Budget on your mobile: the Spendometer

We are now in a time of economic uncertainty.

House prices increasingly look like they are destined to fall for a sustained period; the credit crunch continues to affect lending; and food, energy and drink prices are all on the rise.

All this adds up worries about personal finance taking hold for an expanding proportion of the population.

Sadly, the balance on our bank accounts remains as close to zero as it always was, with money from student loans fast disappearing and overdrafts maxed out.So is there a solution to this financial quagmire?

Unfortunately there is no simple way out of the current predicament, but help is at hand.

Credit Action, a national money education and debt advocacy charity, has developed a novel way of undertaking that central task of personal financial management: budgeting!

They have launched a free mobile phone budgeting tool, the Moneybasics Spendometer, which allows you to keep track your finances on the go whenever you are.

34.4% of those who considered dropping out of university did so because of financial problems

Jason Taylor

Have you ever wondered just where you have spent your money over the course of a week?

The Moneybasics Spendometer can help.

With research from the Financial Services Authority showing that 34.4% of those who considered dropping out of university did so because of financial problems, it is important to take steps early to avoid the pain brought about by serious over-indebtedness.

Annabel, a student at UCL, said: "The Spendometer is a simple, practical tool that has been really helpful in allowing to me to see where my money has gone."

The tool gives you the option of set budget categories and limits so that you are told when you have spent too much money on, just for example, booze.

Additionally, the application has a 'going out' function so that you don't have to log every drink on a night out.

If you input how much money you are taking with you into the Spendometer, the next time you open the tool, the day after, it will ask you how much you have left.

It will then work out the difference and record how much you have spent.

Download the tool for free from MoneyBasics.co.uk or CreditAction.org.uk. See a BBC News review of the Moneybasics Spendometer on YouTube to find out more about it and see it in action.