Eight Recession-Friendly iPhone Apps

Here is the first post I wrote for FiLife:

Many computer programmers are quitting their day jobs with hopes of striking it rich developing iPhone applications. Not tech-savvy but want to cash in on the iPhone jackpot? Leave the programming to the geeks and invest in these eight apps to save yourself a bundle:

Budgeting

1) iXpenseIt: View your monthly budget against daily expenses from groceries to gas to utilities, store phone receipts, and view graphical reports of your spending.
Cost: $4.99

2) BillMinder: Helps to eliminate late charges by alerting you when bills are due. Also manages bill information, including paid/unpaid, amount, date, account number and confirmation number.
Cost: $1.99

3) PocketMoney: Track your cash across multiple accounts, including credit cards, savings and checking accounts. Download the data into Excel and charts to visualize categories of over spending.
Cost: $9.99

Shopping

4) SnapTell: Take a picture of any book, video game or DVD with your iPhone camera-- the app will produce a list of vendors that sell the product so you can compare prices. Also includes links to reviews from Google, Wikipedia and YouTube.
Cost: Free

5) Grocery IQ: Spare yourself the headache of forgotten groceries by organizing your food shopping with an electronic list. The application was recently purchased by Coupons.com, so expect electronic coupons integrated within the platform soon.
Cost: $0.99

Lifestyle

6) Cheap Gas: Find cheap gasoline while on the road, as well as GPS-routing to the station's location. Works in both the U.S. and Canada.
Cost: Free

7) Wi-Fi Finder: Locates the closest free or paid Wi-Fi hotspot to where you are, and provides directions on how to get there. Includes over 200,000 locations in 135 countries.
Cost: Free

8) Stanza: Forget expensive hardcovers and purchase cheap electronic books with this e-Reader. Offers New York Times bestsellers, contemporary titles, and free classics.
Cost: Free