Here’s my list of things that made life easier this year. Share yours or any upgrades so we can both make the most of 2014.

1. Feedly – My new newspaper is my online feed reader. When Google Reader went down, I jumped onto Feedly & love it. If you do any reading online, try it out. And now the App allows you to read your feeds on any device. The Chrome Extension allows easy content adding.
2. Delicious – I’ve been using Delicious for a few years now. Allows you to save articles online in your own data base. Greatly beneficial for sermon preparation. Also, now catalogues all your online activity including facebook, twitter, & instagram posts, etc. Also available as an app, so your catalogued articles & posts are available to you on the go. The Chrome Extension allows for quick tagging of articles & pages.
3. YNAB – We started out with Microsoft Money, then jumped to Quicken for our household financial management. Got tired of the updates, so I looked into some cloud based solutions. We’ve used YNAB for a year now & love it. The app makes it easy to record purchases when you make them or check the budget while you’re in the store.
4. Mailchimp – Tried almost all the others & found Mailchimp far easier, more affordable. Now doing about 5 e-news pieces each month & looking to add more this year.
5. Dollar Shave Club – $6 a month for raisers, mailed to your house automatically. Heard about this during a church marketing training & decided to try it. Satisfied customer.
6. All Pro Dad – I think one of the most challenging things I’ve done is be a dad. Love it, but as my boys get older, I find my inadequacy often. Lots of great encouragement & resources at AllProDad.com.
7. YouVersion.com – Best Bible Study resource online & in the App Store. Love to use it to scan different translations when I’m doing my morning devotions. Also, love the easy sharing features for texting encouraging verses to friends & sharing on social media networks.
8. Church Planter Magazine – Found Peyton Jones book Church Zero this summer & loved it. Found his podcast & digital mag soon after. Great resource for planters & planting leaders.
9. BBC World News Podcast – In search of serious news from a world wide perspective, I love downloading the BBC Podcast in the mornings & listening while getting ready or commuting. So many things we miss with American media’s fascination with what the stars are eating for breakfast, etc.
10. Allowance Manager – Helps manage allowances, while teaching budgeting, saving, wise spending to kids. They can have an app on their gaming devices that allows them to check their balance & learn to love managing money.
11. Evernote – I’m not using this near to its potential, but love to be able to take notes & have them on all my devices or type ideas on my phone while I’m waiting in the barber shop. Best note taking & info saving advice there is.
12. Plugged In Online – I’ve never been interested in video games & don’t read a lot of entertainment news. And my boys generation is devouring games online & on devices like crazy. Plugged in Online provides reviews of games, music, & movies from a Christian perspective. Saves a lot of time when you get, “Hey dad, can I download this game?”
13. Lose It – Ok. I love & hate lose it. Allows you to keep up with calorie intake & exercise. Every New Year we get reacquainted. Gonna use it all year this year :)).

What hacks, tips, & tricks made you’re life easier in 2013? Would love to know. I need all the help I can get.