You’re saving an expense. You got the amount and category noted in two taps, just tap Save and you’re done. But the receipt is right in front of you and there’s so much more information there; exact items purchased, company, time, location, salesperson etc. You know that you can take and save a photo of the receipt, but then the content wouldn’t be searchable…
There’s a better way. With iOS 15, you can tap into a text field use the camera to instantly scan text and insert it into the field, right from the app. Best you see how this works for yourself in the videos below.
Works with actual receipts, but it becomes slightly more error prone with more diverse formatting and languages. Still very useful and easy.
Since it's based on machine learning, we're expecting the quality to improve with more #iOS15 use as well.
This way, you can add lots of extra info to your expenses, incomes and transfers in a second or two. The text remains searchable and if you want the full photo, you could also save it in the photos tab.
While this excitement comes hot on the heels of the iOS 15 release, Android users, fret not. A similar feature has been available for a while on Android devices, albeit through the Google Lens / Camera app.
To use it, tap the Google Lens button on the top right corner of the camera app. Select the text you need in the camera app and copy it. You can then paste this text when adding the expense in Toshl.
We make handling your finances easier, but did you know we also make socks? Not just any kind, really nice, colourful socks that will liven up your summer attire. There’s also a somewhat toned down pair in grayscale that fits well with more formal pants, yet still includes the Toshl motifs.
Today, we’re adding a new sock design to the mix. Green, with blue fingerprint patterns and black white-columned spots. Check them out on the image below, but trust us, they look even better in person.
How do you get these socks, you ask? Upgrade to the 3-year Toshl Pro or Toshl Medici plan and we’ll send all three pairs your way. Consider this stylistic upgrade of your feet as another benefit of keeping your finances healthy and in order.
Excerpt from our pricing page below, click for more info. The 3-year plan with socks is only available on toshl.com, as in-app purchases in the Toshl mobile apps don’t allow for shipping of physical goods.
Stable ground is a precious commodity. We all need sources of stability in our lives, even more so when other parts of our lives become more fluid, prone to changes. While that’s true in general, a pandemic and other global turmoil really help bring the point home right now.
As if all this wasn’t enough to give you the impression that you’re playing life in the hard mode, imagine being caught in an abusive relationship to boot. The source of stability for many, but what can quickly become your Achilles’ heel if your partner is abusive. “Financial insecurity is the # 1 reason why people who experienced gender-based violence return to an abusive relationship or enter into a new abusive relationship.” – Freeform.
To get out of a relationship like that, overcome and thrive on your own, building your own stability matters. While it’s only one aspect of the process, financial stability matters too. Both when leaving an abusive relationship, as well as when getting back up on your on feet after.
This is where the money coach Tiffany Tara and her group for financial empowerment are trying to help. We talked with Tiffany by videoconference from Germany, where she now lives after having moved from the US.
She leads a group of abuse survivors, meeting regularly to discuss their daily financial lives, as well as plan for the future. While their financial lives may be under additional stress due to all the circumstances, their approach to improving their financial lives holds lessons for us all.
One of the first steps is knowing yourself and addressing your deep-seated financial biases. For example, based on your past influences and the resulting personal approach to money, you likely fit into one of the 8 financial archetypes. When faced with a quick decision, our approach to money is often subconscious and rooted in our pre-defined attitudes, rather than well considered rational analysis. That’s why knowing, for example, that you might fit into the “Innocent” archetype might help. It may just be enough to get you to pay attention and not avoid financial matters altogether as “innocents” otherwise might. If that’s not your schtick, you might be an upfront-planning Warrior, spiritually-minded Magician, a Martyr that always puts the needs of others in front of their own, or one of the other archetypes. In any case, realising your upfront financial biases can help with shaping a healthier belief system about money.
The group also discusses their current financial issues openly, getting them out in the open to deal with them better inside the group. They use the Toshl apps to track their daily finances and empower themselves with data.
Financial survivors can make 100 000 $ less in their lifetime earnings due to abuse, according to estimates, so it’s even more important to lessen these effects in the long term. To be more concrete, according to Freefrom, the lifetime costs of intimate partner violence—including the costs of related health problems, lost productivity, and criminal justice costs on average $103,767 for women and $23,414 for men.*
Redefining your personal approach to money is a good start, but longer-term plans are needed as well. The group also works together on their 6-month financial plans, using data to fill in a more customised spreadsheet and make a rough outline of their future needs, goals and how to best manage them. Getting out of debt is certainly one such worthy goal, removing uncertainty and empowering individuals to make bolder choices in the future.
