Written in conjunction with Hippo.co.za 

No matter what time of year it is, monthly budgeting can be a tricky task. You might have thought you’d budgeted perfectly, but things can happen unexpectedly, and you can end up spending far more than what you’d wanted to when you initially worked out your budget at the beginning of the month. You might have run out of your Medical Aid savings for example, and you unexpectedly need a trip to the dentist. If you share a house or flat with a partner or friends, things become even trickier as it’s easy to lose track of who’s bought what and when. Luckily in the age of everything mobile, there are a number of apps available to make this part of adulting that much easier. Written in collaboration with Hippo.co.za, here are four top apps that can help you manage your budget more wisely.

Mint

Mobile operating system: iOS & Android
Price: Free
Available here & here

An extremely popular personal finance app, with over 10 million users to date, Mint is a financial management tool that records and tracks all your data in one place so that you don’t have to. Features include bill payment alerts and reminders, tracking of all bank accounts and investments, low fund warnings, alerts on suspicious transactions, budget creation based on personal spending patterns, a free credit report and goal setting. The app has the ability to grab all of your data and create graphs for those who like to track their financials over a period of time.

Goodbudget

Mobile operating system: iOS & Android
Price: Free
Available here & here

Perfect for those who live in a houseshare, or for couples splitting expenses, Goodbudget is a simple platform with the main functions of budgeting and expense tracking. The app allows all information to be shared amongst all involved parties from multiple devices, with each being able to upload and edit the budget accordingly. Transactions are added manually, and can be categorised according to what was bought. Inputting your salary will also allow you to see how much money you have left after each purchase.

22seven

Mobile operating system: iOS & Android
Price: Free
Available here & here

Created by Old Mutual, 22seven allows you to track your bank accounts, rewards, and even  investments all in one place. The app is not exclusive to Old Mutual related accounts, enabling you to track your accounts no matter who you bank with. The app also updates to show transactions in real-time, so that you can see exactly what comes in and what goes out as soon as it happens. Whether you want to look at your finances over daily, weekly or even monthly periods, you can see exactly what is happening through the ‘spend’-ometer that shows you how much you’ve spent of your budget.

Moneysmart

Mobile operating system: Android
Price: Free
Available here & here

The first proudly South African budgeting app, Moneysmart, has been reinvented with a core focus on financial management, and not only budgeting. In order to help South Africans get through each month without running into trouble halfway through, the app calculates how much you will be able to spend daily, after your monthly bills have been deducted. With a record of your daily budget in place, you no longer have to rely on memory to not overspend. A nifty feature included is that it recalculates your daily budget if you happen to overspend on one day, making sure you still reach the end of the month within budget. While the app is still in beta, it is handy for people trying to get to grips with a new budget.

Some of the top Five Money Mistakes to Avoid can be given attention with a little bit of financial management, and these apps go a long way to making the process easier. While there are many more budgeting and financial management apps out there, these four have proven to be highly popular and useful for those looking to manage their finances a bit better.