Five Free Personal Finance Apps for Expats to Manage Money Abroad

Many expats take advantage of the opportunity their new circumstances afford them to get to grips with their money. But it can be tricky to track the financial complexities involved in dealing with multiple countries, currencies, homes and moves. There’s always something just around the corner – a new school, a new job – ready to throw a spanner in the works and bring your carefully crafted system crashing down around your ears. 

There has to be a flexible solution for those whose lives aren’t always predictable. Inevitably, that solution is going to be found in the digital world, where your physical location doesn’t matter. There are apps that can help you take control. Here are just five of them:

1) Venmo

Sending money quickly and easily is a concern when you have family in other parts of the world. Take, for example, a child studying away from home. A Venmo account can help you link bank accounts or credit cards and make payments to anyone else with a Venmo account at the touch of a button.

2) Transferwise

International bank transfers can be the bane of an expat’s life. If you’re operating in multiple currencies you’ll be dealing with moving sums between accounts and the fees, exchange rates and long waiting times that brings with it. Transferwise provides clear conversion rates, visible fee structures and single-day transfers.

3) Toshl

This app allows you to track your income and expenses in more than one currency. You can choose a currency for each transaction, categorize, tag and search expenses, and access exchange rates. It syncs across devices and has a data export feature. Toshl also provides an introduction to basic financial record-keeping and management.

4) XE

It’s a favourite worldwide and for that reason it is worth inclusion on the list. XE covers exchange rates on all currency and can store your 10 favourite currencies and compare them to your home unit. It offers a rate alert, perfect for expats who want to know when they should make big currency swaps.

5) Xpenditure

Keeping track of expenses is one of the down sides of travelling for work and expense reports can be a real bind. Xpenditure allows you to simply scan or take a picture of a receipt and it will automatically be sent directly to the accounting department at your home office. Obviously one you’ll need to sell to your workplace first but, once you do, life on the road (or in the air) will be much simpler.