7 Must Have Apps for Dads

Most of us Dads these days have a smartphone but are we getting the most use out of them? The smartphone has become the modern-day swiss army knife. We almost always have it with us and use it all the time, but it isn’t just for Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and the likes of many others. Our smartphones can make our lives and our families be more productive and rewarding when we use my 7 Must-Have Apps for Dads. You didn’t miss read that; smartphones don’t have to just be an escape from our life but an actual tool to help make our lives better.

While there are plenty of other useful apps out there, these are some of the top seven I have compiled. The links to the apps are to the app store but all can be found on Google Play as well.

1. Amazon This one makes us look like super dads. It’s a little-known app called Amazon… ok I know most people have this app but that is because it is a must-have app. What other apps can you hear your wife say, “honey we are almost out of toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, etc..” and you say no problem honey I will take care of it. A few clicks later on the Amazon app they are all ordered and will arrive on your doorstep two days later if you have Prime. No loading the kids in the car or wasted gas for those essential items anymore. Also, Amazon has literally anything you can think of needing.
2. Cozi Family This one has been on my phone since I became a dad in 2014. If you have a family where everyone is everywhere, this app will help you live a little saner. Its top feature is the calendar. Everyone can have their own color when setting up schedules. You can set repeats, select who the event is for or attending, reminders, notes, location. The app is free, but they also have a yearly “Gold” feature to unlock a few more things (which I may try out). It also has a very simple and useful lists section that you can use for Shopping and To Do.
3. Medisafe Do you take medications and find it hard to always remember, well this one is for you. I am a creature of having reminders as sometimes I can be forgetful. This is one area of my life I need a constant reminder assistant for. Medisafe is free and ad free. I have yet to see any annoying popups. Adding your meds is very simple. You start typing in what you take, and it starts populating from a library. It will show you the name, mg and what the pill looks like, match it up to as close as you can get it. You can always edit what you need such as the strength and the appearance of the pill. Unless you take a very rare medication, you should be able to find the exact match. You then set the frequency with how my times a day with time and dosage selections. It then gives you a matching selection of the condition, a spot for your RX number and how many you have in the bottle. You can even set a refill reminder, which is awesome! The best part is how it reminds you. Not only does it give a little nifty pill shaker noise, but you also have to interact with the app if you either took it, skipped or dismissed the notification. Even if your phone is on silent, it gives an audible alert. Fully recommend this app, and why not it’s free.
4. Mcdonalds Yes, that’s right. We are a family of 4 under 15 and sometimes we must embrace the golden arch for those on-the-go days with gymnastics, scouts, soccer or whatever. We frequent more here than any other because of the Happy Meal. While Burger King gives you some better coupons within their app, their King Jr Meal can’t touch the Happy Meal. Why put this on the dad’s app list? Well for starters you can order ahead of your drive to where you are off too. Once you get within their geo field, you can check in that you have arrived. It gives you three options to pick up: Drive-Thru, In-store or Curbside. If we are there during the dinner rush, I usually do curbside as it usually is a few mins to have it brought to the car. What I also like is that you get points towards food with every order. They also have a rewards and deals section with such items like $1.00 Large Fries, $3.00 of purchase of $15 or more. Free (insert food item) when you buy one. Mostly it’s the points that are useful.
5. YouTube Yep, this should be on every dad’s smartphone. Why because it’s the dad’s golden bible on how to do pretty much anything. Doing an oil change on your car and have no idea how to or where to start, YouTube. Plumbers costing you money for a clog, let’s check YouTube first. I am sure when your spouse questions your ability to do these tasks, you just reply to them “I’ll just YouTube it”. Ads suck but getting free content and learning can’t be beat. Oh, and it can also entertain the kids when you need to in a pinch.
6. Power Focus while people have been working from home way before the pandemic, the struggle of staying on task was always there. This little app has helped me take those much-needed breaks from sitting on my ass to long. This is essentially a glorified timer for work. Basically, it allows you to set intervals when working. Customizable for length of work, shorter work sessions, longer breaks etc. Working from home you can get a little more distracted from actually working. So, I set a timer for 50 mins of straight work, with a 12 mins break timer. The interaction and visuals are very simple and uncomplicated.
7. Walmart I promise, my last shopping app I will put on my list. If you looked at some of my bank statements, Walmart has a pretty constant showing of purchases made there. Why, because they carry almost everything my family needs and at low prices. Is it a monopoly, yes but whatever I am the consumer? Where else can you get your groceries, paint, guns and toys in one place? Why the app, well the app for one helps me find where exactly items are. If you weren’t aware, the app will tell you what isle your hidden item is in. It also acts a very useful scanner. If you like me, looks can be deceiving at Walmart. You never know what the actual price is until you scan it. If its lower on the scan, then that’s the price you pay. You also can order things for pickup and delivery from the app as well. The app has so many things packed into it. While you may be overwhelmed, it really can be a beneficial tool that can help in more ways than one.

Being that it’s January, I can always come back and add more. While not mentioned above, Dads, you should always have your banking app on your phone. It helps you manage your finances at the fingertips and keeps your money in check.

Some notable mentions include Spotify(music), Google Maps (navigation), Netflix (entertainment) Google App (because its Google and better sometimes).