Use tech to kick-start your 2020

If you’re starting the new year with resolutions, you would be wise to note apps that we’ve put together for both Android and iOS and gadgets to keep you motivated or get you to save money.

Money-saving apps 

Start saving money today, no matter how small the amount, with Liberty Life’s digital piggy bank app Stash. It was recently revamped to offer a better user experience to help you save and invest. You can choose to save on sunny days or invest it in some of South Africa’s biggest companies. It’s a fun way to save tax-free, and you can save up to R33 000 a year. There are no admin fees.

Productivity 

You know you’ll need some assistance getting through the many things you still have to do ahead of the year. Use an app like ToDoist. The basic plan is free and you can add up to 80 projects with up to five people; best suited for individual use instead of business, which they do support starting at $3 a month. An app like ToDoist is better in the long run so you can quantify what you’ve done each month.

Read 

We all love to start the year by planning on reading more books. To keep you motivated, use a social cataloguing website or app like Goodreads, owned by Amazon. Once you populate it with what you’ve already completed with a rating, you will get recommendations based on the genres you’ve liked, or have the chance to see what your friends are reading. An excellent way to discover new stuff while keeping track of yours.

Workout

It doesn’t matter what smartphone you have because there are so many options when it comes to fitness tracking, so take your pick: Fitbit, Garmin, Apple Watch, Huawei Watch GT, or Galaxy Watch Active. Starting off with a small goal of 10 000 steps daily or an hour of cardio several times a week can be more motivating than you think while improving your well-being. It beats sitting at home on the couch.

Smartphone 

If money is tight and you need a new smartphone, check out the Vivo Y11 from this new Chinese smartphone manufacturer that entered the market last month. It has a 6.35-inch display, fingerprint sensor, 13MP+2MP dual-rear cameras, and a massive 5000mAh battery. You can pick it up for R2699.

Earphones 

It’s 2020, so time to ditch the cables and switch to a pair of wireless earbuds. Huawei’s new FreeBuds 3 comes in a nifty round charging case that provides up to 20 hours of battery life on the go. It has active noise cancelling feature that works on Android only and is suited for workouts, too. It offers good quality sound and is available in either black or white, at R2999. A budget version, the Freebuds Lite is R1999.

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