"Saving money is more important than ever," said Tracy Sebastian.
Tracy is a busy mother of four and a writer for iPhone Life magazine.
She uses apps every day to save money.
"Anytime you need gas, groceries, you need to buy new shoes for the kids -- anything," said Tracy.
One of her favorites? Gas Buddy.
"Gas Buddy is a cool app. You just open it up, press where you are and it shows you all the gas stations in your local area and what their prices are," said Tracy.
Directions to a gas station with cheaper prices are free and just a tap away.
Got a lead-foot? Too many speeding tickets? Check out the free Cobra app.
"It tells you where the red-ight cameras are and where the local speed traps are," said Tracy.
And how many times have you gone out to lunch and been stuck with more than your share of the bill? The Check Please app can help.
"You plug in the amount of the bill, the tip you want to leave and how many people were at lunch with you. It will automatically split it up, letting each person know exactly what they owe," said Tracy.
The Mint app is all about your money. It gives you an instant snapshot of your budget, investments, overall wealth and how much you can spend. Once again, it's free.
"So when you go to that restaurant, you know if you should order the taco or the filet mignon," said Tracy.
One way you can save on your long-distance phone bill is by using Skype. Using your iPhone or your computer you can actually make these calls without any charge. Not only that, you get to see the person on the other end.
Shopping? Do it the savvy way with the free ShopSavvy app. Just scan the bar code of any product using your smart-phone's camera.
ShopSavvy then searches for the best prices online and through the inventories of nearby stores using your phone's built-in GPS.
Grocery IQ is another free shopping app. It lets you build and manage your grocery shopping list. Running out of a favorite food? Scan the barcode to add it your list. Sync or share the list with your spouse or roommate. You can even find coupons based on your location.
Now you were promised seven money-saving apps, so this is a bonus: ABC7's app can be downloaded for free onto your iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and your iPad.
Then tap on Save Money at the bottom of the screen and that's where you'll find all of our money-saving apps.
Phone apps to save you money:
Gas Buddy -- free -- http://gasbuddy.com
Cobra iRadar -- free -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cobra-iradar
Check Please -- .99 cents
- For iPhone: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id302279089
- For Android: http://www.appstorehq.com/checkplease-android
- For Android, free version: http://www.appstorehq.com/checkplease-freeversion--android
- For BlackBerry: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore
Mint -- free
- For iPhone: http://www.mint.com/features/iphone/
- For Andriod: http://www.mint.com/features/android/
- Not available for BlackBerry users
Skype -- free
- For iPhone: http://itunes.apple.com/app/skype
- For Android: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-mobile/skype-mobile/android/
- For BlackBerry: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-mobile/skype-mobile/blackberry/
ShopSavvy Barcode Scanner -- free
- For iPhone: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shop-savvy-barcode-scanner
- For Android: http://shopsavvy.mobi/category/shopsavvy-android/
- Not available for BlackBerry
Grocery IQ -- free
- For iPhone and Android: http://www.groceryiq.com/mobile.aspx
- Not available for BlackBerry
ATM Hunter
- For iPhone: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/atm-hunter
- For BlackBerry: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore
Kids Meal Deals -- for iPhone and BlackBerry -- http://www.kidsmealdeals.com/page/mobile
Kids Eat Free -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kidseatfree
Drink Specials App -- for iPhone -- http://drinkspecialsapp.com/
Stanza -- for Apple -- http://www.lexcycle.com/
Spend - Budgeting -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/app/spend-budgeting
Quicken -- for iPhone -- http://quicken.intuit.com
BillMinder -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/billminder
BillTracker -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/billtracker
Coupon Sherpa Mobile Coupons -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/coupon-sherpa-mobile-coupons
Cellfire Grocery Coupons -- for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry -- http://www.cellfire.com
Economy Shopping (Lite) -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/economy-shopping-lite-shopping
Yowza! Mobile Coupons -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yowza-mobile-coupons
Coupon Cabin -- for iPhone -- http://www.appstorehq.com/couponcabin
Textfree Unlimited -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/textfree-unlimited-send-text
Cheap Gas! -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cheap-gas
Share-a-bill -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/share-a-bill
Yoink! -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/yoink
Craigslist Pro -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/craigspro-craigslist-pro
Yard Sale Mapper -- for iPhone -- http://www.appolicious.com/tech/apps/71560-yard-sale-mapper
PayPal -- for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry -- https://www.paypal.com
eBay Mobile -- for iPhone -- http://mobile.ebay.com/
Vlingo -- for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry -- http://www.vlingo.com/
Word Lens -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/word-lens
RepairPal -- for iPhone and Android -- http://repairpal.com/mobile
Hair Makeover -- for iPhone -- http://www.hairmakeoverapp.com/
Awesome Note -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/awesome-note-todo
Zinio Magazine Newsstand & Reader -- for iPhone -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zinio-magazine
Snapfinger - Restaurant Ordering
- For iPhone: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snapfinger-restaurant-ordering
- Snapfinger Mobile: http://www.snapfinger.com
