With Black Friday nearly a week away and the year coming to an end, it is easy to get caught up in spending tons of money on gifts, vacations, decorations, etc. Staying on top of your finances can easily be forgotten or, it could put a damper on the holiday altogether. While the high hopes of your child receiving that PS4 game console, could also raise the highest amount of fraud activities with card payments.
Since we are all smartphone junkies why don’t we finally consider using apps that can actually help our lifestyle instead of chopping fruit all day. Thanks to our extended Gents Among Men family over at Hipsternomics provided a few FREE mobile apps that can make budgeting easier, get you through the holiday, and kick off a good finance-management habit in 2015.
Level Money wants you to think before you spend. It’s aimed squarely at millennials who are overburdened with debt and who, may have lost track of what they can afford to spend without getting into trouble. Level Money connects with all your accounts, credit cards or your main bank account through your debit card,analyzes your finances by categorizing them into income, bills, save, and helps you see exactly how much cash you have to spend, “Spendable income.”
SmartAsset is a website and app that helps the average people like you and me make the important financial decisions. The company provides automated, highly personalized advice for “24 of the most significant life events and financial decisions you may have to face” — which includes student loans, credit cards, starting a business, and more. From retirement planning, to buying a home, to evaluating cost of going back to school, or starting a family, SmartAsset models decisions and creates interactive graphs, which provide advice and insights to answer your questions.
Onavo help users get “500% or more usage” out of an existing mobile data plan. Onavo’s goal is to help you better understand how much data the apps on your phone are using to allow you to make better informed data decisions and save you money, also compressing your data to lighten your 4G load. If you’re one of the many who don’t have an unlimited data plan, then this service is for you.
BillGuard uses proprietary technology to scan your credit card bills and check them for fraud or incorrect charges, and it will send you alerts you when you have a similar charge to one that other users flagged. An extra protection on your credit card purchases this holiday season will definitely be helpful. 
Bonus: LendPal
At one point or another we all forget to return something we borrowed, right? With LendPal you don’t have to remember. This intuitive app helps you keep track of who you borrowed money to and from, and you can set reminders and notes within the app to help with management. Whether you’re splitting the rent or sharing groceries with roommates, family and friends, LendApp will make sure that you never forget who owes you anything. 