Two essential tools for your investment journey

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I'm not a fan of too many mobile applications especially if they don't solve a problem for me I'll bet the few mobile applications most of us use consistently include the Google/Yahoo email application, one or two social accounts; Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Twitter and one or two messaging applications; Whats App or BBM. The FitFam enthusiasts might toss in one or two fitness applications to stay motivated. While I consider myself a tech enthusiast, I am in the category of those who used only 4 or 5 applications on a daily basis. However, in the last couple of months, I've been working on becoming more deliberate with how I think and how I  track my expenses on a real time basis. Finding the right tool can make any task easier,  so I went on a search to find a mobile application that could keep me engaged and help me stay consistent with my goals. One other key requirement for me was for it to be adaptable and easy to use. I settled on two key mobile applications , available in Nigeria, in the past few weeks and thought to share. Reach  I stumbled on this mobile application and I can't get over how super useful it is to use. I've tried a couple of money management mobile applications before but the major issue I always had was I had to input my transactions manually to track my inflow and outflow. With this application, manual input is not necessary and you can sync your bank accounts so once I carry out a transaction, it is immediately uploaded to your account on the application.     The expense tool tracks spending by category so that you don't have to enter the category manually. I like the fact that I can view all my transactions on a weekly and monthly basis, all categorized and analysed for me. I don't have to do this myself. All I do is log into my account at the beginning of the week to set a budget for spending and at the end of the week, I can see all I have I spent money on neatly categorized into spend buckets for me. It's similar to Personal Capital (a financial tool in the USA) but it's synced for use with local bank accounts in Nigeria Download for free here   Bliss Like the name implies, this  mobile application brings bliss to me on a daily basis. It's a gratitude journal of sorts that sends me a reminder on a daily basis to note down something I'm grateful for. I tried to start keeping a gratitude journal early this year but I wasn't consistent. Now, once I get the notification, it forces me to think and note down what I'm grateful for on daily basis. What I also love about this app is , it is synced to my gmail account so I won't lose all the data I fill in on a daily basis.     The application also has other features like, noting down three good things about your day daily, the challenges you had to face and the good in every challenge, the names of people you want honor on a daily basis. So anytime, I feel negative during the day, I tap on the application to read my gratitude journal for the previous days and it gives me perspective for my day. I really love this application and I think you should check it out, unfortunately it's only available on Android for now. Download it here   These 2 mobile applications are essential for your investment journey because you need to track your inflows and outflows consistently. Spending is an individual activity. Beyond the golden rule—spend less than you earn—it’s hard to be prescriptive because expenses are the result of so many individual decisions, many of which feel inconsequential as we make them. So, today I'm encouraging you to get in the habit of tracking your inflows and outflows with a tool.1  This will help you see the spending activities that need to be stopped. and If you read my post last week, I shared how our minds naturally pay more attention to negative things because they pose a chance of danger, but we can deliberate with our thinking and choose to focus on being thankful and letting that push us into achieving more. The Bliss Application will help you be deliberate with paying attention to positive things. Is there any other activity you're struggling with and need a tool for? leave a comment below Note 1 - https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthasharf/2016/03/02/12-free-apps-to-track-your-spending-and-how-to-pick-the-best-one-for-you/#2d08578f5445