I Solo Built an App Because I Needed It. Then Apple Featured It #1 Best New App!

There isn't a guide to being an adult. You're just expected to know when to change your car's oil, when to schedule your annual checkup, how to budget your bills, when your pet needs their next vaccine. And if you don't know? Google it. Ask someone. Figure it out. I couldn't figure it out. It all felt so overwhelming and once I felt caught up on my car, I was behind on my health and it was never ending! When was the last time I went to the dentist? Did I forget to pay my electric bill? What oil did I put in my car last? The mental load was crushing.

I tried every productivity app. Notion was too complicated. Todoist was too simple and manual. Everything cost too much and tracked too much of my data. Nothing actually helped me adult better, it was just a tool or format to input the knowledge they expected me to know. But how do you organize when you already feel like you are falling behind and you don't know what you don't know?

So I taught myself how to code and built the app I needed.

Just eight months after launching, Apple featured Get Adulting as the #1 Best New App!! I'm still processing that this is real.

I wanted an app that actually taught you how to adult. Not just gave you a to-do list, but told you when things are due and why they matter. Car maintenance timelines. Health checkup schedules. Pet care reminders. Budget tracking. All the things you're supposed to know but nobody ever taught you.

And I wanted it affordable. And private. And simple.

I launched in April after months and months of testing and bugging my partner trying to get the app exactly right. It was so surreal once it was finally live!

What Happened Next:

Growth was slow at first. I cold emailed organizations. Posted on Reddit. Gave out free codes to students who couldn't afford it.

Then in October, a wonderful TikTok creator I'd never met made a review video. It got 228,000 views. Downloads went from a few hundred to thousands in two weeks!! I started getting emails. Lots of emails. Therapists saying they recommend it to clients. People asking for features. Students asking for help paying. I answered every single one. Personally.

Then in December, someone emailed me: "Congrats on being featured #1 by Apple!"

I thought they were confused. I checked the App Store.

There it was. Get Adulting. #1 in Best New Apps and Updates.

I cried. I called my partner, my parents, shared with anyone who'd listen. I STILL can't believe its real! 11 days later (as of today), Get Adulting is #3 on the list for Best New Apps and Updates. What Makes Get Adulting different?

Most apps nowadays cost $10/month. Get Adulting is $2.99/year. Lifetime also available. Because apps that charge more are just greedy and I refuse to do that.

Most apps use AI and track your data. Get Adulting doesn't use AI at all and everything stays on your device. Your information never gets uploaded to a server.

Most apps have premium tiers where you pay more to unlock features. Get Adulting gives you everything immediately. You can customize your app color, turn sections on or off, sync to your calendar, all at no extra cost. Most apps expect you to know what you're doing. Get Adulting teaches you. It has built in education for car maintenance, health checkups, mental health resources, recipes with instructions, budgeting guidance. It's not just tracking, it's teaching.

I built it for my brain. Turns out thousands of other people needed it too!

Through this whole process, I have learned so much! When I first had the idea for the app, I initally looked into Kickstarter as a solution, but eventually wanted to make it myself and make it right. I realized I didn't need investors. I bootstrapped this with $99 (the Apple dev cost) and it's fully profitable with minimal overhead. I have complete control and I answer to nobody but my users, which I love to frequently add updates you can see here.

People are desperate for privacy. So many people mention how much they appreciate that their data isn't being sold or tracked. Affordable pricing works. Everyone told me to charge more and I refused. I was even told before I developed the app that it was 'doing too much' but man am I thankful I followed through with my idea:

I knew that my app was different. It wasn't just all-in-one. It was supportive and actually taught you how to be a better adult. It wasn't just a habit tracker, it was a lifeline. At least it has been for me. Solo development has actually been an advantage. I can respond to emails in 20 minutes. I can build features people request in days. I can give students free lifetime access because I remember being broke. It means the world to me that Get Adulting give me that opportunity! Android is coming soon I promise! Hoping to release Android in January/Febuary 2026. Download Get Adulting app on iOS for $2.99/year: apps.apple.com/us/app/get-adulting/id6744375132