi-weekly, bi-monthly, etc.
- Ads are annoying af
What I’d use it for: As the name suggests, this app is great to put all your debt and loans on one app and sort out the payment plan. Great to get started and understand how your debt will be doing in the future.
Starling Bank
Truly in love with this app/bank. It’s basically your normal bank, but only on mobile. You sign up, get verified and they send you a debit card. Every time you spend money you get a notification and you can very easily see how much you’ve spent and where it’s all gone. Oh, and did I mention no commissions when traveling abroad?
Pros:
- No added expenses when taking out of an overseas ATM
- Very easy to keep track of where your money went - no more ‘where did those £50 disappear to?’
- Easy to get an account - no papers and weird hassle, just a video and photos of your documents.
- Can directly set Saving goals into the app
- If you lose the card you can block it very quickly from the app
- Sleek design - I like it
Cons:
- If you lose your phone you’re pretty much screwed.
- No desktop version
What I’d use it for: I use this bank app all the time, mostly for travels. The ‘no commission’ rate and good exchange rate make it flawless when changing countries. You could also use it for your daily expenses so you can quickly see what you’re spending your money on. Or even for your Matched Betting side hustle.
Excel spreadsheets
Yes, it’s not an app but I honestly believe everyone, student or not, should have their very own excel spreadsheet to update every week/month/year. The apps are great for the small stuff, Excel is great for the big stuff. You want to have your goals set, your budget set and a way to track every month. Here’s mine:
Pros:
- Highly customisable
- Good to get an overall simple annual/monthly report
- Easy to experiment with
- For setting goals and comparing to past months and years
- Can save a huge amount of data
Cons:
- A little old school - manually input everything
- No automatically generated reports
What I’d use it for: I use Excel spreadsheets for end of the month and end of the year reviews. Since I have so many bank accounts and different cards, it’s a good way to put everything together on one page. Great for forecasting and planning: ‘how long until I pay off all my debt?’ ‘how long until I can buy that laptop?’, etc.
And I recommend creating your own spreadsheet instead of downloading other people’s templates. Or downloading them just to see how other people do it and getting a bit of an idea of which system works best for you. Make the spreadsheet your financial buddy, the one that knows your darkest and deepest secrets but that also helps you accomplish your biggest ambitions and goals. No one else has to understand it, just you.
The Economist Espresso:
Of all the finance news apps out there, The Economist is my favourite. Short and to the point - if I want to find out something more I’ll do a bit of extra research.
Pros:
- Easy to keep up to date with the daily news
- Very short articles - easy to read and understand
- Notifications if it’s something important
Cons:
- Gotta pay £2.29 a month (there’s a 30 day free trial)
- Not very in-depth
You don’t need to download every app on this page, but it’s worth checking out a few of them. Automating your finances makes the process way less time-consuming and monotonous - once might say it even makes it fun (the satisfaction of seeing the coin stay green). Imagine if one day Financially Mint had it’s own app…
Which app are you thinking of getting? Comment below your thoughts…
Oh and if you have no idea where to even get started with your money and budgets scare you, how about checking out this sweet and simple 6 day course to help you get on track?!
