Price: $free
Website: moneydashboard.com
Money? Boooorrring!
Correct. Money is tedious stuff. Most of us
make the occasional spreadsheet to figure out how broke we are, but sorting
through what you’ve spent and where you spent it is a pretty mind-numbing
process. Money Dashboard is a service (and an iOS/ Android app) that does all
that for you. It automatically takes your bank statements and tots up your
incomings and outgoings to provide useful data on where you need to cut back.
Those $7 double banoffee frappucinos every morning might be a start.
Money
Dashboard
But I’ve got online banking…
Seeing your balance is one thing, but Money
Dashboard’s algorithms categorise your spending, so you see how much you’ve
spent in the supermarket, ongoing out, or on gadgets. And once you’ve seen
you’re spending twice as much on lunch as you are on your phone, you’ll start
making, your own sarnies. It’ll also predict your outgoings – so when you set a
savings target, it’s realistic about how long it’ll take, providing you with a
running total of how much cash you’ve got left until payday – minus bill. It’ll
run through three months’ worth of data when you sign up, giving you a wealth
(or lack thereof) of useful into off the bat, all arranged and quantified like
an obsessive compulsive’s cutlery drawer.
I’ve
got online banking…
Wait! Will they just steal my dosh?
What dosh? Obviously, security is a concern
when signing up to a service such as this, so Money Dashboard uses the same
security protocols as the high street banks, and can only be used to see
information, not to make withdrawals or transfers. It’s ad-supported, but
Dashboard won’t spam you – instead it shows ‘Alerts’, highlighting how you can
save money by, say, switching electricity supplier. Sounds pretty useful,
actually
We say
Cutting needless spending means more cash
for gadgets. Sweet!
