Can you imagine a world without the internet? I know, the internet is not here since forever, but suddenly, we can’t live without it, right? Especially now, when we have our smartphones with us all the time. And I confess: I love that I can organize my life and solve some problems just using an app. To be honest, this is probably one of my favorite things about living in New York City: the number of things I can do through my phone. It is convenient and saves a lot of time. Today, I share some of my favorite apps. If you live in the city, make sure to download them (some of them are also available in other cities in the US). If you are visiting, you can also take advantage of some of them.
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Seated – Are you familiar with cashback? Basically, you get rewards for eating out using Seated. Open the app, browse the restaurants, make a reservation (or walk-in). When you’re done, submit a pic of your receipt. Cashback rewards can be more than 20% sometimes! There are so many restaurants and you can also use Seated for takeout and delivery. You can redeem your rewards on the Seated store (you can get gift cards for Amazon, for example).
- Download it using my referral link and get an extra $15 reward on your first reservation!
- Seated is also available in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and Atlanta!
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Crave – Every time you’re heading out for a meal, you can check the app and see if any restaurants in your area have last-minute deals. You can make reservations and the discounts are up to 50% – including drinks! YEP! Now, you can also find deals for takeout. I mean, dining out and getting discounts? I’m totally in!
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Instacart – Not in the mood for grocery shopping? Or maybe you don’t have time this week? No problem! Instacart can fix that. From groceries and alcohol to home essentials and more, browse 1,000s of products from your favorite stores and you can order for delivery or pickup. Did you already have someone doing the grocery shopping for you? That’s exactly how Instacart works. And you can get the items delivered or ready for pickup in as little as 2 hours.
- Get $10 OFF on your first order!
- Instacart is available in Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Chicago, Austin, Washington D.C., Houston, Atlanta, and many more.
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Fresh Direct – it is not an app, but it is worth it! If you wanna take your grocery shopping to the next level and you really appreciate fresh and local products, then you should try Fresh Direct. Food comes to Fresh Direct straight from the source and is delivered to your door at peak freshness in just a few days. That’s less handling by middlemen—and it puts more money in the bank for local farmers, skilled artisans, and responsible fishermen. I’m a huge fan of Fresh Direct cause all the products are of high quality. And you can choose a day and time for the delivery.
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Drizly – too lazy to go to the liquor store? Or maybe you are busy cooking dinner for your friends and realize that you don’t have enough wine? Drizly is an alcohol E-commerce platform operating in over 100 markets across the United States and Canada. Known as the “Amazon for liquor,” Drizly lets users order a variety of beer, wine, and spirits directly from local retailers to their location through a mobile app or website. Yep! You shop from the local stores and get your booze within hours (or even less!)
- Use my referral code, CRCIM, at checkout, and save $5 on your first Drizly order.
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Getaround – I have to be honest that I always hated the idea of renting a car, first because it always involved lines and paperwork. Secondly, because in order to pay a reasonable price we had to pick up the car at the airport. But since we found out about Getaround our life has been so much easier. Think of Getaround as an Airbnb for cars. You register through the app and then you can search for cars near you. Everything is through the app – including unlocking the car. No stress, no bureaucracy, no lines and no paperwork. Seriously, it is so convenient!
- Getaround is also available in cities like Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C.
- You can get $20 off on your first rental using my link.
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Revel – Revel is an electric moped ridesharing that makes getting around simple and fun. No gas. No keys. No hassle. Sig up through the app – you’ll need a valid driver’s license and payment method. Find and reserve your Revel, unlock a helmet, and start your ride. Pause your ride anywhere or end your ride in the pick up and drop off areas. It is so convenient and also so easy and fun!
- Use code jlc40x to get $5 in credits.
