From the abacus to accountant, we’ve always felt the need to keep a close eye on our finances. With the advent of electronic payments, debit cards and soon-to-be implemented contact-less payment; never has it been more important to manage our finances. Smartphones have become cameras, diaries, personal organisers and now they’re becoming a one-stop shop for managing our finances. From bank transfers but budget forecasts, here are the three apps I consider essential to maintaining your fiscal foresight.

1) Mint
This is hailed across the spectrum of financiers as the best all in one app. Mint allows you to correlate and link all of your financial and banking accounts in one handy space, so you can see your entire net worth, debts and pending transactions. It shows you a real time impact engine that instantly shows you what your balance will be if you were to buy that skinny latte. There are few apps that can connect to your accounts directly and update your budget without any user input required. The crowning glory is the stunningly simple ‘Overview’ screen that shows your Credit, Debt, Flow, Investments and Adherence to a set budget; all on one screen. In the very nature of money saving, the Mint app is one of the few powerful finance apps that is completely free.

2) Expenditure
This impressive budgeting app is one of the few offering full customisation. The ability to add a photo or a note when adding a new transaction is, although simple, an effective way to categorise and recognise your outgoings. Another feature which Expenditure can boast over its competitors is the in-built currency convertor, making those holidaying transactions much less of a headache. Mistaking pounds for euros or vice versa can leave you worryingly out of pocket. Expenditure makes the list for its powerful and simple interface, making the chore of budgeting seem fun and intuitive.

3) Moneybook
Moneybook is both startlingly simple and satisfyingly complex. An easy to use interface means that those simply wanting to note their expenditure find it a breeze, but it has much deeper functions like data backup, customisable categories and password security. Like others, you can see an overview of your spending and saving so you can give yourself a treat or limit those take-aways. But you can also see your statistics from the prior month and compare the progress, noting whether your spending habits are being pegged back a notch. A great feature to encourage your growth as a monetary mastermind.

Many people now carry debt on their credit cards. Not everyone is able to pay off their credit card balance every month and as a result there are many individuals who have a substantial amount of outstanding debt on their credit card. Credit cards often have high interest rates and before the principal sum can be paid off, the interest has to be paid first. Some cardholders manage to lower the amount of interest on their credit cards by switching to a lower interest card. This is certainly a viable option, but many cards offer low introductory interest rates only to switch to much higher rates after a few months.

Consolidate debt with a loan

Services such as MoneySupermarket debt consolidation allow you to put all your debt under one account. Not only do consumers in today’s economy have a lot of credit card debt, but there are also student loans and car loans that have to be paid off.

These loans often carry varying degrees of interest and there is the need to monitor each account to make sure it is being paid on time. For many who owe money on various loans or accounts, it makes sense to take out a loan so that everything can be paid off and then only one loan payment has to be made.

Loans often have much lower interest rates than credit cards do. When you combine that with the ease of consolidating all your debts in one payment, it makes perfect sense to go this route. Personal loans have fixed monthly payments and competitive interest rates that are applied for the length of the loan term.

This means that you know exactly how much you have to pay every month and that your loan is charged interest according to market conditions. Credit card companies often charge high double digits in interest fees, while loans adhere to market conditions and therefore cost a lot less. Many credit cards also charge an annual fee that is another expense that you do not have to pay if you take out a loan to pay off your card.

No matter which part of the world you live in, if you get into debt through borrowing or racking up a credit card bill, you have to pay it back at some point. While it might seem difficult to do on your own, there is help out there. However, in the US, it can be difficult to know where to turn, while in other countries such as the UK, people who need help clearing debt can join a government debt scheme from payplan.com.

With the help of organisations such as Payplan, indebted UK citizens can declare bankruptcy, set up an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement), settle any debts at a municipal court or even arrange their own repayment scheme with people or companies they owe money to. Although there are some services in the US available to help people cope with and eventually repay any debts they may have, they’re not as comprehensive as those in the UK.

Payplan is one of many schemes set up with the assistance of the British Government. What they do is help anyone who approaches them with monthly repayments, IVAs and Debt Management Plans (DMPs), not to mention other services including charging orders, debt advice, redundancy, clearing debts and even insolvency when someone’s company is forced to close.

The fact that the government in the UK has helped to create something like Payplan shows that, with an increasing number of US citizens having to pay off massive debts, the US government should offer a similar service. If they did, there’s a good chance that the number of people with mountains of personal debt will shrink almost overnight.

Nine No-Fail Money-Saving Tips for Car Owners

Owning a car comes with financial responsibility, but it doesn’t have to mean you must say goodbye to your budget or your savings. These nine practical money-saving tips can help car owners stick to their budget and save money even after buying a car.

