Adulting can be tough. Check out these free apps for adulting to help you with the tough stuff.
Read: Adulting is hard. Seriously. Is there anything that can really prepare us for it? I honestly don’t think so. That’s why this technology thing is so freakin’ beautiful because we get to have so much knowledge at our fingertips. Whether you’re trying to improve your mental health, need a place to put your thoughts, trying to get organized, wanting to keep track of your physical health, or looking for solutions to any other adulting issue, I can almost guarantee there’s an app for that.
Here are some of my favorite cheap and free apps for adulting:
Questions Diary
Journaling used to be one of my favorite ways to unwind at night, but the older I get, the more exhausted I am at the end of the day and the less time I spend wanting to write out a journal entry. I’ve been keeping up with my Happiness Project Journal for years, but I mostly use this to record what I’ve done each day.
With the Questions Diary app, you can dive a little bit more into different topics. The app asks you a question each day. There is an automated question, but if you don’t like that question, you can choose a different one from the list or even make up a question of your own. You simply answer the prompted question, and that’s it. You can write as little or as much as you want. You can also set up a notification setting so you can be prompted to answer your question at the same time each day. What’s even more awesome is that the app will ask you the same question on the same day each year, so you can see how much your answers change from year-to-year.
Download: Google Play | App Store
Lumosity
Lumosity is a brain training app, but it doesn’t train your brain with monotonous lessons or lengthy readings. Instead, you play fun, interactive, educational games that help you improve your memory, attention, and problem solving. When you first download the app, you’ll take a free 10-minute Fit Test to see how you compare against people your age. Your results will help determine what exercises will help you most, and the app will help you create a personalized brain training just for you!
Download: Google Play | App Store
Goodreads
I don’t know about you, but reading is such an important part of keeping my brain healthy. Whether I’m reading a traditional book, reading on my phone or a tablet, or listening to an audio book, getting lost in a story or reading an autobiography or self-help book really makes me feel like I’m making some great strides in my mental health.
Goodreads has been one of my favorite and most used apps for years. It’s an easy way to keep up with everything you’re reading, plus you can connect with fellow readers, set yearly goals, and find new books to fall in love with.
Download: Google Play | App Store
Headspace
Word on the street is that making meditation part of your everyday life can help you reduce stress, improve concentration, get better sleep, and even increase happiness. People who meditate swear by it, but if you’re anything like me, you have no idea how to even get started. Headspace is an app that makes meditation easy! They walk you through exactly how you can make meditation part of your routine with just a few focused minutes a day.
Download: Google Play | App Store
ToothPic
Raise your hand if you hate going to the dentist. Trust me, you’re not alone. Keeping up with your teeth is an important part of maintaining your physical health, but sometimes making time to go to the dentist can be tough. Toothpic helps you avoid that with the use of their app. It allows you to get professional dental advice from a licensed dentist with a full report on how you can keep your teeth at their healthiest. It’s super user-friendly, and it walks you through how to take a few simple and comprehensive photos of your teeth. Within a day, a licensed dentist will send back a full report. It’s so easy!
As you continue to use the app, they’ll send you advice on how you can keep your dental health top notch so you can do preventative work and practice healthy dental care before a more serious problem arises. And if you need to make a trip to the dentist, the app will help you find a Toothpic-approved dentist in your area and book the appointment. It’s pretty much the future of dentistry.
Download: Google Play | App Store
Period Tracker
I have been using this app for years, and while I’ve tried other apps to keep track of my period, my body, and everything in between, I always come back to Period Tracker. With this app, not only can you keep track of when your period starts and ends and how long your cycles last, you can also keep track of your sexual health, your moods, your weight and nutrition, plus any symptoms you may experience throughout the month and on your period, such as bloating, cravings, headaches, acne, insomnia, breast tenderness, and so much more.
One of my favorite things about this app is that you can personalize it. I’ve tried other apps in the past, and I’ve found that they limit the information that you can input. With this app, you can add in different symptoms and lifestyle changes, such as information about your birth control, your bowel movements, etc. Plus, you can even input written notes so you can go back and look at specific things from that day. And although I haven’t had to use this mode yet, you can let the app know when you’re trying to conceive, and if you get pregnant, it’ll put you in pregnancy mode.
Honestly ladies, if you haven’t downloaded an app to keep track of your cycle, do yourself a favor and get this one. I can’t say enough good things about it. Plus, all of these benefits are from the free version of the app. You can upgrade for just $1.99, and get even more features, including charts that show changes overtime.
Download: Google Play | App Store
AllTrails
Since I moved to Ohio, I’ve become a fan of hiking. I love to get maps so that I can easily follow along the trails. If I forget my map at home, AllTrails is the perfect alternative. With this app, you have access to multiple trails all over the country, so no matter if you’re looking for a place to hike at home or on a trip, AllTrails can help you find one that’s perfect for you. You can search for specific trails, difficulty levels, etc. You can also download the trail to your phone so you don’t have to use data while you’re on your hike.
