Flying Money might sound like a bad TV game show but there’s nothing amusing about running out of cash at the end of every month. This money management app aims to help you get in touch with your finances by organising income and expenses with a series of budgets and reports.
We've been putting it to the test to see if we can reduce the amount of month at the end of our pay packet, see our results after the jump...
Yes, we know looking after your finances isn't cool and can be painfully dull, and you’re not wrong. This application doesn't do anything to dispel this theory, as you'll need to put aside at least an hour to get Flying Money set up.
You’ll need to enter names and balances for all your bank accounts, set up regular income (like wages and interest) and regular expenses (housing, loans, utility bills), each with its own name and category.
It sounds straightforward enough but, like filling out tax forms, it’s too easy to get confused and input data twice or put numbers in the wrong place or simply not have all the information you need to hand.
Once everything is in place, the idea is that every time you put your hand in your pocket, you also update Flying Money with the amount you’ve spent. It can then give you a running report on how close you are to your monthly budget. And if that doesn’t put a damper on buying a new Blu-ray player, nothing will.
Flying Money is packed with features. It can handle semi-regular loan payments, split purchases between categories, work in various currencies (sterling, Euros, dollars and yen) and export to Excel files for desktop use. The app is also password-protected for security.
While it’s helpful to track just how much dosh you’re really spending on collectible Japanese figurines, the problem with Flying Money is how much work it takes.
Keeping up with day-to-day purchases requires an obsession with detail, especially when many banks now offer mobile banking that automates at least some of this. If your finances are in a real mess, you might find that Flying Money’s steep price is right, otherwise we’d be tempted to say it’s a total wipeout.
Details
Size: 1.3MB
Price: $26.95 (£18.50), 15-day free trial
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