DID YOU KNOW: the first phone with a calculator was the IBM Simon introduced in 1992. Fast forward today; it is impossible to imagine using a phone that has no calculator.
And I bet there’s at least one mobile app in your phone now that is related to banking, saving, or budgeting.
After all, Australians lead the world in using smartphones to do banking.
But do you still feel that you can do better in organising your finances? When it comes to choosing a money tracking app in Australia, there are many options available now.
Top 7 Mobile Budgeting Tools in Australia
1. MoneyBrilliant
MoneyBrilliant allows you to create a budget, see your expenditures broken down into several categories (e.g. gas or food) and visualise your net worth based on your assets and liabilities.
It also comes with personalised insights and has a ‘safe spending’ feature that will analyse your income and payables to tell you how much you should spend on a specific day.
You can also link several accounts into this app, such as your bank account, mortgage account, credit card, insurance, and even superannuation.
MoneyBrilliant is available as a free-to-download app in Apple App Store or Google Play, but you can upgrade to a premium plan.
2. Goodbudget
Are you a fan of the classic envelope system, but you don’t mind joining the trend? Perhaps Goodbudget is a suitable app for you.
With virtual envelopes, this app allows you to divide your money into different categories and only spend out of the designated envelope.
Unlike MoneyBrilliant, you can’t link your bank accounts in this app. But this can be attractive if you don’t want to share your bank details.
You can download a free version of Goodbudget, but there’s a premium version that allows unlimited envelopes and the ability to use the app on different devices.
3. Frollo
Frollo is mainly a banking app that connects your bank accounts, mortgages, and even retirement accounts from hundreds of financial organisations in Australia.
With this app, you can easily read real-time data from an open banking system, but you can also use it as a budgeting tool or money manager.
You can automatically categorise your spending, and there’s also a bill tracking feature that will notify you of due dates.
Frollo is available to download for free via Google Play or Apple App Store.
4. WiseList
WiseList is an innovative budgeting app that can help you save money during checkout.
The app allows you to make your shopping list then compare item prices from different stores.
The shopping list can be shared among different members, and you can send alerts for specific items when they are available.
It also comes with a bill management feature that allows you to capture images of your bills, instantly reads essential information and sends you an alert when it is due.
WiseList is available to download for free via Google Play and Apple App Store.
5. Pocketbook
Pocketbook is designed to offer you a better view of your finances by connecting several saving accounts or financial accounts from various financial organisations all in one app.
With features such as spending reports and categorisation, you can see precisely your cash flow, and you can also set saving goals and manually enter your budgets.
Pocketbook can also help you transfer money to the correct account in time to pay for bills or recurring expenses.
You can download Pocketbook for free via Google Play or Apple App Store.
6. ATO App
The mobile app of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) can help you manage your income and expenses. It is also recommended for a small business that needs to organise its tax transactions.
The ATO App has the myDeductions feature that you can use to monitor your personal or business expenses throughout the year.
You can download this government app for free via Google Play or Apple App Store.
7. GetReminded
GetReminded is a recently launched mobile app that might help you save thousands of dollars annually by sending you alerts when your bills and household contracts are near expiration.
But more importantly, the app will help you find new ones to compare so you can find a cheaper option.
Other features include annual cost summaries for your bills and household contracts and multiple automated notifications ahead of time.
The app was introduced in 2020, but more than 60,000 Australians already downloaded it as this writing.
GetReminded is free to download via Apple Play.
What Are Your Thoughts?
So which mobile app would you choose to help you in budgeting your money? Or are you currently using an app that has helped you stay sane in organising your finances? Share us in the comments section below!