TiPb checks out the best, most must-have budget tracking apps to help keep your personal finances in order on-the-go.

There are a ton of great budget tracking apps in the App Store, but which ones are the financial best of the best? Which iPhone app should you be using to ensure you’ll always be within your monthly spending limit, always have that vacation fund ready and waiting, and always be on top of your overall finances?

Although the options are aplenty, we’ve narrowed the list down to the top 5 apps to help keep you focused on your spending and income levels without giving yourself too much of a headache. Read on after the break!

iReconcile

iReconcile is one of my favorite apps for staying on top of all my personal finances. It comes packed with a ton of great features including a built-in check register, extensive reporting and an online backup and sync service ($1.99/mo or $19.99/yr). Best of all, the app comes with a budget tracker tool that’s second to none, allowing you to drill down to yearly, monthly, weekly or even a daily budgeting.

Setting up a budget with iReconcile is quick and easy, with options to choose which categories and sub-categories should be included or excluded from your setup. Another useful feature for me is the rollover option, which lets your remaining funds for the month’s budget rollover into the next month’s budget without any user input whatsoever. Budgeting with your check register has never been easier, and with the amount of additional features iReconcile offers, I’d highly recommend giving it a try!

[$2.99 -- iTunes link]

Expenditure

Expenditure is a gem of a budget & finance tracking app. It features effortless methods for adding new transactions and going over your allotted chunk of spending money, and comes with awesome features that were missing from some of the other apps I chose for this post. A good example is when adding a new transaction you’ll be presented with options for including a photo or a quick note, which effectively pushes the customizability and flexibility of your transactions beyond most basic budgeting apps.

The attention to detail in this app shouldn’t be overlooked — another great example is the built-in currency converter with a rather extensive list of supported currencies, making it easy to keep yourself on a budget when vacationing or out of the county.

[$1.99 -- iTunes link]

MoneyBook

If you’ve been on the hunt for a more feature-packed budgeting app then look no further than MoneyBook. It’s simple in nature, but looking a little deeper you’ll find a number of unexpected surprises. Entering a new transaction is a breeze, with flexible options for adding notes or affixing a specific category to individual transactions. In addition, MoneyBook has options to export your finances and also lets you password protect sensitive items you don’t want others to see. I didn’t see any graph or chart options, so you may want to keep that in mind when choosing which app is for you.

MoneyBook also comes with a free cloud backup service in case you lose your iPhone or just want to make sure your important transactions are stored somewhere other than on the device itself.

[$2.99 -- iTunes link]

Toshl

Speaking of the cloud… Need a secure, simple and intuitive way of keeping your finances in order while simultaneously taking advantage of that newfangled cloud technology everyone keeps talking about? Toshl delivers with a clean iPhone expense tracking app featuring a built-in (and free!) easy to use online syncing service. The app takes away the worry of losing your spending history by syncing everything — literally everything — to the cloud automatically after adding or updating a transaction, with manual sync options for those looking for a little more control.

In addition to a well thought out design, the developers offer great upgrade incentives such as multiple user support for family budgeting, added export options for Excel, PDF and Google Docs along with karma points for supporting the developers. You can either use the free service or upgrade to the Pro option for just $19.95/year.

[Free -- iTunes link]

Mint

To describe Mint as a well-rounded and feature-rich finance service would be an understatement. In terms of budget tracking, it beats most apps out of the water with ease. Mint automatically updates your spending and transactions without any user input required. It does so by connecting directly to your bank account through Mint’s secure and award-winning online service. It keeps an eye on all of your spending and automatically categorizes your transactions in the background so you don’t have to constantly update your spending profile in order for the service to work for you.

You can add checking, savings or even your retirement account information for an in-depth overview of your spending and saving habits, and comes with added notification features so you never miss a bill or come too close to your spending limit. They’ll even notify you of any suspicious transactions they see!

Although Mint isn’t just for budget tracking, it does a superb job at it. Along with its many features, I see Mint as one of the best options out there for categorizing and tracking your spending while on the go. The service is free, so what are you waiting for?

[Free -- iTunes link]

Your top budget and finance apps?

There’s a lot of other great apps out their for tracking and keeping tabs on your finances — each offering unique features other apps might have missed — so take a look in the App Store to see what fits your needs. Also, be sure to check out our Picks of the Week and the TiPb iPhone App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites, leave them in the comments below!

