Access Your Computer From...Anywhere!

Have you ever rushed out of your house, late to work or to class, forgetting to save the presentation, document, or paper to your favorite cloud drive? If so, there is a way to connect to your laptop or desktop (PC or Mac) from your mobile device and save your job or college career. Actually, there are lots of ways to do this but most will cost you through the nose!

Teamviewer is a totally free remote desktop application that allows you full control of your PC from any mobile device with an internet connection. I've been using it for over a year and it is amazing! Even if you are not as forgetful as I am, you can use Teamviewer to access all of your PC and Mac software that you wish you had on your tablet or phone. You can download the app to your Android or iOS device and another application to the desktop or laptop you want to control. The guided setup is quick and painless, even for the want-to-be techie. 

Tree Hugger Deals

Fall is in the air and many of us are getting the urge to explore the great outdoors. Whether you are a true outdoor geek and your second home is in a tent far away from civilization or you simply enjoy the occasional mountain bike ride or hiking trip, you know how much descent outdoor gear costs. If you love buying camping and outdoor gear but have noticed the hole it burns in your budget, check out Sierra Trading Post. They offer awesome "Barn Burner" deals every day where you can get fantastic deals on high end gear and clothing. You can save 10%-20% off retail prices over most of the site but Barn Burner's typically offer 50%-60% savings.

Travel Plans Made Easy

Trying to find the best deal for an upcoming vacation has driven many to the edge of insanity. Fortunately there's really only one site you need to check whether you need a plane ticket, hotel accommodations, rental car, or all three!

Kayak.com pulls the best prices from all the major players in the travel industry and puts them in front of you with the cheapest option first. If you're looking for the best round-trip airfare, they even show what they call "hacker fares" where they pull the best price each way even if it's from different airlines so you get the absolute best price. The only downside with airfare is that they do not include fares from Southwest so you would have to look at their site separately.

They also have a great App for iOS an Android so you can search for and purchase everything you need right from your phone. If you've planned way ahead and don't need to buy tickets right away, you can even set alerts so you know when your fare drops to a cheaper price. Check it out!

Digitize Your Movies for Cheap

Movies in digital form is certainly nothing new but consolidating them to one place has always been a Disc-To-Digital program. To begin, download the Disc-To-Digital software to your computer. You can then put movies into your optical drive on your computer and VUDU recognizes the title you put in as long as it is in their library. You then have the option to buy a digital copy of the movie right then and there. Standard definition versions are just $2 or for $5 you can get an HD version. If you already own the Blu-Ray version of the disc, you can get an HD digital copy for just $2.

nightmare. Buying digital movies from iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, etc. generally forces you to keep movies in various locations. However, one service has now made it easy to not only buy new digital movies but also to digitize the movies you have collected over the years. VUDU, which is Walmart's streaming service, has an incredible selection of movies for purchase or rent but the real reason I use them almost exclusively now is their

You can also redeem any "Ultraviolet Copy" displayed on the jacket of most new releases. VUDU keeps all of these movies in one easy location and you have the option to stream your movies from the VUDU site or download to your computer or mobile device so you can watch it offline. I have used VUDU's Disc-To-Digital fairly extensively and love it! If you own a Roku, Playstation, or XBox, you can download theVUDU app to access all of your content. One hint for adding to your collection without breaking the bank; buy USED movies from Amazon and use the Disc-To-Digital to add them to your digital collection.

Best Word Processing App for iPad and iPhone

I don't know about you but I love being able to leave my laptop at home. Having a productive day without the use of a laptop is quickly becoming a reality as tablets become progressively more functional. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Apple has fallen behind competitors like Microsoft in giving their customers an excuse to ditch their laptop. Now, let me first say that I am an iPad owner and I absolutely love it, but trying to use it for daily word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation creation is a nightmare! Apple offers Pages, Numbers, and Keynote but you'll pay $30 for all three (unless you buy a new iPhone 5S or 5C) and they offer little beyond basic document creation. So what other options do you have if you're ready to leave home with just your iPad?

As I searched for many months and tried countless paid apps that only offered disappointment, I stumbled

upon CloudOn which is available for both iPad and iPhone. Not only is it free to use, it offers a user interface that mirrors Microsoft Office 2010. It is so easy to use and syncs with your existing Google Drive, Dropbox, Skydrive, or Box cloud services. You can design new documents, spreadsheets, or presentations or edit existing documents. It saves in standard Office formats as well. The only caveat that I have come across is that you do have to be connected to the internet while using Cloudon. I've found that it's much easier to manipulate when I use a Bluetooth keyboard instead of the touch keyboard. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Do You Really Need All Those Channels?

How many channels do you actually watch on a regular basis? You're probably paying upwards of $50-$80 a month for your cable or satellite bill but how many of us actually watch more than 10% of the channels included in our TV package?

