Top 5 Personal Finance Apps to Help Keep You on Top of Your Spending

Making the most of the wide range of personal finance now available can mean that you can better organise your finances - free and paid apps can be downloaded for iOS and Android that allow you to track your spending and organise a budget, while also providing you with ways to identify how much tax and other deductions will be taken off your annual salary. Personal finances can consequently be used as a tool for sound financial planning, and when properly run and maintained, can help you to balance your budget and find improved ways to save money for the future. Some of the best personal finance apps include:

  1 - HomeBudget (with Sync)

One of the best personal finance apps around, HomeBudget is available in different international editions, and only costs a few pounds; the app enables you to put together a range of income streams, which can then be set against expenses and bills - you can project your budget forward or six months or longer, and can also sync up multiple bank accounts and savings. If you want to see how much is going out on bills, you can do so through graphs and breakdowns of spending - this can similarly be divided into personal, family, and business uses, and can be accessed remotely through different devices. Download (iTunes)

  2 - UK Salary Calculator

When you start a new job, or if you’re curious about how much of your annual salary is left after tax and other deductions, then UK Salary Calculator is an excellent app; many people don’t realise how much they actually end up receiving after their taxes are deducted from their wages, as well as what their total pension calculations are. Knowing this information can be useful if you’re applying for a new job, and want to work out how much your net salary will be. UK Salary Calculator is also handy if you’re self employed, and need to keep track of your total income to date. Download (iTunes)

  3 - Savings Goals

This free app, which is available for Apple devices, can be employed to track your income and how much you need to save for a goal - this might be a new car, a holiday, or anything else that you have to build up money for over an extended period of time. You can use the app to set a target and a countdown for how money you can afford to put away every month, and can identify what sorts of spending are preventing this from taking place. By using Savings Goals as a real time app, you can develop the motivation to reach your financial goals. Download (iTunes)

  4 - Expensify

Those that have a hard time keeping track of their daily business expenses can simplify the process by using Expensify with their accounts - the app allows you to take photographs of receipts and store them as records, where they can be converted into expense forms that can then be given to your employer for renumeration, or kept for your tax returns. The simple interface used by Expensify means that you can collate all of your different expenses into one place, with options to sync them up between your phone, tablet, and desktop or laptop. Download (iTunes)

  5 - PocketMoney

A paid app, PocketMoney is another comprehensive financial tool, and is available for Apple and Android enabled devices - the app, like HomeSync, can be used to record income and expenses, and can also be used to identify and chart repeating transactions; one of the best features of PocketMoney is that you can add unlimited accounts for synchronsiation, as well as credit cards, while also putting together all of your financial records to calculate your current net worth. Download (iTunes)