The best finance apps available for mobile

You had a really great weekend…

You’re checking your bank account. Stomach churns. “Did I really spend that much money?”. Rude word. “I really need to start being more responsible with my finances”.

We’ve all been there.

I’m going to share with you some tools that will help you a) spend less money, b) save more money.

Below are the top 8 finance apps for iPhone and Android that I’ve come across this year. Some will help you with budgeting, others will help with day-to-day finances.

Number 1: Xpenser
Number 2: HomeBudget (for iPhone)
Number 3: Easy Money (for Android)
Number 4: Meal Split (for iPhone)
Number 5: IOU Pro
Number 6: Pennies (for iPhone)
Number 7: Ebay
Number 8: Paypal

This app blew me away. I’m in awe of how savvy my life could be with this app. And it’s free!

Basic function: Records daily expenditure. It’s actually an employee expense software but you can ignore that section.

Is this for me? If you’re someone who looks at your bank statement at the end of the week and wonders where your money went (because you swear you didn’t spend that much money), this is the app for you. The mobile app enables you to quickly enter an expense into your phone (maybe you just had a coffee) and then instantly send it to an online account. This account is accessible from anywhere (it’s just like an email account; with a username and password).

I think the problem with some mobile apps is that you just forget about them. They end up on your phone… somewhere between the 2nd and 4th screen… you’re not really sure. Apps can become boring. This app isn’t. It’s designed so that you submit your expenses during the day (via a variety of different channels) and then you check them out online that night.

Why so cool? Because you can submit expenses on a bunch of different channels! You can email in an expense. You can instant message in an expense. You can even Tweet in an expense. You can also text or call in an expense (but it’s not available in Australia, yet).

How does it work? Here are 4 ways to send in an expense.

Mobile app (it’s called Fresh Xpense): Enter the amount and press save.
Email: The subject of the email should be the expense you are recording. For example: “Banana $17 Coles, bargain“. Send it to: e@xpenser.com for expenses without receipts & r@xpenser.com for expenses with receipts.
Instant message: IM your expenses to xpenserbot (xpenserbot@hotmail.com for MSN, xpenserbot@gmail.com for Google Talk). For example: “yoga $12 with mum”
Tweet: Start your tweet with ‘d xpn’. For example: “d xpn breakfast 3.5 with Husband Chad”

Once you have submitted your expenses, log into your account. The expenses will be listed (see below). Ideally you should set up your account online before you start sending in expenses. That way you can create your own categories (food, bills, entertainment) and reports (August, September..). That way your expenses will be ordered nicely for you to look at that night.

X-factor: Key words. When sending in an expense you can use key words to indicate certain information. For example, if you remember an expense you had last Monday but forgot to record it you can say ‘date last wed’ in the ‘Notes’ section. You can find more key words in the ‘Keywords’ section of your account.

More info for iPhone
More info for Android

This is a great all-rounder. If you want to see your incoming cash flow and expenses all in one place, this one’s for you. I downloaded the free version but it only stores 10 expenses so I expect you’ll need the full version to use this app properly.

Basic function: Budget generator. It records your income and expenses (even reoccurring ones) and shows you how your finances are going to be distributed.

Is it for me? If you’re looking for some budgeting assistance but aren’t too concerned about recording day-to-day expenses, this one’s for you. Compared to Xpenser (above), it is not as quick and easy to enter in an expense (such as coffee) so it may become a pain if you had to enter 10 different expenses in for one day.

How does it work? Enter your income, expenses and account balance (you need to keep updating your account balance). You’ll see a breakdown of where your money is going and how much you can save.

X-factor: It has the option to enter reoccurring expenses (which was hard to find in other apps). Also, if you pay for the full version it comes with a sync function so you can sync it with your partner’s phone.

More info

This app is similar to the HomeBudget (above) but is a little more involved.
Basic function: It does pretty much everything. But if I had to say one thing it does well, it tracks expenses (business expenses, personal expenses, travel expenses etc) and income.

