Which App Should I Use For Budgeting?

Have you ever checked your bank account just before payday and thought: “Huh, did I really spend that much?” Let’s be honest, many of us have said these exact words at least a couple of times in our lives. 

While it is alright to occasionally reward yourself, it goes without saying that spending your disposable income should generally be done in moderation.

Fortunately, with the various money management and budgeting apps currently available, you can keep tabs on your expenditure so that you don’t end up going overboard with your spending. We have compiled some of the most convenient and helpful budgeting apps that you can look up so that you will never have to stress over your spending habits.

Expensify

Price: Free up to 25 smart scans per month
Paid Features: US$5/month. Extra features such as smart limits, tax tracking, and more

This payments app that helps individuals and businesses around the world simplify the way they manage their money. It offers a unique one-click receipt and expense tracking system. All you have to do is take a photo of a receipt and move on. 

Expensify automatically reads and transcribes the receipt data which is then added to an easily tracked expense report. Expensify also makes it easy to scan, record, and send invoices and bills, reducing the tedium if you ever need to split the bill with friends!

Money Manager

Price: US$2.49/month

Developed by Realbyte Inc, Money Manager allows users to record personal and business financial transactions, generate spending reports, review financial data on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and manage assets with the use of an intuitive spending tracker and budget planner. 

This app leans towards the business side of things, but can also be used for personal financing and budgeting. It is recommended for those who want a more detailed and professional summary of their finances.

Goodbudget

Price: Free up to 20 envelopes
Paid Features: US$8/month. Additional envelopes, device installations, and more

Goodbudget aims to keep your budgeting needs on track by digitising a tried and true method, the envelope budgeting system. This works by making envelopes for all your budgeting categories – rent, groceries, eating out, etc. After that, you set aside money up front in each envelope to spend based on categories. 

Not only does this app have features to help you save and plan for big expenditures, it allows you to sync and share budgets with family and friends so that your entire social group can work towards a financial goal.

Fast Budget

Price: €13.99/month

The Fast Budget Expense Manager app enables you to manage your personal finances and track your money, expenses and budget more easily. It allows you to customise your accounts to an extensive degree, providing users with a range of helpful charts that keep track of your expenses. It even has an entire segment dedicated to credit cards. Simply input credit limits, interest rates, due dates as well as any charges to the card and the program will help you keep an eye on when repayments are due. 

PocketGuard

Price: Free for basic features
Paid Features: US$4.99/month.  Custom categories, extended transaction histories, and more

PocketGuard’s features revolve around optimising expenditure. The app will crunch the numbers to now just show you how much you are spending or saving, but also how much spendable cash you have left after setting aside money for the essentials. A simple but effective reporting system helps you to easily identify where you are spending too much so that you can cut-back where necessary. To make things easier to keep track of, PocketGuard also lets you link your banks, credit cards, loans & investment in one place.

Spendee

Price: Free up to one budget account and wallet
Paid Features: US$2.99/month. Unlimited budget accounts and wallets, shared wallets and more

Spendee is a free budgeting app that allows you to track your spending and optimise your finances. It is especially useful for personal use to keep track of family and social group expenditure. Not only can Spendee be linked to your HSBC or Maybank accounts, all payments can be categorised by location as well. The app also supports a number of different currencies, making it an excellent choice for digital nomads and tourists. In terms of usability, Spendee is among the most flexible with a very user-friendly interface.

YNAB

Price: US$14.99/month with 34-day free trial

Short for “You Need A Budget”, YNAB believes that by giving reason and intention to your every Ringgit, you can gain an ever greater understanding and control over your spending. YNAB operates on a four rule method. These rules include: give every dollar a job, embrace your true expenses, roll with the punches, and age your money. This allows users to pay off debt, manage spending, save more, and build wealth using a centralised budgeting system. Rather than discourage you from spending, the app focuses more on highlighting how much disposable income you can comfortably spend.

Monefy

Price: Free for basic budgeting features
Paid Features: RM129.99/year. Multiple accounts, backup data, Google Drive synchronisation, and more

The Monefy app emphasises intuitiveness and ease-of-use. Their key feature lies in reducing the time you need to keep track of your budget to mere seconds. This is done with a simple and intuitive process that tracks essential expenses right from the start, skipping much of the time-consuming process of setting up your expenditures. If you are looking for a quick and efficient budgeting app with little input on your end, then Monefy might be for you.

You can also try using our iMoney Budget Calculator to find out what’s really going on with your money. It is a free tool and is simple and easy to use to help quickly summarise your monthly income and budget allocation, condensed into one convenient report. It even offers some effective tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your budget.

 

This is by no means an exhaustive list of available budgeting apps. For example, many of the major banks in Malaysia also offer their own budget tracker to their customers, like Bank Rakyat’s TouchStyle and Maybank’s MAE.

In fact there are dozens more available on the market that can help you get your finances sorted. If you are not sure how to get started, a good place to start would be through the creation of your own budget and financial checklist. You can try using the iMoney budget planner and expense tracker to help kickstart your future money management strategy.