- Revel is also available in Austin, Miami, Oakland/Berkeley, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Cleanly / ByNext – living in New York City you learn that you’ve made it when you get an apartment with a wash and dryer. It is not a rule. And it is not a rule finding a laundry in the building. That’s why maybe you will need some laundry services. Or even if you do have access to a laundry in your building but let’s say you are very busy… This app can help you with that. Schedule same-day pickups on bynext.co or on the app. and your clothes are expertly cleaned according to the service you select. Standard turnaround time is 24-48 hours, with overnight or next-day Rush Delivery available for a fee. They offer a lot of services, like Dry Cleaning, Wash & Fold, and even Alterations & Tailoring.
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Venmo – I don’t know about the rest of the country, but NYC is a very cashless city. And people are cashless as well. I love Venmo because it is so convenient to pay your friends when you split the bill at the restaurant, for example. You just connect to your bank account and that’s it.
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Roomi – you know, New York City is an expensive city and sometimes people need to have roommates (it is very common here!). Use Roomi if you’re looking for a new BFF to live with or just need someone to move in and split rent. You can find someone to rent an empty room – whether it’s for 3 months or a whole year!
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Nextdoor – Nextdoor connects neighbors to each other — and to everything nearby: local businesses, services, news updates, recommendations and stuff for sale from the people down the block. I love to receive updates of events and also seeing people helping each other.
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Citibike – Citi Bike is the nation’s largest bike share program, with 14,500 bikes and 950 stations across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Jersey City. It was designed for quick trips with convenience in mind, and it’s a fun and affordable way to get around town. I can’t say enough about Citibike. I remember when they started in NYC – it was not so easy to find bikes and today they are everywhere. I love to use to run some errands or even to exercise at the end of the day. I love how convenient it is and the fact that I don’t need to worry about locking the bike, because there are so many docks!
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Rakuten – I don’t know about you, but I love online shopping, because it is convenient and I have more time to find better deals – and, in this case, I can also get money back through Rakuten. You need to create your account and then you add the Cash Back Button on your browser. That’s it! When you open a website with cashback, the button will show you a notification and you can activate the cashback. You get paid by check or Paypal. You can also use the app! Not a fan of online shopping? You can see the In-Store Cash Back offers and select “Link Offer” for the store where you’d like to shop and enter your credit or debit card information, or link the offer to an existing card in your account. Pay with your linked card to earn Cash Back.
More tips if you live in NYC:
- Buy Nothing – Facebook groups to get free stuff from the neighborhood. Just find your community and click. The embedded link will take you directly to Facebook, where you can request to join your local group by clicking on ‘Join Group’. Once you have clicked on “Join Group,” Facebook will present you with 3 questions to answer. Please answer all three questions so the group’s admin can approve your request. The Buy Nothing Project asks you to join only one Buy Nothing Project group, the group where you live, so that you can literally “give where you live.” This builds resilient community connections that see people through all of life’s challenges.
- the skint – it is a newsletter that features the best free and inexpensive events in New York City delivered to your inbox every day: food + drinks, concerts, movies, comedy, art, sales, exclusive giveaways and more.
- Nonsense NYC -Nonsense NYC is a discriminating resource for independent art, weird events, strange happenings, unique parties, and senseless culture in New York City. They send out an email every Friday about unique events occurring the following week.
Did you like these suggestions? Which are your favorite apps in NYC?
Content creator and journalist in New York City. Here, I share lifestyle, beauty, NYC tips, thoughts, and the struggles about living in the most amazing city in the world! I’m not gonna pretend to be another person: I’m a Brazilian immigrant and I think this is my soul, it is part of who I am. I hope you enjoy my content! Follow me on Instagram!
2 Comments
Krystal
November 2, 2020 at 9:13 amCityMapper is another good one! It have the best subway directions and the best part is it gives real time updates if certain lines aren’t running properly or a station is closed for whatever reason! I can’t tell you how many times it’s saved my butt when a line I normally take wasn’t running where I needed to go.
20 hacks and tips to save money living in New York City - Laura Peruchi | NYC
February 23, 2022 at 10:54 am[…] Check: The apps you need if you live in New York City […]