Anybody use an App for money management?

[Guest]

Anybody use Plum or a similar app? What do you use if not?

I am looking for simpler and smarter ways to manage my salary and savings and have heard really good things about this.

Slightly nervous though of giving some IT access to my finances.

Thoughts?

[Do5-BaG]

It may just be me, but I'm not sure why people need these sort of things, and usually the people who do have one bank account with all their money pooled.

I have multiple bank accounts for different things:

1) Account for Mortgage & Bills - Mortgage, Utilities, Mobile Phone and Direct Debits
2) Account for Expenses - Food, Petrol, Car
3) Private Pensions / Bond accounts - I top these up every month or so
4) General savings account - I change this and move this about yearly for better rates
5) Personal Account - Money I can use to treat myself, anything left at the end of the month goes into my Savings Account.

Just setup a standing order for each account every month on or just after Payday, then everything should be covered and you shouldn't have to worry.

I'm also a sucker for spreadsheets, I update these again every month with all my finances to include all in & out-goings.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Originally Posted by Do5-BaG

It may just be me, but I'm not sure why people need these sort of things, and usually the people who do have one bank account with all their money pooled.

I have multiple bank accounts for different things:

1) Account for Mortgage & Bills - Mortgage, Utilities, Mobile Phone and Direct Debits
2) Account for Expenses - Food, Petrol, Car
3) Private Pensions / Bond accounts - I top these up every month or so
4) General savings account - I change this and move this about yearly for better rates
5) Personal Account - Money I can use to treat myself, anything left at the end of the month goes into my Savings Account.

Just setup a standing order for each account every month on or just after Payday, then everything should be covered and you shouldn't have to worry.

I'm also a sucker for spreadsheets, I update these again every month with all my finances to include all in & out-goings.

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I agree ref spreadsheets. I was the biggest cynic in the World ref them. I am now a convert and record everything I spend even down to a £1 in Wilko!

Certainly focuses your mind and also encourages me to be a bit more careful.

I run multiple individual savings accounts where each month I push money across to them
I even have one entitled White Goods! I have £525 in there just in case anything in the kitchen needs replacing.

[sam_b]

I use moneydashboard

[Do5-BaG]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

I agree ref spreadsheets. I was the biggest cynic in the World ref them. I am now a convert and record everything I spend even down to a £1 in Wilko!

Certainly focuses your mind and also encourages me to be a bit more careful.

I run multiple individual savings accounts where each month I push money across to them
I even have one entitled White Goods! I have £525 in there just in case anything in the kitchen needs replacing.

See more...

I think we'd get along, although we'd probably bore everyone else to death.

My girlfriend used to laugh when she moved in, she soon changed her tune when she kept asking herself where her money had gone each month, i told her to sit and make a spreadsheet for a full month and then go back and review it, you'll always find areas where you can cut back and adjust your spending/outgoings.

[Posiesmum]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

I agree ref spreadsheets. I was the biggest cynic in the World ref them. I am now a convert and record everything I spend even down to a £1 in Wilko!

Certainly focuses your mind and also encourages me to be a bit more careful.

I run multiple individual savings accounts where each month I push money across to them
I even have one entitled White Goods! I have £525 in there just in case anything in the kitchen needs replacing.

See more...

Very similar to me - I love a spreadsheet! With multiple pensions coming in at differing times of the month (albeit all into one account) it’s relatively easy to manage.
I also have several ‘secret’ savings pots where I put any monthly surplus. They are in joint names so not really secret, it’s just that my husband has no idea how to access them!

[Guest]

This is my problem. I too am a spreadsheet nerd. I have long been a fan of the Martin Lewis mini pot saving account. I do a reconciliation each month.

Was just sitting down to do June's reconciliation (the graphs give me joy). But was looking as my in current account and it's not really doing anything for me, my weekly spends bank account is ok, but that's about it.

I like some of the options in some of the online apps that rounds your spending up to nearest pound and puts balance in savings. That is what I am looking for.

I have starling as an overseas account, but I find I like it more than my actual current current account. Plus it gives me interest.

The cons of plum and similar to me is that they operate via Facebook messenger and I'm not on facebook.

Also not altogether sold on the e-wallet side of things.

Does Monzo do round up if plum doesn't?

[Guest]

Originally Posted by sam_b

I use moneydashboard

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Not heard of this one - thank you. Will have a look.

[sam_b]

To anyone who is a spreadsheet fanatic - why wouldn’t you love a system like this?
I can only comment on moneydashboard.com but it’s amazing. It brings in all of your financial transactions and categorises them - every single debit and credit from every account ... You get graphs, trackers, planners etc etc.

It’s on your phone/tablet or laptop so easily accessible...

It’s like going from a notebook to Excel - this is the next step!

[Scaramouche]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

I agree ref spreadsheets. I was the biggest cynic in the World ref them. I am now a convert and record everything I spend even down to a £1 in Wilko!

Certainly focuses your mind and also encourages me to be a bit more careful.

I run multiple individual savings accounts where each month I push money across to them
I even have one entitled White Goods! I have £525 in there just in case anything in the kitchen needs replacing.

See more...

I also do this. We have 3 savings accounts for the wedding (venue, suppliers and general savings. That’s the one for buying things like dresses/suits). We have one for holiday. I have one for a bit of money I was gifted. I have a separate account for food, a separate one for fuel and a separate one for parking.

The wedding ones are joint savings and our bills account is joint.

I have a savings account for Christmas and at the moment two “spare” ones that are empty. These will be used after the wedding for car replacements and house replacements. The wedding accounts will probably turn into house and holiday savings.

We have spreadsheets. I have a basic one for what we HAVE to pay for every month. Then I add on specific expenses for that month - IE, we’ve just spent the weekend in london so we held back extra money for that.

We have one for the wedding - big holidays we’ll also usually have one for.

I also keep a spending tracker. It’s all very OCD I’ll agree. However the amount we can save when we actually put our minds to it is amazing.

I would never use an app. Every day we log into our accounts and move the pennies and sometimes pounds over to savings. It’s money we don’t notice.