Emilee CollinsEmilee Collins, SRS, SRES®
NC Broker/REALTOR® of
Real Estate by Design
in Durham and Orange Counties
Recently I was working with a retired couple facing significant medical concerns. My clients were like other Baby Boomers experiencing challenges resulting from a move to unfamiliar surroundings. They would be visiting new shopping areas, visiting different doctors, taking new medications, experiencing new routines, creating estate plans, and focusing on their health. With all of these concerns in mind, I compiled a list of useful apps to use on smart phones, tablets and computers that can offer peace of mind in the face of a new lifestyle.
Pillboxie—iPhone/iPad
Schedule reminders of the medications you are supposed to take to give you visual and auditory reminders when it’s time to take them.
Park N Forget—iPhone
It helps you find your parked car. Press a button to record your car’s location. If you need the reminder, you launch the app and hit “locate car” button. You’ll be directed toward your car.
Home Inventory — By Binary Formations — Mac/iPad/iPhone
This app helps you organize the receipts, warranty information, product manuals, maintenance schedules, repair and improvement notes, and other important information about your home and its contents. The inventory, stored on your Mac computer, is helpful for estate planning so an heir may be assigned to each inventoried item.
Family Locator by Life 360 — iPhone/Android
This is a reliable cell phone tracker in case of theft or a lost phone. It uses state-of-the-art GPS location data to report the current location of your friends and family. You can receive alerts when friends or family arrive or leave home, work or school.
Covert Alert — iPhone
This offers a hands free voice activation in the case of an emergency. If an emergency occurs, the full name of the user will be sent to the designated contacts, including the information about the user’s situation. It allows tracking of the person using Real Time GPS.
Blood Pressure Companion — iPhone/iPad
This app is a blood pressure, heart rate and weight tracker. You can monitor your blood pressure closely and visually by words, chart and histogram. When it’s abnormal, you can take quick action to share measurements conveniently with doctors through the app.
WebMD — iPhone/iPad/Android
This app helps you with your decision-making and health improvement efforts. It offers a symptom checker, first aid essentials, ability to research conditions, drugs and treatments, and a pills identification tool.
Home Security App — iPhone/Android
Several home security companies such as CPI and ADT allow you to monitor your home from an app on a phone or tablet. You can turn lights on and unlock the door for your family or a repair person remotely. You will receive notification when a family member comes home or there is an emergency. Some systems connect with smart thermostat devices, giving you the ability to control your temperature from afar.
In the world of abundant technology, it is convenient that some very useful apps can operate on a mobile device and help ease the chaos of a new lifestyle.