Commute 101: 6 Essential Driving Apps to Have

Commute 101: 6 Essential Driving Apps to Have

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What are the best driving apps? The answer to this question depends on your personal preferences and how you use your phone while commuting. For example, do you want a navigation app that helps you avoid traffic or one that is customizable based on different locations? Whatever your preference, there are many great apps out there for drivers. Here are the six most popular driving apps:

Navigation Apps

Uber and Lyft are the quintessential navigation apps of this generation, but other options are abundant when navigating using your phone. Whatever you prefer, these six essential driving apps will help with any drive:

  • Google Maps
  • Waze
  • Apple Maps
  • HERE WeGo GPS Navigation & Maps
  • MapQuest Maps
  • Garmin GPS Navigation

Otherwise, you can also download any of these apps to your phone: Google Earth, CoPilot Live Premium GPS, TomTom Traffic, and Maps App. All these provide a different way to navigate using navigation apps and maps.

Dash Cam Apps

Dashcam apps are one of the best ways to help protect yourself against insurance fraud. Dashboard camera recorder app for Android and iOS, which records your drive-in high-quality HD video footage with an interface that’s easy to use while driving. With a wide variety of technology options available on Google Play Store or iTunes App store, you can find the dashcam app that best fits your needs.

Petrol Price Comparison Apps

The easiest way to find the cheapest gas station near you is to search with an app. Then, save money and drive away happily. Start your trip by entering a zip code or address to see where all of the nearby stations are on one map, then use this information when filling up for fuel so that you can get the best deal possible.

Traffic Ticket Apps

Several traffic ticket apps are available for drivers, both on the App Store and Google Play, like TicketBust, WinIt, or Off The Ticket. These applications make it easier to find out about any potential issues with your vehicle or driving record, such as points due to violations. 

It means that you can take care of these matters before getting pulled over by police officers. They can also help you present your defense without going to court. 

Parking Spaces Apps

Parking Spaces is an app that helps you find parking spots in your area. It scans for available and recently vacated street parking, as well as open lots near you. In addition, the Parking Panda app allows users to purchase guaranteed reservations at more than 16,000 lot spaces nationwide with their smartphone or computer. 

Mileage Tracking Apps

Apps like MileIQ, TripLog and My Tracks are great for tracking mileage. These apps can sync with your accounting software or expense reports so that you don’t have to enter data manually. They also allow the user to track fuel consumption, vehicle service records, and others, which is helpful if there is a question about reimbursement and appropriate documentation.

Conclusion

A vital piece of any commute is to be ready. By installing these six apps on your phone, you’ll have access to everything you need for a safe and effortless drive with the touch of one (or two) buttons.

This post is a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.

Want to go on a road trip this summer? Here’s some inspiration

Always wanted to experience an iconic US road trip? Well, now you can! Below we have listed 5 stunning places to visit in the USA by car, so keep on reading to take your pick.

  1. Blue Ridge Parkway

If you fancy a simple leisurely drive, the blue ridge parkway route is for you. Your journey will take you through the Virginia Appalachian Mountains up to North CA. This road trip totals 469 miles and connects with the Great Smoky Mountain national park. We recommend you plan your trip in the autumn season since there’ll be tonnes of colorful trees (this will be great for your Instagram travel pics). 

Image source: Pixabay

  1. San Francisco to Utah

This incredible route will take you past famous sites like Golden Gate Bridge and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There’s plenty of cultural hotspots too like Hayes Valley. You’ll also get to see some breathtaking views of cascading waterfalls and lake-filled valleys, so if you’re a nature and culture lover add this route to your road trip bucket list. 

  1. Miami to Key West 

We hope you’re a fan of bridges since you’ll pass 42 different bridges en route from Miami to Key West. You can also relish in all the glory of the Atlantic Ocean while you sip cocktails on the beach!

  1. Pacific Coast Highway

Soak up West Coast sun rays while you take an invigorating drive on one of the best road trip routes of all time. You’ll start in San Diego and take a scenic drive past the gorgeous coastline, next you’ll get the chance to visit LA, Hearst Castle and San Luis Obispo, before getting on the Pacific Coast Highway to head for the adorable town of Monterey. This infamous road trip will end in San Francisco, here are some things to do during your stay. 

