Three things about my relationship with my iPhone.
- I l-o-v-e it. I don’t consider myself an iPhone junkie, but I love everything about it.
- I’m an app snob. If I download an app, and it’s not just what I want? Delete! I don’t fill up my phone with useless apps, so I’m pretty particular.
- I leave it in the most random places ev. er. (This one was really for my husband. He doesn’t understand the concept of using it then leaving it wherever you were standing at the time.) Apparently, people “take it with them when they walk around”. Whatever.

I know when I purchased my phone (and even now!), I was on the lookout for the next great app that would help me find my way through life. Hello, dramatic. If you’re anything like me (let’s hope you’re not), then you just might love this list I’m about to give you. I have plenty of apps, but these are my MUST. HAVES. Ready?
Social Media. I’m bulking these into one number ’cause they should go without saying. They are a must for anyone who’s “connected” through social media.
Another bulk mention is for shopping. I have other shopping apps, but these are my go-to’s. In case you don’t know, you can use your smartphone for any coupons offered at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Jo-Anns. No more paper coupon clipping! It’s been a wondrous save for me.
We’re movie people. Our kids are movie people. We love them. IMDB is basically a hub for ALL things movie (and TV!). My 13-year old is right at the age where we question content for his movies. He can handle the action, but we don’t like any sexual stuff. We use this app constantly because it has a parent feature that tells you any adult content included in the movie. It tells specific scenes so we know exactly what he’s going to see if he wants to watch a more grown-up movie. It’s brilliant.
One of the main reasons I bought the iPhone? ‘Cause it has so many pretty cases. No joke. That’s how I make decisions in life–based on how pretty something is. That being said, I use Cuptakes for my wallpaper, and it’s addicting! Fickle is my middle name (not really), so I like change. There are SO many girly, pretty options that I tend to change it quite often. Prepare yourself. It’s mind blowing.
Another addiction is Cuptakes frames. They offer coordinating frames to go around your pictures. I know, right? Uh. Maze. Ing. How cute are these?
This one may not be for everybody, but it has helped me dramatically. Logmein is basically a remote for your computer. Meaning…if you travel (or went to work and forgot a document on your home computer) and want to access something on your computer (a file, pictures, grocery list, etc.), you can do so from your phone!
This is a screenshot from my phone of me working on my blog post–on my computer. Confused? Just know that it’s extremely helpful if you want to access your computer for something, and you can’t. Now you can!
This is a newer favorite of mine. I’m horrible at sending out cards. It’s just something I don’t do much anymore, but my family is still big on them. Maybe it’s a generational thing? Regardless, I needed to find something that would help. JustWink allows you to send cards from tons of categories. You can add photos, add your own text, and you can even sign it with a signature pad. The best part? For $2.99 you can have them put a stamp on it and MAIL it for you!! Shut the front door. Have you SEEN the price of cards in stores? The $2.99 includes the stamp and eliminates the worry of getting it to the post office/mailbox on time. Sold.
Oh how I love Period Tracker. I have always been horrible at keeping track of “that time of the month”, and this app couldn’t be any easier. Tap the button when you start, then tap the button when you end. It keeps track of everything for you, gives you a little countdown for the impending doom, and it’s free. Awesome.
Aaaaand finally. Emoji. I’m a texter. So much so that my voicemail tells people to just send me a text instead of calling. It’s a reality, people. It’s my thing.
Luckily, my BBF likes to text too. And she also likes to harass me about my abhorrence for gum. Ugh! I showed her, eh? Sometimes words just don’t do the job, so I love using Emoji’s! They’re spectacular!
After working on this post for about three days (Seriously? Took forever!), I realize I haven’t even touched on the photography apps I like! There are too many to include, so I’ll be back another time for those. So what am I missing? What are your favorites? Remember…I’m an app snob! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! I’m gonna have to try the Cuptakes! I totally use the period tracker too!
One of my favorites (and most used) is Shazaam for music.
Also, love Pic Frame and Color Splash for photos.
I just got the JustWink app thanks to your suggestion. What a great idea.
I have all those apps but two! Glad to see others like it.
Do you realize you don’t need the emoji app. That keyboard was already built into the phone. Unless you pay for the “extra” symbols there’s nothing new with that free app that you don’t already have. Just a thought incase you may want to delete it.
My fiancé and I love Buy Me a Pie! It’s the best app for making grocery lists. We bought the $1.99 version which allows us to sync our lists to our devices – he can add things to the list via his iPad and I add them from my iPhone. I know when he’s added something to the list when my iPhone dings :-). And at the store it’s easy to “cross” things off the list when we have them. It’s helped us out a lot!
1) Pandora (must have!)
2) Amazon (what can I say, I’m a shopper)
3) Flashlight (comes in handy)
I was going to suggest those 3, also, Susan! I used my flashlight during a power outage at a restaurant! 🙂 The coupons.com app is also great!
I love Shazam for finding songs when I’m out and about, I Heart Radio for always having choices, My Weight Watchers mobile app for tracking , and the game Flow for when I want to be distracted!
