[Infographics] 7 Modern Tools for Managing Your Finances More Effectively

1. Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets
   
   Managing your finances, insurance plans, and investments may sound laborious, but with Excel and Sheets, you can make use of various budget-building formulas and tools for a more efficient process. Rather than creating spreadsheets from scratch, you can get started right away with these free, downloadable, plug-and-play spreadsheets:
   
   
   • Vertex42 Budget Templates
   • The Balance’s Best Budget Spreadsheets
   • Budget Planner Worksheet
   • Free Household Budget Spreadsheets
     
     Pros: They are highly accessible with free, customizable templates. Also, there are handy functions that provide data analysis and financial forecasting solutions suited to your needs.
     
     Cons: Mistakes are easily made when importing data into complex or unfamiliar spreadsheets. Also, it can be too complicated for those who only need a quick way to record expenses.
      
2. BlueCoins
   
   BlueCoins allows you to seamlessly sync and access your financial data across multiple devices. To help you better manage your finances, it provides comprehensive reports that enable you to keep track of your credit cards, expenses, loans, and debts, among others. Also, it has customizable budgeting categories that allow you to view data per week, month, quarter, or year.
   
   Although you can download the app for free, to gain full access to its unique features, you must pay for a one-time premium upgrade of $8 (or the equivalent in your currency).
   
   Pros: It provides you with in-depth financial data reports that can be exported as PDF, Excel file, or HTML file. Also, it allows flexible budgeting while predicting expenses and notifying you with your remaining balance.
   
   Cons: BlueCoins’ main dashboard can be overwhelming as it features detailed information rather than simply showing a basic overview of your financial data. Another downside is that it’s only available on the Google Play Store.
   
   
3. Mint
   
   Mint is for finance newbies who want to monitor spending, track bills, and create budgets per category. With its all-in-one capabilities, you can easily link your bank, credit card, loan, and investment accounts. Plus, Mint generates valuable budgeting recommendations sorted into categories to help you identify areas where you can potentially cut back your spending.
   
   Pros: Mint allows you to consolidate all your accounts, categorize spending habits, provide real-time transaction updates, and analyze data to produce individualized financial recommendations based on your personal needs. It also alerts you of unusual spending and monthly bills.
   
   Cons: Mint regularly notifies its users with credit card offers and other services—while this can be helpful to some, it can be a nuisance to others. Also, Mint has recently discontinued its bills payment feature, but you can still add and track your bills.
   
   Aside from its web interface, Mint is also available for iOS and Android.
   
   
4. Goodbudget
   
   Goodbudget is based on the envelope system—without the need for actual envelopes. This digital tool allows you to monitor your monthly income by dividing your budget into categories. In having separate virtual envelopes, you can split your budget into specific areas, including bills, groceries, transportation, and medical expenses, among others.
   
   Goodbudget is ideal for people who, more often than not, deal with cash and is into a more traditional and straightforward budgeting program to avoid overspending.
   
   Pros: With handy reminders, Goodbudget puts an end to impulsive spending. It also allows you to portion off your income months in advance and create up to 20 different envelopes.
   
   Cons: The envelope budgeting system requires discipline in strictly following the set budget per category. Plus, unless you create a specific envelope for your emergency funds, unforeseen expenses might not be taken into account.
   
   Goodbudget is available on the web and as a mobile app on the App Store and Google Play.
   
   
5. Money Lover
   
   Money Lover offers a wide range of valuable functionalities to help you manage your money with efficiency. You can plot and track your expenses, link your bank accounts, create different wallets, attach photos, set transaction reminders, and get informative financial reports. At its core, it is both a digital wallet and a savings planner.
   
   Pros: One of Money Lover’s unique features is that it enables you to link certain types of cryptocurrencies. It also helps you stop overspending with separate wallets—just like in Goodbudget—and reminds you of scheduled bills payments to avoid overdue fines.
   
   Cons: With various functionalities, it might take some time to get the hang of all the functions Money Lover offers. The app also comes with a lot of ads that may interfere with your experience.
   
   Money Lover is available on the web, on the Windows App Store, and as a mobile app on Google Play and App Store.
   
   
6. You Need A Budget (YNAB)
   
   You Need A Budget (YNAB) helps you budget your income to reach specific financial goals, be it for vacation, housing loan, or education expenses. You can successfully save up for a particular expense by linking your bank accounts, allocating a certain amount of your income into categories, and sticking to your budget.
   
   Pros: YNAB provides you with a useful list of preset spending categories to get you started, and a Debt Payoff function that allows you to monitor and clear out your debts. In case of unexpected expenses, YNAB helps you reorganize your finances and get back on track with its built-in Accountability Partner feature.
   
   Cons: Although it seems like the perfect budgeting tool, it doesn’t come without a downside: YNAB is only free for two months. After that, you are required to purchase the premium version of the app.
   
   YNAB is available on the web and as a mobile app on App Store and Google Play.
   
   
7. Wally
   
   Designed for people who are always on the go, Wally is both a budget tracker and a lifestyle app that treats your expenses as experiences. Rather than manually logging every transaction, Wally can automatically categorize each expense and identify the venue where it took place through GPS integration on your phone. Now, you can manage your finances with convenience.
   
   Pros: Aside from the banner with your remaining budget on the main page, you can also allow the app to alert you whenever you reach a certain savings goal through smart notifications.
   
   Cons: Although the app offers a scanning feature for receipts, it may not be as reliable. Another downside is that for you to fully maximize all the other features of Wally, you are required to purchase the premium version of the app.
   
   Wally is available on the App Store and Google Play.

While the pen and paper approach can be effective, integrating a digital tool to complement this traditional money-management solution can help you reach your financial goals with convenience. Jumpstart your budgeting makeover with the right tools by reaching out to a Bancassurance Sales Executive at any of our 900 BPI branches today!