| If you are an iPhone owner, you have probably | | | | get all your financial pass-codes in your phone and |
| shelled out hundreds for the phone itself, and you | | | | manage financial accounts from there, PayPal's |
| will spend thousands more in monthly AT&T | | | | mission is the same as its website's: just turn the |
| bills over the course of your two-year contract. | | | | money into ones and zeroes and buy things |
| There are two ways to handle this: | | | | electronically. The PayPal app gives you mobile |
| 1) Tell yourself that the expense is well worth it | | | | access to your PayPal account. It's a handy way |
| in. The value of all that entertainment and utility is | | | | to always have an electronic wallet with you for |
| just something you can't put a price on. | | | | online and (occasionally) on-site purchases. But get |
| 2) Get proactive and prove the expense was | | | | on board now; it's only a matter of time before |
| worth it. Use your new iPhone to save money | | | | the PayPal logo shows up on the door of your |
| and get back what you spent by saving on fees, | | | | local pizza joint. |
| interest rates, and financial missteps in all other | | | | Billminder by return-7 LLC ($0.99): Finance 101: pay |
| areas of your life. | | | | things on time, and you don't pay late fees. This is |
| If you're of the latter inclination, here are the 5 | | | | basic stuff, and Billminder is a basic app. It keeps |
| best iPhone apps for managing your money. | | | | a bill calendar, tracks the amount of the various |
| Personal Finance from (free): Sign up at Mint.com, | | | | bills you owe each month, remembers which ones |
| and get their iPhone app free; or, just download it | | | | you have paid and have not paid, and gives you |
| from the App Store. Mint corrals all your | | | | alerts. Exports to Excel, works with |
| every-day money management accounts in one | | | | Pocketmoney, blah blah blah. Bottom line: you |
| app: bank accounts, home and car loans, credit | | | | forget. It doesn't. |
| cards, IRAs, you name it. It doesn't just track | | | | Pocket Money by Catamount ($4.99): This is like |
| them; it keeps your pass-codes so you can make | | | | Mint, but without the connectivity. That means |
| payments or transfers. You can also use it for | | | | without pass-codes, and therefore without the |
| budgeting. No word on a spousal control feature; | | | | nagging suspicion that some kid might get tired of |
| the technology's just not there yet. But for | | | | hacking a HALO knockoff and take out a second |
| everything else, Mint's got your everyday finances | | | | mortgage on your condo instead. Track your |
| covered. | | | | accounts, visualize at a glance where you're |
| Bloomberg Mobile by Bloomberg (free): Apple | | | | blowing the family budget, all from the privacy of |
| gave us a "Stocks" app with the operating | | | | your own phone. Never really trusted e-money? |
| system. They also gave us Macpaint, but | | | | Pocket Money keeps track of all your financial |
| someone invented Photoshop anyway. Now the | | | | information, then hoards it. |
| big boys are here. Basically, this is a Bloomberg | | | | Poke around the web or the App Store if you |
| terminal in your iPhone. Financial news, stock | | | | have a special need. Want to locate ATMs or |
| tracking, Bloomberg's world-renowned analysis, | | | | figure out the tip at dinner? Those apps are legion. |
| laggers, leaders--pretty much everything a stock | | | | Certain banks like Bank of America offer |
| market app needs to be a market junkie's first | | | | company-specific apps as well. But treat yourself |
| click in the morning and the last one before bed. | | | | to some of the best of the breed, above. Your |
| PayPal from (free): Whereas Mint's function is to | | | | balance will thank you. |