This week, we started part 1 of a 2 part series – in part 1, we covered my favourite PERSONAL apps, and we will cover business-related apps in part 2 next week.
I am not affiliated with any of the following apps, so I don’t get paid or get any incentive at all for recommending them, I just genuinely love these apps and want to share the love!
SAVING ON SHOPPING
· Kijiji and/or Facebook Marketplace: These are both free, work for all platforms, and are super easy to use. They are both classifieds type apps that you can use to buy and sell used items.
· Flipp: Free Flyer App for all platforms
· Retailmenot.ca (website): Coupon codes for online shopping
PERSONAL FINANCE
So, this is a bit of a cheat because I don’t actually use an app for budgeting, aside from my online banking app. I am a spreadsheet girl with my budget and I always have been, and I also have an entire video (episode 4) on this subject. In that video, I mentioned 2 budgeting apps you can use – Mint and YNAB.
· Both available for all platforms
· Both allow you to connect your bank accounts to automatically dump transactions in or manually enter if you use cash
· Both have massive amounts of support online through forums, youtube channels, and online blogs - they’re both extremely popular!
· Based on my research, I think that YNAB has a slight edge on ease of use, but whether that’s worth the monthly charge or not is up to you (I suggest trialing both apps and seeing what your personal preference is)
· Mint is free, and YNAB is $7 USD/month after the 34 day trial
PERSONAL GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
While I specifically use podcasts mostly for personal and business development, there is very likely a podcast out there for basically any interest you can think of, and it’s a great way to learn or get up to date of a topic of your choice while you’re doing something else - think driving, or doing laundry, dishes, or replying to e-mails.
· Edmonton Public Library – this app is only for EPL card holders (free for Edmonton residents), but it’s so convenient for free borrowing - you can put holds on books, video games, DVDs, graphic novels, and more, the library staff will pull it from the shelves, put it on hold on their special hold shelves, and e-mail you when it’s ready to be picked up. They also have a huge library of audio books and e-books that you can download directly onto your device for FREE.
· For non-Edmonton residents, I recommend Hoopla, where you can borrow 5 titles a month, completely free. They have videos, music, audio books, and e-books available.
· Udemy is another free app, available for all platforms, and it contains thousands of online courses on basically anything you can imagine.
TIME MANAGEMENT
· Iphone Screen Time Tool (swipe right from your home screen to access this tool – it shows you your screen time, the apps you’re spending time in, and gives you options to set limits for yourself or your kids). Not an Apple user? Try RescueTime
· Things 3: MY FAVORITE APP! It’s calendar, to-do list, reminders, list app, project management, client contact management, logbook all in one. This is a ONE-TIME-BUY software which is SO nice in the world of subscriptions today – it is $10 US (around $13-14 CAD) for the iphone, and there is a MAC option as well which I believe is closer to $50 USD. Unfortunately, it is NOT available for Android users yet, the next best option I would have for you is Google Calendars.
· The one pitfall of this app is that it does not have the ability to collaborate with others, so if you want to share your calendar with your spouse or other team members, it doesn’t have that functionality (yet). It doesn’t fuss me too much, as we have a paper wall calendar that my husband and kids look at to see items that affect them, and everything else goes into my Things app. However, Google Calendars does sync across all devices and allows for collaboration if that feature is important to you.
Next week we will be looking at my favorite apps for business management: customer service, project management, finances, invoicing, payroll, and marketing software.
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