Today persons are looking for different ways to save money and having a budget and sticking to it is a great start. If you are living in Canada and are desirous of making a budget, but you’re not sure where to start, there’s no need to worry. Today, there are a number of cashback and budgeting apps available with various features that make the process both simple and worthwhile.
Budgeting apps are basically tools which you can use to monitor your finances as they give an overall picture of your earnings and expenditures. What you hope to achieve from budgeting, your goals and whether or not you are prepared to pay for an app will determine which app is best for you. To assist in helping you to make this decision, here are five (5) of the best budgeting app currently available to persons living in Canada.
Related: Top 5 Investment Apps In Canada
The Mylo (Moka) App
If you are serious about saving, and are looking to actively set aside money and have that money work for you then the Mylo app is for you. Mylo which has recently been rebranded Moka and is an app that allows you to save money with every dollar that you spend. The money saved is then invested to help increase your savings. The app is able to do this by rounding up the cost of your purchases to the nearest dollar and saving the difference. So for example, if you were to make a purchase totaling $4:50, you would pay $5 with Mylo and the extra $0.5 would go to your savings account and also be invested. The app offers its members’ flexibility as there is also the option to turn off the round up feature. In addition, to reduce the likelihood of your account going into overdraft, the round up feature is automatically disabled for purchases made with a bank account less than $25.
To get the most of the app, you can also take advantage of their other features. For instance, you can choose to have a fixed amount of money invested each week by having this amount deposited into the investment account. You can also choose to deposit a one-time lump sum into the investment account. If you love the round up feature, but want to earn more from your spending, you can also adjust the amount by which the app rounds up your purchases and thus increase your savings. You can enjoy your savings at any time by withdrawing all or a portion and sending it to your bank account free of charge. The app is however not free costing $1/month for the basic features and $3/month for the Mylo advantage.
KOHO
KOHO is a good app for Canadians who would love to have good control over their spending while reaping all the benefits of having a credit card. With KOHO, members have a spending account that is associated with a prepaid Visa card and this card is reloadable. In order to use the card, money would therefore have to first be deposited into the account. As a result of this, the card functions as somewhat of a debit card. However, because it is a Visa card, it can be used both online and instore at any point of sale where Visa is accepted and thus bears some features of a credit card. It also offers such as cash back on all purchases, with the cash back being greater from selected brands. Because the money being spent is being withdrawn from funds already present in the account, there are no associated interest fees making it advantageous over a credit card. The app also offers the round up feature as the Mylo app, but does not offer investments on savings. It is however free of charge with no monthly fees.
YNAB
The You Need A Budget app or YNAB for short, is an app that works to create a budget for you by asking you to assign every dollar earned to either a savings or spending category. Persons are provided with a wide range of categories helping to make the process more relatable. The aim is help persons see clearly how each dollar is being disposed of and make wise decisions with this knowledge. It is hoped that in time, persons will be able to adjust their spending to suit their income without having to dip into extra funds and in time even begin to save. This app is therefore especially good for persons who may be living paycheck to paycheck or those who have a hard time monitoring their income. The app costs approximately twelve dollars ($12) for each month and eighty four dollars ($84) if you choose to pay for the year. If this sounds like something you’d like to try, but you’re not sure if it’s worth paying for, there is a free trial period of thirty four (34) days that you can use to help make your decision.
Mint
Mint is an excellent app for any Canadian who wants to track where their funds are going and who wants to ensure that their spending is matching their budget and priorities. The app allows you to track daily purchases and thus stick to the budget that you have created. Using this app, you are able to set goals and visualize how you are progressing with the various goals that you have made. The app is free of charge can be used to visualize accounts and check credit scores.
Spending Tracker
The Spending Tracker is another app that you can use to set a budget and track your spending. The user interface is very easy to use and setting a budget is simple. You can choose to set a fixed budget to ensure that spending at a set target and even move any remaining balance to the next month. The app allows you to log your income and expense easily and then view a summary of your spending currently and even in the past. You also have the option of viewing reports based on your spending. This app is also free of charge.
