Johannesburg, 04 Mar 2020
Managing your finances wisely is also possible in times of e-commerce, online personal loans and home banking. Nowadays, managing our personal finances is easier than it used to be five years ago.
Since technology has crept into every aspect of our lives, it comes as no surprise that there are lots of apps designed to help you make the most of your money and serve your financial needs. It is only necessary to be committed to your financial goals and make smart money choices with the aid of innovative smartphone applications.
Financial applications come in handy for South Africans, who struggle to save. Research by Trading Economics shows that, among the G20 countries, South Africa ranks the lowest in household savings rate. At the beginning of 2019, the ratio of household savings to disposable income was at 0.15%. Among working urban households in South Africa, 40% of people have no formal retirement savings.
As a result of high levels of unemployment, poverty and inflation, the savings rate is really low in South Africa. The latest Investec GIBS Savings Index for South Africa further shows that, while South African households do save, this is cancelled out by people who spend on credit cards, personal loans, overdrafts and making other debts.
Here are a few personal finance apps that can better savings rates by helping you ease your financial transactions, serving your financial needs and, ultimately, assisting you in the achievement of your financial goals.
- Goodbudget
This app allows you to keep track of your spending in relation to your budget. This app can be set up to prevent you from overspending. It also has a built-in function that allows you to sync your budget across all of your devices so that you can have control on your family’s finances. It also helps you stay accountable when it comes to your saving goals.
- Financial Calculator
Financial Calculator is a collection of finance and investment calculators, loan and mortgage calculators, retirement calculators, stocks calculators, credit card calculators, auto loan and lease calculators, among others. With the loan calculator, for example, you can calculate your payments and interests on a loan. It offers more than 60 calculators with no hidden charges, which helps you avoid wrongly calculated interests on loans or debts.
- 22Seven
Instead of having an app for each bank or institution you do business with, 22Seven allows you to integrate multiple accounts into one platform and see all your money at any time in one place.You can link bank accounts, credit and store cards, investments, loans and rewards and manage and monitor all your transactions across those entities. It also offers you budgeting tips and investment opportunities within the app.
- Wallet
Wallet is a built-in app available only for iPhones. With Wallet, you can keep your credit, debit and prepaid cards, store cards, boarding passes, movie tickets, coupons, rewards cards, all in one place. What is innovative about Wallet is that never have to worry about forgetting a physical card or coupon at home, because if you have your phone on you, you’re all set.
- Pocketslip
Pocketslip allows you to receive a digital version of your receipt once you purchase goods or services.It was born as a really novel idea and a great way to keep track of all your purchases without having to carry around a stack of slips in your wallet and then storing them somewhere for safekeeping. It also categorises and dates your slips and makes them fully searchable should you need to backtrack your purchases.
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