You didn’t really spend Saturday night with these people (via DoubleBen’s flickr)

Going out in Brooklyn can get pretty expensive after a while, and sometimes your bank account needs you to stay in bed with Netflix for a bit instead. But now, you no longer have to live with shame and deep-rooted Fear Of Missing Out when you and your roommate’s cat spend the night watching American Horror Story  instead of doling out for whiskey shots at a bar with, you know, other humans.

A new, free app called CouchCachet is designed to check in on Foursquare, tweet, and do all sorts of social media-ey things for you when you spend the night in to trick your friends into believing you’re out raging. (Without them. What a terrible friend you are.)  (more…)

Now waiting for the subway won’t make you feel like a helpless child. Photo by Margaret Mendel

For some odd reason, the MTA decided to break the news of their new Subway Time app during New York’s Christmas brownout. As if they were ashamed of it, or didn’t want us all the be able to know when the subway was on its way. This is strange, but no one ever said the MTA did things in the most straightforward manner possible. Of course, they may have been low key about it because the app only debuted on the iPhone and they had no plans to design one themselves for Android phones. But some enterprising soul has already gone and made one for us. (more…)

A smart phone helps you find free condoms, serious discounts and even the details on the nearest happy hour. Free apps are super great, right? But as a fellow money conservationist, you probably noticed the quality of many free apps available lately has been way down (here’s looking at you, Talking Tom Cat). They crash, or are a limited “lite” version, or just have horrible graphics. With more than 400,000 apps available from iTunes, the free little gems are easy to overlook. To separate the great apps from the cr-apps (I mean, seriously), Brokelyn waded through the iTunes bargain bin and compiled a list of useful ones you might’ve missed that will help you save money and time in Brooklyn, more so than a free sex positions game, at least. (more…)

Booty call? Cover your apps

Not only was yesterday Valentine’s Day, it was also National Condom Awareness Day. Since 1971, mama-bear NYC  has been distributing free condoms in hopes of making NYC the safest place to have sex. Now the NYC Department of Health has free condom displays in more than 3,000 venues, including community centers, clubs, cafes and stores. Where am I going to find free condoms closest to me when I need it, you ask? Well, now, there’s an app for that. (more…)

Scoutmob

Despite the obvious irony of paying half a month’s rent for a phone when you’re pushing broke, most of us these days can’t walk a block without our iPhone or Android telling us the way. But for the cash-strapped, having a smart phone can actually be… smart. You may know about targeted money-saving apps for things like happy hours, cab sharing and Exercise TV. But what about apps for savings and savings period? Well, there are a bunch of free ones for that too. Some are mobile offshoots of old couponing friends, others are new kids you should get to know fast. (more…)

With subway lines sputtering, we’re always on the watch for new ways to find that cheap late-night trip home. Taxi-sharing’s a nice idea but a) it takes a village to make it truly cheap and b) the city-run version hasn’t made it across the bridge quite yet. So, where to look next? The App Store (obvs), for one of the latest necessary additions to your very existence. This one? Weeels is the name, and livery cabs the game. (more…)

appaholics

Here at the intersection of frugality and technology, we’re always on the lookout for the best of both worlds to help you save your hard-earned coin. That’s why the idea of a happy-hour sleuthing iPhone app most appeals to us: it’s the perfect tool for the brokester on the go who’ll never let a little thing like geographic naiveté stop them from seeking cheap booze. L Magazine rolled out the first app late last year, and now there are two, thanks to the Village Voice. Both deserve a toast, but which to get: L Magazine’s “Cocktail Compass” or Village Voice Media’s “Happy Hours” app? Here’s the rundown of each and our verdict. (more…)