Which Direction Are You Headed?

It’s unfortunately quite easy to lose sight of entertainment expenses.  To further the problem, television packages commonly represent areas where changes are particularly unwanted.  As you’ll learn at Thriftability, living on less doesn’t have to come at a high “price.”

Take the opportunity to take a serious look at your viewing habits.  We’re not really concerned about the price you pay for television (look at that anyways!), but whether you’re getting your money’s worth.  Do your television-watching habits justify the price tag?

Maybe the change that’s needed is simple.  Your cable or satellite provider might have some alternative packages for less.  Speaking of providers, perhaps you can see what others are offering in your area. Forget subscriptions or monthly fees… companies like Satellite Direct bring you unlimited access to over 3,500 channels.

Paying Only for Internet

If you don’t care for your cable or satellite bill – simply get rid of it.  It’s not as far-fetched anymore, thanks to the world of streaming video.

Services like Hulu and Netflix can be streamed directly to your television.  With a gaming system or a device such as the Roku, you can get free and/or low-priced subscriptions to make up for (brace yourselves), what could be a life without a television package. Hulu offers free 2 week trial, and a referral program where you can earn your monthly streaming video just by sharing a link with your family & friends. If services like Hulu and Netflix aren’t enough, there’s more:

• Many channels will post full episodes online.  Take the History Channel, for instance, when you can stay up-to-date with American Pickers and other favorites with full episodes.
• Sports lovers have some recourse (easily the most difficult genre for leaving cable/satellite).  From ESPN3 to TNT Overtime, there are a few options.  However, buying your favorite sports packages is an option (i.e. MLB.TV on your Roku) that could be part of the equation.  You’ll save a great deal of money, with only in-market games to worry about.

Mix and Match for Your Budget

Depending on how you watch television, and how often you do it, there are plenty of ways to organize such a situation.  Even just a small savings each month can make a change worthwhile.

Consider integrating at least a portion of your viewing in streaming video.  There are a wealth of free and low-cost sources that can give you a taste of savings.  Who knows; in a month or two you could be cancelling your service.

Speaking of cancelling your service, you might want to integrate that into the mix.  There are some well-documented stories of customers saving money with negotiating.  Your best friend may be the customer retention specialist, who could give you some less-expensive reasons to stick with the company.  Keep it all in mind as you approach this potentially pricey subject.

Brian Neese is a staff writer at Everything eMedia. Are you interested in writing “First Person” articles, news briefs or guest posts for Everything eMedia? Contact contributors -at- everythingemedia -dot- com.

How do you save on cable? Do you use satellite, streaming video, or forego TV entirely? Share your thoughts below!

1. The World of Travel Apps
We dare not feature one app in this category, as it is an area filled with competitors. Simply choose one that matches your taste, or regular online habits.
Consider your favorite site for last-minute travel deals on airfare and more. Or head to your favorite hotel chain that will let you in on great prices. Whatever the case may be, choose one to a few of your favorites, and arm yourself for your next vacation. There is a wide world of travel apps that can save you plenty of money.

2. Ace Budget 2 and Other Budgeting Buddies
Take a look at Ace Budget 2 and you’ll see why many households are ditching their notebooks, pricey computer programs, and Excel spreadsheets. Simply income and expense tracking, estimated and actual budget functions, and pretty graphs begin to show the power of these types of apps.

What could be easier than inputting expenses while you are making them, on the go? Smartphone users have many options for controlling their budget, which will save money in that very fact alone (i.e. consistent budget keeping).

3. TheFind and Other Deal Locaters
You’re at your favorite store and you see something that you’d like to purchase. “I wonder if this is a good price,” you think to yourself.
With the benefit of your app, such as TheFind, it’s only a two step process:
Scan the barcode
Receive the best price, available at your local store or online.
Amazing, isn’t it? There are plenty of others that may “wow” you as well.

4. Productivity Apps to Tell You What “2Do”
Calendars, task managers, and even digital egg timers are available on your smartphone. If you put those three app categories with the function of a phone, you’d still have plenty of people willing to shell money on a smartphone.
How can these save you money? Well, time is money. With our featured app, 2Do, you could enter recurring tasks for all of your bills. That will certainly help you avoid late payment charges and other pesky fees.
The rest is up to you.

