In past decades, Internet Service Providers would sell DSL service with the requirement that you also purchase phone service. One service was linked to the other, and you were required to buy both if you wanted either. Nowadays, ISPs have mostly discontinued this practice. You may now buy “Naked DSL” from your ISP and abstain … Read more
The IRS Free File Program can help you file your federal taxes for free. If your Adjusted Gross Income was less than $73,000 last year, you can go to this website and find a no-cost tax prep option. State tax prep may also be free or might incur a fee. After you fill out some … Read more
In 2017, Equifax experienced a large data breach that exposed millions of peoples’ sensitive data. Fines, litigation and media uproar ensued. But perhaps most significant was that our government mandated that the big 3 credit bureaus offer free credit freezes to consumers. Previously, the big 3 would charge you a fee any time you requested … Read more
Amazon offers its standard Prime membership plan for $14.99/mo or $139/yr. Besides offering free shipping on most purchases, it also includes video streaming, free music and more — you can explore all the benefits at this page. But did you know there are other Amazon Prime Plans? Prime Access Amazon Prime is available for $6.99/mo … Read more
There are plenty of reasons to pay for Microsoft Office, but if you don’t have any, don’t immediately buy it. Try LibreOffice first– it’s legitimately free and can do almost everything that Word, Excel and PowerPoint can. You might just save $150 (for Microsoft Office 2019) or $70/yr (for Microsoft 365). LibreOffice has been around … Read more
“How Much Internet Do I Really Need?” I help people with this question every day. Most Internet Service Providers have different prices & speeds of broadband to sell you. When it’s time to choose the right speed for your household, your ISP is the last person you should ask for advice. Why? Almost every internet … Read more
ABCMouse was recently punished by the FTC, to the tune of $10 million. They were fined for a variety of deceptive practices, including recurring charges to customer credit cards for membership renewals that were either not disclosed or difficult to terminate. Auto-renewal traps are nothing new. ABCMouse is certainly a big name, but many other … Read more
From 2011 to 2019, Google tried to get in on the social media craze with their Google+ platform. It never caught on, and the nail in its coffin was when it was shown that users’ information was not safeguarded well. Anyone with a Google+ profile may have had their PII revealed to 3rd-party developers. If … Read more
Just don’t. It’s a trap. No good can come of it. It’ll all end in tears. Please don’t buy that laptop. I’m talking about the Windows laptops that are out there for $200 (or less). I call them traptops. They look and sound awesome, from the marketing! Especially on Black Friday or Prime Day, but … Read more
I’d like to mention a couple of my favorite “daily deal” websites, Woot.com and Meh.com . Woot.com started some 16 years ago as a site that sold just one item, each day. That item changed everyday — today it could be a vacuum, tomorrow it could be gourmet coffee from Guatemala. Whatever it was, it was offered at a truly … Read more