Adulting is hard. Saving money, eating healthy, planning school lunches, even shopping can feel painfully repetitive. HOWEVER, we’ve created a list of 6 fun apps to help you look forward to those mundane tasks.
Running – Zombies, Run!
For many, running is a necessary evil that allows you to indulge in a cupcake (or six — don’t judge!) without having to splurge for bigger jeans every other month. Instead of simply tolerating your daily run, look forward to it with an app called Zombies, Run! Instead of listening to your playlist again, you’ll run to the narration of a zombie apocalypse unfolding. If a zombie is on your tail, you’ll have to pick up your pace in order to escape. The app can be used whether you’re a blacktop warrior or prefer the treadmill, and you can track and share your progress. The story is engaging, and you’ll end up earning that cupcake as well as polishing your skills just in case of a real zombie attack! (Zombies, Run!, free trial version or $3.99/month, available for Apple and Android devices)
Eating Healthy – My Fitness Pal
If you’re trying to eat healthy but the thought of kale causes a spontaneous eye roll and/or gag reflex, the My Fitness Pal app can help you stay on the straight and narrow path paved with carrots and 8-ounce portions of lean meat! While it might be a stretch to say this app makes eating right fun, it does make it easier, and it’s pretty rewarding when the app gives you a thumbs up for making healthy choices or provides a gentle reminder that, perhaps, the double cheeseburger wasn’t the best decision. A paid version is available, but the free version of My Fitness Pal has what you’ll need to get started. Enter your age, weight, and basic fitness goals, and the app tells you how many calories a day you’re allowed. If you exercise, the calories you burn are added to the calories you can consume. Weekly weigh-ins help you track your progress, and you can share your workouts and weight loss milestones with your friends. (My Fitness Pal, free or $9.99/month or $49.99/year premium version, available for Apple and Android devices)
Planning School Lunches – LaLa Lunchbox
If you have a picky eater in your home, planning meals for them is probably one of the most frustrating tasks on your to-do list. With the help of a friendly looking monster, LaLa Lunchbox involves the finicky family members in the meal planning process by letting them choose the foods they want. When picky eaters get a vote, they are less likely to rebel against what’s in their lunchbox. Don’t worry about their selections being all chicken nuggets and cheese sticks. You set the choices, and then they make their picks from various parent-approved food groups. You can even create a grocery list to make it super simple to do the school lunch shopping for the week! (LaLa Lunchbox, free, available for Apple devices and on iTunes for Mac and PC)
Budgeting and Saving Money – Prosper Daily
Sometimes all it takes is a little competition to knock you out of your complacency and get serious about responsible budgeting and saving! In this case, the competition is against yourself, but it’s still motivating enough to make a difference in how you handle money. The app, formerly called BillGuard, lets you track all your accounts in one place, provides a free credit score, and lets you see exactly where your money is going. Plus, you’ll compete against last month’s budget to see if you can do better this time around! (Prosper Daily, free, available for Apple and Android devices)
Cleaning the House – BrightNest
If only there was an app that would clean your house for you. In lieu of that invention, BrightNest has fun tools to help you set goals for your home and then follow through with them. You can schedule tasks, get reminders, and even browse a massive collection of articles about how to keep your home clean and organized. Plus, it looks pretty. That’s always a plus. (BrightNest, free, available for iPhone)
Getting Up for Work – Alarmy
Perhaps “fun” isn’t the best way to describe the functionality of this app, but it will help you with one of the most difficult tasks of the workweek: getting out of bed in the morning. It’s hard to resist the urge to hit the snooze button 10 or 11 times, but if this app is part of your morning routine, you’ll have no such option! Instead, Alarmy forces you to wake up by refusing to turn off until you get out of bed to take a picture of some item in your house, complete a math problem, or perform some other task. At least the name is cute. (Alarmy, free, available for Apple and Android devices)
In the mood for downloading apps?
Check us out too while you’re at it! Not everyone views shopping as a chore, but whether you love strolling the aisles of Target or you’re a run-in and run-out kind of shopper, the Shopkick app adds rewards to your everyday shopping experiences. As you’re out and about, check the app to see which participating stores are nearby. Click on each store’s offerings in app to see how to earn kicks (our point system). In some stores, you can earn kicks for just stepping inside! Other ways to earn kicks include scanning items listed in the app, inviting friends to join, and linking your Visa or MasterCard to get kicks for what you buy. All those kicks you collect can be redeemed for gift cards to places like CVS, Target, Sephora, Starbucks, and more! (Shopkick, free, available for Apple and Android devices)