5. Evernote, Springpad, and Other Cloudy Note Takers
You’re gaining steam on your car insurance comparison. Reading full policies, their accompanying quotes, and so much more – how will you keep everything straight?
With apps like Evernote and Springpad, you could keep your notes on items like these. With image and notebook support, you could store receipts, policy documents, and so much more and keep them organized. You could clip your favorite online deals (in your browser) and then insert them in the app as well.

There is a great deal of power in these cool apps. They could save you both time and money. After all, what price would you pay for this kind of organizational clarity?

Money Saving Apps for Android and iPod is a guest post by Brian at Car Insurance Comparison.

Being a three-time Android owner, I’m a big Android fan. I love the Android OS, and all the features it offers to every user level. Probably my favorite features on the Droid Razr are the slim, streamlined size of the device, the wealth of Android apps, the high-quality 8 mp camera, which takes better pictures than our household digital camera, and the scratch-resistant helicopter glass front screen. For accessories, I bought a Rugged Otterbox Commuter Series case – a must-have if you’re a phone-dropping clutz as I often tend to be. Although the back side of the phone is made of Kevlar for strength (same stuff as is in the bullet-proof vests police/SWAT officers wear), I value the security I feel in using Otterbox products to protect my tech gear.

Do I think the Droid Razr was worth the 2-for $199.99 deal? Definitely. However, I’m still so enchanted with this product that I would feel good about paying the current list price for it, too.

Here are the Droid Razr Specs:

• Form Factor: Touch Screen
• Software Platform: Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread)
• Size/Dimensions: 130.70mm (x) 68.90mm (y) 7.1mm (z)
• Display: 4.3” 540×960 Super AMOLED Advanced
• Weight: 127g
• Processor: Dual-core 1.2GHz processor
• Battery: 1780 mAh
• Talk and Standby Time: Up to 12.5 Hours Talk Time and Up to 8.5 days Standby Time
• Bands/Modes: CDMA800,CDMA1900,LTE B13 700
• Connectivity: 3.5mm, BOTA, Corporate Sync, DLNA, MML, Phone Portal, HDMI, USB 2.0HS
• Bluetooth: Stereo Bluetooth Class 2, Version 4.0 LE+EDR
• Messaging/Web/Apps: MMS, SMS, Email (Corporate Sync, Google Mail, Push Email, Yahoo, GTalk), WebKit w/ Flash
• Camera: 8 MP, 1.3 MP P2P Video, LED
• Audio: AAC, AAC+, AAC+ Enhanced, AMR NB, AMR WB, MIDI, MP3, WAV,v10, WMA v9
• Video: Capture/Playback/Streaming, HD Video, H.263, H.264, MPEG4, WMV
• Storage & Memory: 1GB RAM x 16GB ROM, 11.5GB user available internal memory, 16 GB microSD card preinstalled
• WLAN 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n
• Location Services: aGPS (assisted), eCompass, sGPS (simultaneous), GLONASS
• Pre-loaded Applications: MotoCast™, Google Mobile Services, Google Talk™

Droid Razr Review © Lisa D. Kling 2012

The Basics

You can begin to see the power of the mobile device in terms of numbers. There are, after all, over 560,000 apps available for download in the United States (Apple’s App Store).
You don’t need a smartphone. Mobile devices like the Apple® – iPod touch® 8GB* MP3 Player and the iPad along with many other tablets, work just as well with apps that can help you manage your money.

Of course, many consumers choose to combine their phone and computer-related needs in one. It works quite well.

From a practical standpoint, it stands out (no pun intended). As you can imagine, using a mobile device is much simpler than a desktop and laptop, especially when you consider the day-to-day needs that you have. With seamless integration to the Internet, backup capabilities, and so much more, there is a great deal of power in the handheld device.

Financial Power

“Power” is a good term for the current discussion. Allow us to take a handful of examples of what you can do for your finances on a mobile device:

Practically any financial account can be accessed. From checking your account balance and making payments, you can manage your budget, access banks, credit cards, investments, and more. Recent innovations are also part of the equation, such as mobile deposit (taking a picture of a check to deposit).

Control your budget on your device. Free and paid budgeting apps have a surprising number of features, including export and synchronization options. Keeping up with your everyday expenses just got much easier.

Need to keep notes on your financial decision? Evernote and similar applications give you tagging power and the ability to “clip” webpages and keep notebooks. If you find great term deposit rates online (on your regular computer) or need to keep in-depth car insurance comparison notes, your mobile device can handle it all.

You may never forget another payment again. Task managers, calendars, and other productivity tasks enter the financial realm.
Note that these examples are just the tip of the iceberg. If you can imagine a financial need, there may just be an app out there that can help.

