Gift Guide: Stress-free Shopping

When you need a last minute present or just simply don't have time to package and ship, the "Treater" app can't be beat! This free app (for both iPhone & Android) lets you instantly give any friend gift certificates from everything from movie tickets and massages to gourmet dinners. Simply pick and purchase a "treat" and send it via Facebook, text or email.

Great for the holidays but a useful app all year round for those life events that sneak up on you!

Get ORGANIZED. Get this...

December 1st. A perfect time to set out a game plan for the chaos of the coming weeks. And by game plan, I mean start making lists. I am a total list person. I have a list of a list of a list. I find that when I am most busy though, the Any.DO app is my saving grace. It's slogan says it all - MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. Reviews on the internet claim it's better than Gmail Tasks. I agree.

The functionality of the Any.DO app is spot on. When a to-do pops into my head, I quickly and easily log it as a today, tomorrow, this week or later task. Under each task, you have the ability to mark the task as urgent, move it to another folder (this is great if you want to separate lists into personal, work, etc), set an alarm to alert you about it on a specified day and time, add a note to it, or forward it to someone in your contacts book as an email or Facebook message. And if you don't want to type out your list, it has voice recognition. Think driving and list making. Ahhh, that sings to my soul!

And if you're not naturally a list maker, here are a few of my efficient list making tips:

1) Jot down whatever comes to your mind into the lists. Even if it's simply replying to an email or text. That way it will stare you back in the face all day until you cross it off the list. And you'll never have that awful feeling that you forgot something.

2) Cross off as you go. It will keep you motivated and proud of your visual productivity. I love with the Any.DO app, you simply just swipe your finger on the screen from left to right and it crosses off and deletes. Complete satisfaction.

3) At the end of the day, take time to do some list maintenance. Meaning - clean up your list. Move what didn't get done "today" onto your "tomorrow" and get them done before moving to the next. They were put on your "today" list for a reason. You want them done. They need to be done. My mom always said, "Don't put off tomorrow, what should get done today."

But and a HUGE but - don't spend too much time on this. I find that people spend far more time managing their lists than actually doing them. I feel similar about Pinterest. Sure you have an account filled with inspirational boards of wonderful crafts, delicious food to make, and exercises to do but are you really doing them!?!?! Remember - make things happen.

4) At the end of the week, go through your "laters" and move 2-4 onto the appropriate lists for the week. That way you don't get an overwhelming, mile long "later" list that haunts you.

5) Arrange your tasks in order of how you see your day playing out. Taking time to visually map out your day will allow you to accomplish more. You'll save yourself from backtracking or doing circles all day long. What I love about the Any.DO app is you can re-order your tasks by pressing on a task and dragging it to another place on the list. Super easy and fast to do, even when you have one hand unloading the dishwasher and one hand on the phone.

Some additional key highlights and features of the Any.DO app if I haven't already sold you: Seamless cloud sync, speech recognition, time & location reminders, folders, notes, repeating tasks, calendar view, gesture support & more! All FREE!!! Available for both Android and iPhone users.

You can also sync your task lists with any other devices that also have the Any.DO app installed by signing up for a free account on the Any.DO site. You can also sync your Any.DO lists with your Google account to use with Google Tasks.

Bottom line: Any.DO is intuitive, has a simple, easy-to-read interface and allows you to effortlessly create, edit and adjust your task list for a stress-free (ok let's be realistic - stress-LESS), uber organized holiday season and 2013!!

Once you've downloaded the free app, you can reference this site for additional questions on how to use. http://www.any.do/faq

Paper Pile-up Prevention

Between now and the holidays you might feel more inclined to save magazines to be inspired, discover new trends and find the latest fab products. But I have a better idea - download the no-fee Google Catalogs app to your iPad or Android tablet device and say goodbye to piles of clutter while making catalog shopping more engaging, social and creative.

The Google Catalogs app features digital versions of catalogs across many popular categories, including fashion and apparel, beauty, jewelry, home, kids and gifts. They’ve partnered with a variety of top brands including Anthropologie, Bare Escentuals, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's, Crate and Barrel, L.L. Bean, Lands’ End, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Pottery Barn, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, Sundance Catalog, Tea Collection, Urban Outfitters and Williams-Sonoma, just to name a few of the over 400 catalogs.

In addition they have over 100 top brands including; Barneys, Tory Burch and Trina Turk (Fashion & Apparel); BeautyBar (Beauty); Blu Dot, FLOR, and Ballard Designs (Home); Hanna Andersson, CWDkids, and Serena & Lily (Kids); and Garnet Hill, Uncommon Goods, and Wine Enthusiast (Gifts).

Google Catalogs is an incredibly useful online shopping tool that lets you search through and mark favorite products, and gives you links to make purchases directly from retailers' sites. It also lets you create a collage of your favorite items from across many catalogs. You can even share your collages with friends and family - a visual way to show them what’s on your list for the holiday season!

Love it.

Visit the App Store to download the free Google Catalogs app.

Time Saving Money Apps

If taking charge of your finances is one of your New Year's resolutions, then this post is for you. Anymore it's naive to think you have to stand in line at the bank or be near a computer to take care of your money. It's 2012 people - managing your money from a mobile device is legit and has many advantages. In fact - Carl Scheible, managing director of PayPal UK, claims that by 2016 you'll be able to leave your wallet at home and use your mobile as the 21st century digital wallet. Crazy huh? Seems alittle Jetson'ish but I guess it's the sign of our digital times.

So if you're pressed for time, want to feel more organized with your accounts and/or feel like you need to become more current with how you do your finances, give these mobile apps a try;



Pocket Money -- Allows you to track unlimited accounts (checking, savings, etc.), make deposits and transfers, and much more. Sync with certain desktop expense programs for easy data tranmission. ($4.99, iPhone & Android).





Pageonce -- Provides a one-stop place to view all of your accouts (bank, credit card, frequent flier, 401(k), IRA, etc.). You can set it up to recieve bill due date reminders too. (Free, iPhone, Android & Blackberry).






PayPal -- Lets you send cash from any of your linked accounts on the go. The new version allows you to take a photo of a check you've recieved to auto-deposit into your PayPal account. (Free, iPhone, Android & Blackberry).





Expensify -- Makes expense reports a snap. Import charges from a credit card or bank accout, and when you take a picture of receipts they automatically become part of the report. (Most features Free, iPhone, Android & Blackberry).