Why I love paper receipts and you should too

There has recently been a proliferation of money apps out there that help you track your spending and budget. These apps link to your bank accounts and credit cards and track all of your spending.

They try to work out what those expenses are, and automatically assign them to different expense categories — entertainment, groceries, etc.

I think it’s a great thing in theory. Having a budget is — in my opinion — the second step to financial success. The first step being having a goal or dream that inspires you to stay on top of your finances.

Regardless of how well a money app does or doesn’t work, just having the intent to download it shows that people are interested in getting their financial house in order. That’s something to be applauded and encouraged!

However, my husband Alex and I don’t use any apps that automatically track our spending and spit out a nice pie chart of our spending breakdown, or a graph showing how our expenses compare to previous months.

While that information is broadly informative (did I/didn’t I go under budget? Jeez, I had no idea I spent so much on clothes or dining out, etc), I don’t think it’s actually all that helpful in my opinion.

Why? Because the work is being done for you. A bit like being a kid who gets…