Wismo Review: Budgeting and Expense-Tracking App

Wismo is a budgeting app that has a social component to it - in that you can compare yourself to other people! Unlike other apps, Wismo also tries to score you - assigning you a personal score based on how efficient your spending is. 

This app provides an interesting twist on the basic idea of a budgeting app. And the fact that it has a free tier makes it a bit more compelling compared to other offerings (like CountAbout or Quicken). However, unless you need the novelty of a score, this app doesn't have the robustness of other free products like Personal Capital.

Read more and share your own thoughts in our Wismo review.

What Is Wismo?

Wismo is a simple, budgeting mobile app. It is owned by Nearby, Inc. Wismo doesn’t require any personal information or linking to bank and credit card accounts.

Interesting trivia: Wismo stands for What I Spent Money On.

What Do They Offer?

Wismo allows you to easily track your spending against income. Just snap a photo and add the amount of your purchase to track each expense.

You can choose to add more data such as the payee, category, and a note. You will be able to view your expenses by category, total monthly spending, recurring expenses, and daily expenses along with your income.

Two Plans

Wismo comes in two plans: one free and the other paid. The free plan has ads. The premium plan doesn’t have ads and you can use it in private mode. The premium plan costs $9.99/month or $4.99/month when billed annually.

PSI

Wismo uses a score to determine how efficient your spending is. The score is called the PSI or Personal Spending Index. PSI is calculated as [Spend/Income] x 100. Staying under 100 means you’re spending less than you make.

As an example, let’s say you spend $2,000 in a month while earning $2,100. Your PSI is 2,000/2,100 x 100 = 95. This means you spent 95% of your income. As long as you didn’t spend all of your income, you’ll have money to save.

In your monthly overview, you can see your savings. The monthly overview displays income after taxes and then subtracts recurring and daily spending to get savings. For example:

Income (after taxes): $6,750
− Recurring: $3,150
− Daily Spend: $2,920
= Savings: $680

The above has a PSI of 6,070/6,750 x 100 = 90.

A Social Environment

Besides not having to create a budget, another feature that sets Wismo apart from other budgeting apps is its social aspect. You can compare your spending to others just like you.

For example, age/sex, yearly salary, and occupation are available for comparison. This allows you to compare yourself against some very similar to you. The idea is that seeing how others are performing will motivate you to continue budgeting and saving.

Mobile App

Wismo is a mobile app only. It’s available for both iOS and Android. Currently, in the iTunes App Store, it has a 4.0 rating out of 5.0 ratings. The latest version of the app is 1.2 and lets you give people kudos in the Feed.

Are There Any Fees?

If you upgrade to the premium plan, it will cost $9.99/month or $4.99/month if paid annually. Accounts are charged through iTunes and will auto-renew unless the feature is turned off. Otherwise, you can remain on the free plan.

How Do I Open An Account?

Everything is done through the Wismo mobile app. You can get to the mobile app through the Wismo website. Click the download link. It will redirect you to the iTunes App Store or Google Play store depending on which device you have.

Once the app is installed, you can set up an account by providing a username and password. From there, you can begin using the app.

Wismo doesn’t require that you create budgets or link to banking and credit card accounts. All the app needs is for you to track what you spend each day.

Tracking what you spend each day has the added benefit of making you conscious of your spending. Knowing you have to plug that $4 latte into Wismo might make you think twice about the purchase.

Is My Money and Data Safe?

Yes. Wismo is different from other budgeting apps and financial software in that you don’t have to give it your information.

Once you download and install the app on your phone, just create a username and password to get started using the app. You don’t have to provide any other information or link your bank accounts. You can remain anonymous while using the app.

Wismo doesn’t give or sell your information. Nor do they share it on Facebook.

Additionally, Wismo uses 256-bit asymmetrical encryption.

Is It Worth It?

If you don’t mind the ads, the free version of Wismo is certainly worth a try. With so many people using more than one budgeting app at a time, trying Wismo while using your existing budgeting app shouldn’t be a problem.

If you ever want to get rid of the ads, you can upgrade for only $59.88/year if you pay annually. Paying annually saves you 50% over the monthly subscription rate of $9.99. With the premium version, the ads go away, and you’ll be able to use the app in private mode.