There Must Be A Pony In Here Somewhere
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Why a Pony? To be clear, there were no ponies harmed in the making of this blog. The blog’s name, “There Must Be a Pony In Here Somewhere,” comes from an old joke, a favorite of Ronald Reagan’s, that essentially means, with a pile of you-know-what this big, there MUST be a pony—a bright side—in here somewhere!
10 Mobile Apps to Help You Keep Your Financial Resolutions
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CNBC.com Staff Writer
As the nation digs out from one of the worst financial crises in history, guess what the No. 1 financial New Year’s resolution is?
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There's a whole pile of cash — sitting right there on your phone! |
If you answered, “Get out of debt” — DING! DING! DING! You are correct.
In a survey of more than 3,000 people, nearly 70 percent said getting out of debt was their No. 1 financial resolution for 2011, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling reported.
But let’s be honest with ourselves: We may go to the gym a few times, nobly order a salad for lunch and jot down “Check 401(k)” on a post-it note, but before the confetti's even settled, we’re back with a bucket of chicken in one hand and the remote in the other, watching a marathon of “Ice Road Truckers” and buying bigger pants online, promising ourselves this is a one-time event because we’re working hard in the new year and dangit, we deserve it!
You want to make 2011 the year you stick to your resolutions? Yeah, there’s an app for that. Several, actually, that will help motivate you, hold you accountable and show you the results — all the things behavioral experts say you're gonna need to make a real change. Check out these 10 apps for keeping your financial resolutions.
1. Mint.com (Free). 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, “I don’t know if I can afford that because I haven’t been home all week to check my finances!” It’s laid out in an easy-to-read format: You can see how much of your monthly budget you’ve already spent, your income vs. expenses for the month and the current value of your investments. It even links to Zillow to show you the current value of your home. It’s available for the iPhone [AAPL
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2. BillMinder (99 cents). Juggling all of your bills and their multitude of due dates is no small task. It’s 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 your bills, with a list of all your bills, the ability to check them off as their paid and a master to show when all are paid. Plus, a calendar view to show you when your due dates are. It’s available for iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry [RIMM
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3. Indeed.com (Free). With so many people still unemployed, we’re adding a job-search site to our list of essential financial sites. Now, there are no more excuses for why you’re not looking for a job, or why you’re 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’re 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.
4. SaveBenjis ($2.99). 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’re smart and use your iPhone, not your car, for price comparison. SaveBenjis (You see, that’s funny because Benjamin Franklin’s 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’s 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’s available for the iPhone.
5. Grocery Gadget ($4.99). Speaking of groceries, there’s a lot of money to be saved right there if you’re organized, know what you want and don’t 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 — or an ingredient! Available for the iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and Nokia [NOK
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