Jürg Widmer shares some of the best smart budgeting apps available in the UK on Read more...
If your spending is getting a little out of hand, you’ve had an unexpected change within your financial circumstances, or you want to start managing your money better to save for the future, this is for you.
A budget app is a handy tool to help you keep your finances under control, and the beautiful thing is, you can have a financial advisor right there on your smartphone. Isn’t technology amazing?
As with all products invented, each app offers something similar but also comes with unique benefits to the specific app.
Check out this list of the best smart budgeting apps currently available.
Best smart budgeting apps in the UK:
Revolut Budgeting App
The personal finance and money management app Revolut enables you to seamlessly track money all in one place and control your daily spending.
Revolut allows you to set limits so you can stick to your budget and cleverly calculates your spending to ensure you do not go over that set amount.
The Revolut app will also send you notifications, so you are always aware if you’re nearing your limit and send you weekly reports to help you understand your spending habits. You can even organise your bills using their ‘pockets’ section.
Revolut comes with a whole host of other benefits, including savings, investments, currency exchange and international money transfers.
There are always costs and considerations involved when choosing to use any service or app, so it’s important to do your research before deciding which budgeting app would be right for you.
Money Dashboard App
The Money Dashboard app is another great budgeting app that also helps improve personal finances by keeping track of your spending and viewing all your accounts from this one app.
You can link all of your financial accounts through Money Dashboard (hence the name), including savings accounts, credit cards and investment wallets. If you struggle to manage all of these finances in separate systems, this benefit will be a big help.
The Spending Plan section encourages proactive money management via forecasted cashflows. With real time information of what’s due to come out of your account, your balance and projected income, it’s easy to know the value of what is available. This provides the control and power to spend or save.
Emma Money Management App
The Emma app is an intuitive system that auto categorises your expenses and even filters unused subscriptions so you can cancel them and save that money.
Emma, money management helps you et those all important budgets, analyse your finances, and monitor your spending behaviour to make smarter financial decisions.
The Emma app allows you to track your bank accounts, savings, pensions, investments, and credit cards inside the app. Emma will also provide you with reports and inform you if you’re going close to your budget limit and need to curb your spending.
An Emma Pro account is £9.99 a month (or £59.99 a year) and allows you to access more advanced features.
Plum Money Management App
The Plum app is a great way to manage your money as it helps you build a complete picture of your incoming and outgoings so you can manage your budget more effectively.
The money management app analyses your spending and provides an overview of your finances to ensure you know your financial status at all times.
If you like an intuitive app that has your best interests at heart, then the plum app is probably for you because it will even switch your utilities to a better deal and help you monitor your bills to ensure you’re getting the best deals.
You can use the Round Up facility to help you save and set automatic deposits to do so too.
There are added benefits with the Plum Plus and Plum Pro, which help you with automatic investments and earn interest on your savings.
Plum Plus: £1/month (first month free)
Plum Pro: £2.99/month (first month free)
Many of the apps mentioned here provide a free starter option, and then as with most apps these days, you can upgrade to unlock different features or receive a more tailored experience.
If you’re looking for smart ways to save cash and manage money better, then a money management budgeting app is an excellent way to do this.
Always ensure that whichever financial app or banking platform you use is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).