Hi all,
Back posting about being cheap (I mean frugal) with a smart phone. First off, chromecast kicks butt. I can use my phone as a remote and use my speakers and tv screen to watch pretty much anything. For just $35, you have a device that can stream nearly anything via an hdmi and a usb charging port. Way cheaper than having a dedicated media machine, an apple tv, a smart tv, playstation 4, xbox, etc. to stream your videos.
Next: gas rewards cards. These are slick. You know how many gas companies give you cheaper gas if you pay in cash? Well, that's not great to carry in huge quantities and it takes valuable time to go in and pay. Instead, install apps like cumberland farms or pride's pay at the pump app, save 10 cents a gallon, and earn free stuff. All for just registering your debit card with them. I think so far, I've earned 10 free coffees, 5 free slushies, and some other stuff. All for filling the tank, which I had to do anyway. Use in conjunction with gasbuddy to get the best deals, period.
One more thing: WAZE. This app is awesome. In many ways, it outdoes a garmin gps. Garmin users may disagree, but this app on my smartphone gives me traffic, road hazards, police, and the ability to ask another waze user a few miles ahead what's happening. Basically, it's social driving. Bye bye radar detector, this thing finds cops because other people are looking out for them. It also routes you around traffic and changes your eta based upon it. One thing Garmin still wins on - it tells your current speed based upon the satellites. We used both side by side on a trip halfway across the country, and I prefer the waze app. Most of the time, the two devices agreed upon the best route, and though stereo directions from both of them was a bit annoying at times, it was neat to see that they (mostly) sent me the same way. We avoided a cluster of cars and police in a big midwestern town and saved tons of time.
Hope these are helpful,
~Mark
