Managing your debt can be tough to do without the right tools. In this day and age, keeping a close eye on how you spend your money is crucial to budgeting. Between monthly bills, the convenience of online shopping, and the temptation to eat out every night, money can fly out of your wallet faster than you think. Some people prefer to keep a manual record of their budgeting, either in a notebook or an Excel workbook. The downside of these tracking methods is you can’t bring your records with you every time you leave the house. To stay on top of your spending at all times, consider downloading one of these money management apps on your tablet or smartphone.

For the Control Freak: Money Manager and Expense Manager

Money Manager by Money Lover offers an intuitive way to track your finances by allowing users to import critical details like annual salary and outstanding bills; this helps to create an accurate summation of money coming in versus money being spent. Special features include an add-it-later option that allows users to snap a quick picture of an expense and store it as a reminder, an ATM and bank finder that operates through your phone’s GPS, and an alarm notification system for payment due dates.

For the extremely detail-oriented budgeter, Expense Manager by MediaVision Money & Finance offers users the ability to document their cash flow down to the very last cent. This app features over 100 categories for expenses (like food and transportation) for highly accurate budgeting, and gives users the option of documenting the where, when, why, and who of each expense. Using this information, Expense Manager compiles interactive graphs documenting your spending and earning habits for an easy-to-follow experience. Bonus features include voice recognition software for hands-free use and the ability to manage multiple budgets at a time.

For Those Who Need a Little Budgeting Advice Along the Way: Mint

While practical, visually pleasing, and easy to navigate, Mint is an app especially suited for users who need a little extra guidance when it comes to budgeting and financial management. The app is highly intuitive and uses spending and investing patterns to map a user’s financial personality. Mint then offers users free advice on ways to save money based on documented spending habits and identifies hidden fees and areas where users may be unnecessarily losing money. This app also features a home screen that allows users to check up on the status of all of their accounts at once, investment tracking through graphs, email and mobile reminders for upcoming payment due dates, and bank grade encryption software to ensure all that all the information plugged into the app remains secure.

Budgeting With Family and Friends: Venmo

This app is ideal for anyone who has trouble managing group finances between friends and family. Venmo‘s group accessible tracking system eliminates the uncertainty when it comes to who owes what to whom. This app allows users to accurately divvy up group payments like rent money, collect owed money using the app’s internal system, and make payments using a debit card instead of a credit card.

The ability to manage your finances with the swipe of a screen cuts down on the stress and extra time other budgeting tactics might expend on your busy schedule. When it comes down to it, managing your money and staying out of debt is all about planning and tracking. Documenting every cent that enters and leaves your wallet is the only way to make progress. The more ways you have to make the process faster and easier, the better.

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