1. Save for car repairs. Don’t let unexpected car repairs or maintenance catch you off guard. Designate some money every month specifically for car repairs. That way, if you do need to get your car fixed, you’ll have cash available.
2. Make a car payment — even if you don’t need to. Assume you have a car payment even if you don’t have one. This way, even if your car is paid off, you can save money for expensive emergencies, a future car payment, or a down payment for your next new car. No matter how you eventually spend the money, at the end of the year you’ll most likely have at least a few thousand dollars saved.
3. Refinance your car loan. Consider refinancing your auto loan to find the payment options that make sense for your situation. While your monthly payments may be a bit higher, the money you’ll save in interest will more than make up for it over the long run.
4. Pay off your loan faster. Whether you pay more than your required monthly payment or make extra payments, you’ll be saving a lot of money on interest.  However, be sure to check the terms of your loan to ensure there are no fees for paying it off early.
5. Pay your bill one month in advance. Should you ever run into a tight month financially, you’ll be happy that you decided to pay your bill early. This way, you avoid having to deal with fees for missed or late payments.
6. Lower your car insurance deductible. A lower deductible often means higher monthly payments, but this could be a good incentive to fix your car if it ever needs it. And that will increase the resale value of your vehicle should you ever want to sell it without paying a large out-of-pocket fee for repairs.
7. Protect the interior. If you use seat and floor protectors to decrease the wear and tear of your car’s interior, this will help increase your vehicle’s resale value when you go to sell. This inexpensive investment can garner high returns if done before kids make messes and muddy shoes ruin the floors of your car.
8. Pay your car insurance all at once. Instead of paying monthly, consider making a bi-annual insurance payment. This will save money on monthly installment and processing fees and can often be cheaper than paying each month.
9. Shop around for competitive rates. Not all car insurance companies are created equal, so always do your research and request a few different car insurance quotes before making your final decision. You’re more likely to find the attractive rate you want and the flexible features you need, which will save you money.

These are just some of the many practical ways to save money despite the added financial responsibility of owning a car. Even after you buy a car, you can save money on more than just your car loan with these nine no-fail money-saving tips.

Budgeting is key to becoming financially healthy and resisting the urge to overspend. Calculating all income and expenses with a spreadsheet or a visual budgeting tool (like Mint), is a good way to keep tabs on incoming and outgoing money. It allows you to visually see where all of your money goes each month, so you can make adjustments and cut backs where you need to. It is also important to keep good records of bills, credit card statements, and receipts. Once a solid budget is setup, you can adjustment it as you see fit. This will allow you to enjoy the goods and services that you really need, while getting rid of the unessentials. Budgets can also help you decide if you need to focus on cutting spending, or find new ways to increase your income.

Use a Secured or Prepaid Credit Card to Stay Out of Debt

If you are someone that has difficulty with overspending on your credit cards, you may want to try an alternative to an unsecured card. One way that you can stop yourself from falling into the credit card debt trap, is to switch to a prepaid card or secured credit card with a low limit. A reloadable card (or prepaid debit card) is set up to allow for the convenience of credit card usage without the temptation to overspend.

With prepaid cards, you make a deposit and all payments are deducted from this balance. This allows you to spend as you like, but does not allow you to overdraw on your account. This is important, as many people have difficulty dealing with the temptation of a high credit limit. Some prepaid cards can be loaded with fees that include customer service charges, ATM charges, and monthly charges. Certain prepaid cards also carry very high fees, but many are reasonable. Make sure you understand how fees can be deducted from your account, before you make the initial deposit!

Secured credit cards can offer easy approval, and can be a good option for someone who needs a credit card, but has poor credit. There are unsecured credit card offers targetted specifically towards people with bad credit, but the interest rates can be “very undesirable”. A few years ago, a credit card was created with the highest interest rate ever seen, at 79.9% interest! This card was targeted specifically to people with sub-prime credit. In this case, a secured credit card would be an easy to obtain alternative and would eliminate the risk of racking up a snowballing debt at an insanely high interest rate.

Setting Aside Money to Pay Down High Interest Debt

With a proper budget in place, you can visually see how high interest debt (like credit card debt), affects your bottom line. It can allow you to create a “fund” to pay down this debt. Credit card debt is one of the most expensive types of debt at an average of 15% – 20%. For the best results, it makes sense to pay down the highest interest debt first. For example, if you have $5000 in car loan debt and $1000 in credit card debt, you should spend the money from this “fund” toward the high interest credit card debt (even though the amount is smaller). In the long run, paying down debt that is accumulating at 20% interest makes much more sense, when compared to pay off auto loan debt that grows at 10%. Credit card debt is one of the most expensive types of debt that exists. In comparison, interest on a home mortgage can range from 5%-8%.

Negotiate Outstanding Bills with Creditors

If you have bills that have gone to collections, it makes sense to negotiate and settle. Many times creditors will accept a reduced lump sum payment to clear a debt, instead of taking the risk that you will default on the total amount. It is possible to negotiate with creditors yourself, but you may be a fish out of water when it comes to negotiations. Creditors have a lot of experience dealing with debtors, so you may be at a disadvantage. You may want to consult with a non-profit credit counselor who can give you unbiased advice or even help you work out a re-payment program.

This article was contributed by GreatCreditScore.org. The site provides information about economic news, strategies to invest, and techniques to build or repair credit.