Fitbit vs. Apple Watch: According To An Everyday Mom

I have been an avid Fitbit user for almost 5 years. Ever since my significant other bought me one, I LOVED the idea that I could not only see how my daily activity translated into me getting healthy, but it was just the thing to motivate me to want to be more active. And I had been using my Fitbit well before I became a mom (this point will be important in the next train of thought).

Some of the key features of the Fitbit and how I used it include: 

Daily Steps - I wore the Fitbit for a week just to see how my regular movement translated to my daily step count. I worked at a desk job and before even starting any workout regiment I was averaging about 6k steps (I thought this was A BIG deal at the time…lol)

Calories Burned - this portion I didn't really pay attention to too much because I was never big on counting calories.

Miles - it was nice to see that me running up and down the steps to wash clothes on the weekends actually translated into me walking a certain mileage. 

Alarm - the alarm is GREAT for anyone who has a significant other or small children because it gives you a vibration that is strong enough to wake you out your sleep, but doesn't disturb anyone else around you like a traditional alarm.

Sleep Tracker - this post was the most enlightening. It allowed me to see that even though I was in the bed at a certain time and THOUGHT I was getting enough sleep, it showed me just how much SOUND asleep I was getting (which wasn't much). I would be in bed for about 7 hours, but because I would toss and turn out get up to use the bathroom, I was averaging about 4.5 hours. 

Fast forward about 4 years later. Here comes my bundle of joy. I am now a stay at home mom who spends majority of my time running after a small child and running many miscellaneous errands. My significant other and I have a conversation about my cell phone usage when I am in the car. He wants to make sure I am not only able to be reached at all times, but he wants to make sure I'm safe while in the car. I suggest it may be a good investment to try the Apple Watch. I liked the idea that I could still use all my pedometer functions like my Fitbit, plus I could use other functions (i.e. messaging, navigation, etc.) without having to touch my phone. 

To my surprise, after purchasing my Apple Watch, I actually prefer my Fitbit over the Apple Watch. Here are a few reasons why: 

- When using the Apple Watch as a pedometer, I find my daily step count is way off (I'm talking about by hundreds of steps). And this is with me wearing my Fitbit and Apple Watch simultaneously.

- When doing specific workouts, I find that if I am in an area that has less than stellar cellular coverage, the phone and watch don't relay information to each other and it doesn't always log all of my workout (which is a bummer).

- The user interface (how the device looks and functions) is a lot more simpler on the Fitbit. This is probably largely in part because of all the other things that the Apple Watch does. When I am doing a workout I only need to push one button on the Fitbit in order for it to track my exercise. Even with Siri, there are two steps to even get into the app on the Apple Watch.

                                    

- THE APPLE WATCH DOES NOT TRACK YOUR SLEEP PATTERNS. To some, this might not seem like a big deal, but when you become accustomed to a feature and seeing a result from it, to not have it almost feels like your being slighted. And for the money of the Apple Watch, it would be a nice feature to have.

- The Apple Health app compared to the Fitbit App is very remedial and you have to enter a lot of information in manually in the Apple Health App compared to the Fitbit app's auto tracking.


All in all, the Apple Watch is a neat device which has a lot of capabilities, but when it comes to pedometer functions, the Fitbit makes more sense.

Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas on how you use either device and how it works (or doesn't work) for you. Also feel free to share just what device does work for you even if it's not either of these.

Cricket Wireless Merges With AT&T

I must say that I am most pleased with this merger. I think this is an awesome way for people to get a better coverage of service without having to pay astronomical prices for their plan and have no annual contract. I have also seen first hand how the update has effected existing customers in terms of better coverage. For information regarding the merger, click here for PCMag article.

iOS8 Battery Killer

I updated my iPhone 5 to iOS 8.0.2, and as you can tell, it is only 1:25pm and for the SECOND time my phone is at 16% and I am in need of charging. This version operating system is by FAR the worst on battery life I have seen since using an iPhone more than 3 years ago. I really hope Apple gets it together because I am NOT pleased. Especially as an Apple consumer with TONS of their products.

What It Means To Mean Something

In this post, I am going to take a different approach to why it is I do what I do. This blog was created because of a passion. A passion that I believe in. A passion that I want to share with others to not only believe in my passion, but to allow others to be inspired to have their own passion.

I love all things electronics and teaching people about them. In the recent year, I have learned just how important it is to not only enjoy life, but how important it is to love what you do. I recently lost my job and wasn't really sure just how I was going to take care of my household and my family. But then once I got a chance to sit and reflect, I realized that being at my job was almost toxic to my life. I realized that I wasn't being the best me because I wasn't doing something that I loved. I was doing something that I was good at because I thought I had to in order to take care of responsibility. 

I was beginning to learn that in my walk in living a more meaningful life, I had to learn to see the blessing in all things both positive and negative. I then realized that me losing my job (though it wasn't something I wanted), could be viewed as a good thing. A good thing that would allow me to not only spend more meaningful, quality time with my family, but also allow me to focus on the things that I do love. Things like helping others understand how to live more meaningful lives. I love helping people. I love sharing and teaching things to people to allow them to live more enlightened lives. I know that me working for countless corporations that cared nothing about the people who worked for their companies, but more about the bottom dollar is not something that was condusive to my life. So with this blog post, I encourage all to do something that means something. It doesn't matter if it's just a hobby, or a life changing career. You never know. The smallest of things can make such an impact on not just your life, but someone else's life in such a positive way. Never think that your idea is too small or not worth it because you are worth it to do what you love. In my eyes, that is what it means to want to mean something!

