How to Use Siri as a Personal Finance Assistant

By Justine Rivero, Guest Columnist

Siri, the intelligent assistant for iPhone 4S, gives users voice-activated control over several smart phone features. For example, Siri can schedule business meetings and call your best friend with a simple voice command. She can also be a pocket personal assistant for your finances. Although she won’t replace a certified financial planner anytime soon, Siri makes it convenient and easy to deal with money matters wherever you are.

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Grab your iPhone and try out these simple ways to save more money, make fewer mistakes and manage your finances just by talking to Siri.

Save on ATM fees with Siri. Instead of giving into the corner store’s $3 ATM fee, ask Siri, “Where can I withdraw cash?” or prompt “Find Bank ABC.” She’ll direct you to the nearest cash point if you’re in a rush, or better yet, give you directions to your nearest bank branch so you can save on out-of-network ATM fees.

Protect your credit with Siri. Never miss a bill payment again with Siri’s reminders. Ask her to set up reminders for bill due dates by simply saying, “Remind me to pay my credit card bill next Tuesday.” You can set reminders based on time, date and even location; location-based reminders let you tell Siri, “Remind me to pay my mortgage when I get home.”

Calculate the right tip with Siri. Why calculate a tip with Siri? Because she’s cooler than a calculator and because she can calculate sales tax and split the bill. For sales tax, ask her, “How much is $40.65 plus San Francisco sales tax?” to add the local city tax rate to your tab. If you haven’t decided yet how good the service was, ask her to return a list of tip amounts ranging from 10% to 25%. And if you’re going Dutch, ask her, “What is a 20% tip on $60.64 for three people?”

Justine Rivero is the credit adviser for CreditKarma.com, a free credit management Web site that helps nearly 5 million consumers access their truly free credit score.

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