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With the rising cost of living straining many families, not to mention high interest rates, mass layoffs, and a looming recession impacting credit card and mortgage payments, Americans are understandably looking for ways to save money. I’m looking for.
The good news is that you can get a handful of things for free that you might otherwise pay for.
Sure, there may be some limitations, such as watching a few ads while streaming a movie, or renting an ebook (rather than owning it), but how technology can help your pocket. You might be surprised at how much it can help you save money.
You are under surveillance:Your TV is spying on you, but you can stop it
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Flip Phone is back:What is the reason for Garake to revive?Generation Z is powering a renaissance of forgotten devices
You already know that you can download thousands of free games from your favorite app store, but there’s much more.
Below are half a dozen suggestions.
Where can I get the full audiobook for free?
As long as you have a library card, you can borrow ebooks and audiobooks for free through the Libby app. Includes today’s bestsellers.
On January 25th, its parent company, OverDrive, announced a milestone. That’s his 1 billion digital books borrowed to date through Libby.
The app connects book lovers with content from over 22,000 public libraries and thousands of colleges, universities, corporate libraries and learning centers.
Like the library, you can enjoy the book you are reading until its “due date”, but without having to return the book to the library or pay late fees.
Install Libby on multiple devices and all your loans, notes, bookmarks and reading progress will be synced across devices.
How to Convert Ebooks to Audiobooks for Free
There’s a trick that many iPhone or iPad owners don’t know about. Convert your ebooks into free audiobooks with a built-in accessibility tool called Speak Screen that reads the text on your screen aloud.
You can hear it in the car, on the plane with your eyes closed, or when you’re walking down the street.
To enable (needed only once),[設定]>[アクセシビリティ]>[音声コンテンツ]>[画面の読み上げ]Go to. Then, in an open app (such as an e-book reading app), swipe down with his two fingers from the top of the screen to read the book. It also works with emails, messages, web articles, recipes, and notes. Tweak your voice for gender, language, speaking speed, and more.
Speaking of audio, tens of thousands of free radio plays that were popular in the 40’s and 50’s are available on websites such as Archive.org or by subscribing to various podcasts such as Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society and Relic Radio. increase.
free tv? These apps deliver (with commercials)
Often called AVOD services (“ad-supported video on demand”) or FAST (“free ad-supported streaming TV”), these networks offer free video that you can watch on your smart TV, smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Offers.
Some of the more popular options are Vudu, Tubi, Roku Channel, Crackle, Pluto TV, Popcornflix and of course YouTube, each offering thousands of TV show episodes and movies for free. Some do, but most are on demand.
catch? You should watch some commercials at the start and during programming.
But hey, free is free.
What apps provide free phone numbers?
A second phone number on your smartphone is very convenient for many reasons, but without having to pay for the service.
Alternatively, apps like Google Voice or TextNow can get you a number for a common area if the area code you want is available (or you can choose another city). Both services work on mobile devices and computers.
Google Voice transfers calls to any device and blocks unwanted calls. The service also provides a text transcription of the message if the call was forwarded to voicemail.
TextNow is also free over Wi-Fi. If you want virtually free cellular service (outside the home), an activation kit (including a SIM card) costs 0.99 cents and requires unlimited national calling. The text service is free (but you’ll see ads). Data rates are inexpensive and are posted on the company’s website.
Just like your main number, you can change your ringtone, access your voicemail, make three-way calls, and more.
surveillance cameras without subscription
Given how often you update your devices, you may have a spare iPhone, iPad, or Android somewhere in your home. If so, you can turn it into a free wireless surveillance camera, a baby monitor for date night, a “nanny” cam (consent required), or a way to monitor your pets while you’re at work.
All this is handled by an app called Presence (for iOS and Android).
After installing (and signing in to) the same app on your existing phone or tablet and your aging phone or tablet, place your old device somewhere in your home, make sure it’s plugged in, and turn on the device. Just point the camera somewhere. No matter where you are, you can open the same app on your existing phone or tablet and see what’s happening at home in real time.
Compatible offline productivity tools
Finally, there are also some free productivity programs, but most require an internet connection to use.
Instead, Apache’s OpenOffice is a downloadable offline suite of productivity tools for word processing, creating spreadsheets and presentations, and more. OpenOffice is available in multiple languages, runs on many operating systems, and can be installed on any number of computers.
This software suite supports a wide range of file types created by other programs, including Microsoft Office’s .doc, .xls, and .ppt.
On a related note, there are many free photo editing tools out there, but Gimp is likely the most robust thanks to its powerful editing features, digital retouching, multiple file support, and customizable interface options. .
Follow Marc on Twitter for his Tech Tip of the Day post: @marc_saltzman. Email him or subscribe to his Tech It Out podcast. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of his USA TODAY.
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