Financial apps to help you hit your goals

The Bank has no affiliation or arrangement with the following apps, and does not encourage sharing your banking credentials with third party apps or aggregators due to the increased risk of fraud. In the near future, The Bank will be implementing the Open Banking scheme. This will provide the legal framework and technical infrastructure for members to use third party apps and aggregators with their data protected.

Because knowledge and discovery are important to us too, UniBank have created this article to make managing your finances easier.

Personal finance apps can connect with your bank account and help you keep up with your spending, track upcoming bill payments and keep up with your credit score and investment portfolio. The best personal finance apps provide several different features (email reminders, bill due dates, track subscriptions, shared wallets, etc.) for managing your overall finances.

 Here are three excellent apps that can help you manage all aspects of your personal finances.

Pocketbook

At the time of writing, more than 800,000 Australians have downloaded Pocketbook, an app that allows your phone to link to and sync with your Australian bank accounts, no matter how many you have and what kind they are. Whether you’re purchasing something using your credit card from one bank or everyday savings account from another, Pocketbook gives you a birds’ eye view of your money so you can track exactly how much you’re spending on categories such as groceries, clothes, and fuel. It then lets you budget for each category, and sends you notifications when any account fees are charged. What’s more, its handy Safely Spend feature gives you a running average of your regular discretionary spend so you know at any time just how much you can afford to allocate to things like drinks, dinners, groceries, etc. without going over the top. 

Price: Free.

Available for: Apple and Android.

 YNAB

If there ever was a comprehensive budgeting app to help you take control of your finances, this is most definitely it. YNAB – which stands for You Need A Budget – is an award-winning system accessible across every single one of your devices to help you effectively give every dollar you earn a specific job. It helps you direct where you’d like your money to go and plan ahead so you’re never left reaching for your credit card when an unforeseen bill arrives. By sticking to the plan and the budget, YNAB helps you become debt free. The app also comes with an extensive support system and network so you can become a lot more financially literate on your journey to a life free of stress from debt. In fact, YNAB has reported its customers on average save over $6,000 in their first year of using the app according to a 2017 customer survey.

Price: $84/year with a no-obligation, no credit-card sign up to their 34-day free trial period.

Available for: Apple, Android, Windows

Good Budget

This budget app uses a virtual version of the old-fashioned envelope system to help you budget your money.

You make envelopes for all your budgeting categories – rent, groceries, eating out, date night, etc. After that, you set aside money up front in each envelope to spend based on categories and not your account balance.

It’s a way to plan your spending instead of just tracking your spending.

It’s simple to use and effective and the free version of GoodBudget will most likely be sufficient for your needs.

The app allows you to track expenses, monitor savings goals, sync with your partner, monitor cash flow and analyse spending patterns.

While this app isn’t Australia specific, Australians can use it and it is one of the most popular budgeting apps on the web.

*Note: if you prefer NOT to link your bank accounts to an app, then this is the app to try.

Price: Free.

Available for: Apple and Android

This article was adapted from an original article written by Angelica Hannan. Angelica is an educator of more than fifteen years with postgraduate qualifications in both gifted and international education. Born in Sydney, she now lives and works at an international school in Tokyo. She is also a writer and researcher with a strong interest in sustainability, ethical markets, behavioural economics, and progressive education systems.

*This article is for general information only. We have not considered your personal situations. You should consider whether the information is appropriate before acting on it.