Saving money can be difficult when you don’t know where it goes. Now, most of us have the basic expenses: rent, groceries, utilities and entertainment. Outside of that, we also spend money on clothes, shoes, books, electronics, and other things to run our homes. What we sometimes don’t get is an overview of how much money is coming in, how much is going out and what is left over, if any, to fund trips, projects or retirement.
Another factor that makes it difficult to track monthly expenses is the fact that bill pay has gone digital. No more do we get bills in the mail that we have to read, process and send out a check for. Most of us have set up automatic payments to take care of that. So, while it saves you time, you are now left unaware of how much you paid last month on your electric bill or why your credit card bill shot up by $500 dollars.
Debby App helps put this information in front of you so you can see the credits and debits at a high level for the month and know what is available for spending next month or maybe even for locking away as savings for a rainy day. At a small cost of just $4.99, you get an app that is very easy to use, but extremely powerful is what it provides.
Once you download you will be asked to enter your current balance. I believe this is the amount you have available to pay bills. Then from there you answer a few simple questions around housing expenses and when you expect to see your next paycheck. Some of the verbiage is a bit different for U.S. English speakers, so you will have to play around with it to feel comfortable. After entering this information, the app will lay out what is upcoming and what amount of funds you have “locked”. These are funds that are left over from your balance. These locked funds can stay locked or you can keep them locked and consider them as savings.
As you set up payments and due dates the app does an excellent job of making sure you make your payments on time. This is supported by the “call to action” feature which marks currently due payments with a red dot.
Bottom line is that the app provides you will an overview of your money flow. You can see what is coming in, what needs to go out and when it needs to go out, and what you will have left until the next paycheck, so you can make smarter decisions about how you spend money on discretionary items. What I really liked about the app is that it allotted users with a daily budget. If you have money remaining from the previous day’s budget, you could put it towards your savings instead of spending it. It helps you become smarter about your spending habits.
Once thing I would love to see in the app is the ability to see how I have been doing in terms of spare funds over the past month, quarter and year. Essentially, some kind of reporting feature would be nice so you can see how different times of the year are and hopefully help you plan for the future year knowing this.
I have not used a overly large number of money management apps, but I will say that Debby App is one to try, because it provides a very simple and straightforward view of your money and helps you stay on track to spend the way you should, so you can save for what you want.
