There is nothing quite like the holiday season. You can find homes and shops transformed and embellished in wreaths, lights, garlands, and other accents. The weather may be cold, but warm wishes are abundant. Spreading joy and love is the main motive this time of year, however, behind many smiling faces, anxious minds wander.
The holidays seem to bring with them a bucket of mixed emotions for most people. On the one hand, we are thrilled for the extra time to spend with our family. It’s a chance for us to celebrate and surround ourselves in pure happiness. Unfortunately, for many folks, the financial burdens and multitasking with large family schedules can be very overwhelming.
Luckily, in this day and age, there is an app for that. Actually, there are several mobile applications that can come to your aid this year as you prepare to shop and travel. Consider downloading the following five to your smartphone to take some of that stress away.
Stressor: Travel
Solution: Hopper
If you are traveling by plane this year, check out the Hopper app for iOS. Hopper is an accredited travel agency that will watch your selected flights and alert you when it’s the best time to book. This gives you peace of mind knowing that you are getting the best deal, and you can also book your flight right in the app.
Stressor: Finances
Solution: ShopSavvy
Trying to find the best deal for the items on your gift list? This barcode scanner app, ShopSaavy, will instantly give you price comparisons from more than 40,000 stores. You can download it in Apple’s App Store or the Google Play store. The days of physically going to multiple stores to price compare are over.
Stressor: Family Schedules
Solution: TimeTree
During the winter months, everyone’s schedule seems to get a little hectic. Kids’ sports obligations, company parties, etc can all seem overwhelming when it comes to keeping track of it all. TimeTree is an iOS/Android app that allows you to make better use of your time, and also remember important engagements, by having each family member’s schedule synced into one calendar. You can download the app on iOS or Google Play.
Stressor: Gift Giving
Solution: Santa’s Bag
Despite its Christmas-centric name, Santa’s Bag can be used for any holiday. The app allows you to create budgets for each person you are shopping for and also gives you gift ideas. You’re able to see, right in front of your eyes, how much you are spending and who you still need to shop for. This is an iOS application, however you can also check out Christmas Gift List if you have Android. If you need some ideas on what to give your tech-loving family members, consider Evo!
Stressor: Multitude of Tasks
Solution: Calendars 5
The hustle and bustle of the holidays brings with them an abundance of tasks. Most adults are working full-time, have kids in school, homes to clean, meals to cook, and the list goes on and on. Throw in the extra chores of shopping for gifts, preparing for visitors or travel plans, decorating, etc and you can very quickly become overwhelmed. It is hard enough to remember the daily to-do list, these extras are just icing on the cake. The Calendars 5 iOS app by Readdle is the ultimate task manager/smart calendar. Set reminders, create task lists, and add events to your calendar to give you some peace of mind this season.
