Personal finance apps to help you shop, plan and save

Download the right apps,and smartphonescan be your own personal financial assistant.

The sixapps described here canhelp you withpurchases big (a new home) or small (groceries), and help you keep track of your funds so you can buy those things in the first place. A tip of hat to CBC business columnist Rubina Ahmed-Haq, who advised us on this list.

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The apps areall free, well-reviewed, available for iPhones and Androidsand not affiliated with any particular bank.

1.Flipp

Looking for a deal?

Flipp is a shopping app that allows you to plug in your postal code and see all local sales flyers in your area.

The free appkeeps track of more than 800 flyers, including circulars from Canadian Tire, Sobeys and Walmart.

You can search by products as well, so you can findthe store closest to you.

And if the store has price matching, there's no need to carry around sales flyers from a dozen different places. Just showthe flyer on your phone.

2. Checkout 51

Keeping with shopping, Checkout 51 allows you to save on brand-name products with sales available throughthe app.

Once a week, the app lists products you can buy and the rebates you could receive for those purchases. The products areeither associated with a certain store (tomatoes at Walmart, say, or Scotch tape at Staples), or brands that you can buy anywhere (Pringles, Folgers, Kellogg's).

If you buy any of the items, you upload a photo of your receipt to the app. When rebates for products purchasedtotal$20, the Toronto-based company sendsyou a cheque.

3. Receipts

Receipts, developed by Toronto company Wave,allows you to cut down on the clutter in your wallet or maybe that receipt-filledshoebox.

It allows you to take photos of your receipts, invoices and bills, which are uploaded toWave's free accounting software. Electronic receipts in your email can be forwarded to the appand email PDFs can be uploaded.

The app in most cases can read the receipt and convert it to digital data, whichyou can edit if necessary.

4. Goodbudget

This personal finance app is based on the "envelope system" of home finance breaking up your take-home pay and putting it into various envelopes for separate categories of household spending.

The free version allows you 20 envelopes to plan and track your spending.

It also syncs across multiple phones so you can share the budget with your partner.

5. XE Currency

This app allows you toaccess current exchange ratesso you can figure out how much that souvenir actually costs in Canadian dollars.

XE Currency is a popular free app that gives you live quotes for every major currency in the world, along with a mobile currency calculator. Its website boasts that it's the most downloaded foreign exchange app.

It also stores updated rates if you're offline, and is available for BlackBerry.

A paid version increases the number of currencies you can track at once.

6. Canadian Mortgage

Ever been out and about hunting for your next home and wished you could easily figure out how much it would cost to carry the mortgage?

Canadian Mortgage provides an app that will do the math. Calculate monthly payments for different interest rates, payment frequencies and amortizations.

It alsocalculates first-time buyer rebates and land transfer taxes across the country.

It'savailable for BlackBerry.