Budget Boss
Price: $0.99
Compatible with: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Overview:
Budget Boss is an app that not only allows you to see where your money is going right now, but how that will add up and affect your finances in the future. The app helps users build smarter budgets by showing where current expenditures will lead over the coming years.
The app doesn’t connect to your bank, so manual data entry is the way this app functions. It provides tools for entering information about your income and expenses, and then provides charts forecasting the flow of your money. It’s easy to understand and use, and recommended if you like playing around with numbers. It’s especially great for those who are uncomfortable having a mobile app that has access to banking information. However, it’s not an automatic financial app, so it isn’t as quick to use as apps like Mint or LearnVest.
The truly unique thing about this app is that you are provided a substantial amount of information regarding the future of your finances. For example, the Outlook icon shows your daily balance for up to two years, along with each day’s income and expenses. You can also see a graph that predicts your balance for two weeks, a month, three months, and a year. Users set limits within budgets like food, recreation, and utilities, and make manual adjustments if the budget is exceeded. Budget Boss keeps track of these changes, which you can see over time.
The app also shows you pie charts that display the percentage of your income and expenses for each category. For example, housing might be 35 percent, gambling may be 12 percent, etc. And in the History section, you can see all your balance adjustments, and tweak your budget based on patterns or repeated adjustments.
Even though the app doesn’t hook up to any financial accounts or real-time information, Budget Boss still gives you the option of setting a PIN for added security. The list of categories is very brief, so there’s no doubt you’ll have to add a gambling category if you decide to download this app.
Bottom line:
If you’re attempting to gaze into the future of your finances, look no further than Budget Boss. This app is perfect for you if you like to plan ahead, and if you feel uncomfortable having such sensitive information as your financial account information on your mobile device. Budget Boss is $0.99 on the Apple store, which is a bit of a downer considering it’s not automatic like other free financial apps, but gives users a unique financial experience that others don’t offer for a tiny price.
