Track expenses without connecting your bank
By Dedaldino Antonio
Published
You can track your spending without giving any app access to your bank. In Monaza you log each expense yourself, by voice or by typing, and pick the account the money came from. Monaza never asks for your bank credentials.
Why log it yourself
When you take 20,000 Kz out of an ATM, your bank learns that you took out 20,000 Kz, and nothing else. It doesn't know whether it went on a candongueiro ride, a street vendor or something you'd rather forget. You know, at least until the weekend. Log it, and you'll still know a month from now.
Your bank credentials stay with you. And because every expense goes through you, cash included, you know where your money goes and what you can still spend this week without touching the money for bills still to pay.
How to log an expense
- By voice: tap the mic and say, for example, “taxi home, 12 dollars, cash”. Monaza fills in the amount, category, account and day, and the expense is saved. See how to log spending by voice.
- By typing: enter the amount and what it was for, then save. The account you usually pay from is already picked, and your most-used categories come first.
- Income and transfers go in from the same sheet, so each account's balance adds up.
One account for every place you keep money
Create the accounts you use: cash in your wallet, your bank account, your savings. Each can have its own currency, kwanza, dollars or euros, and Monaza converts the totals to your main currency.
Bring the history you already have
- A CSV file, exported from another app or a spreadsheet, in Settings, Data, Import CSV.
- Your Spendee data, with transactions, wallets and categories. See how to move from Spendee.
Questions
Does Monaza connect to my bank?
No. Monaza never asks for access to your bank or for your account credentials. You log your spending yourself, by voice or by typing, and no one can move money through the app.
Can I log cash spending?
Yes. Create an account for the cash you carry and log your spending in it, like any other account.
Do I need to create an account to start?
No. You start right away and create an account whenever you like, to keep your data if you change phones.
Is my data safe?
It's encrypted when it's sent and when it's stored. You can open the app with Face ID or your fingerprint and delete your account and data at any time, in the app.
About the author
Dedaldino Antonio
Dedaldino Antonio founded Tumaio, the company that makes Monaza, is the app's engineer, and writes the guides and comparisons on this site.
