Live Like a Millionaire With These 11 Apps
Imagine yourself as a millionaire. What’s your typical day like?
Forget about doing laundry or scrubbing the bathroom; you’d have a cleaning service for that. No more driving or cooking if you don’t want to: you could hire a chauffeur to take you wherever you want to go, and your own personal chef to whip up whatever you crave.
If you think about it, it isn’t really the money that makes being a millionaire so attractive (unless you’re going to swim around in it like Scrooge McDuck) – it’s what the money can help you do, or not do, that we tend to envy.
In the past, one prominent feature that separated the wealthy from the non-wealthy was having servants to do everything for you. It would be completely inappropriate and unseemly for a wealthy person to go to the market to buy their own groceries, or dirty their hands working in the garden, since they had servants to perform those menial tasks for them.
Luckily, a lot has changed since then, and social structures aren’t quite so rigid.
And today, you don’t have to be wealthy to have a much higher standard of living than people did in the past. Around 1900, our homes were very different: the average American home was only about 700-1,200 square feet, and one bathroom if you were lucky. Life expectancy has more than doubled since 1900, the rate of infection has also declined markedly, and our foods are safer and healthier.
Alas, all that progress coincided with the decline of domestic servants. While over 1 million domestic servants worked in Britain alone in 1901, the numbers had declined drastically by the end of the century.
Well, they may have had household staff back then, but today we have apps.
Need someone to mop your floors, patch your roof, chauffeur you to a party, or pick up your dry cleaning? You don’t need to wait to become a millionaire: all you need are one of the apps below.
Live Like a Millionaire with These 11 Apps
One thing millionaires have in common, besides their money, is access to help. Cooks, maids, personal drivers, the wealthy are able to hire others to make their lives easier. Now imagine a world in which all you needed was a smartphone to live like they do. As it turns out, that is all you need.
1. Homejoy
- Speciality:
-
- Home cleaning
- Cost:
-
- App – Free
- Service – $25/hour
- Available on:
-
- iOS
- Advantages:
-
- Available in over 30 locations in the US and Canada
- All cleaners have background checks
- Cleaning appointments are insured for up to $6 million
- Clients rate cleaners after appointments to ensure high levels of quality
2. The Happy Home Company
- Speciality:
-
- Home management
- Cost:
-
- App – Free
- Service – Starting at $9.99/month
- Available on:
-
- iOS
- Advantages:
-
- They manage a variety of home maintenance and repairs and vet the contractors for each, including:
-
- Electrical
- Plumbing
- Landscaping
- Kitchen Remodeling
- Roofing
- Carpentry
- Users who don’t know what their problem is can take a picture or record video.
-
- Their home manager will figure out the problem and assign the appropriate repair person to the task.
- Only trusted service providers are selected for each task.
-
- Providers must:
-
- Be licensed
- Be insured
- Have positive online/peer reviews
- Pass an intensive interview process
- They also handle scheduling and billing
-
- Bills appear on the user profile for easy payment
3. Uber
- Speciality:
-
- Personal driver
- Cost:
-
- App – Free
- Service – Variable, depending on location and distance traveled
- Available on:
-
- Android
- iOS
- Windows phones
- Advantages:
-
- Users can see GPS location of their car
- Removes need for cash
- Professional drivers with luxury sedans
- Available in over 50 countries
4. TaskRabbit
- Speciality:
-
- General tasks
- Cost:
-
- App – Free
- Service – Varies, depends on task/tasker
-
- Users see hourly rates for suggested taskers.
- All tasks require a minimum payment of one hour.
- Available on:
-
- Android
- iOS
- Advantages:
-
- Taskers are thoroughly vetted and undergo background checks
- Tasks are insured for up to $1 million
- Tasks are only paid after they’ve been completed
- Available in 19 cities
- Get help with a variety of tasks, including:
-
- Repairs
- Assembly
- Party planning
- Gift wrapping
- Waiting in line
- Moving
- Running errands
- Grocery deliveries
5. Washio
- Speciality:
-
- Dry cleaning
- Cost:
-
- App – Free
- Service – Prices vary by location
- On average:
-
- $1.60 per pound of wash-and-fold
- $6+ per piece of dry clean laundry
- Available on:
-
- Android
- iOS
- Advantages:
-
- Items can be picked up in a 30-minute window in the morning or evening
- Orders are available within 24 hours
- Company drivers pick up clothing and offer a free cookie on arrival
- See progress of order
6. Postmates
- Speciality:
-
- Deliveries
- Cost:
-
- App – Free
- Service
- Varies depending on location of items
- Deliveries start at $5
- Available on:
-
- Android
- iOS
- Advantages:
-
- Deliveries available 24/7
- Can acquire:
-
- Food
- Prescriptions
- Alcohol
- Electronics
-
- And more
- All items delivered in 1 hour or less
- Features locations that don’t normally offer takeout options
7. Instacart
- Speciality:
-
- Grocery shopping/delivery
- Cost:
-
- App – Free
- Service – Prices vary depending on groceries selected
