The best apps to help you save money in 2018
Get your household finances in order with these handy budgeting and saving apps
AFTER the Christmas and New Year's festivities, now comes the hangover.
The Money Advice Trust has revealed nearly 8million Brits are expecting to fall behind on their finances this month because of Christmas spending, while uSwitch.com found the average shopper stuck £452 on credit card to cover the cost.
But if you want to get your finances in fighting shape for 2018 and your new year's resolution is to be better with your cash then help is at hand.
There are loads of apps you can download to your smartphone, which can help you budget properly and save a fortune over the next 12 months.
Here's The Sun Online's money team's pick of the most helpful apps.
Monzo - track your spending
If you're pretty savvy when when it comes to your apps and money, then you've probably heard of Monzo.
Launched back in 2015, Monzo is a smartphone-only banking app, which lets customers easily track their spending.
When you signed-up, the bank used to give you a pre-paid Mastercard, which you could upload with cash from your normal current account.
But Monzo was given a banking licence in 2017 and can now offer customers an actual current account with a debit card.
This means users can now set up direct debits and standing orders and get their salary directly paid to Monzo.
Every time you spend on the card, you'll get instant notifications on the app and divides your spending into categories - so you can see exactly where you're wasting your money.
Helpfully, you can even set targets for each category so you can stay within your budget - and it will alert if you're spending too much.
Monzo has also been a hit with travellers and holidaymakers, as it used to offer free charges when using cash machines abroad.
But from Thursday (January 4), there will be a 3 per cent charge on withdrawals abroad with a £200 free allowance.
Squirrel - stick to a budget
Another handy budgeting app that should help stop you blowing your wages straight away, Squirrel has more than 15,000 customers keeping a close eye on their finances.
Users put their monthly salary into an account, with the app then splitting your spending into three categories - commitments, spending and savings.
Then when the time comes to pay your bills, the app will release the funds back into your current account the day before their due to be paid - so you won't be tempted to splash cash that needs to be spent on essentials.
Once you bills and savings are taken care of, any left over money is classed as spending money and you can choose if you want this transferred to your account in one go - or on a weekly basis if you think you'll find it easier to budget.
You can use the app for free for the first three months and then you'll pay £3.99 per month after.
Chip - automatic saving
Most of us would find it easier to boost our savings if we didn't have to worry about it - which is where Chip comes in.
An automatic savings app, Chip cleverly works out how much you can afford to save without it affecting your usual spending habits.
Every few days, the app calculates what you can afford to save - and then transfers that money from your current account to your Barclays-run Chip account automatically.
You'll get one per cent interest on what you save as standard - and you can boost this savings rate by an extra one per cent up to a maximum of five per cent if you recommend friends to sign-up too.
The app works with customers of Natwest, Halifax, Lloyds, Nationwide, Barclays, HSBC, First Direct, Santander, TSB, RBS, Metro Bank and Co-operative.
It's free to use and you can increase or decrease the amount you are saving at any time - so you don't have to worry that the app will leave you short.
Bean - finding a better deal
We're all guilty of paying for services we no longer use - but the makers of Bean thinks it can help you save hundreds of pound a year.
The website tracks all your regular payments like your bills and subscriptions to services like Netflix and Spotify and lets you know where you can get a better deal.
It also aims to encourage the millions of households that are stuck on expensive energy deals and have never swapped provider.
Its makers reckon its saved users around £672 a year in pre-launch trials and is completely free to use - the firm makes its money by charging companies if you choose to switch based on their recommendation.
At the moment, Bean is only available by signing-up on its website, and not via a smartphone app.
More on money
Oval Money - save as you post on Facebook
Like Chip, Oval Money lets you save cash automatically, either by rounding-up what you spend to the nearest pound, or by you choosing a fixed percentage of your spending, which will then be added to your account.
But the free app has launched a new feature which will go down well with those on Facebook.
You can save a fixed amount every time you post on Facebook, with the money transferred once a week to your Oval account.
All you have to do is select the Facebook option on the app's main page and away you go.
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