How many times have you resolved to start a budget, only to abandon it a few weeks or a month down the track? If you've been looking for a way to get your finances back on track and achieve your wealth-building goals, a smartphone app may be the answer! In 2024, there are many great apps with many different functions to help you track your finances.

They are helpful whether you're a student getting by on a part-time job, a business user with expense reports, or a family with a household budget to track. Money-management apps have evolved well beyond the basic expense tracking tools.

Today, there are apps for investing, apps to manage debt, and apps designed to sync collective household accounts so you can take better care of your budget. Here are some of the best money management apps to check out.

1. Expensify

Expensify is one of the most popular apps for generating expense reports on the go. This was created for salespeople, business travellers and other business users. It lets you capture receipts, track time, track mileage, and more. The app features bank-account importing and Smart Scan, which allows you to photograph receipts.

These will be automatically logged as expense items. There are also options to input your travel mileage and rate-based expenses and to have currency converted. The app is designed for easy integration across many platforms. These include Excel, Evernote, Dropbox, Oracle, SalesForce, FinancialForce, Xero, QuickBooks, SAP, NetSuite, ADP, Intacct, and Microsoft Dynamics.

2. Goodbudget

Goodbudget allows users to replicate the old-fashioned envelope-based budgeting method in digital format. It has been downloaded over three million times, and it comes with the standard budgeting and expense tracking tools.

In addition, it can sync across devices, set savings goals with Goal and Annual Envelopes, search for transactions, monitor cash flow with reports, and import bank account statements. Your data is automatically backed up on the Goodbudget cloud, and you can also set up the app to share budgets with household members.

Goodbudget is available as a free app and in premium version with unlimited envelopes and accounts.

3. HomeBudget with Sync

This full-featured budgeting app has a unique Family Sharing tool. It lets you sync income and expenses between multiple devices. This feature enables you to coordinate bills and expenses with the rest of your household, making it easy to manage collective budgets.

Additionally, you can access standard budgeting and expense management tools, log your expenses, input your income amounts, and check your spending with charts, itemised lists, and infographics. Reports are available as pie or bar charts, and you can easily export reports and other data via Wi-Fi.

You can set up HomeBudget to design the correct local date, times, and currencies. Also, it's free as the lite version but otherwise a paid app.

4. IOU  Debt Manager

IOU Debt Manager is the app for you if you are looking to track your debt and any debt owed to you. This free app comes with a basic, user-friendly layout with three tabs. These three tabs are for debt owed by you, debt owed to you, and a corresponding contacts page of individuals and what they owe you.

Additional features include partial and periodic payment, recurring debts, non-monetary-loan tracking, payoff date tracking, and more.

5. Pocketbook

Pocketbook is an Australian app with a fast-growing user base. Unlike many of the syncing budgeting apps that allow only US-bank-account holders to sync their data, this app allows users to sync with all major banks, credit cards and loans in Australia. That means users can obtain a real-time snapshot of their finances.

The app lets you view regular bill payments, forecast them, and categorise transactions. You can keep track of your account fees and view your safely spend' limit that you can use after accounting for your bills. There are also helpful features such as alerts and summaries to help you stay on top of your goals and upcoming bills. Pocketbook is free to use.

6. StockLight

StockLight is an Australian app that's designed for both new and seasoned investors. This free ASX stock market app lets you track your portfolio, research new stocks, analyse your picks, and much more – all from your smartphone.

Features include the option to add favourites to watchlists, read buy and sell tips from industry experts and review any ASX charts and data. It can also conduct advanced searches and filters and get new updates. Premium research articles and stock recommendations are available on a subscription basis.

7. Wally

Wally is a wildly popular, free personal finance app. It lets you break down your daily and monthly budgets and set targets for spending. You can also upload purchases so that you can balance your income and expenses. You can view charts, save receipts, and view insights on where you stand compared with people like you. The app lets you set reminders for upcoming payments and notifies you when you have reached a savings goal.

8. Mint

Mint is one of the most popular finance apps right now. You can manage all your finances in one place. It has budgets, bills payments, and you can even find out your credit score for free.

Because you can manage all your bills and money with this app, you can see everything at a glance. You can also get alerts for due dates, and you won't need to log into multiple sites. Aside from these features, you can also get tips on reducing fees, increasing your credit score, and saving money. And the best part is, this app is free! 

Tried budgeting and still struggling? Call Credit Counsellors. Our team of expert debt advisors can help you figure out your options, so you can find the best debt solution for your unique situation. Stop struggling and start saving; call us on 1300 003 328 to get started with a free debt assessment. 

*The information contained in the blog article is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. This blog article is not intended as financial or investment advice and should not be interpreted or relied upon as such. Before making any financial investments, first seek advice from an independent legal or financial adviser.