There are few feelings that will make a person's heart drop quicker than the dreaded swipe of the credit card that is met with a message of "Declined." If you're used to managing your budget the traditional way, you no doubt have a filing cabinet full of unorganized bank statements, pre-approved loan offers, and receipts that you can't recall why you saved. (Did you really need to make a whole "Bagels" folder for that one time you bought a single bagel?)

While there are a plethora of financial management tools available for your iOS device, no one has yet to come close to the Mint.com Personal Finance app. The main purpose of the app is simple: Make managing your money easy. It does that by offering up an unprecedented list of features to take control of your budget.

Mint.com's app is the most reliable app on the market, trusted by nearly every financial institution imaginable. You can sync up your savings, checking, credit, PayPal, and most other accounts where you may keep assets -- though you'll have to enter the emergency fund shoebox you keep under the mattress manually. With the constantly updating list of transactions, you'll know exactly where your finances stand at all times.

The most powerful tools in this Swiss Army knife of an app are the budget planning and monitoring abilities. Mint will automatically organize all spending into a multitude of categories, making it easy to see where cutbacks can take place and savings can be found. Goals can also be set for that added bit of motivation to avoid short term spending (e.g.: buying novelty socks) and look ahead to the future (e.g.: opening your own novelty sock store).

The best part of the entire Mint experience? It's all completely free. Download it for the iPhone or the iPad and start getting your finances in order.

The Best is a weekly column in which we spotlight the most helpful or impressive iOS app to fit a certain need, whether it's a part of your day-to-day life or just something cool that might come in handy down the line.

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A Look at Mint.com Personal Finance

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  The second the Mint.com app is open, you'll immediately be greeted with your current financial standings.

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  Every recorded transaction is automatically organized by category, giving a complete breakdown of all spending done across the board.

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  If you'd like to see how you're progressing in your spending habits, the Spending Over Time view gives a great look at habits over time and periods when money has historically been tight.

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  It's hard to save money when not enough is coming in, and the Net Income view gives a great look at how your spending habits compare to your earnings.

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  The Budget overview shows what you've set for goals and how you're progressing toward meeting them.

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  Take a closer look at every category so you can see exactly where you've been sinking your money and what it has cost you.

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