A Chinese city has a special pedestrian lane for mobile users. It makes sense to have one as these days we are glued to our phone screens as they have everything we need. Before someone raises a problem, there’s already an app out to solve it.
Money management may seem like a mammoth task at times but someone out there has already come up with apps that make the process smooth like butter.
Here is a look at the five ways you can manage your day to day finances using money management apps.
1: Apps to track income and expenses: You may have the best financial plan, but it’s not effective if you aren’t actively tracking your earnings against your expenses. With apps you can keep an eye on your income, assets, cards and investments with ease. All you need to do is just enter your income and expenses manually and it will generate a graph analyzing your spending habits. Some payment apps provide auto-generated reports too which requires no manual entry. Splitwise is a popular app in this category. It also helps with splitting payments between friends and different budget categories.
2: Third party payments made easy by banking apps: Mobile banking apps are not just easy payment gateways in your Smartphone. They are loaded with immensely useful features as well. For example, using Axis Bank’s PingPay app, you can send or request for mobile money or recharge your mobile using Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, SMS or e-mail. So, you carry not just banking, but the whole banking industry in your pocket.
3: Managing payments with mobile wallets: Instead of using payment gateways for every online purchase, opting for a mobile wallet is convenient and comes with some discounts too. Money from the wallet can be used for any payments. Using a mobile wallet is completely safe as no bank account or card information needs to be shared with the websites. Wallets are offered by both, banks as well as private players. Some popular names are Pockets by ICICI, Chillr by HDFC, Oxigen, Paytm etc.
4: Apps to track investments: Are you a forgetful person and often lose track of your bill payment dates? If you need reminders for bill payments and are finding it difficult to maintain a record of your various monthly bills, you can use a bill reminder app. Bills reminder by Handy apps is a popular app in this category. Once you enter your bill payment schedules, it will automatically remind you of the payment 5 days before the due date. You can also setup recurring bill reminders. All paid bills, invoices and receipts can be kept for future reference to track your bill payment history.
5: Apps acting like unique payment gateways: There are mobile money management apps that work like unique payment gateways, managing all your bank accounts. MyUniverse app, for example, collects information about all your bank accounts, investments and tracks your overall financial goals and expenses. Such apps not only helps to track expenses, but also act as a single window for all money transactions – be it a mutual fund investment, an insurance payment, card payment, mobile bill payment or to keep an eye on your expenses in various categories for a month or a year.
Things to take care of while using money management apps:
Here is a look at things to keep in mind when using mobile money management apps.
- Do not overly rely on mobile apps: Most of the money management apps come with a generic financial goal and response. While some apps do allow you to create a personalized plan, reviewing your financial situation manually still holds paramount significance. For best results, use both manual planning and money management apps to reach your financial goals.
- Avoid fake apps: As mobile applications get smarter and gain popularity, there is an increased risk of fake apps. Fraudsters have replicated popular apps as their new tool for financial fraud. Before using any mobile money app, check its credibility, background of the maker and rating in the mobile marketplace or play store. Also, avoid clicking on any ad pop ups in the money management apps to protect your data.
- Protect information if phone is stolen or lost: A big downside to using mobile money management apps is that you are always at risk if your phone is lost or gets stolen. To avoid any security breach, it is a good idea to invest in an anti spy software or app locks. Anti spy software can be accessed remotely, allowing you to clear all your data from any location, if ever your phone is lost or stolen. This may not ensure the safety of your device, but will make sure that no data is leaked out even if the phone is stolen.
Mobile apps can make life easier when it comes to efficient money management but they may not be able to completely replace manual financial planning.
But the newest zombie game probably seems like exactly what you need right now. Maybe we need a mobile user lane in India as well.
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