I use a free app on Android and save around 30 euros every month

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Prices have been getting more expensive for months. MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann has tried several apps to become more economical. And it was really worth it. Because at the end of the month there was always a few euros left over because he actually left an app on his cell phone.

What have I tried? Due to inflation and sharply rising prices, I wanted to save money and keep my savings together. For this reason, I started keeping a household book. This meant I could quickly see where my biggest expenses were during the month. To do this, I tested several apps from the Google AppStore:

  • Money Manager: A clear design, but a lot of advertising, which is also in Chinese. That made the app less attractive (to the Google Play Store)
  • My expenses: A nice app with good basic functions. Unfortunately, many premium features are still hidden behind the paywall, which you have to activate either through a subscription or a one-time payment (to the Google Play Store).
  • Cashew: The app shines not only because of the lack of advertising, but also because it is completely open source, perfectly in German and, thanks to the web app, also works in the browser. On top of that, the app comes from Canada (to the Google Play Store).

    • Why did I keep cashew? In the end I got stuck with the Cashew app. I have now consistently recorded my expenses for 6 months. After each purchase, I took my receipts and entered the costs into the app.

    I’m now so convinced of the app that I’m actually considering investing the one-time 20 euros. The pro features are hardly worth it, but the app is now really worth it to me.

    This is what my data looked like in November 2023.

    With a household app I save around 30 euros a month

    This is how I proceeded: I set a clear budget for myself at the beginning of the month: I want to keep my monthly expenses for groceries etc. to under 300 euros.

    How much have I saved? In the first month I was clearly surprised by my spending and was well over it. That shocked me too, so I went through my purchases again. In the following months I was around 30 or 40 euros below the desired value. On average, I actually spent less.

    As soon as I realized that I was quickly approaching my desired budget, I skipped certain purchases or tried to cut costs in other ways:

  • Then the bag of gummy bears or the bar of chocolate was left behind in the supermarket.
  • Or I bought fewer things that would have ended up just in the pantry for the next few months.
  • When shopping, I often questioned what I really need: What do I have to buy today and what can I easily do without.

    • Do you have a tip? Yes I have that. What I strongly recommend is that anyone who wants to keep a budget book like this: enter your expenses directly and consistently. On my first attempt, I sometimes only entered expenses days later, but that also undermines the purpose of a project where I want to break down expenses.

    You can save on the device you use to keep records – but can you actually manage everyday life with a cell phone that costs less than 100 euros? I bought the cheap Blackview A60 Pro and tell you on MeinMMO what it’s worth and what it’s not worth. Because not everything has to be a smartphone costing hundreds of euros:

    I tested a cell phone for 100 euros – is it really as bad as you imagine?

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