Guest Post Author Bio: Donna Reish is a freelancer who blogs about the best universities. She loves to write education, career, frugal living, finance, health, parenting relating articles. She can be reached via email at: donna.reish13@gmail.com
There’s no denying it, iPhones are expensive. Maintaining the current trend in smart phone technology is no cheap endeavor. On top of the basic cost of your bill each month for text messaging and making calls, tack on 30+ dollars for a data package, and another 200+ dollars for the phone itself. While this is a whole lot of money up front, your iPhone may make up for the initial cost with its money saving applications. These six iPhone apps have the potential to save you gobs of cash and a bunch of stress.
Vouchercloud: This app uses GPS technology to locate the offers and discounts that are nearest to you. All you have to do to redeem the coupon or offer is click on the image on your phone’s screen. The coupon will show up on your phone and you can present it to the establishment straight from your phone. No more forgetting to grab the coupons on your way to the store or wasting time and paper printing coupons out only so the store can throw them away. Vouchercloud is a free download for smart phone users. Vouchercloud displays discounts at an array of establishments. Use this app to locate deals on food, clothes, and entertainment.
PrimoSpot: Find free parking wherever you go. With PrimoSpot you can enter the address of the place you are planning to go and have it search for on-street parking, garage parking, and bike racks. The app will tell you how much the various parking options you have cost and where to find the cheapest deal. While this app only offers services in major cities in the U.S., it’s services will likely expand as the app gets more popular.
GasBuddy: As gas prices increase each day, our gas budget has skyrocketed. There is nothing more frustrating than spending a huge chunk of your earnings and savings on gas. With gas at nearly $4 a gallon in many areas, saving a few dollars each trip can really add up. GasBuddy finds all of the gas stations in your immediate area and displays the current prices to you. You can find the cheapest place to get gas and see the prices as they change.
Mint: One of the best ways to save your money is by better managing your accounts. Mint is an application that helps you keep track of all of your finances in an organized and systematic fashion. Using this app will eliminate any late fees or bounced checks. Mint displays for you where you are spending most of your money, helping devise a plan for budgeting. With the help of Mint you can design a budget that will encourage you to save in specific areas or you can just keep track of your overall spending habits. The first step to saving money is educating yourself on your spending.
Coupon Sherpa: Similar to Vouchercloud, Coupon Sherpa offers both in-store coupons and exclusive deals that you only get with the application. What makes this app so great is that you can search by category or by store name to locate the best deals. All too often, people get coupons and by the product being offered only because it is on sale. With Coupon Sherpa you can look for items that you actually need and then get the coupons for them. While wasting a good deal seems foolish, if it’s something you don’t really need then it’s a waste either way. Use coupon Sherpa to save on the things you need. This app also allows you to send coupons to friends. Coupon Sherpa is a great way to spread the deals and help out a friend.
Carticipate: Another great way to save on gas other than finding cheaper gas prices is by not driving. While commuting is a huge part of most of our lives, this app helps people develop carpools to save money and lessen air pollution. With this app you can coordinate driving plans with family, friends, and coworkers. You post your destination and schedule to the app and Carticipate will match you with people needing to be at the same place around the same time.
So what other apps have you found helpful for managing your money? Please share.
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Doesn’t it cost over $60 a month to have one of these phones? I don’t want to sound like a downer but the investment in the device + total annual fees won’t cover how much is spent just to acquire and use this gadget.
@SPF. It depends on where you get your plan from. You can get pay as you go options and contract fee plans. I think you need to justify how much you need and will use an iphone in order to make the cost of it worth it. I was given one as a gift a couple years ago and it has saved me a ton of money. I use it as a GPS, a phone, a music player, an internet connection when I travel, a computer etc. I have really found it has saved me from buying other gadgets to those things.
I’m not aware of a pay-as-you-go Plan fron either AT&T or Verizon. If you’re looking for the benefits of the apps without the monthly service price, go for an iPod Touch. Same thing without the wireless service.
@ Jay. I think it depends on where you live when it comes to plan availability. Great point about the ipod touch. My husband has one and he does this very thing. He either finds a wifi signal when he is out or downloads at home before he heads out. It is handy to have full access sometimes though which is when we use mine.
If you are creative, you can use one of these phones for less than $60/mo. I pay about $45/mo and find it a worthwhile investment. It saves me much more than that in time/money every month.
I would agree. I use my iphone a ton and I don’t have to pay hundreds each month to do so. It is a fantastic tool.
I know what you mean, SPF. However, since I ALREADY have one of the phones (mine’s an Android, not an iPhone, but many apps are on both), I love knowing ways the little thing might save me a buck or two.
However, I’m not sure I trust the security of the phones to really pull up Mint on it. You know what I mean?
@Jessica. Yes security can be an issue. I too wonder how secure my information is. If I do any banking on my phone I use a secured Wifi connection. To me it’s not much different than using my PC at home
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