Advances in technology mean that it’s now so easy to keep track of your finances and achieve savings goals, using smartphone apps, websites, and other online financial tools, says Angelique Ruzicka.

If you’re still using Excel or some other rudimentary means to keep track of your household finances, you should ditch all that now, Here’s what you should use in 2022:

Your bank’s financial tools

Capitec: The Capitec budgeting tool helps you set a budget based on your income and needs. By using the tool, you can explore categories in more detail and make decisions about your financial priorities.

Nedbank: MyPocket allows savers to compartmentalise money into separate ‘pockets’ for each expense goal. You need a Nedbank current account but can start saving from as little as R1. You’ll earn 3% interest a year on up to 10 MyPockets on balances of R9,999 or less. You can name your pockets using words like ‘holiday’ or ‘school fees’ and make use of the bank’s goal savings calculator to keep on track.

If you’re keen to understand how much money you could potentially borrow or how long a loan would take to pay off, Nedbank has a variety of handy online calculators that can help you do just that. You don’t have to be a client to use them.

FNB: FNB has various calculators and financial tools on its website that you can use to budget, calculate your vehicle repayments, and check your affordability, for example.

Absa: Customers can easily invest in various savings and investment options through the bank’s app and website tools. There are also plenty of guides to help you bank smarter.

TymeBank: customers can take advantage of the GoalSave savings tool which is linked to the EveryDay account. Customers can start 10 different GoalSaves for different goals. You earn more interest (up to 8%) the longer you keep your money in a GoalSave. You also get higher interest if you agree to give Tymebank 10 days’ notice before you take your money out. The 8% rate can be achieved if you have your salary paid into your Tymebank account.

Swipe and save

If you’re not very disciplined when it comes to saving, there are some tools and apps that could help with this.

Old Mutual Money Account: This transactional account comes with a link to the Old Mutual Money Market Fund. You can transfer a select amount each month into the unit trust or dedicate a percentage of your spend (swipes). So, for example, if you swipe or tap your card for R100, then R10 will be transferred from your Swipe account into your Save account.

Bank your change: This FNB feature allows individual cheque, Easy and FNBy transactional account holders to allocate money to a linked savings account every time they spend. Savers can also choose a regular transfer amount. There are no monthly fees and savers can get instant access to the money.

Multiply: The rewards programme offered by Momentum turns discounts into real savings. You can qualify for discounts but with certain partners you can opt to get cashback instead. For example, you could earn between 2% and 12% cash back when you shop at PicknPay or Dis-Chem, depending on your Multiplier status.

Stash: This app, available for iOS and Android, enables users to easily save through regular transfers. You can choose to invest money into either an SA Top 40 Shares portfolio or a Cash+ portfolio, or even both. Existing Stash customers can now open a tax-free investment option for children too. “For those setting up a Stash account for the first time, the process is simple and requires no paperwork and most importantly, no fixed monthly financial commitment,” says Glenn Grimley, chief specialist for digital proposition management at Liberty.

Assess financial health, compare, and set financial goals

22Seven and 22Seven lite: Backed by Old Mutual and launched in 2012, this budgeting app enables you to see all your accounts, transactions, savings, and investments in one place. You can link it to all bank, credit and retail cards, investments, loans, and rewards to create a detailed budget. If you’re worried about it eating all your data, the 22Seven team have created 22Seven lite – a data free version which can be accessed through Moya, a data free messaging app.

Franc: This app was built to make investing simple and affordable. It offers two investment options: the Allan Gray money market fund, which has offered annualised returns of 7.7% since inception, and the Satrix 40 ETF. It’s available through the App Store, Google Play, and the Huawei AppGallery. There’s no minimum investment and Franc charges a 1% fee.

Comparison sites: There are a few comparison websites that allow you compare savings options. These include MyTreasury.co.za and Fincheck.co.za. Remember that price comparison websites may not feature all the products available, so it’s important to do your own research too.

OUTvest: OUTvest offers goal-based advice and passive investment options through their website and app. It has a do-it-yourself digital front end, low fees, and goal-based calculators, which help you work out how much to save to achieve your goals.

Check your retirement funding

Marriot Income Specialists: They have investment planning tools to help you calculate how much you need to save for retirement as well as what you need to ensure a financially secure retirement.

10X Investments: This website has a retirement savings calculator and a retirement income calculator.

Access your credit health

FNB Banking App: This allows you to check your credit score for free and gives tips on how to improve it. It will also give you credit score alerts which will notify you if there are any changes.

Credit bureaus: The Credit Bureau Association (CBA) represents 18 registered credit bureaus, including the Consumer Profile Bureau, Experian, TransUnion, Vericred and XDS. It’s important to check your credit score at more than one bureau – at least annually – to get an accurate picture of your credit profile. Lodge a dispute if there’s any incorrect information.