Money management apps

Hello all! Apologies if this is in the wrong section (not quite sure where to put it) or if it’s been asked before but I was wondering if you guys had any recommendations for money management/budgeting apps that integrate all your bank accounts and show each balance and spending etc.

I’ve heard of Yolt and just discovered Money Dashboard, but not quite sure the best way to use them or which is the best one.

I’m looking for something that can show all of my accounts and transactions in one app (I have about 4, and opening each individual app is annoying when I just wanna see their balances)… I’m not really sure what features these types of apps have, so anything you guys find helpful might also be helpful to me!

A little background if you’re interested, I have some accounts that I don’t use that often as I’m using them as savings or trying to pay back the overdraft and don’t always want those factored in to my ‘spending’ amount because I don’t use them to spend, if that makes sense? I’m trying to get all of my accounts narrowed down and just use Monzo as my main spending account, but with both of my workplaces not accepting the sort code, it’s a little difficult to do that at the moment.

ANYWAY, any help regarding those types of apps would be greatly appreciated!

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I’d recommend Emma, they already integrate Monzo (& Starling), plus all the major banks.

The app’s not perfect yet but they’re adding features really quickly & they’re very open to feedback..

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Yeah same as Alex I would also recommend Emma. I have actually tried Yolt and Cleo they have some good bits but Emma impressed me the most. It has easy to navigate layout and it refreshes data much more frequently and totally in the background.

You can also hide accounts which you don’t want to be included in the breakdown and Emma will pick transection between your accounts and class them as Internal so they are not going to be included in income and outstanding.

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Same as everyone above, I would HIGHLY recommend Emma, in app support are so helpful when you come across a problem with the app. Theyre currently still in beta but are constantly improving with weekly updates :wink: What bank accounts do you have? They support the majority of banks but banks such as Tesco, Bank of Scotland, John Lewis are all on the way.

Oh and if you want you can skip the long queue and sign up through this link :smile:

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If you’ve got savings, and are paying back an overdraft at the same time, you’ll almost certainly be better off using your savings to pay the overdraft off quicker. The amount of interest your overdraft is probably costing you far outweighs what your savings are earning.

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I recommend YNAB.

Have to input transactions manually but you will manage your money 50X better than you will with Emma

I do have Emma. But it couldn’t replace YNAB, yet.

I’ll PM you with a VIP ticket for Emma :slight_smile:

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Emma is good, but it has been giving me incorrect information sometimes (notification that I’m in the red where, when I look is just a £0 balance).

Also a small gripe is the use of “Expenses” rather than “Outgoings” - expenses to me are for work. That’s just a personal preference really.

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If you are interested in something more powerful, I’d suggest waveapps.com. This is really an accounting package, and it’s very powerful, with loads of customisable categories and reports. I have used it for a couple of years now, and absolutely love it.

It does allow connecting bank accounts (no Monzo, though) but I personally don’t feel comfortable with that, so import CSVs once a month instead.

(NB they lead with “for small businesses”, but they also have personal accounts.)

But the OP could just use YNAB…

Not accounting software :yum:

Of course they could. Or any other software. Or none at all. Really up to them :slight_smile:

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It is indeed. But why you are using accounting software to manage your personal finances is beyond me :yum:

Maybe because i find it helpful. Or, maybe because I’m a freak. I leave the conclusion up to you…

Each to their own mate. I wouldn’t say you are a freak, that’s a bit personal. I’ll go with that you find it useful?

try YNAB

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I don’t have savings anymore as I just bought a car. But my overdraft is on a student account so it’s 0%, my credit card is also 0% for another 18months or so, so I don’t really worry about interest at the moment!

Is YNAB worth the money? I thought about giving it a try and read his book. I attempted to make a spreadsheet to replicate the idea but as I hadn’t actually used YNAB I don’t think I did that well! Although it did help me to reprioritise my pots and what goal I should save for first.

Yes, I think YNAB is with the money. Just depends if you want to see where your money has gone or know where your money to going, and that’s the difference.

If you want to see where your money has gone
(accounting) use waveapp, yolt or Emma (I have Emma, wanted to try it out and it’s good for that. Quick updates, easy to understand but would prefer to my have control over my own catergories).

If you want to see where your money is going before you spend it (allocation) then use YNAB. (which I have and it helped me pay off my overdraft, save more money and made me more conscious of what I was doing with my money and create useful reports, and don’t have to create your own spreadsheet).

Have had mine for at least four years and wouldn’t be without it. For me, if someone can do something better than me and saves my time, they can have my money! :smiley:

I wish Monzo had YNAB functionality or would work together but as a US company YNAB can’t do that yet…

NB You can try free for 34 days. Can send you a refer for a free month, if you like it.

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I don’t get the love for YNAB.

Budgeting is not hard, I use excel - why do you need to pay monthly to do it?

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I’m enjoying yolt and Emma at the moment.

Neither quite covers the accounts I use. I would recommend going for an app that shows your whole financial picture.

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Currently using Yolt but will try out Emma as you have all talked about :innocent:

Can anyone invite me to Emma?

I am a solid supporter of Yolt but tempted to try Emma now after reading this thread.