"Money (magazine) waded through all the schlock and marketing come-ons to uncover more than four dozen great gratis goods and services." Money Magazine, August 2012
As caregivers for someone with dementia, we undoubtedly find we need to watch the money flow. We are paying so much for equipment, services, prescriptions and medical procedures that anything we can get for free can help out. Money magazine suggests that you talk with the "retention department" of your cable provider and ask what it can do to save you money. Cable companies are motivated to not lose customers to competitors and may match other offers. Most libraries now have access to e-books. Google Drive (drivegoogle.com) and Microsoft SkyDrive (skydrive.live.com) offer free cloud storage, eliminating the need to buy external hard drive backups. Google Drive also has tools that mirror Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Adobe Acrobat and are compatible with those programs -- for free. Websites such as freecycle.org, craigslist.org and freesharing.org list items that are sometimes free. BBC has a free 12-week language course in French, Italian and Spanish at bbc.co.uk/languages/steps. For those who are homebound with caregiving, it is fun to find some stimulating things to do without leaving home. Many banks still offer free checking for seniors, but you may need to ask for it. From personal experience, you can also avoid bank charges by using a credit union. I hope some of these suggestions are helpful for you in managing your money.
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