|

10 of the Best iPhone Apps for Budgeting for a Family Vacation


Posted on March 25, 2013 by admin | in Nannies

Family vacations are an exciting source of precious family memories, but they can also be one of the biggest financial drains on families living within a strict budget. Fortunately, there is no shortage of budgeting and travel apps available from Apple’s well-stocked and comprehensive App Store, so you can concentrate on enjoying your vacation and spending some much deserved downtime with your family, rather than stressing yourself out over the financial implications of your trip. These 10 offerings are a great mix of budgeting and travel apps, which are ideal for any family planning a vacation.

  1. iTravel Budget – This app is specifically designed with vacationing family and friends in mind. Not only can you track and share your collective budgets, but you can set up group itineraries, too. iTravel Budget’s work isn’t finished at the planning stage, either. By using this free app once you’ve arrived at your vacation destination, you can continue to track your expenses throughout the trip to ensure you do not run out of funds before you get back home.
  2. Vacation Budget Tracker – This is a fairly simple app that allows you to enter your overall vacation budget and then enter what you spend to keep track of how much you have left in real time. You can also change the currency to adapt to your location so that you always have a true reflection of your budget. This app is available for free from the iPhone store.
  3. BuddyCalc Free Cost Sharing – Don’t allow disputes over “who needs to pay for what” ruin your vacation with this free app. When you’re traveling with adults who have agreed to split all of the bills or teens who have been charged with their first taste of financial responsibility, it’s easy to lose track of who should be footing a particular bill. You can set up individual and group budgets with BuddyCalc, which you can then send to each member of the group so that everyone knows how much room they have within their budget. If you don’t like the predefined categories, don’t worry; you can change them to suit your group’s specific needs.
  4. Bon Voyage: Travel Budget & Expenses – This app is one part expense and budget tracker, one part organizer. While you’re worrying about your budget, it’s easy to forget where you need to be and when. Bon Voyage takes care of everything from expenses and business receipts to event reminders and checklists. This app is a great value for $1.99 from the App Store.
  5. Easy Envelope Budget Aid – Before the iPhone was even a concept, financial advisors were championing the envelope budget method. Basically, you separate all of your expenses into different envelopes according to the categories that best reflect your outgoings, making it easy to effectively track spending. Easy Budget Aid takes this concept and amps it up for the 21st century with a free app for iPhone.
  6. iXpenseIt Lite – The detailed reporting functionality that iXpenseIt Lite offers is perhaps the most useful feature when it comes to budgeting for a vacation. The reports track your balance by comparing daily, weekly and monthly spending to corresponding budget limits. You can also set up recurring expenses, making it easier to get a clear idea of where your disposable income is going.
  7. Ace Budget 2 – One of the most effective ways to plan and stick to a vacation budget is by examining your spending history. Ace Budget 2 gives you the ability to build up a budget history, which you can view according to daily, monthly and bi-monthly spending and much more. The app costs $0.99; however, it is packed with great features that will make vacation budgeting easier with every use.
  8. Budget Alert – The problem with vacation budgets is that they usually rely on knowing the expenses of more than one person. Budget Alert, for $0.99, is a great way to solve that problem. With this app you can set up shared budgets for the entire family, which everyone can access and update. You will also find the built in currency converter useful for accurately planning your spending money.
  9. Balance Forecasting – This app does exactly what the name suggests – provides you with balance forecasting. If you are budgeting for your vacation month-by-month, then this free app is ideal for helping you predict how much you can expect to have available. A smart filtering system will also help you make cuts in spending, determining where you can afford to cut spending and do without.
  10. My Budget – Cash Flow – Part of any good budget involves detailed analysis of your income and expenses. My Budget –Cash Flow provides a powerful analytical tool for only $3.99 that will help you both work out your budget and figure out how to save and siphon your income to the places where you need it most.

While you’re in the planning and saving stages, it’s also a smart move to look for ways that you can save money on the vacation itself. Booking flights, hotels and rental cars through travel clearinghouse sites, working with an experienced travel agent to find the best deals and vacationing during non-peak times are all effective methods of shaving a bit off of the bill.

0saves
Save
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.
|

One Response to 10 of the Best iPhone Apps for Budgeting for a Family Vacation

  1. Matt Gomio says:
    March 26, 2013 at 8:39 am

    Wow, this collection is really cool! I didn’t expect that!

    My favorite app is the iTravel Budget as it could really be helpful when traveling with the partner or a friend. This paper-work is always a mess, counting who spent what.
    Thanks for your great work!

    best regards,
    Matt