Five on Friday: Favorite Phone Apps

Happy Friday! This week has gone by without missing a beat. I was very thankful Tuesday morning chess club was cancelled for N so we could have just a slight break from getting right back to reality after such a relaxing break. I am really excited for a weekend of family time and N's first basketball game! We've been all about the bed snuggles this week and now there won't be a rush to get out the door!

I have been wanting to share a few of my favorite phone apps for awhile and I finally got my act together to do so. I realized after Katie shared how awesome Target Cartwheel is that there are probably some great apps I'm missing out on and maybe some awesome ones I can share. I'm skipping any social media apps and kid apps and sticking to the ones I use mainly for shopping.

1 Target Cartwheel: Katie mentioned this one about a year ago and I've used it every time I shop at Target since then. I shop, pick a quiet aisle, scan everything to see if there's a deal, and then check out. I love it. You can browse the deals to, but I prefer to just buy what I know I need. You can also see what deals your friends have found. When you check out, just have the cashier scan your barcode. It even tells you how much you've saved - mine below says I've almost saved $40 but that's actually just half of it because I forgot my username and password a few months ago and had to start over.

2. Organic Diet Buddy: A couple years ago a friend mentioned this app and it was such a huge help when grocery shopping. We like to avoid pesticides as much as possible and this app rates fruits and veggies by how much pesticide is used on them. It's simple, red - buy organic, yellow - maybe buy organic, check the details on the food, and green - buy conventional.

When you click on the actual fruit or veggie, it gives you nutrition info, a way to prepare it, and talks about the pesticide use. My boys love if I read them the nutrition info for what they are eating. 

 It's also great if I'm trying to cut the budget for groceries because I know which items I can buy conventional and they are a little cheaper. One note is that it does not mention which foods are GMO crops. So while corn gets the green light on this app, I would not buy it unless I was buying organic since we try to avoid GMOs (same is true for soy, canola and a few others).

3. Starbucks - It seems ironic following up my organic app with the Starbucks app, but I do love a latte. I think most people use this app but just in case you don't - try it! Right now you get a free drink just for downloading it and signing up. I love it because I don't have to track my card, reloads are just a click, it tracks my purchases (and free drinks), and it offers free songs and apps each week (free JT anyone?).

4. Skin Deep - This one is relatively new to my line up but I have really enjoyed using it when choosing lotions, shampoos, make up, etc. I usually scan whatever I'm thinking of purchasing and then decide if I want it based on the results. I used to buy only Say Yes to Carrots or Burt's Bees, but this has opened up some more mainstream brands that are quite a bit cheaper. You can also search by brand/product.

5. Amazon - maybe this one is pretty common, I'm not sure but I use it all the time. I use it to compare prices if I'm in a store by scanning what I'm considering buying or for last minute orders (Prime membership makes things so easy). 

I'd love some other apps you'd recommend, etsy? ebay? panera? I heard there was an app that rates bathrooms along highways but this was before I had a smartphone - anyone know of it? 

Linking up with my favorite Five on Friday ladies, April, Natasha, Christina, and Darci! 

I hope you have a great weekend. Stay warm and drink hot cocoa!