So near . .

Tellurian1

yet so far! I've been in a state of panic for the last few weeks as I was recently 'let go' from my job and have had to start claiming benefits.

Today was the day I thought I'd paid my overdraft off but, alas, despite the balance showing +55p I have £92 worth of pending transactions so I'm more than a little bit disappointed

I've recently been gifted an i-phone 6 and am just starting to learn how to use it -can any one suggest any good apps for managing day to day spending or tips for managing money in general?

I'm not au fait with technology at all - this is the first time I've actually had the time and the patience to learn how to use a mobile. I'm not young and I'm not always the full ticket! The Internet, and all these apps, widgets and offer sites are littered with inconvenience and risk - I applied for one offer on line and now my in box is full of suggestive messages and adult offers!!

fatrab

Tellurian1 wrote: »

my in box is full of suggestive messages and adult offers!!

Ooooh lucky you!! Lol

I use an app called Spending Tracker to keep note of daily spends. It has income and outgoings sections so might be useful.

It's probably a good idea to have 2 email addresses in common use. I have one personal (family, forums and trusted sites) and one that I give out to companies (anything I need to subscribe to or buy) but unfortunately I do still get some spam in both.

I'm sure there's loads of apps and sites that will be recommended soon.

Best wishes

Tellurian1

fatrab wrote: »

Ooooh lucky you!! Lol

I use an app called Spending Tracker to keep note of daily spends. It has income and outgoings sections so might be useful.

It's probably a good idea to have 2 email addresses in common use. I have one personal (family, forums and trusted sites) and one that I give out to companies (anything I need to subscribe to or buy) but unfortunately I do still get some spam in both.

I'm sure there's loads of apps and sites that will be recommended soon.

Best wishes

2 email addresses - that's a very good idea - thank you!

I'm assuming I can register 2 with the same provider!

fatrab

Yes, as many as you want. I've got one with Hotmail, one with Yahoo and a few with Gmail.

[Deleted User]

Sell the massively overrated phone and use the money to pay your overdraft

gr_96

Deleted User wrote: »

Sell the massively overrated phone and use the money to pay your overdraft

See some people might think this is a silly suggestion, but it's really not.
If you were gifted the phone and the 'gifter' is fine with you selling it (i.e. they won't take offence) then this isn't an awful idea.
If you're not up on technology etc, and don't necessarily want/need to invest the time in learning; this could be a practical solution?

enthusiasticsaver

I agree that a spending tracker app is a good idea for keeping up to date with spends. Clear checkbook is another. Both are free although you might have to put up with ads.

If you don't find the iphone6 useful then sell it. They are popular so you should get a fair bit for it.

Tellurian1

Deleted User wrote: »

Sell the massively overrated phone and use the money to pay your overdraft

Not really an option - cracked screen and the battery doesn't hold it's charge. I doubt I'd get enough to replace it with anything else.

Sadly, having a phone these days is a necessary evil.

GMac14

Simply having a banking app on my phone transformed how I looked at my finances. Years ago I used to play cashpoint Bingo, as in go to the cashpoint 3 weeks into the month and hope and pray there was maybe £60 left, made up if I had £100, gutted if only £40.

Sounds simple but just organizing yourself with online banking, I was able to get my direct debits down from close to £400 per month to £95 per month, combination of paying things off and cancelling things I didnt need.

Also any apps that track your spend like have been suggested are good, sell anything that you no longer need or use, places like Spok or Gumtree or local buy and sell sites on facebook.

Tellurian1

GMac14 wrote: »

Simply having a banking app on my phone transformed how I looked at my finances. Years ago I used to play cashpoint Bingo, as in go to the cashpoint 3 weeks into the month and hope and pray there was maybe £60 left, made up if I had £100, gutted if only £40.

Sounds simple but just organizing yourself with online banking, I was able to get my direct debits down from close to £400 per month to £95 per month, combination of paying things off and cancelling things I didnt need.

Also any apps that track your spend like have been suggested are good, sell anything that you no longer need or use, places like Spok or Gumtree or local buy and sell sites on facebook.

Thank you - that's helpful and encouraging. Well done for getting your finances under control.

I'm afraid I've had my head in the sand for a while - usually organised but old-school, my bills and DDs were sorted. I've had a period of ill health and haven't been on top of things lately - fluctuating wages, the expense of being ill, uncharacteristic forgetfulness etc.

Things have just got worse and worse.


I've downloaded quite a lot of apps and am trying some out - not just budgeting ones but one to remind me to take my tablets, and the loyalty cards. Found out I had £32.50 worth of Tesco vouchers in the process!:j

Tellurian1

My daughter has just told me that it's an iphone 5 not 6!

Not that I'm bothered - it does the job!