Thanks for all these suggestions! I already doenloaded 4 of them and can’t wait to use them. Evidently I need to have a better relationship with my phone!
I have a phone but not a fan of too much tech stuff. Don’t know how to use it all–my brain is not built that way–which is why I sew! Anyway…love the period tracker–too funny!!! But getting older I am getting wonky in that area so I probably need to stick with the ol’ pen and paper format! My 13 year old insists on putting apps on my phone (and these even pertain to business help) but I just can’t do it. I check my Etsy stats and convo–that’s it! I just figured out how to photo and email it to someone. I know, so very, very sad.
Oh my gosh – never heard of Just Wink, and LOVE it! Thanks so much!
You all are too funny! I don’t even have cell phone! However, I posted because of Chris’ app for IMDB – Internet Movie Database. I want all of you to look up a certain celebrity – Thomas Haden Church – he’s my younger brother! Some of you may already know him from such movies as Spiderman 3 where he played the villian Sandman, All About Steve with Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper, or We Bought a Zoo where he played Matt Damon’s brother. He also lends his voice to a lot of characters both in animated and regular movies such as Tal Hajus in John Carter, the Exterminator in Over the Hedge and Tazer in Aliens in the Attic. He received an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actor for his role in Sideways in 2004. Download the IMDB app and check it out!
Thomas Haden Church? He is best known for his character in Wings to me. That had to be one of my most favorite sitcoms ever!
Your brother rocks !!
Thanks! He’s currently in Seattle filming on a new movie called Lucky Them with Allison Janney and Louis Hobson (Joanne Woodward is the Executive Producer – yes, THE Joanne Woodward).
Thanks for sharing! I love fun apps too and I loved these. I am totally going to try them out!
I too am an app snob! I’m not much into games… more organizational, photography, making life easier type apps are my thing HOWEVER… I was introduced to this ridiculously addictive game called “Sneezies”! Try it, it’s my break away from reality app 😉
I’m a total app snob too! I couldn’t go a day without my iPhone without going into major DTs. I have a blog too, so I’m constantly using my WordPress app, Quickylytics to check stats, Feedly to check out my favorite blog feeds, and Evernote to save blog post ideas.
I love the Keyring app!! You scan the barcode a on customer loyalty card, and it keeps them all on your phone – no more lugging around all those key tags! Yay! I can’t wait to check out Cuptakes – and I also love having Pinterest on my phone
My go to apps…
1. Facebook.
2. Pinterest.
3. EEBA ( envelope budget )
4. Pandora.
5. Instagram.
6. Etsy.
7. All fisher-price games for my lil man.
8. Shutterfly.
9. One kings lane.
10. Zulily
Hey thanks for the app ideas. I already had a few of them but loved the IMDB and Flashlight app. I just can’t believe what’s available out there. I’m adding buy me a pie grocery list app. If I have trouble with Logmein app chris will you help. Can’t wait to add them. Great post thanks. Love you, Mom
I, too, am an iPhone snob. I had many of your suggestions but not all. One app I can’t live without is Evernote – syncs across all my devices (including my pc) and I can’t live without it for organizing all my files – especially recipes (sad, I know). You can clip and organize websites, blog entries, all sorts of things AND edit them which is invaluable when keeping track of the carnivore hubby’s and vegan daughter’s faves and the family tweaking. The related Evernote Food app is also really good and the FB community very interesting and helpful. I probably access this app at least 5x daily. Also checkout Poynt – all you need re yellowpages, map, restaurant suggests etc ANYWHERE worldwide.
Great post!! Very helpful – wink is a new one for me. Headed to check it out now!
Awesome…I just downloaded three….thank you for feeding my addiction 🙂
I love my iPhone! (Probably a little too much.) I’m definitely going to try some of the suggestions from the comments.
I am SOOO glad I found this post. I spent the entire afternoon overhauling my iPhone and apps. Now I can’t wait to add the Justwink and Hobby Lobby App!
My Favorites that I use almost daily are Facebook, My Fitness Pal for calorie tracking, DrawSomething and Words with Friends.
Something my husband and I just found out – we’re on some apps! We have a recording studio and provide recordings for Lakeshore Learning Materials. They converted some of our work into apps. My kids love to play with them and hear their parents. Kinda cool and a little bit creepy, too. LOL!
I am right there with you; if I download an app I don’t find myself liking on my first use I delete it right away lol! Most of the apps you mentioned are some of my favorites as well, and I’ve even come across a few others I need to try out too! Some of my favorite apps include: Chase, DISH Remote Access (DRA), Words with Friends, Pandora and Flickr. DRA is the one I like to use the most though since I’m constantly away on business for my job at DISH. With it and the Sling Adapter I have at home I’m able to watch all of my favorite shows, live or from off my DVR, everywhere I go in the world. It really comes in handy because I’m a TV junkie and get to use it to keep up with all of my shows while I’m half way across the country! 🙂