Image source: Pixabay

  1. Route 66

Taking you from Chicago to LA, route 66 is a whopping 2,400 miles long (so only attempt it if you think you can make it!). On day 1 you’ll arrive in Chicago and get to spend three nights experiencing the windy city’s art scene, culture, and architecture. Next, it will be time to visit Illinois where endless historic attractions await such as Abraham Lincoln’s tomb and the presidential museum. From here you’ll continue onto Missouri, followed by Oklahoma City, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Las Vegas until you reach your final destination – Los Angeles. 

To summarize,

Deciding where to go on a road trip is fun and all but don’t let the sense of adventure go to your head, you do still need to plan the nitty-gritty parts of your journey like what car you will rent (if at all), how much money you need to set aside for gas, and what you will pack.

Oh and just before we go, here’s a useful tip, if you ever get a parking ticket on your road trip, check out GetDismissed, they are a company who can help you out. 

Taking Your Business Digital to Increase Productivity and Profitability

The year 2020 saw great tragedy for millions but also new heights for others. According to statistics, more than 60% of business closures were due to the covid-19 pandemic and restrictions that came with it. However, businesses with no means of trading suffered during these times where, on the other side, companies that adapted quickly could return to maximum capacity. This was thanks to not only state-of-the-art marketing strategies playing a much more significant role than everyone thought but online platforms advanced enough to automate the sales process. 

Whether you’re selling a product or offering professional services, the importance of marketing and digital brand awareness is more significant than ever. Industries have also become highly competitive, and the only way to ensure continuous oncoming leads is by performing high-grade digital marketing. Once you’ve mastered making sales, lease accounting webinars, and generating leads online, you can turn to several innovative tech-enabled systems to automate particular time-consuming functions within your business. This article will discuss how to market and automate your business in 2021. 

Image by Free Photos from Pixabay 

1 Marketing

Marketing will be one of the biggest influencers in how well your business does online. Digital marketing nowadays is becoming more and more beneficial for small to medium enterprises. This is because of the wide range of audiences, affordability and specific targeting demographics available to you as a business. The tech giant Google receives more than three billion searches per day, and Facebook, on the other hand, hosts more than two billion active accounts. These are some significant numbers and leave plenty of space for up and coming businesses to market their way to the top. The marketing strategies below are, in most cases, the best option for small businesses, they are affordable, and they pay off.

Google Ads 

With Google ads, you bid online against competitors for specific keywords and phrases; Google then places the highest bids on top of the search ad rankings. This is a powerful tool if your target audience likes researching on Google before deciding. Scale on top of Google when consumers search for relevant information makes the odds of generating incoming traffic much more. You can use Google ads to rank your business; the price will, however, depend on how competitive your industry is and what your competitors are bidding. 

Social Media Marketing 

Social media marketing has proved to be highly successful in generating sales for eCommerce businesses. This is because of how accurately companies can target the people they know transact online. You can adjust your budget, reach, demographics and even what you want the ad to do, like generate leads or make online sales. You can even go as far as targeting people who visited your website but didn’t make a purchase. Platforms like Facebook ads offering software like Pixel is an excellent means of measuring your ad performance and finding innovative ways to target your audience for cheaper. 

SEO

Search Engine Optimization, SEO in short, is increasing the quality and quantity of website traffic by using only organic search results. SEO can improve the experience your customers have. You can also increase Google crawlers with industry-relevant keywords and phrases. SEO is a long term marketing strategy and won’t give you immediate results. Still, as you start ranking better and faster, you’ll most definitely start experiencing far more organic website traffic. 

2 CRM Systems 

When it comes to managing your business and sales leads effectively, you’ll have to look at the software that has already automated a significant number of functions. Making a sidekick hubspot should be something to consider because systems like this are built by innovative tech-enabled institutions, which enable you to implement software you would never have been able to make yourself. These automated tasks include; receiving and allocating leads, online processing sales, recording analytics, financial reporting, and much more by enabling your employees and business an effective system that can vastly increase turnaround time and productivity. 

