If you're in the 40-to-55 age group and concerned about your job prospects and retirement investments, chances are that you've been awaiting the U.S. Commerce Department's latest data on economic growth. Those numbers were just released this morning, and while the picture definitely is getting better, the question economists are asking is whether the economy is improving fast enough.

The good news is that the economy definitely is on the rise, with the nation's Gross Domestic Product rising in the fourth quarter of 2011 at an estimated annual rate of 2.8 percent. That's up from 1.8 percent in the third quarter, and it's the biggest surge the nation has seen in the past one-and-a-half years. Additionally, exports of goods and services increased 4.7 percent in Q4, another sign that economic growth is picking up. For the first time, the nation's economy has regained the size that it had before the recession of 2008-2009.

Whatever financial goal you're trying to reach, there's an app to help you get there. Here are some ways -- many of them free -- to use your smartphone to get control of your financial life.

1. Pay off debt.

Debt Free and Debt Snowball Pro use the popular snowball method to pay off debts, helping you organize, monitor and incrementally pay off all your bills in a comprehensive way. If you just need to pay off a credit card, Credit Card Debt Payoff is a calculator app that will generate a payoff schedule based on how much you owe and when you want to pay off the card, or the amount you want to pay monthly.

2. Stick to a budget.

It's crunch time. If you're still shopping, here are some helpful last-minute suggestions from SecondAct's 2011 holiday gift guides:

1. Smart Gifts for Techies. Once again, the iPad is dominating holiday lists, but unlike last year, there are some worthy, lower-cost alternatives, including the Kindle Fire. Other hot gadgets include the iPhone 4S, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, big-screen TVs and web-based music services such as Spotify.

The Ford F Series trucks are the overall bestselling new vehicles for middle-aged consumers in 2011, though fuel-efficient imports showed the biggest growth in sales this year.

That assessment comes from the number-crunching automotive industry analysts at Edmunds.com who compiled data for SecondAct.com on the hottest-selling 2011 vehicles for people ages 45 and over.

Layaway is making a comeback as consumers try to avoid credit card debt. Major retailers such as Walmart, Sears, Toys R Us and Best Buy all have resurrected the payment plans as a way to lure cash-strapped holiday shoppers.

The program, which allows shoppers to pay for items over time without interest and then pick them up once they're paid in full, became popular in the 1930s but had all but vanished over the past few decades as the economy grew and credit cards became common.

It's that time of year again: Medicare open enrollment time. If you're newly eligible for Medicare, or if you want to make changes to coverage for yourself or a family member, now is the time to act. A few changes this year may make the process easier than ever.

As Congress ponders the "Buffett rule," President Obama's plan to increase tax rates for millionaires, lawmakers might have to look in the mirror. While about 1 percent of Americans fall into the millionaire category, almost half of Congress does. Congress has 244 members -- 138 Republicans and 106 Democrats -- with a net worth of at least $1 million in 2009, according to the Open Secrets blog.

Investor Warren Buffett triggered the recent push for higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans when he complained in the The New York Times that "...we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks."

You've seen the bumper sticker, "We're Spending our Kids' Inheritance." Well, it may be true. Less than half of wealthy baby boomers say they think it's important to leave their kids any dough, a new survey finds.

In a survey of millionaire boomers by investment firm U.S. Trust, only 49 percent say it is important to leave money to their children when they die, Walter Hamilton reports in the Los Angeles Times.

The battle over raising the debt ceiling has sent disapproval of Congress to its highest level on record and left most Americans saying that creating jobs should now take priority over cutting spending, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll. A record 82 percent of Americans said they disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job.

The debt-ceiling agreement passed by Congress and signed by President Obama this week calls for cuts of $2 trillion in the next 10 years. But threats to Medicare and Social Security were averted -- for now.

Get Ready to Inherit. Two-thirds of baby boomers will eventually inherit family money, a windfall that could improve their financial prospects in retirement, according to a study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. The median bequest is estimated at $64,000, but the range is huge, running from an average $1.5 million for the wealthiest 10 percent of boomers to $27,000 for the least wealthy.

So far, 17 percent of boomers have received $2.4 trillion in inheritances out of a possible $11.6 trillion, the study says.