Happy digital new year - these apps and tools from Karlsruhe help you keep your New Year's resolutions

karlsruhe.digital

Every year… it’s time for good intentions: Do more sport, eat healthier, spend more time with the family, live more sustainably. To be honest, however, the stamina for ambitious goals burns out almost as quickly as the sparkler on New Year’s Eve. Apps and digital solutions can help you stick to your new good habits so that you don’t have to break them again in February. karlsruhe.digital presents apps, trackers and websites from Karlsruhe that can only make the new year 2023 one thing: successful!

Good resolutions are simply part of the New Year: In the Statista Global Consumer Survey, 34 percent of respondents in Germany say they have good resolutions for 2023.
No ideas for good resolutions? Germany’s top New Year’s resol utions include the usual suspects, such as eating healthier, exercising more and spending more time with friends and family. But the pandemic and crises of recent years are also reflected in the resolutions: save money, reduce expenditure, act in a more climate-friendly way.

Doesn’t sound that difficult at first, but habits don’t change overnight. It takes perseverance and support cannot be damage. In addition to fellow campaigners, there are also digital tools that help to help to actually integrate the newly set goals into everyday life.

As a digital location, Karlsruhe has a lot to offer! We went in search of the ultimate tools made in KA and came up with a list of digital helpers for Germany’s top New Year’s resolutions.

Infographic: Germany's top resolutions for the year 2023 | Statista You can find more infographics at Statista

Healthier eating with a photo

According to the Statista Global Consumer Survey, 49% of respondents with good intentions plan to eat more healthily. Of course, the motivation behind this is often to reduce weight (resolution no. 5). We know: Nutrition has a major influence on our well-being and can strengthen our immune system. Convinced?
Calorie trackers can support a balanced diet, as they record the macronutrients, carbohydrates, protein and fat as well as the nutritional value. The dishdetective app offers a convenient everyday solution for anyone who finds typing in every single meal and ingredient a real pain.
It couldn’t be easier: a photo of the plate is enough!
Sounds too good to be true? But that’s the way it is. The app’s artificial intelligence then calculates the number of calories and macronutrients in the dish in no time at all. So don’t just post your next foodie picture on Instagram, but also upload it to the app and have it analyzed.
Founder Verena Heusser told us more about the app in an interview.

The new DishDetective app developed by Karlsruhe students
The new DishDetective app helps you keep your resolution to eat healthier. Photo: Robin Rüde and Verena Heußer

More sport thanks to free sports equipment via app

What comes after a healthier diet? Right, the movement. The second most popular resolution among Statista respondents was to do more sport (48%).
However, gone are the days of gym contracts that remain unused. Because in Karlsruhe it is now even easier – and cheaper – to integrate exercise into everyday life. And exactly when it fits in, whether alone, with friends or the whole family. Thanks to the start-up Sportbox – App and Move, you can borrow sports equipment from five sports lockers – completely free of charge.
Whether dumbbell, ball, frisbee or yoga mat, the sports boxes offer a colorful selection. All you need is the corresponding app on your cell phone. This is used to open the well-stocked sports boxes. This free and barrier-free sport and exercise opportunity for everyone is a real export hit. Supported by the German government, the Karlsruhe sports boxes are now available nationwide.
More information about the app can be found here .

Save more money

A virtue that, in the face of insecure pensions, rising energy costs, Economic crises and – most recently – inflation, not at all easy appears: Saving. Of course, saving and retirement provision are like so many other things in life: What’s on standing on several legs is often more stable. Investing with exchange-traded index funds (ETF, “Exchange Traded Funds”) Traded funds”) are a possible option. Simple The Oskar app helps you save with ETFs in a clear and concise manner. The Karlsruhe-based company offers an ETF savings plan that can be used for as little as monthly savings installment of 25 euros. Oskar’s algorithm chooses how the money is invested, but customers can choose from various strategies.

Sitting alone in front of a lettuce leaf to save money? Thanks to our tips, New Year’s resolutions don’t have to look like this. Photo: Canva.

Quality time with your favorite people

In everyday life, it’s sometimes not so easy to make time for family and friends, or even to meet new people. Thanks to SipTogether, partying, doing sports or chilling out together is no longer a problem. Via the app from Karlsruhe, users can find out which events are taking place in Karlsruhe and which other app users are currently in their area. They can write to each other in a chat and arrange to meet up. And the app is supposed to be more secure than Instagram, at least that’s how the app developers emphasize the security of user data.
And because every app user can enter an event. It can also be perfectly combined with the next resolution.

With smoking stop

SipTogether translates as “drinking together”, but since anyone can enter an event, it doesn’t have to end in a binge. Why not simply find a group to stop smoking or arrange to do sport instead of partying. You’re sure to find like-minded people somewhere, perhaps playing volleyball in the castle garden at 4 pm.

Climate Buddy
With the “Climate Buddy” CO2 app, you can calculate your personal CO2 footprint in no time at all. Photo: Netzoptimisten.

Do more for the environment – save CO2 with the Climate Buddy app

The CO2 app “Klima Buddy” from Karlsruhe helps its users to reduce their carbon footprint in everyday life – and relies on gamification. The app has been available to download free of charge from the Apple and Google stores since August 2022. The app, initiated by the Baden-Württemberg Climate Protection Foundation, was developed by the Karlsruhe-based company kr3m. karlsruhe.digital is enthusiastic about the idea of playfully promoting climate awareness in everyday life and, of course, about the fact that the app was developed here. That’s why we have already tested Klima Buddy and spoken to the developers. This makes climate protection really fun!

Doing something for your body, your wallet and the environment are the most common resolutions. With our tips and suggestions from the fan-shaped city, the karlsruhe.digital team says goodbye for this year and wishes you a wonderful start to the new year 2023!
Your resolution wasn’t there yet? Simply add tips for the new year in the comment columns of our social media accounts.