Posted 14 months ago
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Ah, the shame! Oh, the guilt!
You know what I’m talking about.
The notification from Screentime or Digital Wellbeing flashes on your screen pointing it’s accusing virtual finger at you in stern rebuke at the unholy amount of time you’ve spent on your phone in the past week. In a blind panic, you fumble with the device in a desperate bid to remove the notification before your partner sees that you averaged 8 hours & 47 minutes per day, utterly undermining your capacity to rebut next time he or she yells that you’re ALWAYS on your [expletive] PHONE!
Much has been said and written about the psychological, physical and emotional impact of excessive mobile phone use. However, we all know how integral our devices are to our lives. Think about how naked you feel if you ever leave the house without it. Shock! Horror! #screamemoji. The explosion of mobile connectivity and app technology has ushered in an era in which the number of things that we can’t do on our phones is dwindling rapidly. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that if you’re reading this (which you obviously are…), there is an 84% chance that you are doing so on a mobile device.
One area in which this holds particularly true is finances. Sure, your online betting and gaming apps may be doing their darndest to part you with your hard-earned. However, for those more intent on holding on to their cash, there’s been a vast proliferation of financial and saving apps that employ ingenious techniques to help you stay on top of your money and squirrel away a bit of a nest egg on your way to financial stability.
Speckle’s primary purpose is to provide a fair and affordable alternative to payday loans. Nevertheless, we’d much rather see a world in which people didn’t need emergency cash. With that in mind, we thought we’d take a look at a few of the best tools to start monitoring and/or saving money today that fit with your mobile, connected lifestyle:
1. Frollo
Our top pick can literally change your life. Frollo uses cutting-edge AI technology to analyse your spending habits in relation to your defined financial goals and provide you with incredibly clear feedback, tips and advice on how and where you can improve to achieve them. In addition to being able to track your spending, Frollo’s extensive online community allows you to benchmark your fiscal performance against other users, as well as access forums to exchange ideas and advice. We reckon Frollo is the best savings app out there.
2. Pocketbook
This home-grown technology syncs with your bank accounts and tracks your spending by organising it into categories for clear visibility. You can set budgets for each category, allowing you to control spending on a granular level, and receive clear notifications to let you know how you’re doing and when your bills are due. Pocketbook is a handy option for those looking to track spending without too many other bells and whistles.
3. Raiz
The App Formerly Known as Acorns is perfect for the budding investor. This popular technology provides a simple way to start your investing journey with no broker fees, minimum investment or market knowledge required. Users allocate money to an Exchange Traded Fund (EFT) with recurring or lump-sum deposits, or with the nifty option that rounds up every purchase to the nearest dollar and deposits the difference into the fund of your choice. So, let’s say your morning latte costs you $4.50, Raiz will bump it up to five bucks, and whack the additional 50 cents into the fund. It might not sound like much, but it can add up to a tidy sum over time and is pretty much completely painless. Choose from numerous funds with different risk levels, or a socially responsible fund for the woke micro-investor!
4. Cashrewards
If you’re the type that has turned online bargain hunting into an art form, then this app may be for you. Cashrewards offers canny consumers rebates with over 1200 Australian retailers, including many that you probably already frequent. Just be careful that you can’t get a better deal elsewhere even after the rebate, and that you don’t use the Cashback Rewards as a convenient excuse to indulge your online shopping habit! If you use the desktop app, it will alert you every time you’re on a participating retailer’s site for ease of use.
5. Splitwise
This one is perfect for those living in shared housing, travelling with friends, or hitting the town with your regular crew. The app will ensure that every member of the group pays their fair share, and keeps track of every IOU so that you’ll always be square. Perfect for making sure that one mate who always needs to duck off suddenly just before his or her shout rolls around isn’t let off the hook!
6. Your Bank’s App
Some of the more useful money management and savings tools are probably already in your pocket. All major banks have an app that you’re almost certainly using to keep track of your balances. The best banking apps allow you to set savings goals and track your progress. If you’re yet to explore how your bank’s app can help you manage your money, then just open it up and check it out (after you’ve finished reading this blog, of course).
There are of course many other handy apps out there, so get stuck in, and the next time your partner gets annoyed at you for your rampant mobile use, you’ll have the perfect excuse all lined up:
“I’m managing our FINANCES!”
Genius!