Seven great money-saving apps

We all have vital apps for the important things in life. Our phones and watches are full of clever ways to access music and media, social media, dating, games and stores - as well as the really useful things like karaoke and Candycrush. But before you fill your gadgets entirely with these must-haves, it's worth making some space for really clever apps, offering deals and tricks that could save you a fortune. We have identified seven of the best.

1. RedLaser
Price: Free
So many of us shop around carefully when we're buying something online, and then let it all go to pot when we hit the high street. The RedLaser app takes the legwork out of bargain hunting on the high street, because when you've found something you like the look of, you can just scan the barcode, and it will let you know if it's on sale any cheaper in any of the larger chains nearby (as well as online).
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2. MySupermarket
Price: Free
For groceries, this is one of the most useful price comparison tools. You can put your shopping list into the app and it will show you the cheapest store for each item. You can also set price alerts on your favourite items, get saving suggestions, and find 'savvy buys' which are currently at a much lower price than usual.

3. Hopper
Price: Free
Hopper is a game changer for buying flights. It's notoriously hard to guess the best time to purchase the cheapest tickets, and when you're looking online it's difficult to tell whether ticket prices will fall tomorrow - or keep rising in price until the day you fly. Hopper analyses billions of flight prices every day, so when you search, it will tell you whether you should buy now, or whether you are likely to get a better deal by holding on. You can also watch flights and it will let you know when the price has dropped to something it recommends buying at. The developers say you could save up to 40% on every flight.

4. Uber Pool
Price: Free
Uber has already transformed the world of taxis, and if you haven't done so yet, you could save a small fortune by joining the Uber revolution. The app lets you hire Uber cars - often for far less than a traditional taxi. The first time you use it you'll also get a £10 discount. And once you've mastered Uber, you can move onto the new uberPOOL service - which matches you with another passenger heading in the same direction, and allows you to split the cost of travel.

5. Trainline
Price: Free
Having an app handy means you're far more likely to get around to booking your journeys plenty of time in advance, which is your ticket to major savings. The company says that last year 3.8 million people saved over £474 million by booking in advance. The app also has some useful features - like the ability to check platforms, add trips to your calendar, show live departure boards, check which trains your tickets can be used on and even buy mobile tickets on selected routes.

6. Vouchercloud
Price: Free
There are an enormous number of voucher sites and apps, but Vouchercloud is particularly useful when you're out and about. You can search for nearby deals, so if you're in a new town and ready for lunch, a quick search will reveal any valid vouchers at restaurants nearby. There are deals on everything from fashion to leisure, days out and restaurants.

7. WhatsApp
Price: Free (with an annual fee of 69p after the first year)
If you're under the age of 30, the thought of not having Whatsapp is baffling, but if you're yet to come across it, you could save a fortune. You can use the app to make free calls and texts over Wi-Fi, dramatically cutting the cost of texts and calls from your mobile.