Apps and Tools

Studying a foreign language could make you smarter. According to a study from the University of Chicago, people make more rational decisions when thinking in a foreign language, because it forces us to use the more analytical side of our brains.

If you're looking to learn a language, you could certainly do worse than Spanish. It's the third most-spoken language in the world, and Hispanics make up more than 16 percent of the US population. So, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, here are five tools I've found super helpful in my quest to learn Spanish as an adult.

• App: Larousse Spanish-English Dictionary ($4.99) The free Spanish-English dictionary apps I tried left a lot to be desired, and this $5 app is well worth the price. It quickly translates almost any word from my phone, and it also has tons of verb conjugations — a must have for beginners! Plus I can do my homework on the go.
• Podcast: Discover Spanish (free) This series of 10-minute Spanish lessons is great for travelers, because it teaches commonly used phrases while also explaining a bit of the grammar, so you're more likely to remember. It's also a great supplement to in-person Spanish lessons. After a while, I found the hilarious music and overly enthusiastic host "Johnny Spanish" quite endearing.

Three more Spanish tools after the break.

Plans change all the time, and if you suddenly aren't able to make it to the concert you were looking forward to, don't despair about the waste of money — you can get your cash back by reselling the ticket online.

Although StubHub has been around since 2000, I never had the opportunity to see what it's like from a seller's point of view. I recently found out for myself what the whole process was like when trying to resell some concert tickets. Here are some tips from my experience.

How to Start

You need to sign up for an account with StubHub before you're able to sell. One of the requirements for selling on StubHub is a US, Canada, or UK address. When you're signing up for an account, you can choose from three payment options — PayPal, receiving a check, or donating payments to a charity.

You can start listing the event by first searching for the event on the site, then selecting it. If you can't find it anywhere on the site, you need to submit an event request form.

Read on for more.

If you're looking to download a travel checklist for your next big trip and the printables you find online seem too generic, then take a look at TravelsChecklist.com. The site creates a free checklist tailored for your trip after you input options such as where you're traveling to, your gender, and what activities you plan on doing.

It's really easy to use, and the number of options isn't too overwhelming, but they are enough to create a pretty comprehensive checklist. What's great about this checklist is that it actually shows you the temperature and gives travel advice on the destination you're going to. Furthermore, if you're using the online version of the checklist, then there's even an option for calculating the currency conversion.

Don't have time or too lazy to do chores? Business Insider found 10 websites that will do the work for you.

Life is short, so why waste your time on boring chores? Especially if you can pay someone else to do it.

Whether you're chained to your desk or feel too lazy to lift more than a finger, we've picked out 10 sites that do the dirty work for you.

Get ready to kiss laundry day, dog walking and more buh-bye.

RELATED: Find Better Deals Online By Misspelling Search Terms

Fresh Direct

• Why you want it: After a long day of getting chewed out by your boss, the last thing you're up for is a trip to the grocery store.
• What you'll get: Just like it says, "groceries delivered to your door."
• What it costs: A minimum of $30, plus a $5.99 or $6.99 shipping fee, depending on your area.

Shoedazzle

• Why you want it: Your shoe game is looking more LiLo than Diane Kruger these days.
• What you'll get: After taking the 3-minute style quiz, users get a "personalized showroom" of high-fashion accessories and shoes to choose from. From there, they can pick what they like.
• What it costs: From $29.99 and up, plus shipping.

Virtual Dating Assistants

• Why you want it: You're too shy to write about your favorite color and dog breed.
• What you'll get: ViDA will write a profile that makes you sound cooler than you are, and email matches for dates.
• What it costs: From $360 a month on up to $1,440, depending on the package.

Care.com

• Why it's convenient: Fido's not going to walk, clean, or board himself.
• What you'll get: Someone to walk Fido, and ways to find quality pet sitters, groomers, boarders, etc.
• What it costs: Varies by service.

Read on for more.

