App stores are crowded places these days, and because storage space on your phone is often at a premium, you’ll want to fill it with not only the best, but also the most helpful apps out there. Because they come and go quicker than the latest fashion trends, and digging through Google Play, the iTunes App Store, or any of the others is such a mission; a little nudge in the right direction is often very welcome. Here are the apps we think you need to check out this week.
Ledge
To achieve some of the really big goals in life, a considerable amount of money — more than you may have on hand — is needed. It’s not always comfortable asking for cash from friends and family, but the process is made easier by technology. While Venmo is designed more as a way to make small payments to friends, like splitting a check, Ledge turns the system into a way to lend money and help out your loved ones.
The best way to think of Ledge is somewhere between Kickstarter and PayPal. Users can set up campaigns and provide some detail as to what they need money for. Then friends and family can help contribute to their goal with loans up to $5,000. The interest rate and repayment plan can be negotiated and set between parties so the terms are understood and agreed upon. The whole process is run through Venmo, so you know that the money will be there when you need it. Just try not to get too greedy.
Affimity
Most social networks are built out of who you know. You add your friends and acquaintances. Since you likely have some common interests with them, they might post occasional things that you’re interested in, but they’re primarily sharing what appeals to them. Affimity rebuilds the social network based off of interests first, assuring that you’ll meet new people and be surrounded by a community that are into the same things you are.
Habi
Good habits are hard to start and bad habits are hard to break, but Habi is here to change that for you. The simple habit-building app helps you get your life on the right track one step at a time. Set your goal, and try to keep it simple and recurring. Habi will prod you at a set time every day if you haven’t yet achieved your goal. Each day you do it, you’ll be one step closer to making it an intrinsic part of your routine—and then you can move on to the next habit you hope to make stick.
IceCream
The upside to the improving state of cameras in smartphones is better quality photos; but the downside is they take up a ton of space, especially when you’re a little trigger happy. The oddly named IceCream app aims to be the solution to your storage woes. The app measures how much space you have and how many photos you can fit, then helps you free up additional space by sending full-sized photos to the cloud while keeping smaller, optimized versions on the device.
Whiteboard
There’s no better feeling than crossing an item off your to-do list. You’ll have have that feeling all day long when you tackle your tasks using Whiteboard. The cross-platform project management tool lets you set up your daily tasks and knock them out one by one over the course of the day. Workspaces keep your tasks for home and work separate so you can focus on what needs to be done in a particular setting, and you can even delegate tasks out to others when you need a hand.
