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Becoming a parent will make your life incredibly, significantly busier - no doubt about that. I grew up in a large family so there was always some sort of chaos with the younger kids. If it be potty training, what they needed to eat, cleaning up after them, making sure they were doing their homework, or whatever else, there is always something to do. Although there is good news and there is help! If you know where to look, there are many tools available to help you with your kids. Here are a few apps that can offer some help to a parent in need.

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Technology is more than a source for investments that have the potential for big payoffs in a short amount of time. Technology is providing us with tools for smarter investing in other areas of finance, allowing virtually anyone to track prominent trends, quickly make trades, and put money to work efficiently on the open market. One of the fastest growing forms of this type of technology is coming in the form of Apps for smart phones and tablets. Because more and more people are making their trades on the go, the following Apps are ideal for investors of all experience levels who do not want to necessarily be tied to a desk.

Motif Investing:

Available in both a desktop format or as an iPhone App, this free software streamlines one's portfolio and is capable of creating over 90 different themes. It handles 30 stocks per portfolio well, encouraging users to funnel their investments into more concentrated areas of the market. Each portfolio comes with a $9.95 charge, and the minimum investment amount is $250. This App is not geared towards the long-term investor, but it is perfectly designed for the day trader or those wishing to begin dabbling in the world of high finance. The acclaim for this App has come from both novice traders and MIT instructors who are experts in the field of finance.

SigFig:

Many investors have no problem establishing a portfolio with which to work. However, once their money is in place, a great deal of traders are unsure of how to optimize them for their personal goals in the market. This App takes the most important data from your portfolio and puts it on a single page that is organized in a dashboard fashion. From there, the program makes recommendations based on the relevant data. SigFig is free and works on all desktop computers, iPhones, and Android devices. The program is much better suited for long-term investors. It is capable of synching with up to 90 different brokerages in order to track 401(ks), general investments, and IRAs.

Personal Capital:

This App finds its strength in the number of tools built in to manage money and maintain investing budgets. It provides a complete listing of all your investments at the touch of a button in addition to summarizing your total investments in a way that puts the numbers in context of the market at large. The management tools have received high marks from the editor of Netbanker.com as well. Although the App and the website are free, users have access to financial advice on a regular basis for a flat fee. This program also allows users to make money transfers using bank accounts and track credit card information in real time.

I=iPhone, A=Android, W=Windows Phone, B=Blackberry

AA Parking (I,A)

This is essentially a searchable database of parking places. You can look for car parks near where you are or get organized and enter a destination to find parking places where you're going. The app shows prices (where applicable) and whether or not the spaces are covered and/or attended.

Trapster (I, A, W, B)

This is an outstanding example of using technology to make it more convenient for people to help each other like they always have. In the old days, if a driver saw a road hazard up ahead, they'd flash their lights to alert the people behind, now they just upload it to Trapster (along with various sorts of law-enforcement cameras).

DailyRoads Voyager (A)

Essentially a black box for cars to provide evidence in the event that the smartphone's owner has an accident. Basically it sits on your dashboard and films through your windscreen on a loop. While it's filming, it's also monitoring and recording your speed and location (via GPS). You choose what to keep by tapping on the screen.

As a piece of completely unrelated trivia, the black boxes in planes are actually orange. They're formally known as flight data recorders or accident data recorders and nobody actually knows for sure how they came to be known as black boxes. Contrary to urban myth it had nothing to do with being invented by a person with the surname Black.

Trip Advisor (I,A,W)

Not technically a car-related app, but it certainly can be useful for people on the road, particularly those with children. While travellers with families will probably try to book ahead for accommodation, Trip Advisor may be handy as plan B for emergencies. It's also a great way to find places to eat and has plenty of other handy information, such as details of local attractions.

IonRoad (I,A)

May be a terrible pun, but it's a relatively new app with a lot of potential. Going by the user reviews, there are still some teething problems with the free version, although overall the reviews seem to be more positive than negative. The very affordable paid-for version gets a higher rating. Both versions essentially do the same job, which is to warn drivers when they're in danger of hitting another vehicle. As well as being useful for learner drivers who are still learning to judge distances, it's vastly more accurate than the human eye in low-visibility conditions. Although it's intended to prevent collisions between cars, the technology will also work for other similar hazards, which could be very useful for those who have to drive on country roads and have to negotiate occasional fallen trees and stray sheep.

Find My Car (I,A) and Sally Park (I)

These two apps essentially do the same job. They help you find where you left your car. The main difference is that Find My Car is free, whereas Sally Park charges a small fee for a neater interface. Basically you train yourself to fire up either of these apps whenever you leave your car and, assuming it's still in the same place when you want to find it again, either of these apps will reunite you with your wheels. They may not be lifesavers, but they can certain save massive amounts of time and many arguments.

Top Gear (I,A)

Some say that it's an icon of British culture and that it's refreshingly frank and uniquely quirky, all we know is if you don't have a clue what the opening to this paragraph was all about you at least need to watch one episode. Rather like the programme, this app serves basically no practical purpose whatsoever and divides opinions over whether it's entertaining or just annoying. While free to download and use, it's probably best kept for places where you can get wifi.




After almost 15 years working for various financial service companies, Kit MacLean escaped to work as a freelance writer and translator. She has a keen interest in cars and motoring and likes to keep her own set of wheels in tip top condition. Although she's not a big fan of cleaning, so typically uses a local car valeter to do that bit for her! Well, why get your hands dirty when you can put your feet up and let someone else do it for you?