Cutting Corners: Tech for Less

I am a techno geek want to be. I love new technology. I have a laptop, a smartphone, Twitter account and more. If there is a task to be done, I look to technology to simplify it for me. Most of these however, come with hefty price tags. But being the cheapskate that I am, I have found numerous free and affordable avenues to satisfy the techie in me. Here is just a sampling for you to try!

Free internet access: netzero.com offers free internet access up to 10 hours per month.
Free email: aol.com, gmail.com, yahoo.com
Free virus protection: free.avg.com. This was recommended to us by our computer guru four years ago and we have been virus and spyware free since.
Free websites: Want your own web presence? Try webs.com, googleblog.blogspot.com or free hosting via godaddy.com with domain name registration.
Get paid to search. I have been using swagbucks.com as my search engine and I earn points periodically that I have cashed in for $5 off a baby products retailer, a $25 restaurant gift certificate and am currently accumulating points for cold hard cash to be deposited in to my Paypal.com, the safe secure way to make online purchases, account.
Free PDF creator. Compared to Adobe Acrobat that has a price tag of $299, this simple free PDF creator is worth the download. I love the simplicity of this program. I can create a document in any program, click print, chose CutePDF as my printer, then I am prompted to choose a location to save the newly created PDF file.
Tons of free software downloads can be found at cnet.com. Just click on the download tab and type in the free software you are looking for. For example, if you type in free Photoshop, you’ll find several results like Photobie 6 that is comparable to Photoshop.
Budget software: docs.google.com offers about 80 different budget templates from simple expense tracking or checkbook registers to home improvement and even wedding budget spreadsheets.
Free applications for your cell phone: Check with your service provider or try, cell11.com (where I found my awesome Transformers ringtone).
A generous new acquaintance recently opened his tech website deals vault to me. Some amazing website for obtaining incredible deals on laptops, desktops, telephones, routers and more are: fatwallet.com, slickdeals.net, techbargains.com and cheapstingybargains.com, jus to name a few.

Happy Saving!!

This column is provided by Tara Roark. Tara conducts Coupon Boot Camps training consumers how to save hundreds on their groceries, shopping, dining and entertainment through couponing. To contact, please visit her on the web at www.couponbootcamp.com and follow her blog, http://mommysgotworktodo.blogspot.com, or on Twitter, couponbootcamp, for exclusive HOT deals and tips.