IFTTT is one of the most useful (and free) web apps I have ever found. IFTTT, which stands for “If This, Then That” can automatically connect you, your social media, news, and tons of other apps for automatic actions. Here are a few of my favorite recipes for staying connected to your finances and saving money.
Get Stock Alerts
Want to celebrate when your stock hits a new high? A text or email if your stock drops below a certain point? IFTTT can do that!
Here is a recipe to get a text message when a stock hits a certain price:
And here is another to get an email. It is pre-filled with Apple, ticker APPL, as an example.
Get Money News
My favorite places to get money news are the New York Times Dealbook, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times. You can use the New York Times trigger or an RSS feed to send the stories you want to your Twitter, email, phone, or about a dozen other places. Want news from the Wall Street Journal on just a specific topic? Here is an example of a recipe with all news relating to “Google”
Here is a recipe I created myself that shares all new posts from the Dealbook on my Twitter account.
Save Money with Craigslist Tracking
Sometimes you want to buy something, and think Craigslist may be the way to go, but you can’t find what you are looking for. Whether it is a cruiser bike or a couch, some hot commodities go fast on Cragslist. Thanks to IFTTT, you can be the first to know about something new that you are looking for.
It also works for job searches, like this one in San Francisco.
Or it might help you find an apartment in your favorite Seattle neighborhood.
You Can Automate Almost Anything
Want to make your attempt at extreme couponing easier? You can set the RSS feeds from your favorite coupon sites to send you an email or save new articles to your Evernote coupon notebook. Or you can set it to search the RSS for certain brands or products.
Maybe you want to text your spending to a spreadsheet so you can track how much you spent on a vacation when you get home?
We all hate trying to remember when a friend owes us five bucks, or a DVD we let them borrow. Have no fear, IFTTT is here!
Or, best of all, get new posts from this blog sent right to your inbox, Evernote, or read it later list.
How Do You IFTTT?
How do you use IFTTT to help you with your finances? Please share your favorite recipes in the comments.
These are brilliant, nice job Eric!
The combinations are almost endless, but these are my favorites to start with money tracking.