Managing money when Mr Boo and I first moved out and bought a flat together was difficult. In some ways we were lucky in that I worked shifts so if we needed something fixing or a new appliance I would simply work a few extra shifts to earn the money needed. It wasn’t exactly budgeting but it worked, however when I changed jobs and started a salaried post there was no opportunity for extra hours or extra pay and this was when we struggled to make sure we had enough money left after paying bills etc. to survive for the rest of the month.
Fast forward a few years and we had our children, our home and jobs, however Mr Boo was made redundant back in 2012 and our lives where turned upside down. At the time it was a really stressful and heartbreaking time but when I think back now I can see that this was the shake up that we needed. We had become complacent, spending money without really thinking about what was left in bank and what bills were still to be paid. Within a week of Mr Boo being made redundant we switched our bank account, cancelled unnecessary direct debits, started to look at our phone, utilities and insurance providers to see whether we could save money.
Unlike all the previous positions Mr Boo has held before he gets paid every four weeks, which is great at the beginning of the year but it slowly creeps towards mid-month and eventually to the beginning of the month throughout the year. With the majority of bills set to be paid on a set date each month it has taken some getting used to and can catch us out if we haven’t made sure we have left enough for the direct debit date.
Multiple Accounts
Having switched all our accounts to one provider to make sure we were on top of our finances we are in the position we can see everything on one screen, the incomings and outgoings throughout the month. Bank loyalty however is unusual and with many families having several accounts over different providers it can be difficult to see where all your money is going. The Money Dashboard is a free app that can help you manage several different accounts in one so you can see at a glance what money is going into your accounts, where you are spending your money, and most importantly how much you have left to spend.
Why use Money Dashboard?
• Instant access – see all of your online bank accounts in one single view, with one single password, on all of your mobile and desktop devices
• Transaction tagging – see exactly how much you’re spending (and overspending!) on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, whether that’s on groceries, daily travel, household bills, and even nights on the town, all with our intelligent auto-tagging feature
• Easy to understand – visual charts and graphics help you make sense of your spending, giving you a clear view of your finances
• Quick and secure – sign up in seconds and securely connect your accounts, all from the palm of your hand. We provide bank level security to protect your data, and because Money Dashboard is a ‘read-only’ service, your money is 100% safe and secure
Download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play
If only we’d known about this app we could have saved ourselves lots of time and effort switching all our accounts, direct debits and salaries to go into one bank.
How do you keep on top of your accounts?
Disclosure: This post is brought to you in collaboration with Money Dashboard
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