We wish Tiffany and her group all the best and lots of success on the road to financial empowerment. We could all learn from them.
Life savings in form of lollipops might be appropriate for Toshl monsters, but not necessarily humans. Caution is advised.
*Cora Peterson, Megan C. Kearns, Wendy LiKamWa McIntosh, Lianne Fuino Estefan, Christina Nicolaidis, Kathryn E. McCollister, Amy Gordon & Curtis Florence, “Lifetime Economic Burden of Intimate Partner Violence Among U.S. Adults,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, (2018): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2018.04.049
Darkness can be a a force for good. It can obscure the less relevant and make the vital glow even brighter.
We’re adding a dark mode for all Toshl Finance apps, Android, iOS as well as the web.
Why dark mode? It’s easy on the eye. Both from the aesthetic point of view, as well as reducing strain on the eyes during nighttime.
For those with OLED screens on your device, it can also help reduce battery usage a little bit, as blacks take less energy to display than bright colours.
Tutto automatico. Last time we checked, switching from night to day and vice versa, doesn’t require tinkering in your life’s ambient settings. Neither should your phone. You can set the appearance of the app to switch automatically based on the time of day. This will use your device’s settings to determine the correct time to switch.
iOS – switches based on time of sunrise and sunset at your location.
Android – depends a bit on variation of the OS, but switching based on set times is usually available.
Web – to switch automatically, your web browser needs to support the feature, but latest versions of Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Edge browsers will handle this well.
In short, Toshl appearance set to automatic will mimic the setting of your operating system and adjust accordingly.
Some might prefer to keep it all light or all dark, all the time. No worries, you can set it that way as well. You can set this in Toshlmain menu / Settings / Appearance.
Toshl monsters finally get some shut-eye. You know about these odd creatures living inside the apps, right? Some have been here since renaissance times. Now imagine existing with lights-on, ALL the time. Dark mode might help take the edge off a bit. As long as it doesn’t blunt their edgy humour, we’re very happy for them.
The feature is available for all Toshl membership levels, free, Toshl Pro and Toshl Medici. As always, you can get the latest features by updating the app to the latest version in the App Store or Google Play. The web app is always the latest.
With great travel comes great responsibility. That’s not exactly how the original phrase goes, but we’re using our artistic license here to make a point. Getting your finances in order ahead of and during travel, is essential to keeping your leisure time enjoyable and stress-free. The financial part can even be fun if you do it the right way. I.e. by using the Toshl Finance apps, of course. 😉😊
To explore how tracking your finances works on a trip, we partnered with Yanely, better known as MissBeHelpful on YouTube.
She made some really great videos with her first-hand accounts both of her experiences of traveling in Barcelona, as well as her finance tracking with Toshl during that time. Check out the videos, as well as some extra questions we asked Yanely below.
How did you first come upon the Toshl app?
I was a teacher fresh out of college and really struggling to manage my credit card debt which was almost $20k in total! I had way too many unnecessary expenses at that time and I definitely wasn’t budgeting, so I google searched budgeting apps and I read a few articles. I downloaded a couple of different apps and I remember thinking that Toshl was one of the easiest ones to use. (I was also glad it was free because I was broke.)
What did you like the most about it?
I liked that I was able to get started in no time! I literally had a budget with a spending/saving goal in a matter of minutes. I loved the visuals, the fun little monster and the notifications reminding me to enter my expenses before bed. As with all budgets, if you don’t use it consistently, it really won’t work for you. The reminders helped me stay consistent and keep the budget up to date.
Are you using it on Android or iOS phone?
I use it on my iPhone 7.
Did you try the Medici premium plan?
I tried Medici premium for a month since I was traveling for the summer and I figured it would be best to have everything in one place. When I started out I was in a lot of debt, so paying for an app wasn’t high on my list of priorities, and I don’t recommend paying for apps when you’re still in debt. But now that I’m debt-free and I have a nerdy passion for personal finance I’m a lot more willing to invest in apps and services that I know will help me reach my goals.
Who would you recommend the Toshl app to?
It’s definitely great for new budgeters who want a simple and quick way to get started. I work with a lot of HS and college students who use mostly cash and debit cards to make transactions, so I recommend the app to them. Also, people who aren’t interested in budgeting tools that have strict rules which you need to follow to the T. There’s a lot of wiggle room when it comes to how you use the app which is great – you can choose as many categories as you want for an expense and you can decide if you want to budget by category or by a certain time frame.