Download: Google Play | App Store
Nike+ Run Club
This is my favorite app to keep up with my walking and jogging routines. I love it because it allows me to see my progress overtime. Even if I’m just going out for a walk around the neighborhood, I still enjoy using the app to keep track of my physical fitness. It also saves the trails you’ve walked or ran, and you can earn badges within the app itself for things such as, running multiple days in a row, reaching a milestone, running your quickest mile, etc.
Download: Google Play | App Store
Marco Polo
I had a friend call me and tell me that I needed to download this app just a few weeks ago, and I’m already obsessed with it. Admittedly, I am not a fan of talking on the phone, but since I have moved and will continue to move around so much, it’s still important to me to keep up with my friends and family. Marco Polo is an easy way for me to do that.
With the Marco Polo app, you can record videos of whatever length you want and send them to your friends and family. The app saves all of the videos in the conversation, which is why I like it so much better than Snapchat where everything disappears and you forget what you were talking about.
You can also create groups within the app, so if you want to create a group with your work friends, your roommates from college, or your entire family, you can do that. The app will also notify you if someone is recording and you can watch them record live, so it’s almost like talking in real time. I love it because it helps me keep up-to-date with people in a more personal way than just looking at social media, but it also eliminates the need to spend hours on the phone when you actually need to be doing other things. You can keep up with each other on your own time and sometimes in real time. I’ve only been using it for a couple weeks, but I love it so much.
Download: Google Play | App Store
BumbleBFF
So I started using BumbleBFF pretty much the day that I moved to Dayton. Having a social life is important to me because I love to have fun, I love meeting new people, and I also love hosting, so I didn’t want to waste any time when it came to making friends in Ohio.
Making friends as an adult is hard, especially if you don’t connect with the people that you work with or if you’re so exhausted from work that going out and trying to meet people sounds daunting. Meeting people to date on an app or online has become the norm, so why not make friends the same way?
On BumbleBFF, you create a profile and add photos. You have the option to connect your Spotify account (which I definitely did because I want to find people who love Taylor Swift as much as I do) and your Instagram account. You can also put in things like: what kind of friendship you’re looking for (i.e. a workout buddy, a roommate, kid play dates, etc.), your relationship status and if you have kids, are you a smoker or drinker, do you have any pets, etc.
I’ve had a few BumbleBFF dates, and I have two friends that I’ve hung out with more than once. While making friends on an app may seem unconventional to some, I’m honestly relieved to have a way to make it easier to make friends on my own time, and I’m not the only one. I’ve started up conversations with lots of women who have similar interests as me, and while some haven’t progressed (just like they may not have in real life), I’ve made two friends with a simple swipe on an app, and hopefully there will be more to come as I continue to get settled here.
Download: Google Play | App Store
Meetup
Meetup is another easy way to get plugged in and create friendships. With Meetup, you can join different groups and connect with people in your area who have the same interests as you. The hosts of these groups will put together different meetups, and you can go to whichever ones suit your fancy.
Some of the groups I’ve joined in the Dayton area are a group for women in their 20’s and 30’s, a hiking club, and a group of wine enthusiasts. When you download the app, you can input your interests and they’ll suggest groups for you, or you can search for groups on your own and join the ones that interest you.
Download: Google Play | App Store
Evernote
Evernote has been one of my favorite apps for years, and I don’t know how I ever stayed organized without it before. The app basically serves as a notepad, sticky notes, and a journal all in one. You can create different memos that you can access anywhere – on your computer, on your phone, on your tablet, etc. You can also put these memos into different categories or notebooks. For example, I have different notebooks for my blog, YouTube channel, and my everyday life. Furthermore, you can customize your memos. So if you need to make a shopping list, you can make a list where you check items off as you get them. If you need to make a bulleted list, the app makes it easy for you to do so. There are so many ways for you to customize the app and use it in a way that works best for you. I’ve been using the free version of the app for so long, and it helps keep me on track in all elements of my life.
Download: Google Play | App Store
WTForecast
When I lived in Louisiana, I rarely ever looked at the weather because no matter how the day started out, nine times out of ten, it would be hot, humid, and sunny by the afternoon, and if it wasn’t, I would know beforehand because any anomalies in the weather were always a topic of discussion no matter where you went.
Now that I live in the midwest, I have no idea what to expect when it comes to weather. The WTForecast app makes it fun to look at the weather for the day and upcoming week. When you open the app, there’s always a sassy saying at the top along with weather for the day. It definitely makes keeping up with the weather a lot more interesting.
Download: Google Play | App Store
LastPass
Raise your hand if you’ve ever forgotten a password. Ummm…guilty. With the LastPass app, you don’t have to worry about that anymore. It’s a safe and secure app that stores your passwords for you. It can also help you generate passwords if you’re having trouble coming up with them.
Download: Google Play | App Store
What are some of your favorite free apps for adulting?
