Simple saving

October 21, 2012 10:54 AM

I want a super-simple iPhone app that will let me keep track of my discretionary spending.

So I've decided that I want to gamify my life to some extent and I've implemented a little reward system for myself, with some number of reward points equalling $x. I want a small iPhone app that will let me me add amounts of money as I "earn" them and subtract amounts of money as I spend them on various items.

There are a number of bad apps that claim to do this and a number of much-more complicated apps that I am loath to try as it seems that it would just make things messy. Many programs seem to be aimed at allowances for kids and have a lot of chore-tracking parts that are not needed. Does anyone know of an app like this? A web-based program would also be fine. I mean, I could always just set up an Excel spreadsheet if it comes to that, but I'm hoping there's a neat little app with a cool visualization of coins dropping into a piggy bank or something like that.

posted by peacheater to computers & internet (3 answers total)

Balance for iPhone actually seems close to what I want. No cute piggy banks but functional. But let me know if you have any other suggestions.
posted by peacheater at 11:10 AM on October 21, 2012

Expense Management Premium. It's what I use, and it's remarkably simple.
posted by Master Gunner at 11:13 AM on October 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

I use mint, but I understand it doesn't do what you want, which is to make your savings into a kind of "rewards" system that you can then use for other purchases. But Mint's connectivity with online banking and credit cards is unparalleled, and it's the first app I've found that has been able to track my expenses, warn me when I'm over budget, and generally make my life easier without requiring a significant expenditure of effort on my own part.
posted by anewnadir at 2:09 PM on October 21, 2012