Thing 21: Free-for-all

Thing 21 is a free-for-all to share our favorite apps, and I have a few I'd like to highlight.

I'm big into tracking my money, because I hate debt and want to retire someday, and my favorite app/website for this is Mint.com or the app version of the site. I know some people have a hard time trusting all of their financial info. to this app, but I never had qualms about this (no money can be moved around within the app or on the website, it's only a way to view account balances and see progress toward goals) and so I am a superfan of this app and will recommend it to everyone. I love that I can know at any given moment how much I've spent in the various categories each month, if I'm on-track to my savings goals, and more. I actually think I'm more likely to know about fraudulent activity on any of my many accounts (brokerage, savings, 401k, IRA accounts, etc.) and be more aware of any fees I'm being charged than I would be if I just logged into my main banking accounts. This makes it very easy to see an account balance multiple times a day.

Second favorite is the Fitbit app that goes along with my Fitbit Flex activity monitor, which I got for my birthday at the end of April. At around $100, the Fitbit Flex isn't the cheapest activity monitor, but I like the bracelet style and the feedback it gives me (plus the silent alarm feature has been helpful). This app has definitely helped make health and exercise more fun, as I can see how many steps I take each day, how many calories I burn, how much sleep I got, and it's helped me to lose those pesky extra pounds of winter weight.

And, last but not least, my favorite game for my phone is definitely Dots. It's such an elegantly simple game, and each round of the timed mode is only 60 seconds, so it's something you can play during a commercial break or just a few rounds while in a waiting room. You simply connect the matching colored dots (in lines and--for more points--squares), they disappear, making it easier to connect more dots of other colors, and then you get a score based on how many dots you cleared. The purple dots in the upper left corner are just calling out to be connected in a square:

The more dots you connect, the higher your score, and the more Time Stops, Expanders, and Shrinkers you can 'buy' to make the game easier and get a higher score.  Clear those green dots, and more dots will take their place...

They've also recently added challenges so you can go up against your friends or random players. My last high score and my all time high score are below--do you think you can beat me?

Also this week, they released a new game, TwoDots, that I've been playing. It's the same general idea of connecting dots, but instead of timed mode, your goal is to connect whichever color in as many moves as you're given. So far, I'm really enjoying it.

Happy Friday!