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10 ways to save money with your PC

4/27/2012 5:30:43 PM

Feeling the pinch? Your computer can help you to save money, keep the bills in check and enjoy great discounts.

 

Description: Save money with your PC

Save money with your PC

Recycle your old PC

Description: You might not use that computer any more, but it doesn’t mean someone else can’t find a home for the bits and pieces inside – just be careful not to damage them.

You might not use that computer any more, but it doesn’t mean someone else can’t find a home for the bits and pieces inside – just be careful not to damage them.

Do you have a tired old computer that’s long passed the pint of actual usefulness? It might be taking up space, but don’t bin it, use it to make some extra cash instead. Just take it apart carefully, and keep the hard drive – you never know when you might need an emergency replacement, and this way you don’t have to worry too much about secure deletion of your files – then sell the rest of the innards online. Items like graphics cards, sticks of RAM and DVD drives are often very popular when selling on sites like eBay or Gumtree, and you can get a small amount of money for them. You can then pit that cash towards new components and upgrades for you faster, shinier computer.

Sticky note

Description: Some paper and a lot of cash by dispensing with paper stickies and going digital with your note-taking.

Some paper and a lot of cash by dispensing with paper stickies and going digital with your note-taking.

Paper sticky notes can cost anything from $1.5 to $9 per pack, and regular users can spend up to $90 a year keeping them in stock. You may as well write on money for that price. This where Windows 7 steps in with Sticky Note, a clever solution that doesn’t cost you a penny and is far easier to read than hastily hand-written reminders. Find them by typing sticky note into Start Search. Click on the application and write your note. It will now appear whenever your PC starts, until you delete it.

Bargain hunting

Don’t make any purchase without checking online for deals, discounts and offers first.

Your PC is the perfect tool for finding bargains and special offers on all sorts of products and services. Saving money on gifts, clothing and essentials like food requires a measure of dedication – you have to spend time online finding the best possible deals. Some excellent websites to visit include www.hotukdeals.com and www.moneysaveingexpert.com for special offers, voucher codes and freebies. Visit www.uswitch.com to compare mobile phone deal, and www.pricerunner.co for comprehensive price comparisons in a specific area. Expect to spend an hour or two getting the hang of it and to save anything from $150 to $750.

Budget battery

Windows 7 is known for the fact that it has am almost intelligent attitude to your power saving. Not only will it adapt its power saving strategies to your habits, but it will also shut down parts of the system when they aren’t in use. However, the two battery modes are the big benefit here. Windows 7 offers two modes – Balanced and Power Saver. Balanced mode delivers full performance while you’re working, but conserves power when the computer is idle. Power Saver delivers slower performance and a darker screen, but will extend the life of your battery for ages. Power Saver mode is brilliant for laptops, and for cutting you electricity bill.

Power payments

Ever been stung by a late payment charge for your credit card to taxes? It’s a simple mistake to make, but it can cost you a lot of money. To avoid it in future, use free templates to create spreadsheets and lists to track your finances and avoid overspending. Microsoft Office (http://office.microsoft.com) has plenty of brilliant web apps and free downloadable templates, and Google Docs (http://docs.google.com) offers free cloud-based templates that are easy to use.

Stream everything

Windows 7 includes Windows Media Centre – an extremely clever piece of software that can stream pictures, videos and music across all the devices in your home. The days when you had to pay for the same item more than once are long gone. You can record a television show and use HomeGroup to share it with any other device in your home that’s running Windows 7, or use it to send content to your Xbox 360 so you can watch your favourite shows and listen to music on your TV. You can even enjoy internet TV on your Windows-based smartphone, your TV, and all your connected Windows computers.

Web applications

Description: Save cash on discs and download with free web streaming and radio

Save cash on discs and download with free web streaming and radio

Web apps are really coming into their own now, because they offer free services that you can access from any computer, anywhere with an internet connection. Microsoft Office comes with many free spreadsheets and documents that you can use in the cloud, as mentioned on the previous page, but you can also enjoy a range of free entertainment without breaking any laws. Sites such as Spotify and LastFM have superb music content that you can enjoy on your PC no matter where you are in the world: just log in and enjoy your music. You’ll save a fortune on CDs and downloads, and are sure to discover some great new artist to boot.

Reminder rescue

We already looked at how you can use templates to keep track of your finances, but the calendar app included in Office Outlook is a vital way of ensuring you never forget those important deadlines. For your taxes, car insurance, MOT and other such tedious essentials, just enter them into Outlook’s hourly intervals so you don’t forget. You can also share your Calendars so that everybody in the household is reminded about paying a bill, or knows just when they need to get the car tidied up.

‘For taxes, insurance, your MOT and other such tedious essentials, just enter them into Calendar and set reminders’

Keep your PC efficient

Description: Keep your PC running smoothly and improve its performance

Keep your PC running smoothly and improve its performance

Windows 7 has a couple of built-in features to help you tune your computer and keep it running efficiently. A well-tuned PC uses fewer resources, runs faster and has a smaller carbon footprint – so it will save you money and help to save the planet at the same time. Go to ‘Performance information and tools’ in the Start menu to see your computer’s rating. The link labelled ‘What do these numbers mean’ will explain this rating for you. Now go to www.bit.ly/vNhZph to optimise each element and improve your computer’s overall performance. Other great features include ReadyBoost for instant speed from unused memory cards, and Disk Cleanup to remove old files that are clogging up your system.

Shop online

Have you spent a lot of time finding deals and bargains thanks to the money-saving sites on the previous page? Well you can save even more cash and cut back on transport costs by shopping online. If you use a supermarket’s website to do your weekly shop, the delivery will cost less than parking and petrol if you did it yourself. Clever use of voucher codes and other offers can help you get everything you need ad low prices and without ever leaving your desk. You might even be able to save enough for a nice holiday in the summer.

You’ll always need to buy things – make sure you’re getting them as cheaply as possible online

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