Simple Ways Tech Can Save You Money Around the House

Technology has certainly made life easier in many ways, but people often don’t consider how tech tricks can also save money.

Keep reading to learn practical tech can save you money around the house.

1. Swap Cable TV for Netflix

Statistics show that the average monthly cable bill is over $100, and they’ve been rising steadily. If you’re looking for a way to cut costs, and cable is currently your sole method of watching TV and movies, consider canceling your subscription all together and going with Netflix instead.

The streaming provider offers subscriptions starting at $7.99 per month, plus you can take a free trial to browse the types of things available to watch on the website. Recently, Netflix has also made select movies and shows available to download and watch later without an internet connection.

2. Get Rewarded for Scanning Grocery Receipts

Manufacturers and marketers are understandably eager to learn as much as possible about the things people purchase. There are now numerous apps that provide that information, and they reward participants for disclosing it. By downloading an app that gives you money for scanning your receipts, you could have more money in your bank account just by using your smartphone to take a quick snapshot.

3. Figure out Your Energy Consumption Habits

Before upgrading to new energy-efficient systems, many businesses do careful cost-benefit studies and verify the amount of energy currently consumed. You can take the same approach to find your baseline energy cost and determine which appliances in your home use the most energy.

EvoEnergy is one example of an easy-to-use energy consumption app. It can track the amount of energy you use per month, day or hour, allowing you to see if certain appliances in your home cause you to have a higher-than-necessary electric bill. After reviewing the data and making positive changes, you can keep referring back to the app to see if you’re achieving your goal.

4. Use an Energy-Saving Power Strip

If your household always needs to charge phones, keep electricity flowing to the TV and have an available outlet to plug in the Wi-Fi router, you probably have at least one power strip lying around. If the one you own is a standard version, think about upgrading to a kind that helps you save energy by preventing devices from constantly consuming electricity.

Belkin makes a high-tech power strip that can tell when your TV — or anything else plugged into it — is off. As soon as the television is no longer in use, it cuts the power to that appliance, plus several other devices plugged in as well. Take a look at your energy consumption analysis. Are some of the things that require the most energy are devices you only use during limited periods of the day? Then plug them into the power strip so they only take electricity during active usage.

5. Download Apps to see Deals and do Price Comparisons

It’s extremely frustrating to buy something and then find out a day or so later you could have gotten it for cheaper by using a coupon or taking advantage of a special offer. If you encounter that situation a lot, consider downloading one of the many apps that let you search for deals and do price comparisons. Websites ranging from Amazon to RetailMeNot offer apps that put discounts at your fingertips, which could make it so you never again pay too much for household goods.

These suggestions prove that saving money around the house doesn’t take a lot of time or effort. It just involves making use of technology to slash spending and make it easier to find ways to save, or even earn, money.

Image by Wilfred Iven

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