The days when you needed a personal computer to manage your money are ending. Today’s Android devices run a growing number of apps that perform financial functions from calculating tips to managing your budget.
Check
There are apps that’ll alert you automatically when bills are due. Check goes a step beyond automatic alerts because it automatically pays bills. If you’ve used online banking on your computer to pay bills, you have an idea of how this works.
You create the account and set up payment recipients, dates, amounts, and source accounts. The concept is the same with Check, except you do it on your phone. You’ll discover that Check has many vendors in its system. You won’t need to enter them from scratch. Payment processing is as secure as if you were using online banking.
Financial Calculators
Sometimes, you don’t need a full-blown financial management tool. You just need to answer a quick money-related question such as how much to tip your server or the total cost of that sweet financing deal your car salesperson pushes. That’s why there are Financial Calculators. They’re a convenient tool that’s useful either by themselves or with more comprehensive financial management apps.
This app bundles calculators that fit financial situations such as tip calculation, currency exchange rates, credit card payoff, retirement, and auto loans. It doesn’t forget the regular calculator. Even better, you can use all but one of these calculators in airplane mode. The currency converter requires online access to use the latest exchange rates.
Google Wallet
Leaving your wallet at home when shopping is no longer a disaster, as long as you have your phone and the Google Wallet app. Google Wallet puts your debit card, credit card, and loyalty card information all together. When you shop with a participating merchant, you just use the app to select the payment method and credit your loyalty card.
If your phone supports Near Field Communication (NFC), it makes a wireless transaction. If your phone doesn’t support NFC, get a Google Wallet Card. It works like a debit card, making your Google Wallet account available at any participating merchant.
Google Wallet supports online shopping, too. It even lets you use your Gmail account to transfer money to recipients within the U.S. The app and account are free but the transactions aren’t. You always pay the same fixed percentage whether the transaction is credit, debit, or money transfer.
Ledgerist
Think of Ledgerist as an electronic checkbook. It won’t pay bills or transfer funds between accounts, but it’ll help you see where your money goes. Enter your checking or credit expenditures and categorize them. Then let Ledgerist tell you where your money goes. Its support for multiple currencies helps you when you travel.
If you have repeating payments, such as student or car loans, you must only enter the amount and due date once. Ledgerist’s repeating payments feature enters remaining payments automatically.
You’ll also appreciate the security Ledgerist’s backup and restore feature offers. Your financial data is always safe no matter what happens to your phone. Though Ledgerist isn’t free, it’s low price gets you ad-free use and a great tool for tracking financial transactions.
Mint.com
Mint.com is a mobile financial management tool from Intuit, developer of personal and small business software such as TurboTax, QuickBooks, and Quicken. It helps you check your income, expenses, and spending in one place, letting you combine accounts such as checking, credit, and savings into one financial picture.
Use Mint.com to understand where your money comes from and where it goes. It’ll tell you if a checking account’s balance has fallen below a certain level or if you’ve spent an unusually high amount on gas. It offers suggestions to help you improve your future budgeting and use your money better. Mint is a free app that you can download on your android smartphone or tablet.
Banks and other financial institutions offer smartphone apps,too. Some only support balance checks while others process check deposits and transfer funds between accounts. They offer another means of carrying your financial world in the palm of your hand.
