{"id":3248,"date":"2011-01-05T23:59:51","date_gmt":"2011-01-06T06:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/?p=3248"},"modified":"2011-01-06T09:11:54","modified_gmt":"2011-01-06T16:11:54","slug":"10-mobile-apps-to-help-you-keep-your-financial-resolutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/05\/10-mobile-apps-to-help-you-keep-your-financial-resolutions\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Mobile Apps to Help You Keep Your Financial Resolutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by CNBC.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

photo: Yutaka Tsutano<\/a><\/p>\n

As the nation digs out from one of the worst financial crises in history, guess what is the No. 1 financial New Year\u2019s resolution?<\/p>\n

If you answered, \u201cGet out of debt\u201d \u2014 DING! DING! DING! \u2014 you are correct.<\/p>\n

In a survey of more than 3,000 people, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong><\/strong>reported that nearly 70% said getting out of debt was their No. 1 financial resolution for 2011.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s be honest with ourselves: We may go to the gym a few times, nobly order a salad for lunch and jot down \u201cCheck 401(k)\u201d on a post-it note, but before the confetti\u2019s even settled, we\u2019re back with a bucket of chicken in one hand and the remote in the other, watching a marathon of \u201cIce Road Truckers\u201d and buying bigger pants online, promising ourselves this is a one-time event because we\u2019re working hard in the new year and dangit, we deserve it!<\/p>\n

You want to make 2011 the year you stick to your resolutions? There\u2019s an app for that. Several, actually, that will help motivate you, hold you accountable and show you the results \u2014 all the things behavioral experts say you\u2019re going to need to make a real change. Check out these 10 apps for keeping your financial resolutions.<\/p>\n

1. Mint.com <\/a>(Free)<\/h4>\n

First and foremost, you need an all-in-one program like Mint.com that allows you to track your budget, your bills, your investments and your bank account no matter where you are. So no more saying, \u201cI don\u2019t know if I can afford that because I haven\u2019t been home all week to check my finances<\/a>!\u201d It\u2019s laid out in an easy-to-read format: You can see how much of your monthly budget you\u2019ve already spent, your income vs. expenses for the month and the current value of your investments. It even links to Zillow<\/strong><\/a> to show you the current value of your home. It\u2019s available for the iPhone and Android phones and has a security feature in case you lose your phone.<\/p>\n

2. BillMinder<\/a> ($0.99)<\/h4>\n

Juggling all of your bills and their multitude of due dates is no small task. It\u2019s way too easy to miss a due date and wind up having to fork over a late fee. BillMinder is an easy way to organize, with a list of all your bills, the ability to check them off as they\u2019re paid and a master to show when all are paid. Plus, a calendar view to show you your due dates. It\u2019s available for iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry.<\/p>\n

3. Indeed.com<\/a> (Free)<\/h4>\n

With so many people still unemployed, we\u2019re adding a job-search site to our list of essential financial apps. Now, there are no more excuses for why you\u2019re not looking for a job, or why you\u2019re not looking for a higher-paying job! Having a job-search site on your mobile device, you can search for jobs from anywhere, whether you\u2019re waiting to meet a friend for dinner or sitting with the kids on the couch. The Indeed app lets you search for any job anywhere, remembers your recent searches and shows you how many jobs have been added since your last visit. Available for the iPhone, iPad and Android.<\/p>\n

4. SaveBenjis<\/a> ($2.99)<\/h4>\n

Some of our parents were famous for driving around from store to store to find the cheapest price around for groceries and other items. But who has time to shop around these days? You do, if you\u2019re smart and use your iPhone, not your car, for price comparison. SaveBenjis (You see, that\u2019s funny because Benjamin Franklin\u2019s picture is on the $100 bill.) is an easy to use app that lets you type in the product name and it will return stores (retail and online) where it\u2019s available and the price at each spot. Plus, you can use the built-in barcode scanner to spare your precious fingers the typing time! It\u2019s available for the iPhone.<\/p>\n

5. Grocery Gadget <\/a>($4.99)<\/h4>\n

Speaking of groceries, there\u2019s a lot of money to be saved right there if you\u2019re organized, know what you want and don\u2019t wander around the store aimlessly tossing things in your cart. Even if you make a list, you sometimes forget it. But not if your list is on your smartphone. Grocery Gadget allows you to quickly make a list, upload and share your list, manage recipes, search for e-coupons and check things off your list as you go. Plus, it also utilizes the built-in barcode scanner. And, it automatically syncs with every mobile device in your house, so you never miss a beat \u2014 or an ingredient! Available for the iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and Nokia phones.<\/p>\n

6. Coupon Sherpa <\/a>(Free)<\/h4>\n

First of all, anything with the name Sherpa in it is adorable \u2014 am I right? But more importantly, this cute-as-a-button app will save you money on the fly. You can search for mobile coupons by category (jewelry, restaurants, etc.) or store, find the nearest store location or save the coupon to your favorites to cash in later. At the register, just have the cashier scan the barcode on your screen and cha-ching! Savings. Plus, a bonus: No more crumpled up \u2014 and probably expired \u2014 coupons in the cup holder of your car. Available for the iPhone.<\/p>\n

7. Buzzillions<\/a> (Free)<\/h4>\n

What\u2019s better: Plasma, LCD or LED? Is this a good brand? Save yourself the heartache \u2014 or should we say wallet ache \u2014 of a bad purchase by downloading an app like buzzillions, which offers millions of customer reviews at your fingertips. It\u2019s pretty much a search engine for customer reviews. You type in the product and it will turn up a list of reviews, each with a rating out of five stars, five being best. Available on the iPhone, Android, Windows and Palm phones, plus the BlackBerry.<\/p>\n

8. CraigsPro<\/a> ($0.99)<\/h4>\n

OK, you\u2019re managing your money, you\u2019re saving money, now guess what else you need to do? Make MORE money. A site like Craigslist helps you find used items at a discount and sell items you\u2019re not using anymore. With CraigsPro, now you can have that gigantic yard sale at your fingertips anytime, anywhere \u2014 and you can search multiple cities at a time. Say, when you\u2019re rummaging around the attic, thinking \u201cHuh, I should sell this and make some money,\u201d you can look up similar items and find out how much you can make \u2014 and if you\u2019re ready, part with it! Available for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android phones.<\/p>\n

9. ATM Hunter<\/a> (Free)<\/h4>\n

Stop wasting money on ATM fees. This free app from MasterCard allows you to search for nearby ATMs so, unless it\u2019s an emergency, there will never be a reason to not go to your bank \u2014 and save the fees \u2014 again! Available for the iPhone.<\/p>\n

10. Gas Buddy<\/a> ($2.99)<\/h4>\n

With gas prices heading towards $4 a gallon just as many of us are getting our financial footing, finding the cheapest gas around is more important than ever. With the Gas Buddy app, all you have to do is plug in your city or zip code and it turns up a list of gas prices in the area, starting with the cheapest. You can add additional search criteria like fuel type and distance to the station. If you click on a station, it will not only call up the prices for each type of fuel, but also a picture of the station and detailed information like is there a convenience store, ATM, are they open 24 hours, etc. Plus, you can upload your own photo, report prices and show the location on a map. For the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.<\/p>\n

Bonus: Dog stole my sledge.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by CNBC.com photo: Yutaka Tsutano As the nation digs out from one of the worst financial crises in history, guess what is the No. 1 financial New Year\u2019s resolution? If you answered, \u201cGet out of debt\u201d \u2014 DING! DING! DING! \u2014 you are correct. In a survey of more than 3,000 people, the National […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3248"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3248"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3256,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3248\/revisions\/3256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}