Wisdom of Rich Dad

These apps for your iPhone or Droid make it easier to save cash on your purchases. Plus they’re free — so you’re already ahead.

Gas Buddy

With gas prices increasing every single day, this app can save you a pretty penny. It gives you a list of the gas stations near you, the price per gallon, and directions to the station.

And at nearly $4 a gallon, shaving a few dollars off each trip to the pump can adds up to over a hundred bucks a year — not bad for a free app.

ShopSavvy

Recently I popped into a sporting goods store looking for a pair of cycling sneakers. The pair I wanted was $100, and I was pretty confident that I could do better.

So I scanned the barcode on the shoe box with my ShopSavvy app and saw that I could order them through Jenson for $85 with free shipping — a $12 savings.

The only downside? They arrived a week later missing the bike clips. I guess there’s a buyer’s beware lesson there.

Grocery iQ

This app is ideal for anyone who has ever sent their husband to the store for groceries only to have him come back with potato chips and beer.

You can scan the barcodes of the groceries you want (say, the box of Cheerios in your pantry) and Grocery iQ will generate a list of the exact items. It will even categorize them by food group and show you what coupons are available.

Then you can email your list to said husband and up the odds that he will return with the items you requested.

TheFind

Like ShopSavvy, just scan a barcode and TheFind will locate the best prices online and at retailers in your area — plus show if there are coupons available.When I scanned the Point Break DVD on my desk (don’t ask), TheFind App found it online for as little as $6 (a steal) and at a Borders nearby. Although it told me that the closest Borders was five blocks away when there is also one in my office building.

Plus, it gave me coupons for as much as 33% off at other retailers.

Shop Lucky

Lucky Magazine’s App gives you top picks for dresses, jeans, jewelry and so on, and let’s you check availability online and at nearby stores.

You can even put the goods on hold for same-day pickup!

Granted, this may be more geared towards ‘spending’ rather than ‘saving,’ but it’s still cool. You can also see Lucky’s daily deals, which offer 50% off of the editor’s exclusive picks of the day.

Today’s deal: on-trend diamond stacking rings for just $62.50.

The newest ways to manage your money don’t require expensive software. They are web-based—you can log into them anywhere—even on your phone. And, best of all, there are many free options to help keep your budget in check.

One of them is moneyStrands (moneyStrands.com).

moneyStrands.com is easy to use. You enter your account information and moneyStrands breaks every expense and deposit in each of your accounts into different categories (home, insurance, auto, shopping, groceries, etc).

Clicking on the details tab allows you to see your account broken up in a color-coded pie chart. Each “pie piece” is a different category and you can easily change the time period you are looking at (anywhere from the current month to “ever”).  If you feel that you are spending too much in one category you can set up budgets and have moneyStrands.com track your progress. You can also schedule alerts—no more overdraft surprises!

But what makes moneyStrands.com really stand out is the ability to anonymously compare your investing and spending habits to other people within your demographic, or with similar traits.

Answer a few easy questions and the program compares your income and spending habits with relevant sub-groups (e.g. students) within the community to see how your expenses match your peers. moneyStrands.com uses social recommendation technology to help you find the best ways to invest and save money and to recommend things for you to buy. You can view your comparisons by category in either a bar graph or bubble chart.

moneyStrands.com offers a variety of widgets that you can activate, including: recommend financial products, tips, favorites and what to buy.  Another neat widget is the “financial condition” widget.

It’s an easy-to-read graphical representation of your financial situation. If you hover over the graphic it offers an explanation: “Your financial condition is excellent when your average monthly expenses amount to less than 30% of your monthly income.”

Web-based means immediate access to all of your accounts: bank, credit cards, and investing accounts. You can log in at home, at work, or anywhere you have Internet access. moneyStrands promises that their site is just as secure at any other banking or investment site.

Their website promises that security is a top priority. moneyStrands.com is free. They also offer a free mobile app for the iPhone.