You’ve got your iPhone, iPod Touch or other smartphone, and it’s time to go shopping. So what apps are going to help you find bargains, calculate your savings and help you stick to your budget? We’ve compiled a list of our favourites. 

Sale Saver (free, iPhone)

You like the sound of 35 percent off the retail price of $185 — but what does that translate to? This calculator app lets you punch in the figures and find out the sale price immediately. Most importantly — it shows you how much you’ve saved on your entire shopping trip and can handle multiple entries at different percentages off.


iXpenseIt Lite (free, iPhone)

Do you find it hard to keep track of your expenses? This app makes it easy to record what you spend your money on in a range of lifestyle categories, helps you meet your budget by recording where you outlay the most money, and helps you identify where you can cut costs and save cash. A reporting system allows you to see how much money you’ve spent today, this week or for the month, and whether you’ve gone over or under your average spend. 


Gilt On The Go (free, iPhone)

Designer clothing divas will probably already know about Gilt (www.gilt.com) — the private online shopping club based in the US that holds brief sales on a range of luxury brands. This app ensures you’re the first to the sale by sending sale alerts direct to your iPhone and allowing you to shop online from wherever you are. You could score up to 70 percent off men’s, women’s and children’s wear and homewares from brands such as Louis Vuitton, Marc and Moschino. The only downside is that they don’t do international shipping, so you will have to arrange for a friend of mailing service to forward the goods onto your Australian address. 


GetPrice Comparison Shopping (free, iPhone)

At this stage of the iPhone’s lifespan, there aren’t many apps that are designed specifically for the Australian market. On the other hand, this app, developed by price comparison website GetPrice.com.au, is. You can now use your mobile to compare prices on products in 500 categories while you shop. No need to go home and Google prices on the product you want to buy. Not sure how it would hold up if you were trying to negotiate a price in store, though. Does a quoted price pictured on your phone equal a printed receipt? That’ll be up to the retailer. We also love that this app has the ability to “brag to your friends” about the bargains you just found with links to social networking websites. 
 

Lasoo (free, iPhone)
That other Australian bargain shopping company, Lasoo, has created a convenient app for viewing their collection of sales catalogues for major Australian retailers. Wondering whether to do your shopping at Aldi or Coles? Check your Lasoo app for catalogue specials from wherever you are to see where the bargains lie, then use the store locator maps to find your closest outlet. Non-iPhone users can also use Lasoo’s website for mobile: m.lasoo.com.au


Gift List Budget Shopper ($4.99, iPhone)

This app lets you manage your gift lists for the whole year’s worth of present-giving. You can jot down ideas for each person and occasion, set your budget for each gift and tick them off the list when you’re done. It links up with your contacts list so no one is forgotten, and also allows you to conduct product searches directly from the app to the web. It also calculates your total spend — helping you stick to your budget. 


Shopsavvy (free; iPhone, Android and Nokia)

Shopsavvy may not have full functionality in the Australian shopping context — but we’re waiting with baited breath. This app turns your phone’s camera into a barcode scanner, allowing you to scan the barcode of any product in store and conduct an immediate online price comparison search for that product. The downside is that Australian price comparisons are limited. 


eBay Mobile (free; iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry)
How many times have you been away from your computer just when the final bids were being taken for that handbag you so desperately wanted? Now you can take eBay with you wherever you go and track your bids and sales to your heart’s content. 




Easy Bill Split ($1.19, iPhone)
If there’s a downside to going out for dinner with friends when you’re on a budget, it’s when the bill arrives and the decision is for an even split — even though you know Bill’s meal cost twice as much as yours and Jill drank triple the amount that you did. This app allows you to quickly input everyone’s costs and neatly displays a table with what each person owes. No arguments, no fuss.