We all spend money on products or services that we don’t need. Drawing attention to these impulse purchases can make a world of difference in changing your daily spending habits. For whatever reason, visually recognizing the sheer amount you have spent in the past month on entertainment or shopping can be an eye-opening experience. Available on your PC or mobile device, the Spending Tracker is a simple-to-use method for tracking your expenses and spending. It’s quick to install and free for all, with the option of a pro upgrade for some extra features.

How it works

Spending money is easy when you can’t yet see the consequences. It’s why so many of us don’t realize that we’ve spent $500 dining out over the past month until it’s too late. Luckily, it’s also easy to track your spending and begin to paint a picture of those potential consequences proactively. Spending Tracker allows you to easily log your expenses and income quickly and keeps you up-to-date on your latest balance and an overview of your current spending progress. As you make purchases and bring in income, you’ll be able to view your current situation along the way, allowing you to make better-informed purchasing decisions.

Why it’s great

Aside from its ease and functionality, the Spending Tracker offers flexible weekly, monthly or yearly time periods, customizable spending and income categories, reports to visualize your spending and a budget mode that provides you with the opportunity to set a fixed budget amount. The app has everything you need to manage your spending without the hassle of a full-service accounting software. No longer do we need to carve out a hefty chunk of time on the weekend to “sit down and do the budget.” It’s easier than ever to stay on top of your finances.

Pro upgrade

If you’re looking to take things up a notch or manage your business spending reports, the Spending Tracker Pro Upgrade provides even more functionality. Transactions can be sorted daily, weekly or monthly and can be exported to PDF or CSV. This feature is fantastic for those needing to send financial data to a third party or simply keep a separate record on file. The upgrade also offers Dropbox backups and syncing to other devices to ensure your data is kept safe, secure and accessible.

Take control of your spending

The first step toward changing your spending habits is to recognize the problem and understand where it is rooted. As you begin to enter your spending into this useful app, patterns may emerge that highlight the changes you could make to provide the greatest benefit. In fact, the simple act of consciously tracking your spending might just be enough to change your mentality when it comes to pulling out that credit card, ultimately affecting your bottom line.

How to get it

As long as you have Windows 8 or higher, you can download the program here. It’s quick and easy to get set up and even easier to start tracking your spending. If you’re looking for a mobile option, you can find the app in the Google Play store for Android, the App store on iPhone, and the Microsoft store for windows phones. Get all the same functionality on the go!