Your cell phone can be one of the more expensive bills you have to pay each month, especially if you carry a smartphone. But if you put in some effort to research before buying a phone and choosing a carrier, there are ways you can save a lot of money on your bill. The amount you will save can amount to hundreds in a few years. Here are some tricks to saving on your cell phone:

Sign up for a no-contract deal: Although you can save up to hundreds on a new smartphone if you sign up for a contract deal, you can actually save more if you opt for a no-contract deal and pay full price for the phone. This Get Rich Slowly blogger found that the plan she wanted cost $110 a month without contract, versus $140 with the contract. Even though she'll have to pay more for the phone — $500 compared with the discounted $200 — she'll be saving $360 a year, which means she'll save $60 in the first year alone, followed by $360 the year after. Further, if she wants to switch carriers midway, then she won't have to pay any penalties, because she's not under contract. And that's not all; turns out some carriers even offer no-interest payment plans for the phones, so even if you can't afford to pay the full price upfront, you can pay it off in installments.

Comparison shop: The first rule of getting a bang for your buck on anything is to shop around. Check out what phone and plan best suit your needs. You can compare different carrier plans and pricing with ease by going to BillShrink. Just input your information and how you want to use the plan, and the site will give you a list of suggestions and the breakdown of each plan.

Get a prepaid phone: A pay-as-you-go phone can save you a lot of money, and you won't be locked down in a contract. Another benefit is you'll know exactly what you're going to be charged, and you won't be in for any nasty phone bill surprises. The prepaid option is a smarter option for people who never seem to meet their minutes quota and for those who aren't phone hogs. And if you think prepaid phones are outdated, then think again. Now you can even use a prepaid plan for smartphone models such as the iPhone 4S. You'll even get the option of unlimited data plans at cheaper rates than contract ones. Prepaid service providers that Consumer Reports recommended include TracFone, Virgin Mobile, Straight Talk, and T-Mobile.

Read on for more ways to save.

These days, you can get almost anything ranging from cameras to kitty litter on Amazon. If the website is your go-to shopping destination, then you may notice that the prices can change on a whim. To ensure that you're getting the best deal, track prices of items you're looking to buy and purchase them when the cost is down.

You can keep a watchful eye on the price with the help of the website CamelCamelCamel. Enter the URL of the product in the search bar on the top right of the site, and it'll take you to a page that reveals the historical prices, which will give you an idea of whether you should wait for it to drop again. It even tracks the same product sold by third-party vendors. You can also create email or Twitter price watch alerts so you won't have to keep checking the site manually.

There are apps that inspire you to improve your life, but there are also apps that shame you into doing so. LearnVest shares a couple from the latter category. Try out both types to see which ones are more effective for you!

We love you.

We would never post an unflattering photo of you to Facebook or tell all your friends when you fail to go to the gym . . . but these websites and apps might.

It's all for a good cause, though: self-improvement.

You're pretty darn awesome the way you are. But we all want to be the best versions of ourselves: happy, healthy, fit, creative, always on time, well rested, secure in our savings, and tons more. And it isn't exactly free to hire a fitness trainer/personal assistant/someone to yell at us to go to sleep earlier.

RELATED: The Scientific Way to Improve Confidence in Two Minutes

So we present one of the most powerful ways to be that model person for free: shame.

We found six websites and apps that use, let's call it, peer pressure — but "humiliation" would probably work just as well — to motivate you to meet the goals you set for yourself. Even better, all these ideas are free, except for one that's a dollar.

Anyone who's ever had a gym buddy would understand.

Get Fit

GymPact's motto is "incentivize your exercise," and they do it with something near and dear to us all: cash. Make your "pact" by spelling out how many days you plan to hit the gym and how much you're willing to pay for each day you skip.

Read on for more.

It's good to get rid of all the clutter in your life — at home, at work, and even on your computer. Dealing with too many emails can make you overwhelmed and less productive, because weeding through a mess of messages can feel like a herculean task. Organization expert Peter Walsh shared some great tips for better managing your emails:

Archive all your emails: "Bite the bullet: archive—don't delete—archive all of those emails or all of those emails from more than a month ago, and start from scratch today." You can set up an automatic filtering system that will immediately shuttle your emails to the appropriate category. Most email systems have the option, and Walsh favors Hotmail for that function.

Keep your inbox clean: The organizing expert says he's "never had more than 10 or 15 emails in my inbox at any one time." He's able to answer every email he receives by having them automatically categorized.

Set aside time for email: Set up a schedule for your emails. Walsh avoids looking at emails the first hour of his morning and does whatever needs to get done "first up in the day." He then sets aside 90 minutes of uninterrupted time to handle email. "I don’t try to multitask; I think multitasking is a huge myth. Trying to do more than one thing at once, you end up doing nothing well," he says.