This guest post was written by Investing Thesis: Credits Toward Financial Freedom – a personal finance and investing site from a Canadian perspective. If you like this article, I would encourage you to subscribe to our articles
You would be hard pressed to find a person without a cell phone in this day and age. Parents buy cell phones for their kids in order to have a way to “keep in touch” and even seniors are becoming more comfortable with the technology available today. While some people still prefer to use a cell phone for the original purpose, to make and receive calls, there are many other perks associated with today’s phones. Specifically, owners of smart phones like the iPhone or iPod Touch have so many features on their phones, they might not even be aware of all the benefits they could be experiencing. There are new cell phone apps available that allow cell phone users to manage their money on the go.
Here we look at these cell phone apps and how they can help you manage your cash.
Bloomberg- This free mobile app is available for iPhone users as well as Blackberry users. Bloomberg.com is a website that helps active investors follow stocks, bonds, commodities and other business news. You can download the mobile app free of charge and keep track of all news associated with your investments from your cell phone. This is very helpful for busy investors who don’t have the time to be parked in front a computer all day.
Mint- Available to iPhone users, Mint.com has a mobile phone app that brings all the benefits of the online system to the palm of your hand. A popular website that allows users to track and manage every aspect of their personal finances from checking account balances to credit card payments, Mint.com offers a free mobile phone app that will help you budget and manage your finances when you are away from the computer.
Paypal- Paypal is used worldwide as a means of sending and receiving money. Whether you want to track payments received, send payments or view past transactions you can do so from your mobile phone while on the go. The mobile phone app offered by Paypal is available to iPhone, Android and Blackberry users free of charge.
Stockwatch- Keeping track of your portfolio performance each day is made easier with the mobile app offered by Stockwatch.com. This app will allow you to organize stocks and mutual funds while automatically calculating your daily return. You have access to news, charts, analytical tools, all for just $2.99.
Tipulator- A tip calculator does not offer life changing financial advice, however it can be fun app to have on hand when you are out for dinner. You will pay just under one dollar for this mobile app that helps you calculate the proper tip based on percentage and how to split the bill if there are several parties. Is it necessary to have a tip calculator? No, but it’s fun to try out and very handy for people who are not proficient at doing math in their head.
Pennies- If you need help keeping track of your spending, the Pennies app is a great way to establish a monthly budget while recording and tracking daily expenses. Instead of jamming your money and receipts in your pocket or purse, you can simply update the information on the Pennies app and see if you are in line with your desired budget. This app is not free but very affordable at $2.99.
There are many more mobile apps available for cell phone users. Most large banks offer apps that allow users to receive mobile alerts and reminders to avoid going over their limit or paying a bill past the due date. In the increasingly mobile world in which we live, it only makes sense to take advantage of cell phone apps that make managing your money on the go easier. By staying on top of your financial transactions you can improve your personal finances, in this case, with the touch of a button.
What apps do you guys use to manage money or check balances with?
For the Canadian market you missed the target, mint.com currently only works well for US banking.
However in Canada Quicken Mobile & Wesabe are free online banking services which also have free iPhone apps. They will automatically downloads your bank & credit card statements (even from most big Canadian banks) then let you view/edit transactions and checkout your account balance wherever you are. I highly recommend both!
You can also usually get ATM finding apps in the iTunes app store, they will find the closest ATM from your specific bank based on your GPS signal, so no more ATM fees.
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Jordan, that ATM finder app sounds brilliant. It’s funny how little things can get to you – one of my pet peeves is those fees.
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Some of these look neat.
I still haven’t downloaded any apps. 🙂
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@Jordan – Hi Jordan, your assertion about the Mint app. is true. I just thought I would throw it in there for any of Mike’s American readers. Also, thanks for the headsup on the Quicken Mobile & Wesabe apps., will definitely check those out.
@Mike – thanks for giving me the opportunity to guest post – i’m hugely grateful.
@Mrs Pillars – those pesky ATM fees certainly add up at the end of the day. My solution: never use my debit card. I usually also keep a $20 in case of emergencies but otherwise I just use a CC that has a great loyalty program.
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Awesome thread. I did an iPhone app review on a previous post I did in late 2009. My personal favorites for my iPhone are Daily Finance and Bloomberg. I love Bloomberg because I can input the list of stocks I own and the app is just fantastic at tracking them for me.
On a side note, I also like some of the free apps such as TSN mobile, the 2010 Olympic schedule, and the free flashlight app which brightens your screen in case you’re in a dark area and need light!
Cheers
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Rat – the Olympic schedule app sounds pretty cool!
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It is! And it downloads an updated schedule for you each day you open the program. 🙂
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Great post. You don’t have to own an iPhone to save money, tho.
For me, prepaid rules. I did a bit of research and discovered NET10 was the best for my purposes. I don?t use a lot of minutes ? maybe 200 or so a month ? and I?m not a mad texter or websurfer either, but 10? a minute for calls and 3? for texts is crazy good. And no fees per day or other bs.
I got a very nice Samsung phone with a slide-out qwerty keyboard and no one knows it?s prepaid. Costs me a big $30 a month for all my stuff.
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