A guest post by author Donna Reish.
With the ever looming economic recession weighing down our
spirits (but not our wallets), money is a seemingly endless concern. In
response to this economic slump, frugality has become somewhat of a trend.
Scouring through the internet we can find numerous tips and tricks for saving
money. While these tricks have the potential to be extremely helpful, rarely do
we stick to them. All too often, we discover a great new way to save a few
bucks, try it out, and then drop it. What we really need are tools aimed
towards frugal living. While iPhones and Smartphones may cost a small fortune,
their money saving potential may prove worth the initial expense. Try these
four fabulous apps to help you save and manage your money.
The first step to being frugal is learning to properly
manage your money. Thankfully your iPhone or Smartphone offers dozens upon
dozens of tools to help you keep track of your accounts and expenses. Two of
the most popular money management tools available on your phone are Bill Minder
and Quicken. Bill Minder is one of the most popular bill tracking apps
available on the market. What makes this app so popular is its simple and
intuitive interface. Bill Minder will display the various bills that you have
along with their due dates and balances. This app can back up your financial
data and send you an email notification when your bills are paid. This app
helps you to never miss a due date. Another popular money management tool
available as an app is Quicken. Quicken allows you to check your financial
accounts on the go. You can monitor account activity, trace financial goals,
and find an ATM all within one sleek and easy interface.
As gas prices rise at seemingly astronomical rates, simply
getting the places we need to go is breaking our bank accounts. While there are
numerous apps aimed towards easing the stress of everyday travel, Gas Buddy is
one of the best. Gas Buddy provides a search tool for finding the cheapest priced
gas at any given location. You enter a zip code and a map will display all of
the closest gas stations with their prices. This app is not only addicting, but
also can save you some serious cash. With gas prices ranging drastically even
within a relatively small area, Gas Buddy can be a very useful tool for the
frugally inclined.
Grocery shopping is another realm to try to save money in.
The iPhone app Coupon Sherpa offers both in-store coupons and exclusive deals.
With this tool you can search for deals by category or by store name. The app
will locate the merchant that is closest to your location and can even email
coupons to your friends. What is nice about this coupon app is that you can
simply show the coupon on your phone to the cashier at checkout and the coupon
will scan. This way you can better organize your coupons and not waste paper.
Many of us underestimate the amount of money we spend on grocery shopping each
month. With helpful tools like Coupon Sherpa we can save a few extra dollars on
this big expense. Coupon Sherpa is not limited, however, to only groceries. You
can also find deals on electronics, clothing, jewelry, and more.
While frugality has become somewhat of a fad in recent
years, it's a fad I'll happily support. Saving money in small places here and
there can make a bigger different than we realize. Living a truly frugal life
does not necessarily mean cutting out all large expenses (like that iPhone or
Android phone). Just use those big expenses to your full advantage.
Author Bio:
Donna Reish, a
freelancer who blogs about best
universities, contributed this guest post. She loves to write
education, career, frugal living, finance, health, parenting relating articles.
She can be reached via email at: donna.reish13@gmail.com.
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