Do you ever track your expenses?
In 2017, I learned to use the Mobills mobile app long before Toro acquired it, which had personal repercussions I’d discuss in a moment. Using the app was liberating since I could track how much money I had left in my wallet without actually opening it up.
If you’re used to hesitating about saying yes when your friend invites you for a coffee simply because you don’t know if you still have the extra money for it, then having a spending tracker app on your phone makes a lot of difference.
And not only that.
You won’t wonder anymore where your money went.
Why?
Because you’d be your personal accountant, keeping track of your cashflows.
Yes, that’s right.
I’ve been doing this for five years, so I understand how life-changing it is to know where exactly your hard-earned money went.
And knowing the ins and outs of your finances also enables you to make advanced financial decisions more bearable than without any idea how much money is left at your disposal.
Back to Mobills app…
If this is still 2020, I would have recommended Mobills for you like I did in this blog post (from my previous website). Why? Because it was straightforward to use. However, when Toro acquired Mobills, I felt like the app became less user-friendly if you are not from Brazil.
Aside from the language change, setting up the payment method for the paid version doesn’t seem to accommodate non-Brazilian people (or I hope I am wrong and was simply bad at figuring it out). But I noticed how the app requires you to share your CPF (Cadastro Pessoal de Pessoa Física) to subscribe, so it’s become a barrier for me.
As a matter of fact, I did not know what a CPF was before, and if you want to know more, I find this resource helpful.
Fortunately, I found an alternative, Spendy, which is minimalist and functional. All the best things, like data visualization of your expenses, are bundled into one at a more affordable price: one-time payment only.
It’s incredible how I’ve allowed myself to be so dependent on spending-tracking apps, but I’m glad I did. Now I know that my life is way better today than when I was not using one. I don’t want to go back to that kind of life anymore, where counting your bills and coins is the only way you’d know whether you can still pay for something or not. Using credit cards is out of the topic, so I won’t discuss it here.
Regardless of what app you use, tracking your spending could really help you make smarter financial decisions.
Five years since I’ve been using one, I know I won’t go back to not having one. So if you’re still wondering if you should use one, I’d say yes, you should.
jessa 