My Preferred Mobile Document Viewer

One of my friends indicated to me that she was having an issue with the Polaris Office app on her smartphone. She had been trying to view documents from e-mails and for whatever reason, she was getting the below error message.

When I used Android, I loved Documents To Go. I loved the user interface, and I liked the fact that I was able to not only view, but edit and create Word, Excel, & Powerpoint documents as well as view PDF documents. And though the user interface has been updated since the last time I have used it, in my opinion, it is still one of the more reliable document viewers I have used.

For iOS users, I prefer Office Plus (Squared). The free version allows you to view and edit Word, Excel & Powerpoint documents, but I did an In-App Purchase for $5.99 to allow the ability to create documents. I must say it has been well worth the money because I am always updating someone's resume or creating spreadsheets for my grocery lists. And since I have taken advantage of the in-app purchase, I can use this app on any device I download it to. And instead of saving files on just your device, you have the option to select which cloud storage you would like to save to (my preference is always Dropbox).

If there is an app that you like or prefer for document viewing/editing, please feel free to share.

Mobile Apps To Help You Save Money

In my previous post "The Importance of Couponing", I referenced apps that help me with my couponing process. Listed below are the apps that I use to not only help me find the best deals, but also keep my couponing organized. I use iOS operating systems, but some of these apps are compatible with iOS & Android.

Shopkick

I like shopkick because if you are going shopping, you get points just for walking into stores as well as scanning items in the store you're in. Those points can be used towards gift cards to your favorite stores and websites. You are not even obligated to buy anything in the stores you enter.

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shopkick-free-gift-cards-for/id383298204?mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shopkick.app

Groupon

Most people are familiar with Groupon, but for those who aren't, you get amazing deals anywhere from 25%-75% on item, trips, as well as activities in your area. I have used many a groupon for things like spa days, date nights, even electronics. You can even purchase them as gifts.


iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shopkick-free-gift-cards-for/id383298204?mt=8
Android: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shopkick-free-gift-cards-for/id383298204?mt=8

RetailMeNot

The awesome thing about this app is that it provides you not only with coupon/discount options for nearby stores, but you can also look for promo codes if shopping online. It will also let you know the success rate of said discount/promo code.

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/retailmenot-coupons/id521207075?mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.whaleshark.retailmenot

Coupons.com

Coupons.com is by far my most utilized app. I can go on my mobile device and select what manufacturers coupons I would like to use, then I can go on the website and then print out my coupons. There are different categories you can choose from, and you can even set up loyalty cards to assist you with your savings. I use this app/website almost weekly.

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/coupons.com-savings-deals/id338380654?mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.coupons.ciapp

Keyring

This is another app that helps me out almost on a daily basis. This app I have actually been using for years. Instead of keeping your keys with you and saving all those millions of rewards cards, you have one place where you can store them. you just enter or scan your rewards card, and whenever you enter that store, your barcode will be duplicated in the app. The store can scan your phone and you take advantage of the savings.

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/key-ring-reward-cards/id372547556?mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.froogloid.kring.google.zxing.client.android

There are many other apps that can be used to help your daily savings. Please feel free to download these apps to see how they help you with your daily savings and please feel free to share how they have helped you or other apps that you use.

The Importance Of Couponing

In trying to get my life together financially, I thought it was very important to know where my money was going. I am the type of person who feels like I understand the value of my dollar. I know how hard I work to make it so I want my money to work just as hard for me. While it was important to not only pay my bills on time, I also like to track where my money goes on a monthly basis. If you manage your money online, most banks have wonderful online tools where you can categorize your spending. When I checked this for a consecutive three months, the results were ASTOUNDING. I realized once I paid my bills, more than half of the money I had left over was going to food (that includes grocery shopping as well as eating out). This was a huge shocker for me. It not only made me realize where my money was going, but it also made me see just how much money was being wasted on miscellaneous food purchases.

I had always been a fan of the show Extreme Couponing on the TLC Channel, but I never really thought it was something I could do. It was amazing to me to see just how people could get not only good deals on the things they needed, but just how much money they could actually make just off of purchasing items that they needed and wanted. I then thought to myself if they can do it, then I most certainly can do it.

I started off with the mindset that I didn't want to go into this thinking I could get everything for free. I went into this process thinking how I could save my household money just by shopping smarter. I made sure I stuck to a couple of steps just to keep me on track:

• Make a list of what I actually needed instead of spending money on things I saw at the time
• Make sure to check the weekly circulars to see what could offer me the best price for what I need
• Check in the Sunday paper and online to see if there are coupons for the things I needed on my list
• Make a budget and STICK TO IT!

These simple things made such a difference! It allowed me to be more conscious of what I was spending, as well as allowing me to understand where the best value for my dollar is. I now use coupons for non-grocery items (i.e. clothes, restaurants, and household items). 

I also use various other apps on my phone and iPad to help along with that process (please see my blog post "Mobile Apps To Help You Save Money").

Please feel free to use some of these tips as well as share your couponing and savings ideas.