Mint.com
Tower Rating: 5 out of 5
Review by Joshua Trent
Do you spend more than you earn each month? Do you know? If you’re like most students, you probably aren’t really sure. We may not like making budgets and thinking about our (lack of) money, but we do love our iPhones. Mint.com’s free app allows you to stay on top of your finances, make a budget and set savings goals on the go without needing an accounting degree.
Why this Kicks App
Mint.com is the best financial app available. Period. It’s secure, it’s convenient, it’s simple—everything you want from a financial app. You don’t need to spend an hour on the computer logging in to all of your different accounts figuring out how much money you have and how much money you owe. Just open the Mint.com app on your iPhone or Android powered smart phone, and it’s all right in front of you. It tells you instantly if you’re over budget for the month, sends you alerts via email or text letting you know if your checking account balance is getting low, tells you how much cash you have vs. credit card debt and your cash flow for the month.
Need some help saving for an emergency fund? Want a plan to pay down your student loans? Would you like to save for spring break? Mint.com makes it all easy. Download it for free in the App Store or Android Marketplace and be on your way to financial security!
Square Up
Let me cut to the chase: Square is great. It’s amazing, actually, and I love it. Square allows you to safely and securely process credit card or debit card payments right from your iOS and Android powered smart phones. And, since it was developed by CEO Jack Dorsey, one of the founders of Twitter, it automatically gets geek celeb points.
Square charges a flat 2.75% fee per swipe—that’s it. The actual Square device, the service and the app are all free. The process is similar to the one the nice folks who walk you through checkout at the Apple store use. Swipe the card, enter the amount, sign, and enter your email address for the receipt. You can even take a picture of the item purchased and see where the purchase was made via Google Maps.
Why this Kicks App
Square is great and works wonders with my business, allowing me to process payments on the go or at a client’s office. However, the best part is the simple fact that you can process a payment from anyone, anywhere. Last week was my nephew’s birthday and my little brother and I went in on a present together for him. When we were at the store buying the gift, he didn’t have cash. He only had his debit card. However, with Square, I was able to run his card on my phone and deposit the money right into my account. Just imagine how great it’ll be next month when your roommate owes you rent or for the cable bill, but he or she doesn’t have cash. With Square, you’ll never have to hear, “I’ll get you back later” ever again.
If you’d like a live demo of me taking your money, follow me on twitter @timboslice and give me a shout.
Shush! Ringer Restorer
Tower Rating: 5 out of 5
Review by Azam Makki
“I called you.” “I didn’t get your call. Oh wait… I see I missed your call. Urgh, I didn’t hear it because I forgot to take my phone off of silent after I got out of class!”
Sound familiar? It happens to the best of us. Now there is a great app to help make sure you don’t miss another phone call because you forgot to turn your ringer back on. Shush! Ringer Restorer is a simple to use but incredible Android app that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without. It allows you to set a timer (for up to 12 hours) for when you want your phone to go from silent or vibrate back to ringer, and it also allows you to set the desired ringer volume when it aut0matically turns your ringer back on!
Why this Kicks App
Shush! is very easy to use, and the controls are simple and intuitive. I’ve tried a few other ringer profile apps, but this one by far is the most simple and most efficient. On top of all this, the app is free in the Android Marketplace. Now you can go to class, work and even the movies and not have to worry about remembering to turn your ringer back on. Download Shush! and you’ll never accidently miss a call again.
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