This week’s apps aren’t new but they sure are useful.
Mint
This app is king when it comes to money management. Actually, Mint is the app that singlehandedly shamed me into spending less money on coffee while I was in college (now I just buy beans in bulk and make java at home). It’s small life decisions like that one that can help people become smarter with how they spend their hard-earned cash.
To get the most out of Mint, which is owned by Intuit (the company that also sells TurboTax), you’ve got to trust the software with a lot of other financial information. For example, Mint will ask permission to log into banking, loan and even credit card sites. By giving it access to those accounts, Mint will show how you spend your money and give advice to help you meet financial goals. Mint will also help you create budgets for yourself, alert you to unpaid bills and offer tips on things like debt consolidation.
Mint is available on iOS and Android for free.
Duolingo
Learning a new language can be difficult, but one of the hardest parts about the process is remembering to practice. Duolingo will help you with the learning part and it does a great job reminding you to practice while giving you incentives to keep at it.
After picking a language to learn, users will select a daily practice goal. The app will track experience points earned and inform you of streaks (when you make your goal multiple days back-to-back). When you practice, you’ll earn lingots (a digital currency you use in the app). Lingots can be spent on specialized lessons as your skills progress. More recently, the app introduced language clubs where friends on the app can learn a language together. Or, if you’re the competitive type, Duolingo will let you compete with your friends too.
