Show me the money

Growing up is a pain. Not only do you have to shoulder a lot of responsibilities, you also have to keep your finances in order. And most of us have a lot of those to deal with — bills, taxes, different accounts, IOUs, loans, EMIs, you name it. Here are a few apps that may make life a little easier for you when it comes to the cash.

Splitwise

Splitwise is a great app when you have to split bills with friends or roommates — for the groceries, the rent, a meal, that new table you guys just had to have. Once you enter the expenses you’ve paid, the calculator tells you how much you owe your friends or how much they owe you. The app also sends you reminder emails, ranging from polite to snarky, depending on the urgency of the bill. The makers of the app are, in fact, working on a way to automate payments, which would then make things even easier.

Expensify

By far the best business travel expense app in the current market, Expensify makes calculating your expenditure very easy. All you have to do is take a picture of your receipt and select a report to which to add the expense, saving you the trouble of entering and adding all of it manually. You can even do mileage entry by entering distances, using the phone’s GPS and clicking a picture of your odometer. My favourite feature is that you can sync your bank card with the app, so even if you lose a receipt, the transaction will be automatically entered. It’s quick, fairly painless, and gets you one up on your company HR. Got to take your thrills where you can get them, eh?

BillGuard

BillGuard is basically your card police. It informs you of any unusual or suspicious activity taking place in your account, catching a wannabe hacker or dishonest merchant almost immediately. All you have to do is check if your bank supports the use of BillGuard and you have a great budgeting and money-monitoring app in your pocket.

Spendee

Spendee helps you keep track of your personal finances, eliminating the need for a million spreadsheets, post-its or calculators. The app analyses your income and expenditure, showing where and how you can budget your expenses in the form of clear infographics. You can even export data to your Google Drive for use at a later date.

MoneyWise

MoneyWise is another excellent budget-tracking app, in fact one of the best ones out there. My favourite feature is its biggest plus point — it can be used offline. You can create expense accounts, enter daily transactions, classify expenses, and monitor your account balance. The app gives you a thorough, comprehensive look at your finances and helps you plan and make better economic decisions.