Top up via Apple Pay

As new years resolution I took it upon myself to stick to a strict budget in an effort to kickstart my savings for a mortgage. It just so happens that Mondo has been the exact tool I have been waiting for. My optimistic target of saving £500 a month for the next year has got off to a flying start. Each week I set myself a weekly budget and pay myself from my current account directly from the app which takes all of 30 seconds through Apple Pay. This has dramatically improved my saving ability as I know in real-time (not 3–4 days later) what I have been spending. In fact, when paying, its so fast (via chip or wireless) that the payment notification displays on my iPhone before the receipt has even printed!

Your Spending screen

Now, this is where it gets even better. I can now track every item or withdrawal through the Your Spending screen. This provides me with a breakdown of my spending which automatically is categorised depending on what I have purchased. This is something every budget tracker system I have ever used to date (Money dashboard, Mint) have struggled with. I have ended up having to tag the majority of my spending manually because their system can’t determine what it was that I purchased. I don’t know what type of witchcraft Mondo are using but it seems to be working as I haven’t tagged one item yet.

Sainsbury’s Total Spend

One of the fascinating indirect advantages of using Mondo is its ability to make you aware of your spending habits. I can’t believe how much I spend in Sainsbury’s and on coffees at Pret. Mondo gives you minute by minute control of your finances and spending habits, allowing you to keep a close eye on your daily, weekly and monthly spending. Again this has helped my savings goal by making me aware of my spending habits making me question my purchases and noticing the cumulative effect of spending in certain establishments.

Another really simple feature that is incredibly useful is the ability to take a picture of your receipt and add it to that particular purchase all through the Mondo app. This is a valuable tool for people like myself who don’t have a separate company card but claim their expenses back. Prior to Mondo, I would take pictures of each receipt using Evernote and store them in a work folder in case I lost it. Mondo’s feature is far easier to manage due to the picture being tagged to the particular purchase and its associated location.

Throughout the Alpha testing process Mondo has been communicating with its early testers via an online Community Forum, allowing user to create discussion threads and provide feedback. Mondo is offering a level of transparency like no other bank has by discussing all their decisions and testing ideas with their users.

Conclusion

So far I couldn't be happier with my Mondo card. My ability to save has drastically improved since using this card and I hope once Mondo receives its banking licence I will be able to ditch my current account and move all my direct debits, bills and standing orders to my Mondo current account. This will then give me the ability to track all my outgoings and yet again improve my savings each month.