Most people will tell you one of the worst feelings in the world is to come back to your car after an afternoon downtown handling your business affairs in the city and discover that the pesky meter maid has left you a surprise fluttering in the breeze under your window wiper.

Here’s another terrible feeling: You are rushing down the freeway to make it to work on time in the morning, when you see the sea of red lights in front of you stretching for miles and miles. You wonder why you didn’t take the back streets today.

Below is list of some useful apps for your smartphone to help you battle traffic and the parking meter. With these helpful apps for your phone, you can now save yourself time and money, and also keep your peace of mind to go along with them.

Traffic Reports Apps

One common thing that is popping up more and more across American roadways are photo camera speed traps. Avoid those easily with the Trapster app. It shows you the traffic conditions on the road ahead.

Another great app is TripIt, which lets you plan out your trip before hand and shows you the road blockages. This app also lets you organize hotel reservations if you are planning a trip which is very helpful.

One other nice app in the market today is the Inrix app which lets you see real time stats on the traffic conditions in your area.

Parking Apps

One of the best ways to avoid getting a parking ticket is with an extremely helpful app called Parking Mate. This free app lets you set the meter timer with a single swipe of your finger and also allows you to set a GPS marker to help you find your car if you are not familiar with the area you are in.

Another great app to use when you have a meter running is the Pocket Parking Meter, which cost 99 cents. It allows you to input the time you have on the meter so you never have to worry about a meter maid.

There are other parking lot management apps that help you to manage your parking lots. Parkeee is one of the best parking finding and management apps. If you are involved in the parking business then you can also use these parking management apps.

Cheap Gas Apps

Everyone wants to save money on gas and with the Gas Buddy app for your phone you can do just that. This lets you search for cheap gas by zip code or if you have GPS enabled on your car you can just search by the location you are at currently.

Another great app is the Car Data Manager which lets you track the miles you are putting on your car and how much gas you actually are using to help monitor gas usage.

If you are a “green” type of person running on electric and other fuel sources, you can use the Green Fuel app. With the Green Fuel app, you can search for alternative fuels. It gives you detailed maps to guide you to your destination.