Is it for you? If you are looking for a detailed app that will record you expenses, income, view reports, export reports, set monthly budgets and do pretty much do everything, this one’s for you.

Why so cool?

It has fully customizable categories.
You can take photos of bills and receipts.
It tracks upcoming bills.
You can even set up repeating transactions between accounts.

X-factor: There is a 4-digit security pin to keep your information safe.

More info

Ever been to dinner with a group of friends and had trouble working out who pays what? It can get awkward. Who was drinking? Who wasn’t? How much is $670 divided by 7.5, minus 2 drinks, plus Sandra had extra, minus Tim who didn’t drink at all? Too hard. This is a nifty little app that will separate food from drink, and designated drivers from the boozy bunch at the end of the table.

Initially this app comes across as slightly primitive-looking. But it works perfectly and I’m actually starting to like its awkward look.

Does Jenny still owe you for lunch last week? There is only one thing worse than being owed money, and that’s owing money. This app will take care of both.

Basic Function: Track what you owe, and what others owe you.
This savvy app allows you to record when you spotted Jimmy for lunch or when you had to grab a box of 500 pens for work. It also enables you to track partial payments (Jimmy could only pay you $5 today but will give you the rest next week).

How does it work? You simply add an entry (name, amount, loaned or borrowed – very simple). You can even track an item you’ve borrowed, like a book.

X-factor: If Jimmy happens to have 5 Euros lying around, you can enter that in and it will do the conversion.

More info

There is a similar version available for iPhone called Moneybags IOU.

A super simple, quick as lightning, expense recorder. This is probably the most practical app if you’re looking for something not too involved but will record all your day-to-day expenses.
Basic function: Records expenses.

How does it work? Just enter the amount ($3.50?), select a category (food?) and press ‘save’.
This guy has a great video that steps you through it visually. It’s very self explanatory so you shouldn’t have much trouble if you sit down and play around with it.

Why so cool? The design is great. It feels good to use. I can imagine incorporating it into my life.

X-Factor: It has a funky fuel gauge that indicates how much money you have left!

More info

On the other end of the savings spectrum is spending. This app is closer to the spending end.
Basic Function: Buy things (or sell things) off Ebay.

Is it for me? I don’t recommend this app if you’re on a tight budget or trying to build your savings. Warning: This app will tempt you into spending. On the flip side, if you’re looking to buy something and need to find it second hand (second hand = cheaper), then the Ebay app is super handy. Also, you can sell things on Ebay! Why not dig up some things you never use and sell them as… vintage?

How does it work? Step 1: Search for item. Step 2: Place a bid. Step 3: There is no step three. Super simple. You’ll just need to make sure you set up an Ebay account before you install the app (if you haven’t already got one).

Why so cool? Not only can you buy things on Ebay, you can also sell things. Simply upload your item via the app (even take a picture with your mobile camera) and you’re set. The app also sends you notifications for items that have received bids.

X-factor: People love this app. It received 4 stars on both iTunes and the Android Market (from 162,292 and 69,302 people respectively). It must be good!

More info for iPhone.
More info for Android.

This app is my favourite at the moment. I’m going to review this app in a perfect world, where everyone has a Paypal account (which I believe will happen very soon).

Basic Function: Transfer money between people.

Is it for me? Yes, it is free and if everyone had one, life would be a whole bunch smoother.

How does it work? You’ve gone out to dinner with friends, but the restaurant won’t allow split bills. No one has cash. It’s no problem, everyone pulls out their mobile and transfers you their part of the bill – then you pay it. Or imagine this. George needed new shoes yesterday and forgot his wallet. You grabbed him a pair on your lunch break but George didn’t have any cash to pay you back. You pull out your phone and request $76 via a text message, then George quickly replies with $78 ($2 for labour) via Paypal.

Why so cool? Transferring money is quick and easy. You can use text messaging to remind people they owe you and request payments.

X-factor: There is a fantastic meal splitter where you can adjust amounts for each person – and then send them a text message requesting that amount. Amazing!
More info for iPhone
More info for Android