-
- $3.99 (for 2-hour delivery)
- $5.99 (for 1-hour deliveries of $35 or more)
- Available on:
-
- Android
- iOS
- Advantages:
-
- Personal shoppers are trained and screened
- Groceries delivered to users’ doors
- Deliveries from 9am-Midnight (depending on store hours)
- Users can buy groceries from a large variety of retailers
- Users can rate their shoppers and leave feedback
8. Fancy Hands
- Speciality:
-
- Personal assistants
- Cost:
-
- App – Free
- Service – Depends on the service level
-
- Basic: $29.99 a month for 5 requests
- Professional: $49.99 for 15 requests
- Premier: $149.99 for 50 requests
- Available on:
- Android
-
- iOS
- Advantages:
-
- Users can record voice messages in addition to typing requests
- All tasks are accomplished by people in the US
- Can integrate with phone calendars to:
-
- Add items to the calendar
- Suggest tasks based on items on the calendar (buy chocolates for Valentine’s Day, for example)
9. Kitchensurfing
- Speciality:
-
- Personal chefs
- Cost:
-
- App – Free
- Service – Prices vary depending on location and type of meal
- For example: New York
-
- Dinner party:
-
- $100 per person, 6-12 people
- Family style meal:
-
- $50 per person, 6-12 people
- Cocktail party:
-
- $40 per person, 15-30 people
- Available on:
-
- iOS
- Advantages:
-
- Meals can accommodate specialty diets, including:
-
- Gluten-free
- Kosher
- Pescatarian
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Chefs have been background checked and their meals taste tested
- Browse through menus and chefs by type of cuisine
-
- Each chef has reviews from other customers and their ratings
- Chefs arrive around 1 hour before the meal, prepare the food, and then clean up before they leave
- Payments are made online ahead of time
10. GetMyBoat
- Speciality:
-
- Boat rentals
- Cost:
-
- App – Free
- Service – Prices vary depending on the boat rented
- Available on:
-
- Android
- iOS
- Advantages:
-
- Rent boats in 110 countries
- Have access to 25,000 watercraft, including:
-
- Yachts
- Houseboats
- Jetskis
- Sailboats
- Users that own boats can rent them out to others
- Automatically searches for boats closest to you
11. Priv
- Specialty:
-
- Beauty and wellness
- Cost:
-
- App – Free
- Service – Prices vary depending on options chosen:
-
- Haircuts
-
- Children’s: $30
- Men’s: $40
- Women’s with Blowout: $75
- Women’s with Blowout (for two) $140
- Blowout and styling: $50
- Manicure: $35
- Manicure with dry pedicure: $70
- Makeup with lashes: $75
- Personal training sessions: $125
- One-hour massage $125
- Yoga for two: $175
- Available on:
-
- Android
- iOS
- Advantages:
-
- Users can schedule appointments wherever they find convenient
-
- PRIV professionals come to them
- All PRIV Professionals are vetted and undergoes special training before added to the app’s roster
- Users can browse through available Professionals and evaluate their profiles
- All prices include tax and tip
12. PrivateFly
- Speciality:
-
- Charter jets
- Cost:
-
- App – Free
- Service – Prices vary depending on aircraft selected and destination
-
- Note: You may need to actually be a millionaire for this app
- Available on:
-
- Android
- iOS
- Advantages:
-
- Users can get competitive prices from a variety of private aircraft
- Select from over 7000 planes, jets, and more
- Arrange a flight in 90 minutes
- Accessible 24/7
- Helicopter services also available
Not everyone has the money to keep a staff on hand 24/7, but with these apps, you don’t have to. Whether you need a personal driver, shopper, handyman, or assistant, as long as you keep your smartphone handy, you’ll be covered.
Sources
- The Happy Home Company Aims To Take The Headache Out Of Home Maintenance – techcrunch.com
- Home Improvement, Made Easy – thehappyhome.co
- Uber – uber.com
- Everything You Need to Know About Uber – time.com
- Uber – itunes.apple.com
- Hire for a Range of Needs Around Your Home – taskrabbit.com
- TaskRabbit – itunes.apple.com
- How TaskRabbit Works – taskrabbit.com
- Premium Dry Cleaning & Laundry Delivery – getwashio.com
- Washio – itunes.apple.com
- Washio Picks up Your Dirty Laundry, Dry Cleaning with the Tap of an App – washingtonpost.com
- About Postmates – postmates.com
- Postmates – itunes.apple.com
- Postmates Arrives in the District with a Promise to Deliver Anything in Under an Hour – washingtonpost.com
- Instacart – appcrawlr.com
- Grocery Deliveries in Sharing Economy – nytimes.com
- Instacart – itunes.apple.com
- Instacart Help Center – instacart.com
- Fancy Hands – fancyhands.com
- Fancy Hands – itunes.apple.com
- Fancy Hands Now Has An iPhone App, So You Can Book A Personal Assistant Anytime – techcrunch.com
- All the Best Entertainment Is Just a Download Away – itunes.apple.com
- Kitchensurfing – kitchensurfing.com
- PrivateFly – itunes.apple.com
- PrivateFly – play.google.com
- Private Charter Aircraft – privatefly.com
- Redefining Private Jet Charter – privatefly.com
- Boat Rentals, Worldwide – getmyboat.com
- GetMyBoat – Boat Rental & Yacht Charter – itunes.apple.com
- GetMyBoat – Boat Rental – play.google.com
- Priv – gopriv.com
- Priv – itunes.apple.com
- Book Manis, Blowouts, and Personal Trainers With the Priv App – ny.racked.com
- Priv It! – barebeauty.com
Download this infographic.
Homejoy closed in July 2015.
October 13th, 2015 at 11:24 pm