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The TiPb forums are naturally a great place to talk, commiserate, celebrate, get help, and offer advice to your fellow iPhone users. In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is easy and free so if you haven't already, head on over and register now!

• Top 10 signs of cell phone addiction

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• Were you disappointed in the iPad 2?

See you in the forums!

Cell phone addiction, Android to iOS, iOS 4.3.3/4.2.8 jailbreak, iPad 2 disappointment – From the Forums is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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The “mystery” surrounding Hugh Hefner's recent announcement that Playboy will be available on the iPad complete and uncensored has been solved and it’s pretty much what we expected — Web App.

The new site will go live on May 18 and will be available at i.playboy.com (it currently returns a 404 page not found error but that will change as soon as it goes live). The iPad Playboy site will have a subscription charge of $8 a month for access to the fully uncensored content. It will also provide complete access to every previous issue of Playboy magazine.

We were reasonably sure that Playboy would not appear as an app due to Apple's strict App Store content restrictions; but what do you think? Does it make a difference not having a Playboy app? Is an optimized site good enough if it's done well? Or should Apple let nudity go native in the App Store?

[Techradar]

Playboy for iPad will be an optimized website, no change to app store policy! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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IM+, the popular instant messaging app for iPhone and iPad, has updated to 5.0 and bring a new feature called Neighbors. With Neighbors, you can locate your friends on a map and chat with people nearby.

Neighbors offers a new dimension of communication in IM+ by providing users the opportunity to find new real life connections and friends with common interests. When signed in, users of Neighbors IM+ will be able to locate friends on the map, chat with local friends as well as initiate conversations with other people who are located nearby.

The update also includes:

• New services icons
• DND/Busy status support
• Account history delete
• Multiple bug fixes

The folks at SHAPE Services generously provided us with a few promo codes for IM+ Pro to give away to our readers! For a chance to win, just let us know what you think of the new Neighbors feature in the comments below!

[$9.99 for Pro - iTunes link] [Free for lite - iTunes link]

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Apple and Google are testifying today before the US Senate on issues concerning the collection of location data and mobile privacy in general. Daring Fireball notes something of interest:

Apple is represented by Bud Tribble, a vice president of software engineering. Google is represented by Alan Davidson, a lobbyist.

Would Apple have been smarter to send in the lawyers/political consultants like Google? Or should Google have sent a VP level engineer as well? And what if anything do you hope comes from this committee hearing?

[Daring Fireball]

Apple, Google testifying before US Senate on location data and mobile privacy is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• Parkbud: A high-end, immersive Car Locator and Parking App that turns the stress of remembering where and when you parked into a worry-free, pleasant experience. [Free - iTunes link]

• Animal Phone: Let your kids make phone calls to animal friends! [Free - iTunes link]

• GV Connect: Update to version 1.8 brings contact images in message lists and conversation views, nickname auto-completion and more! [$2.99 - iTunes link]

• Blackboard Eats: A mouthwatering city guide and map to tell you where to eat on the go; simple ways to store and retrieve your passcode; a virtual membership card; a savvy tip calculator; and easy ways to spread the good taste to all your friends. [Free - iTunes link]

• YellowBrck: A location based social network for moms and dads. Share your current activity or location with other moms and dads and their kids. Now with a journal, kid check-in, and the ability to find friends via address book and Twitter. [Free - iTunes link]

Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

New and updated iPhone and iPad apps for Tuesday, May 10 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Get ready to start wielding your boomsticks as Backflip Studios has just informed us that the long awaited game based on 1992′s cult classic Army of Darkness film is about to be released.

In perhaps the most perfect marriage of a film scene and game premise of all time, Army of Darkness: Defense is a castle defense game that takes place during the pivotal castle scene within the movie where Ash and his allies defend the powerful Necronomicon (book) within Lord Arthur's fortress from the onslaught of Deadites (living dead). Gamers take on the role of the chiseled chin, one-liner-spouting Ash while summoning familiar troops, spells and weapons from the movie to help in the defense. Gameplay features include over 150 direct lines of dialogue from Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, and beautifully animated graphics using the well-known "Granny 3D" engine. Army of Darkness: Defense gives Ash the ability to call upon a wide variety of allies to help preserve the Necronomicon including swordsman, armored knights, archers and more. In addition to the originally composed sound and music, the app also features many of the famous characters from the movie including Arthur, Henry, Sheila, the Wiseman, Evil Ash, and more.

