First mobile budget planner invented to prevent Latvians from overspending

A Money Controller or a budget planner in a mobile phone is evolution in planning money – no need for notebooks, account statements or electronic tables anymore, now users of the program can not only plan their budget, but also register every purchase and analyse spending in one’s mobile phone.

The Money Controller developed by the Money Planning Centre in cooperation with GE Money Bank is an innovative, at the same time also convenient and practical budget planning program that can be downloaded free of charge [1] in any mobile phone supporting GPRS/WAP function.

Signe Bierande, Money Planning Centre manager, stresses: “There are several compulsory steps in cash flow control – planning, tracking one’s expenses and analysis. The previous methods – computer or notebook tables, current account analysis, etc. – mostly remained at the first step – planning because tracking one’s expenses during the whole month was difficult, inconvenient and therefore the result – incomplete. However, now with the Money Controller it is convenient to register each purchase at once e.g. while waiting for a receipt. Thanks to this mobile budget planner it is possible to implement also other money control steps effectively. As the program is user-friendly, I think it will definitely help to develop and improve a budget planning habit.”

Development of the Money Controller program last for more than half a year – it was required to invest not only intellectual resources to ensure effective planning and cash flow control but also make it practical. One of the most significant stages, of course, is testing to understand whether the program is user-convenient (in attachment it is possible to get acquainted with first users opinion).

It is planned that in future functionality of the Money Controller will increase ever more, as well as it will be available not only in Latvian, but in Russian as well.

New invention to help residents to save and avoid overspending

Users will be offered this mobile program with such functions as planning – division of income to compulsory payments and general costs categories (it is possible to use already given samples or add your own), accounting each purchase according to its cost category during the entire planning period, reports for different time periods for clearer spending analysis and other possibilities.

The Money Controller will check whether purchases are made in accordance with the initial plan, as well will friendly prevent from overspending by making warnings.

The mobile budget planning program “Money Controller” is available free of charge – it is possible to download it on the Money Planning Centre web page www.vissparnaudu.lv in the section “Palīgs Tev” (“Assistant for you) through WAP wap.vissparnaudu.lv as well by sending an SMS message NK1 to the number 157.

Information on mobile phone models, which allow download of the Money Controller program, is also available on the Money Planning Centre web page.

An expert and a lecturer of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga Andris Strazds points out: “In the present situation many Latvian people have to restrict their expenses very much due to decreasing income and insecure future. At the same time it can be observed that at least some businessmen try to use uncertainty in the market by raising prices and thus hoping to gain additional profit. In such a situation it would be especially important for consumers to pay attention to prices businessmen ask and instead of paying the first mentioned price at once, compare different offers, bargain for lower price or simply not buy goods or services for higher price – wait until a businessmen will be forced to reduce the price. It is significant for consumers to realize one’s strength – they are the ones who determine the market at the moment. It should be used to achieve possibly more favourable price and quality correlation.”

At the end of 2008 GE Money Bank studied Smart Money Index of Latvian residents. It was found out that our weakest point is income and expense or personal budget control. Latvian residents got only 48 points out of 100 in the “income control” category, but in the category “spending control” – 50.

The Smart Money Index research also revealed that only 17% of Latvian residents plan their budget carefully (compared to 26% in Russia and 23% in Poland).

Also data [2] of the recently made survey on the vortal managimene.lv and on the portal Delfi Woman show that for a part of Latvian residents planning budget still is a challenge – 37% of respondents admit that they don’t plan budget because it is too complicated and time consuming or because they haven’t found a more appropriate planning method or they haven’t thought about it at all.

“Now the time has come to change one’s habits – to realize where money goes in order to ensure our own economic sustainability. Of course, it is difficult to change behaviour on purpose; first of all, one has to gather oneself for changes and, secondly, act. In my opinion, Latvian residents have coped with the first stage – they have realized the need to change, though have stayed halfway in the second stage. It means that money is planned at the beginning of month, but when it comes to real purchases, expenses are not fixed anymore, receipts – not kept, etc. Thus all plans go wrong – and again it is not clear where a salary has “disappeared”, says Viktors Toropovs, GE Money Bank Leader of Consumer finance and leasing sales.

“The same as when doing exercises our body gets used to a definite load and over time running 10 km doesn’t seem difficult anymore, also regular budget planning in the end becomes an integral part of our everyday life – and it is not difficult anymore. Budget planning must become a habit.” 

Money Planning Centre

What do first test persons say about Money Controller?

TV icons – Haralds Burkovskis and Elina Dolge – agreed to become the first test persons of the Money Controller as well as active budget planners.

The Money Controller is a handy way to control one’s expenses with stress on the word “handy”. In addition, as this program is available in a mobile phone, it is ensured that it will be successfully implemented. Unlike it often happens to a similar undertaking to control one’s expenses and correlate them to one’s income, doing it in notebooks – such undertaking quite often becomes difficult.

When planning in a mobile phone, it is possible to register each expense, even the smallest purchase, which by the way sum up to quite a considerable sum in a month’s time and most important that usually it is not planned.

A wide range of program’s sections is sufficient not to get confused and at the same time being able to personalize it, for example, creating expense sections typical of one’s own.

The Money Controller helps with revising one’s expenses with a time interval, in the section “reports” it is possible to have a look at today’s, yesterday’s, this week’s and even month’s spending against planned expenses in a specific section.

In my opinion, “the most educational possibility”, which I try using myself as regards spontaneous or in fact unnecessary purchases, is entering a purchase sum before the purchase is made. Then a text appears on the screen that after this purchase a specific sum of money will remain in the chosen category and what is the most important – a question appears: “Will you buy?” With the help of this question I have already avoided a couple of spontaneous purchases;)

Elīna Dolģe

“Tautas Balss” (“Nation’s Voice”) journalist

LETA publicity photo

„The Money Controller is a possibility to organize one’s expenses, as well as a good assistant to those who haven’t planned their budget previously. Compared to other ways of budget planning this program not only provides reports when all money has been spent already, but actually enables planning of expenses asking prior to each purchase whether you really want to buy it.”

Haralds Burkovskis

TV icon, journalist

[1] For download you have to pay just for an SMS message or WAP service in accordance with fees defined by a respective mobile service provider.

[2] The survey was made from 12 to 13 January, 445 respondents surveyed.