Did you know that you can get all the major networks (ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS) plus a ton of local networks in HD for absolutely FREE? If you live within relative proximity to a TV station, you can get most of the TV you ever wanted to watch without paying a dime. Check out AntennaWeb to see what kind of reception you can get. There are a number of great antennae's you can get on Amazon for under $50. Depending on how far you live from a station, you can get a low profile indoor antennae that can be easily hidden from view without compromising reception so no one would ever know its even there! I recommend the Mohu Leaf. It gets amazing reception, is paper thin, and does not have the long , ugly metal antennae so it can easily be hidden. If you live further from a station (more than 100 miles) you can get an outdoor antenna to get the range you need.

Many of us are too busy to watch TV as it airs so a DVR is a MUST. There are several solutions that I have found to circumvent this problem. The first and easiest is to pay the $7.99 a month for HULUPlus. Most major networks (except CBS) have their shows available on HULU the day after they air so you can watch your shows at your convenience, even on your smartphone or tablet. Another solution is to hook up an old PC you may have around that house to record shows using Windows Media Center. Many desktops come with a TV tuner built in but if not, you can buy one for under $50. I recommend the AverTV tuner. You'll just need a coax splitter to run from the antennae to the TV and the tuner on your computer. With Windows Media Center, you can search for the shows you like and set it up to automatically record that show whenever it airs.

Keep an eye on the news as well because it seems like streaming your favorite channels a-la-carte may be just around the corner. Sony recently stuck a tentative deal with Viacom to stream channels like Nickelodeon and MTV on their Sony TV service supposedly to be available on their upcoming PlayStation 4 console. Check out this New York Times article if you want to know more.

Free, Effective PC and Mac Antivirus Protection

Every computer is susceptible to viruses and there are many options for us protect our personal data data. Programs like McAfee and Norton typically come preloaded on any new PC you purchase and offer 30 day free trials, but is it worth forking over the $20-$50 a year for these mainstream Antivirus services? "Free" options are out there but few offer your computer any significant protection from viruses and spyware.

Avast has been around for years and offers truly free protection for your PC. They have a  paid subscription that adds many cool features like secure remote PC access, firewall protection, and a data "shredder", but the free account is more than enough protection for the average user. I have been a user for over 3 years now and have been quite impressed with its capabilities. It even has a Chrome extension that warns you of potential threats before you access a web page. Check it out!

Unlimit Your Cell Plan

How much are you paying each month for your cell plan? Cell phones have been attached to our hips for more than a decade and many of us are still frustrated with the dent that our cell plan puts on our budget each month. Even if we wanted to try something else, we can't because we're locked into a long-term contact with one of the major carriers.

Non-contract and pay-as-you-go services have been popping up everywhere over the past few years but many offer limited service range or poor handset selection. For those of you ready to ditch the contract, check out Walmart's StraightTalk service. They offer a wide variety of Android and iOS smartphones and their UNLIMITED service is only $45 a month! They contract with all four major carriers (Verizon, Sprint, T-mobile, and AT&T) for use of their cell and data networks and with a little research you can find out which carrier services the handset you want to buy. StraightTalk even offers a "bring your own phone" program where you can get a StraightTalk SIM card for your existing T-mobile phone or get service to your existing compatible Verizon or Sprint (CDMA) phone. If you are ready for a new phone you can buy a brand new smart phone from the StraightTalk website at full retail price and they'll ship it to you all set up and ready to use. Want to save even more money? If you want to live on the wild side, buy a used smartphone of your choice off of Craigslist and use the "bring your own phone program" to get it up and running with StraightTalk service. See the bottom of this post to see how much you can save using StraightTalk.

I have been using an iPhone 4s (Craigslist purchase) with StraightTalk service for over a year and a half and have been extremely happy! I've read user reviews who have stated that they have had their data throttled for overuse but I have yet to have this happen to me. If you use your phone HEAVILY for watching movies or tv shows away from wifi, this may not be the service for you but I watch 5-10 hours of video on my data connection each month, surf the web often, use navigation heavily, and email constantly from my phone and have never seen a decrease in my data speed.


How Much Can YOU Save?

Major Carrier Unlimited Plan Individual

Major Carrier Unlimited With 2 Lines

*Note that the above prices DO NOT include the initial cost of the handset nor monthly taxes and fees







StraightTalk Plan Per Line

Buy iPhone 5 at full price + $45 monthly= $72/month over 2 years
Buy iPhone 5 used + $45 monthly= $62/month over 2 years
Buy iPhone 4s at full price + $45 monthly= $68/month over 2 years
Buy iPhone 4s used + $45 monthly= $55/month over 2 years
Buy Galaxy SIII at full price + $45 monthly= $62/month over 2 years
Buy Galaxy SIII used + $45 monthly= $55/month over 2 years