Financial advisors across the world recommend making a shopping list. Creating a list of the things you need (and avoiding purchasing the things you don’t) can help you save money.

Shopping lists are useful all around. The problem with the basic shopping list is that sometimes forgetting to place an item on a list can mean neglecting to purchase that item altogether.
Say you run out of butter, for example.

Instead of writing “butter” on your shopping list right away, you may forget to add the item altogether. As a result, the next time you are at the grocery store, butter may be the one thing that you forget to buy. That’s where grocery list smartphone apps come into play. These apps not only help you create a grocery list, but they are ready to use whenever you need to add something to your current list.

Grocery IQ for iPhone – Free

Grocery IQ allows you to add generalized products to your list (like “white bread”), but it also allows you to search for specific brands. Once you have found a specific brand, Grocery IQ uploads a photo of that brand to your phone (just in case you send someone else shopping). Another great feature of Grocery IQ is that this all includes store comparison information.

If, for example, you are looking for Coconut Bliss chocolate ice cream at Whole Foods, you can scan the ice cream that you find at your local whole foods using the included barcode scanner. Grocery IQ will then let you know if Whole Foods offers the best price, or if you’re better off finding your item somewhere else.

The barcode scanner also works with products that you have inside of your home. Simply scan an item, and you’ll find out where to buy the item you’re looking for. One drawback: Grocery IQ does not work in Canada (at the time of this writing).

Grocery Gadget – $4.99

Here’s another grocery app for the iPhone that’s simply ingenious. Grocery Gadget does everything that Grocery IQ can do, but it also allows you to synch your grocery list with someone else’s list. For example, if you want to share a grocery list with your husband, you can do so simply by entering the proper synch information.

Even better – the person you share your list with doesn’t have to have an IOS-smartphone. So, if you cross off something on your grocery list, the same item will be crossed off on all other lists that you share with another person. This is, perhaps, the best grocery app available, though it doesn’t include a barcode scanner. Also, the price of this app may be more than some people want to pay.

Whole Foods Market Recipes – Free

This grocery list app is a bit different. This app allows you to shop for items that are part of a Whole Foods recipe. If you want to try a Whole Foods muffin recipe, for instance, this app will include all the grocery items that you need to purchase for that recipe on your shopping list.

The Whole Foods Market Recipe app is handy if you shop at Whole Foods or want to make a recipe that you found on the Whole Foods website. It isn’t great if you don’t dig the Whole Foods scene (there are other recipes apps out there too, including an Epicurious app).