Is It Right for You?

By all means, you don’t necessarily need a mobile device. You also don’t have to change the way you budget, manage your money, and track/keep financial information.
Something like this could be worthy of further consideration, though. Many consumers immediately find relief in the convenience of a mobile app. It may be a welcomed change in the way you approach your finances.

It is wise to review how you interact with your finances, and not just your finances on their own. After all, improving efficiency could be relevant to your situation. Maybe upgrading to a mobile device, or even some better financial apps, is just what the financial doctor is ordering.

The Financial Game-Changer: Mobile Device is a guest post by Brian at Wallet Watcher.

Apple iPhone 4S with 16GB Memory Mobile Phone – White The iPhone 4S features a powerful dual-core A5 chip with faster graphics for browsing the Web, switching between apps, gaming and more. The 8.0MP camera boasts advanced optics and shoots 1080p HD video. Ask Siri, a voice-activated intelligent assistant, to make calls, send texts, set reminders and more. Features the iOS 5 operating system with its easy-to-use interface, rock-solid stability and extended battery life. Use with iCloud to store your digital content and wirelessly push it to all your devices. Requires a data plan starting at $20. Early termination fees will be prorated, starting at $325 minus $10 for each full month of service commitment completed.

The main things to look out for when you buy an iPhone are battery life, features of the iPhone, the quality and the ease of use from the phone itself, accessing iTunes, using the basic functions of calling, browsing and mailing are the main things to look for before we delve deeper into the additional features of the iPhone.

The next set of criteria will depend on where you buy your iPhone, this includes the support, before and after you buy, the value – shop around to combine these two things together and ensure you receive the best quality of both that you can find. Then the last things to consider before you buy your new iPhone are personal choices, such as the style and design of your considerations. The one thing to bear in mind with the iPhone is that the newer, smarter looking iPhones can lack some basic features and this is something to consider.

With all these factors in mind you can summarize the reviews off each iPhone models – the 1G, 2G and 3G, and from there you can go on to select which iPhone to buy from the 2, 4, 8 or 16 gigabyte memory. Just from these selections alone you can see that when you buy an iPhone it really is a personalized choice – so before you buy your iPhone you must ensure you do your homework and make the right selection for you based on what we have reviewed and what you want to get from the features of the iPhone you buy.

After you have made your personalized selection and have brought your new iPhone you need to ensure that under no circumstance will your purchase be jeopardized by a mishap or accident. This can now be done with the ability to purchase accessories and spares online which allow you to upgrade and repair your iPhone yourself.

Once you have made your selection and buy your iPhone then you need to keep up to date with the maintenance and upgrades of accessories as and when they become available – this can all be done online with iPhone Parts Pro, the online store stock a wide range of spares, accessories and components for repairs and replacements. This gives you the option to remain mobile at all times without losing the functionality of your iPhone and without having to send it in for repair, at a great expense of time and money.

When you buy an iPhone get the maximum benefits it has to offer you by saving money and keeping in touch with the technology and buy any parts you require for this from iPhone Parts Pro.

Buying An Iphone – What To Look For is a guest post by Mark Grey (mark@markfreelance.com.)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/buying-an-iphone-what-to-look-for-779540.html

Last year’s game – NCAA ’11 – didn’t have much improvement from the previous year, and in my opinion was a disappointment for dynasty players who probably found out that after seven or eight years in the game players in the games weren’t progressing or were barely improving and the little schools got even worse.

When I heard NCAA ’12 was coming out I was hoping that some improvements could be made to the game play and that they would fix the dynasty problem. I wasn’t let down. Finally NCAA football fixed the defensive problems like the tackling and the zone coverage which was awesome because you could run an actual zone coverage and players weren’t just getting blocked they would go after the ball carrier. Those were the main game play improvements I found and EA even made these announcements which they did not let down which left me impressed for the progression for the years to come.

EA also fixed the dynasty player progression and brought the game up in standards
and since playing this it’s been hard to pry me away from my 360. As always I can’t wait for the next edition to come out and if EA can make some more smaller improvements they’ll have me lining up on the release date as usual.

Ty is a staff writer at Everything eMedia. Are you interested in writing “First Person” articles, news briefs or guest posts for Everything eMedia? Contact contributors -at- everythingemedia -dot- com.

Which are your favorite gaming stand-by’s? Leave a comment below.