There are plenty of money-tracking apps on the market. So what makes Wismo stand out from the crowd? Short for what I spend money on, Wismo utilizes a personal spending index (PSI) to quickly gauge your cash flow, as well as a social component to compare your spending habits with others. Keep reading for everything you need to know about this low-cost, non-budgeting app.
Wismo Features
Wismo is a social cash flow tracking app that helps you spend less than you earn. There are no spreadsheets, charts or graphs like most budgeting apps, so it appeals to those who are too busy to take the time to do down-to-the-dollar budgeting. Key features include:
Personal Spending Index (PSI)
Your Personal Spending Index (PSI) is a numeration of your cash flow, based on your self-reported or verified income and expenses.
PSI = (Spend / Income) x 100
If you have a PSI of 100, that means you’re spending just as much as you earn. A PSI under 100 indicates you spend less than you earn, while a PSI over 100 represents negative cash flow. Obviously a PSI under 100 is ideal.
Using the PSI is a quick and easy way to get a feel for how much you’re spending, so you can make better choices with your money.
Reports
As we said before, Wismo isn’t big on charts and graphs. That said, the app does provide the following easy visualizations:
- Total expenses for the month
- Daily spending for the month
- Recurring expense for the month
- Your PSI for the month
Public Feed
On your social feed, you’ll see usernames, stats and their spending activities in almost-real time. Go to the “Friends” tab to only see the people you follow. Choose the “Everyone” tab to view all non-private users’ spending. You can filter your feed to see people who are similar to you, with regards to income and spending. By comparing your spending habits with other people’s, you might find some motivation to spend less and save more.
If you are using Wismo’s free version, your spending will be visible in other users’ feeds, albeit anonymously. To turn off this feature, you need to upgrade to Premium (more on that below).
Premium Features
Upgrade to Wismo Premium to enjoy the following enhanced features:
- Link financial accounts, so you don’t have to enter non-cash transactions manually.
- Set account to privacy mode, bypassing the social feed feature so others can’t view your anonymous financial information.
- Add up to four family members so you can track and share expenses together.
- Experience zero ads for a clutter-free interface.
How Wismo Works
To get started, enter your name, email address and phone number. Then, create a username that doesn’t contain identifiable information. Remember, your username and financial information will be displayed in the public social feed with the free version.
Next, answer some basic questions about your finances, such as your monthly income, housing costs and transportation expenses. Once that’s all done, you’ll get to your dashboard, which displays your PSI, recurring spending, daily budget and daily spend.
Add your income and expenses to track your spending. You can snap a photo of the transaction receipt, enter the amount and spending category, add the payee’s name, as well as notes about the expense. You can also submit recurring expenses, like housing and transportation, utilities, insurance, subscriptions, loans and savings goals.
To find friends and peers, use the “Friends” tab and filter by age, annual income, sex and occupation. Once you find some users to follow, you can compare your spending habits with theirs.
Wismo Pricing
The free version of Wismo lets you track your spending, see your PSI and interact in the social space. However, it does come with ads.
If you want an ad-free experience, the ability to link your accounts and family sharing, you need to upgrade to the Premium Plan. It costs $2.99 per month or $29.99 annually.
Bottom Line
Wismo was made for those who can’t be bothered with traditional budgets, spreadsheets and graphs. The low-cost app lets you compare your spending to your peers, and it’s light, intuitive and fun to use.
Alternatives to Wismo include Personal Capital, Mint and Wallit.
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