Navigating the ins and outs of adult life isn’t always easy. After all, time is precious. How much of your free time do you really have to dedicate to car shopping, setting up doctor’s appointments, or hunting for a new apartment?
Thankfully, you haven’t been left on your own to try to figure out these and other important tasks. There are several tools available to help you become a more effective adult, so you can save time, money, and energy for the things you care about.
Without further ado, here are four top-tier tools that will help you get the whole “adulting” thing figured out.
1) Fender.Cars
Most Americans don’t live in an area that provides easy access to public transportation. Even for those that do, commuting to work via bus or train is often seen as a less-than-desirable option due to lengthy wait times, poor service, and other issues. As a result, owning a car has become an essential part of adult life, necessary for commuting and social activities alike.
But finding a car that matches your preferences can be a frustrating and time-consuming process. That’s where Fender.Cars comes in. This handy app essentially functions as Tinder for cars. You fill out a profile, enter your purchasing preferences, and you’ll immediately be served up with images and fact sheets for relevant vehicles at local dealerships.
Swiping right or left allows you to indicate which cars you’re interested in, and the app can even facilitate communication with the car dealership itself. Instead of spending days or even weeks trying to find the right car, this app allows you to quickly discover the right match for your adulting needs.
2) Doctor On Demand
Feeling a bit under the weather and want to make sure it’s not something serious? As helpful as a Google search of your symptoms might be, there’s a lot of inaccurate health information online. Many millennials have also become discouraged by inconveniences in setting appointments with primary care physicians and the rising cost of healthcare.
Inconvenient though it might be, taking care of your health should still be one of your top priorities. Thankfully, Doctor on Demand allows you to speak with a medical professional on your schedule via video visits. Whether you’re trying to determine if you should go to an urgent care or need quality medical treatment for your symptoms, this useful tool allows you to get the health care you need, when you need it (and at a low per-visit cost).
3) Venmo
Back in the day, practically everyone carried a good supply of cash in their wallets. That’s hardly the case anymore. So how are you going to get paid back when you’re forced to cover the bill for your coworker’s lunch? How are you going to pay the person who walks your dog?
Venmo serves as your ideal alternative to making constant trips to the local ATM machine. This secure payment platform links to your debit card or bank account, allowing you to send and receive payments to your contacts with just a few clicks. Better yet, Venmo can even be used to make purchases in other mobile apps.
With this handy app in your arsenal, you’ll never have to worry about finding the time to run to the ATM—or wondering if your friends will ever pay you back.
4) QuickBooks Self-Employed
Self-employment is on the rise, with studies reporting that 55 million Americans engaged in freelance work during 2016. Most notably, approximately 45% of freelancers are millennials who are seeking more engaging and freeing alternatives to the traditional 9-to-5 workday.
Of course, freelance work doesn’t come without its own set of challenges, not the least of which is your tax responsibilities. From estimated quarterly tax payments to separating personal expenses from business expenses, there are a lot of complicated tasks that are necessary to ensure your freelance efforts don’t get you in trouble with the IRS.
The complexities of self-employment taxes makes QuickBooks Self-Employed a must-have for any freelancing millennial. By helping you track profits, automate many of your key tax-related tasks, and maximizing your deductions, this tool will save you a lot of headaches when tax filing season comes around.
Step Up Your ‘Adulting’
Whether you’re comfortable with most of the daily responsibilities of “adulting” or you feel totally lost trying to navigate some of the complexities of adult life, these tools are a surefire way to help you get ahead of the curve.