iPhone News Updated

Keep cash on hand! Twitter, Facebook, iPhone have budgeting software to help

Many consumers are all thumbs when it comes to managing their money — and it’s working in their favor.

That’s because social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook and smartphone applications are putting financial planning in the palm of your hand.

More and more apps are becoming available each day that allow users to track their spending and balance their budgets with just a few keystrokes.

Wondering where your money is going? Twitterers can tweet their purchases and keep a running tab of their expenses to highlight where they may need to make cuts.

Or perhaps you’d like to save cash on your next vacation? By “friending” InterContinental’s Indigo ­hotel chain on Facebook, you get 20% off regular room rates. That’s extra moola for mai tais!

“People were writing these applications as soon as the smartphones became available, but there is a lot more available now than just six months to a year ago,” says Jeremy Vohwinkle, a personal finance ­writer for About.com, who uses some of these hand-held budgeting tools himself.

“The technology really started getting better over the past year or so … and people are more connected now than ever before,” he says.

Plenty of stores, from Sears to Sephora, also offer coupons and exclusive offers when users become “fans” of the sellers on Facebook. SmartMoney.com reports that 59 of the top 100 online retailers, including Walgreens, Zappos and Amazon, set up free accounts on social networking sites to post their latest deals and codes.

And when it comes to financial applications, Apple’s iPhone reigns as the king with a plethora of tools that can save money and help ­customers curb their debt. Whether you’re looking for cheap gasoline, investment tips or just want to check your bank balance, there’s an application that will do it. And although some of Apple’s apps initially cost a couple of bucks, they pay for themselves in no time.

[Thanks: http://www.nydailynews.com]

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