3 Use Analytics and Data to Your Advantage 

A business can only be as effective as it’s enabled by support, structure and processes. These will, after a while, offer a variety of analytical reporting, which will provide you with insight into what can be done better. By offering your team software like Userzoom, you’ll give them and yourself valuable insight and opportunities to improve your business. By looking at data and analytics, you’ll give yourself a much better overview of your business, which will ultimately enable you to manage it better. 

4 Accounting Software 

One thing we all know is that financial experts aren’t cheap employees to sustain within your business. With digital companies, you can nowadays integrate accounting software that will offer highly accurate figures in real-time. This feature allows you to stay up to date on all your financial standings, from checking daily revenue to retrieving financial reports for stakeholders. Businesses utilizing all available solutions at their disposal, from more general accounting solutions to more specific ones like this corporate lease accounting software, have a massive advantage over companies that are still using older methods of accounting. It’s cheaper, faster and more effective and should be high on your priority list.

5 Integrated Website 

Websites play a vital role in the potential growth of up and coming businesses, not only for automating functions but also for creating an online presence for your business. You can partner up with professionals to build and create an aesthetically pleasing and responsive website. This will ensure more conversions from online traffic and may also increase customer experience. 

6 Point of Purchase Displays 

Various businesses attempting to create an online presence still have problems automating and displaying their brick and mortar businesses in a better light. This can be done with modern point of purchase displays integrated with software to calculate sales, stock and customers. This system will give you a great idea of whether your brick and mortar or online business generates superior profits compared to the cost to the company. 

Your marketing will determine how much incoming business you’ll receive. It then only matters how effectively you can manage and convert potential customers into paying customers. Ensure you get great reviews and do everything in your power to offer the best value within your industry. 

This post is a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.

4 Ways You Can Invest In Making the World Better

The world is forever changing. From climate to culture, humans are always moving and always inventing. We get caught up in our own lives, and sometimes, we forget that we are all on this planet together. If you are feeling that you are compelled to do something for the greater good of the world, but you feel you don’t have time, you are wrong. Helping the world doesn’t necessarily mean digging trenches, building homes, or coming up with cures. There are very easy ways you can do your part to help the world from the comfort of your own home. Here are four ways you can invest in the world. 

Donate to Clean Up the Oceans

There are several organizations that have one sole purpose and that is to clean up the oceans. Every year, millions and billions of pounds of plastic are floating around in our oceans, and groups come together to capture that plastic and make the oceans clearer and cleaner. One company in particular is 4 Ocean. This particular organization takes the plastic and makes jewelry out of it. All the proceeds go to continuing efforts to save the oceans and sea life. They make great gifts and you have something to show for your contribution. 

Build Cell Phone Towers

So many remote parts of the world have zero communication towers. As a result, they are falling behind technologically and socially. Telecom companies don’t reach out to these parts of the world because it is too expensive to build and maintain cell phone towers in far out places. World Mobile Solutions allows individuals and companies the opportunity to have cell phone and telecom towers built in these parts of the world. You can do your part to help bring the world closer together and keep the planet running at the same speed. 

Support Local Farmers

The world is in short supply of food. So many countries are impoverished and hungry. The more farmers we have the more healthy food we can get on people’s plates. You can do your part by shopping at farmer’s markets, supporting local food banks, and donating to food organizations for the hungry. It all starts with having the land and the means to grow and harvest various kinds of foods, and with farmers being fully supported financially, the world’s food supply can grow and you will have healthy food.

Go Electric

Buying an electric car is a big win for you. Not only do electric cars prevent air pollution, but you won’t have to pay for gas. As gas prices constantly ebb and flow, you will be unaffected by the price gouging of fuel. Also, electric cars don’t have engines so there is little to no maintenance required for your vehicle. You will be saving money at the pump, saving money on the upkeep of your car, and you will be keeping the air free and clear to breathe. It’s a great investment for the planet that will last you many years. 

This post is a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.