This is a must buy for any fan of Bruce Campbell or of the films. Army of Darkness: Defense will be available in the App Store on May 12th for the iPhone/iPod Touch for $0.99 and for the iPad for $2.99. Very “Groovy”…

Gameplay video after the break!

Army of Darkness: Defense (Backflip Studios / MGM) from Backflip Studios on Vimeo.

Army of Darkness: Defense coming to iPhone and iPad on May 12th is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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According to retail checks by Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley, Apple’s iPhone 3GS (which originally launched in 2009 and was stripped down in 2010), and original iPad (2010) are outselling many brand new Android phones and devices just now hitting the market.

"At AT&T, our checks indicated new Android smartphones primarily gained share from Windows 7 smartphones but not from the iPhone. Our checks indicated modest share gains for the HTC Inspire, but the Inspire gained share from the Windows phone 7 smartphones and the Motorola Atrix. As such, the iPhone 4 remained by far the best selling smartphone at AT&T and the 3GS remained a strong selling smartphone due to its $49 price."

Is this a reflection of Apple’s hardware quality, platform longevity, and reputation for timely and consistent software updates, or just a reflection on people liking cheap and discounted gear? (Old BlackBerry Curves offered on BOGO (buy one get one) promotions used to top of the smartphone sales charts, right?) Maybe a bit of both?

Either way, with the annual Google I/O developers conference kicking off today (check Android Central for complete coverage), it’ll be interesting to see not only what Google announces, but what Apple rumors somehow leak around the same time…

If you’ve picked up an iPhone 3GS or original iPad lately, how are they working for you? And what made you choose them over newer Apple or Android kit?

[via Digital Daily]

iPhone 3GS, iPad 1 outselling recent Android phones? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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For strange reasons beyond my comprehension, not all of you out there in the TiPb nation can join us when we record our iPad Live or iPhone Live podcasts at 9pm EDT on Sunday and Wednesday nights… so we’re experimenting with offering the video later as well. (This would be in addition to our regular audio RSS and iTunes feeds) There are a lot of bugs to work out still (could the audio delay be any longer?) but if enough of you are interested, let us know and we’ll keep at it!

(You should really show up live though, that way you get to join in on the show, ask questions, correct us when we’re wrong, and sometimes win fabulous prizes!)

Note: Due to YouTube’s length limits, we’re breaking it up into four 15 minute segments. First one is up top. Let us know if you want the rest! Also, what would your preferred format be, YouTube like this, iTunes video, something else?

iPad Live 55… video! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Adobe has finally released their iPad companion apps for Photoshop. The three apps, which TiPb spoke with Adobe about last month, are Adobe Color Lava, Adobe Eazel and Adobe Nav. The three apps have been developed using the recently released Adobe Photoshop Touch Software Development Kit (SDK) to demonstrate how interaction between Photoshop and tablet devices can work.

"Tablet devices are destined to become part of creative workflows and these companion Photoshop applications are just the first indications of the creativity we can expect from Adobe and our developer community. With our Touch SDK, we are going to see some astonishing new ways to keep Photoshop at the heart of the creative process no matter what the device – desktop computer, Android tablet, BlackBerry PlayBook or iOS device."

Adobe Color Lava Allows creatives to use their fingertips to mix colors on the iPad. Creating custom color swatches and themes to transfer back into Photoshop. [$2.99 – iTunes Link]

Adobe Eazel Allows digital artists to create rich realistic paintings with their fingertips, and introduces a new kind of interaction between "wet" and "dry" paints. These paintings can then be sent directly to Photoshop CS5 for compositing or for taking the artwork further. [$4.99 – iTunes Link]

Adobe Nav Iincreases workflow efficiency by letting users select and control Photoshop tools using the iPad as the input surface, customize the toolbar, browse and zoom in on up to 200 open Photoshop files, or easily create new files. [$1.99 – iTunes Link]

If any of our readers pick these apps up, let us know in the comments if you find them helpful!

[Adobe Blog]

Adobe releases iPad Photoshop Touch apps, Color Lava, Eazel and Nav is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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