Military Spouse

Looking for a few ways to make a current or future deployment more organized and less stressful? Give these five apps a try!

Couple- Free
D and I have used this app since he was in A school. This app is just for the two of you. You both create accounts, and then link up. This allows you to interact and see what the other has posted. In Couple, you can share photos, videos, doodles, and texts. You can also create and update lists (we have one titled “Bills” that I update each time one is paid so D and I both know where we’re at financially.) There are a couple of fun features, my favorite being “Thumb Kiss” which allows you to place your thumb over the “thumb print” of your partner on the screen and do the closest thing to kissing you can get. Cheesy? A little. But that little vibration the app gives you when you and your partner kiss thumbs is oddly comforting. Another neat thing? It’s password protected!
UFYH (Unf*ck Your Habitat)- $0.99
Are you having trouble keeping the dishes clean? Is there a pile of dirty laundry piling up? Can you even remember the last time you washed your sheets? I’ll be honest, when D isn’t home, the house stops being a priority. I clean when people are coming over, but when baby and I are home alone, it’s easy to let the mess pile up. UFYH helps kick my butt into gear. This app gives you daily reminders to complete tasks like making your bed, doing the dishes, and cleaning your toilet so that the mess never gets out of hand. There’s a timer you can use that breaks up your cleaning into “20/10” increments, meaning 20 minutes of cleaning followed by 10 minutes of rest. You’d be amazed at how much work you can get done in 20 minutes when you know break is coming! This app also gives you the option to set goals for yourself and make to-do lists for tasks you need to get done. I use this app at least a few times a week and it’s well worth the one time cost to download it. If you run into any roadblocks while cleaning, you can go to the UFYH tumblr page and post questions there. I asked the community how to get red scentsy wax off of my walls last year and received responses in less than an hour.
Mint Bills: Bill Pay & Money- Free
When D is home, he pays most of the bills on his smartphone. It always worked out that I would set the budget at the beginning of the month, and he would keep track of where the money needed to go and when. This was the thing I was the most worried about the first time he left. What if I forgot one? Sure, when I was single I paid my own bills, but with medical debt, credit card payments, a car loan, and two separate cell phone contracts, there are quite a few more things to keep track of now that we’re married. This was why Mint Bills was such a lifesaver. Mint Bills (formerly Check) keeps track of your bills (and your spending!) and gives you reminders when the due date is coming up. You can set up advance payments one week in advance, if you want to be proactive, and you can pay many of your bills with one click through the app. Knowing that all of my bills are in one place gives me peace of mind and allows me to stay on top of things.
Goal Tracker- Free
I don’t know about everyone else, but I like to use the time my husband and I are separated to buckle down and work on me. Deployments are the perfect time to focus on things I want to improve on or accomplish. Maybe that means losing a few pounds, finishing the growing list of half-finished crafts in my closet, or learning a new language like I’m trying to do right now. Goal Tracker is a handy app that reminds you to set aside time to work towards these goals and keeps track of your progress. I set a goal to practice my Spanish every day until July 4th (when I’ll definitely be back from vacation) and set an alarm to go off at 1900 every day to remind me. 1900 is when I’m usually in for the night, so I figured that would be the perfect time to open up Duolingo and get to work. This app can work for just about anything though, it’s fully customizable.
Countdown Widget for Events- Free
I know Countdown Apps and Widgets are a popular thing to download during deployment, but they’ve always made me nervous. Say I drop my phone and someone picks it up. If I have an app called “Deployment Tracker” (which is an actual app in the Play Store) that isn’t password protected and I have my husband’s leave and expected homecoming dates programmed in, the jerk who steals my phone already knows too much. OPSEC, right? It’s always better safe than sorry. So, knowing how often I lose phones, I don’t use one. But! For those of you who do want a widget on your phone to remind you that you’re getting closer to seeing your partner again, consider Countdown Widget for Events. This widget is simple and elegant with a clean Holo theme that doesn’t look obnoxious on your phone. The best part? You can create a widget without a name. So if someone steals your phone, they’re none the wiser!