Managing personal finances is different from managing the finances of a business. However, personal finance management is also important because we need to control our spending and save for our goals and aspirations.
Saving is something that we all need to do. To develop a regular habit of saving, it is usually helpful to have a structure for your spending. This is where financial management and budgeting have a role to play. And yes, these terms apply to all of us, not just companies and businesses.
Personal Finance Management
When money comes into play, most people feel that it’s just about numbers and how much they make in a period. This approach is both simplistic and ignores a basic point, how you think about money is very important.
There are several steps you can take to get set for some long-term wealth building. Ignore how large (or small) your paycheck is and focus on making your savings account larger. Make this a conscious thought process. Takes steps to develop a healthy mindset aligned toward personal finances.
Managing your personal finances is just a way of listing down where your money goes, and it helps to identify areas where you may be spending money or where you can reduce spending. Do you have money troubles by the end of the month? Or have to cancel plans because of a cash shortage? Or end up with less cash than you anticipated? Or do you need a sizable amount of money in the next year?
This makes you a prime candidate for budgeting and financial management. Both are just methods used to keep track of your money and watch where it is going. Budgeting lets you get a grip on your finances and helps manage your earnings better.
Going through a financial management exercise on your spending is about seeing how much money you earn, where you spend it, and assessing if you are doing it right or reworking your expenditures to match your goals.
This is where financial management apps help to make informed financial decisions. We list the most useful apps available on Android and Apple play stores.
1. Hysab Kytab
The only app that is developed in Pakistan. Hysab Kytab is a money-saving app that lets users set financial goals, develop a budget, offer review charts, and track expenses. The best thing about Hysab Kytab is the simplified visuals of spending that it offers users. These visuals are simple to understand, and users can easily see where their money is going. It also helps show where users went off track.
2. Wallet
The Wallet is a financial management app that supports multiple currencies. The app is good to use as it highlights high or risky financial decisions. It also links with banking apps to track minor spending and charges. The more advanced features require a subscription, but most features are free to use.
3. Pocket Guard
Pocket Guard is another money management app that links with mobile banking apps and tracks purchases, payables, and bills. It also offers comparative budgeting month to month helps to track previous expenses. The app also offers estimates about how and what you should spend and shows what spending will push you out of budget.
4. Home Budget With Sync
Suppose you manage household expenses with your spouse or other family members. In that case, Home Budget with Sync is an app that allows multiple users to manage household finances by keeping track of their purchases. This way, the user can review their spending to make the right changes to save money.
The home budget has a family sharing feature that coordinates purchases and expenses of the whole household. This makes it easier for a multiple member household to follow the household budget. It also shares where and what spending heads need to be cut down to meet the budget. This app helps multiple users follow a set budget and manage group funds as the users decide. The app offers individual budget options to let people manage their private funds in the same app.
5. Honeydue
Honeydue is another budget app that is good for multiple users. It is marketed as an app for couples to manage their finances jointly,but it can be used by housemates and family as well. It allows the tracking of all financial details like bank accounts, credit cards, loans, investments and savings. People can limit which information they wish to share with their partners.
The app helps users track their monthly expenses and savings and can be designed to send an alert when bills are due or if an expense head is going over budget.
It also offers a chat option to discuss issues with other people using the app.
Almost every money management app offers the option of tracking incomes and expenses, some version of spending analysis of the past period and suggestions on how to manage better for future ones
Instead of finding an app that will give you the best result, the first step for financial management and awareness is to download any app and start using it.
Sadia Zaheer holds a Masters in Business Administration from IBA, Karachi. After working in several financial institutions in Client Management, Corporate Lending, Islamic Banking and Product Management she jumped careers to pursue a career in writing.
She is a Finance, Business and HR Development writer with four years of experience. She reads a lot and takes care of her multiple cats to remain calm.
