Best apps to help you and your family keep New Year’s resolutions

Credits: Shutterstock Enterprise

Many of us struggle to stick to our New Year's resolutions, but follow our recommendations for motivational apps and you and your family might just succeed this time.

Already struggling to keep your 2023 New Year’s resolutions? You’re probably not the only one.

In fact, figures suggest very few of us stick with our New Year good intentions long term. Only three-in-10 (31%) of those who made resolutions in 2021 kept them all, according to analyst YouGov, and nearly one-in-five (19%) gave up on all their commitments over the course of the year.

The good news is that there are plenty of motivational apps designed to help boost the chances of your pledges standing the test of time.

Here’s our pick of the best, whether your New Year’s resolution is to exercise more, save money, lose weight, spend more time with loved ones or give up smoking (download links are at the bottom of the page).

Exercising more

Doing more exercise is generally the most popular New Year’s resolution among people in the UK, according to data company Statista.

But it’s not always easy to get off the sofa, especially during the cold, dark winter months. Perhaps Thor (or actor Chris Hemsworth) can convince you?

He’s at the forefront of Centr, an app designed to improve your physical fitness, mental health, and diet by setting you a personalised schedule of workouts, meditation sessions, and meal plans.

You can sign up for a month’s free trial, after which you’ll need to pay a monthly subscription. But follow it properly, and you’ll knock your 2023 fitness goals out of the park.

Runners can also unlock a world of motivation with the free app Nike Run Club, which offers guided sessions, customised training plans, and mindfulness coaching, as well as the pace, distance, and time tracking features available with similar apps.

And if you’re a woman who prefers a female trainer, there’s also SWEAT, which includes a huge variety of workouts ranging from gentle Pilates lessons to high-intensity HIIT sessions.

Like Centr, it has a monthly subscription fee, but offers a free seven-day trial.

Saving money

With the cost-of-living crisis showing no sign of abating, spending less and saving more are bound to be particularly popular resolutions this year.

And if cutting back household spending is your priority, Emma is a good place to start.

With it, you can connect all your accounts to track your expenditure, spot places where you’re spending unnecessarily, and stick to a workable budget. The Plus version (£4.99/month) also offers cashback deals and bill reminders.

For boosting your savings, however, Plum is a better bet.

It’s free (for the basic plan) and – unless you tell it not to – will automatically transfer money you can afford to save from your current account every five days.

If you like, it can also round up your purchases to the nearest pound and squirrel away the difference – helping you to save without noticing.

With Raisin, meanwhile, you can manage multiple savings accounts in one place and receive alerts when more competitive deals become available, enabling you to earn the best possible rates on your cash.

Losing weight

Whether a long-term goal or a reaction to an overindulgent festive period, losing weight is another common New Year’s resolution among Brits – and there’s no shortage of apps to help.

With more than 45 million downloads, Noom is one of the best known.

It aims to encourage you to think differently about food, starting with some simple questions that allow it to assign you a daily calorie limit. It then follows up with motivational tips and “rewards” when you hit your goals.

NHS-backed Second Nature also uses psychology, or in this case cognitive behavioural therapy, to change your attitude to food long term. With it, you get a personalised three-month plan that includes advice from a dietitian or nutritionist.

But if you’re looking for a free app, MyFitnessPal’s huge database of foods is a great place to start counting your calories.

Spending more time with loved ones

Not all New Year’s resolutions are egocentric. Many people start the year vowing to prioritise quality time with their families. But this aim can fall by the wayside, too, without a little help.

If keeping everyone off their devices is the biggest barrier to family time, it’s worth looking up Kidslox, which is free to download and works with Android and iOS and blocks inappropriate content as well as controlling screen time.

Depending on the type of tech you have as a household, you can also use Apple’s Screen Time, Microsoft’s Family Safety or Google’s Family Link.

Giving up smoking

If stopping smoking is your New Year’s resolution for 2023, our first tip is to download the free NHS Quit Smoking app, a four-week programme with which you can track your progress and connect with others working towards the same goal.

Other options include Kwit, which is also free to download and helps you to both prepare yourself to give up smoking and track your progress once you’ve stopped.

The app also offers breathing exercises, advice on managing cravings, and motivational messages to help you stay strong.

Alternatively, you can try EasyQuit, which includes features such as a health countdown, a calculator showing how much money you’re saving, and a three-minute game to play while you’re fighting the urge to smoke.

Links

Stay up-to-date with the latest news and features from Vodafone by following us on Twitter and signing up for News Centre website notifications.