10 Apps to Help Reaffirm Your New Year’s Resolutions

Thinning crowds at the gym paired with advertising pushes from Weight Watchers can only mean one thing: well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions are rapidly falling by the wayside. Whether you’ve been led astray by an impending sense of doom due to Mayan-calendar conspiracies or simply haven’t had the time to follow through, there’s lots of opportunity to get back on course.

Getting any job done properly requires the right tools, so why wouldn’t the same apply to bettering yourself? It’s very possible your resolution resolve is waning because you’re not equipped with the necessary resources. If you need some assistance sticking to your plans for 2012, try a few of these apps designed to keep you on task.

1. LoseIt – Android Marketplace
Year after year, weight loss tops the chart of New Year’s resolutions. There are several ways to accomplish this tough task, and LoseIt incorporates as many as possible. The app combines calorie counting and meal planning with daily exercise goals to help you stay on the path to a healthier lifestyle. You’re even able to share your results with your friends for additional encouragement and motivation.

2. Fooducate – iOS App Store
Perhaps weight loss isn’t your primary concern. Instead you’d rather cut down on your Taco Bell intake and find a few healthier alternatives. With the Fooducate app you can scan product barcodes and see how that item was graded for its nutritional value. Of course, you are what you eat, so the app also provides information about ingredients and calories so you always know exactly what you’re putting in your body.

3. Gift Card Granny – Android Marketplace
To save or not to save, that is the question. Spending money is much more fun, but starting next year with a positive balance in your bank account is smarter. If coupon clipping isn’t for you, give the Gift Card Granny app a shot. It provides an innovative way to save money by offering a huge inventory of discount gift cards available for purchase from your phone. A $50 Kohl’s gift card purchased for $44 is still worth $50, so you can consider it an extra six bucks in your pocket.

4. Aherk – Facebook
If progress on your goals is easily disrupted by status updates and photo albums, Aherk will help you turn the tables on Facebook. Instead of being an endless source of entertainment, the social-media site becomes a potential source of embarrassment. This app posts a compromising photo of you on your wall if you don’t meet your predetermined goals in a timely manner. Just hope you have compassionate friends as they’re the ones who vote on your success.

5. Penultimate iOS App Store
Are your creative, innovative ideas continually slipping through the cracks? Have you recently been struck by a stroke of genius, only to forget your brilliance mere moments later? If this is the year you finally cash in on your million-dollar idea, the Penultimate iPad app is perfect for gathering your thoughts on-the-go. It works just like a notebook so you can jot down notes or sketch pictures and easily email them to anyone you’d like.

6. AccelaStudy – iOS App Store
Learning a new language is a great way to expand your horizons, but it’s also quite a commitment. When working under a time crunch, consider springing for the AccelaStudy app. Though each language costs around $10, this is a much cheaper alternative to expensive language-learning software. Instead of skimming last month’s People magazine while you wait at the doctors’ office, you can master verb conjugation with one of AccellaStudy’s interactive quizzes.

7. Quitter – iOS App Store
Quitting cigarettes is no easy feat. There’s no app that will slap that cancer stick out of your mouth, but the Quitter app can at least provide some added motivation. It tracks details like how much money you’ve saved by not smoking and how long it has been since your last cigarette. The app also allows you to share your progress with friends and family through social media outlets for extra support.

8. Green Genie – iOS App Store
If the phrase “going green” only reminds you of Kermit the Frog, you’ve got some serious catching up to do. Luckily, Green Genie has tons of easy-to-use tips and suggestions for living a more sustainable lifestyle. Though saving the planet seems like motivation enough, this app also shows you how much money you’ve saved thanks to your eco-friendly actions.

9. TripIt – Android Marketplace
While travel has never been more accessible, it has also never been more complicated. Yet, with a growing global society, broadening your cultural understanding is increasingly important. If globetrotting is at the top of your list of resolutions, avoid getting overwhelmed with confirmation numbers, flight times and hotel checkouts by using the TripIt app. The app gathers all of your trip details and puts them together in one easy-to-read itinerary.

10. Snooze – iOS App Store
The holiday season reminds us of the benefits of generosity and compassion, but that spirit quickly slips away as the year wears on. Before your goodwill disappears entirely, set up an account with Snooze. This alarm-clock app donates $0.25 to a charity of your choice each time you hit the snooze button. It’s the best of both worlds as you get precious extra minutes of sleep while helping to improve the lives of others.

By Andrea Woroch