Keep On Top Of Your Finances With These 9 Helpful Money Apps

January has hit, the party season is over and we’re all feeling the pinch right now. Thankfully there are a few things you can adopt to help get a grip on your finances, including apps. There are hundreds of apps out there to make finance easier so we’ve put together a little list to help you out if getting on top of your finances is top of your New Year’s resolution list.
QuickBooks
Quickbooks are the masters of finance and tech and they have several apps to keep you on top of your accounts. They’re aimed at freelancers and small businesses, so if you’re either one of these, listen closely. The first is QuickBooks accounting, which helps you create invoices, manage your expenses, keep an eye on your cash flow and view your profit and loss. Then there’s QuickBooks Self-Employed which makes it easy for contractors to track expenses, invoices and receipts, and then QuickBooks Small Business which does pretty much the same but for, you guessed it, small businesses. They also make things like paying HMRC a lot easier, you can keep on top of your expenses, receive reports that estimate your next tax bill, and live chat with experts in case you have no idea what you’re doing.


Plum
There are multiple apps that look at your savings and help you judge what you need to cut back on or when you can go for that sought-after spending spree. Plum is an app that connects to your bank and looks at your daily transactions to learn about your income and spending. Then, every few days, Plum does the maths and transfers the perfect amount from your bank account into a little savings pot. Little by little it starts to add up. The idea is to save as you go, invest that money into something worthwhile and get an insight into where you might be being overcharged for things like bills. Plus, Plum is such a cute name. That’s a good reason to download it, right?
HMRC App
HMRC have their own app so you can be more informed about what’s going on with your taxes. It provides you with all your info such as your tax code, National Insurance number, an estimate of the tax you need to pay, and things like your income and benefits. You can use it to report tax changes, track correspondence, claim refunds and update details like your address. And hopefully, it’ll make you feel better about the whole tax bill thing.


Cleo
Cleo is similar to our previously mentioned chum Plum, but just with a little more sass. In fact, a lot more sass. The idea here is to make money counting and saving a fun activity with emojis and plenty of lols. Who would have thought finance could be fun? This app is a far cry from serious Colin in accounts. Aimed at a younger audience, Cleo is free to use and uses AI to talk to you like a real person, so you can chat to her via the app like a friend and she’ll reply with tips and updates. There’s also a blog for extra insight into money-saving with GIFs and memes to make it lively. Cleo’s also not afraid to highlight your spending habits – type in “roast me” and she’ll dish some dirt on your finances RuPaul Drag Race style.
Moneyhub
Back to serious Colin in accounts. He’s more likely to choose MoneyHub. It’s a simple, easy-to-use platform that outlines your spending, and bills, and connects you to financial experts when you need them. It has a forecast feature which predicts how much money you might have after a holiday or if you start saving. It also gives you a detailed account of where your money is being spent, such as on gas bills or travel. The only snag is that it’s not free, but it’ll help you fit that expenditure into your budget.


Emma
We’re very much enjoying that a lot of these apps are named after women. Women do run the world after all. And Emma is helping you do it one subscription at a time. The app is designed to filter out any subscriptions that aren’t needed, like that overpriced make-up subscription you drunkenly signed up for in lockdown. Or The Spectator subscription you opted in for but never read. The app also does all the other stuff, like setting budgets, tracking all your accounts in one place, keeping an eye on your investments and helping you to pay off debt.
Revolut
When you’re planning your travels for the end of this year (here’s hoping), it’s also a good idea to plan your spending too. You don’t want to book a trip to Portugal only to realise you don’t have enough money to enjoy any of the restaurants when you get there. Revolut is a digital-only bank that helps you save and budget, much like its competitors Monzo and Starling Bank. The key to this is that there are no additional spending charges when you go abroad, you can withdraw cash fee-free and it comes with breakdowns of everything you are spending.


Splitwise
Splitwise is a free cost-splitting app that allows you to divvy up bills between friends. The app keeps a running total of what is owed and then works out the percentage of who owes what to whom. They also send out reminders at the end of each month, so you don’t have to feel awkward sending people reminders.
Lloyds
One of the best mobile banking apps, Lloyds has the handy tool that allows you to temporarily freeze your card – perfect for planning ahead before a night out without fearing going into an overdraft after getting carried away and buying a round of Negronis.
