Long gone are the days we use our phone for making calls and playing snake. In fact, you can literally run entire businesses just using your trusty mobile. For The Chriselle Factor blogger Chriselle Lim, her phone is like a super convenient live-in personal assistant. “Besides the obvious social media, my phone is my alarm, my notepad, my bank, my camera…  basically, my entire life is synced up to my iPhone at this point,” she reveals.

Recently sharing her advice on the top five apps you need for 2017, Chriselle explains: “From finances to productivity, and keeping my entire family on track, these apps are truly life-savers!” We take a look at the five apps here and just what makes them a great addition for your home screen.

Mint
What it is: Giving people the ability to manage and track their money and spending more easily – Mint allows users to put all their finances in the one place and create personal budgets.
What Chriselle says about it: “If one of your goals for 2017 is to keep better track of your finances and manage your money, then you’re going to love the Mint app!”

Cozi
What it is: Launched in 2006, Cozi is the number one family organiser app that reached its 17 millionth download in 2016. It was acquired by Time Inc in 2014. Cozi helps families manage all their different schedules in the one location (as well as create handy extras such as grocery lists, set appointment reminders, save recipes, and much more).
What Chriselle says about it: “Between Chloe, Allen, work and myself, there’s a lot of dates and lists I need to keep in mind. Cozi is great for those of you that have families. It really helps organise everyone’s appointments and calendars in one place!”

Depop
What it is: A little bit like Instagram, a little bit like eBay… Depop is a shopping social app that lets you follow friends, brands and celebrities or just stylish strangers all the while leaving “likes”, comments or direct messages (sound familiar). But here’s where it differs from Instagram. Depop is a buy-and-sell space, meaning you can directly purchase the pieces that take your fancy while scrolling (warning, you may have to do some haggling!) And Chriselle’s not the only influencer using the app, with Leandra Medine and Chiara Ferragni both users.
What Chriselle says about it: “Poshmark or Depop are easy apps to help you get rid of those items you don’t want to wear anymore – all while making a little money on the side (for your future closet purchases, of course)!”

Venmo
What it is: Put simply, Venmo is an app that lets you make and share payments with friends so you can easily split the bill, cab fare etc. One of Chriselle’s team members even uses it to get rent from her flatmates!
What Chriselle says about it: “This app is seriously a life saver. Venmo hooks up to your bank account so if someone buys you coffee or lunch and you don’t have cash to pay them back – just Venmo them! Or visa-versa.”

Productive
What it is: Productive helps you schedule your days – giving a simple way to sort desired habits into morning, afternoon or evening timeslots. It also motivates you to stick to them by tracking your good and bad days.
What Chriselle says about it: “Want to start a good habit in 2017 and actually keep it? Maybe you want to drink more water, get a better sleeping schedule going, or even commit to reading more? This app can help you do just that. Remember: it takes 21 days to form a habit, so start today!”

All images: @ChriselleLim