Saving for a technology purchase can be easy–especially if you use technology to help with your savings plan. Here is my plan to save for a Kindle Fire with the help of some of my favorite websites.
Why the Kindle Fire?
As a writer I spend a lot of time reading and doing research. As a mom I am always on the go, transporting kids from one place to another. The Kindle Fire can take the place of many of the reference books and paper documents I now carry around. I could do research for articles while waiting in the school parking lot, check e-mail during flute lessons and enjoy a good movie after the kids have gone to bed. We have a Wi-Fi connection at home and live in a city with many hotspots, so I expect to be able to use the Kindle almost anywhere I go.
I find the price of the Kindle Fire at under $200 to be very reasonable. The purchase price would be recovered quickly as I buy Kindle books, saving money on the book purchase as well as avoiding shipping costs as the text is delivered instantly to my Kindle.
Saving Money with Gift Cards
I am a daily user of Swag Bucks, a website which offers points for using their search engine, taking surveys, and performing various online tasks. By averaging fifteen minutes a day on Swag Bucks, I can earn a $5 Amazon gift card about once a month. My plan is to bump up my activity level so that I can earn two $5 gift cards per month. I can achieve this by taking an extra survey or task each day, requiring only another fifteen minutes on average.
Saving Money from Web-Based Work
I can save the rest of the money for my Kindle Fire by letting my earnings from one of my online writing gigs accumulate. If I dedicate my earnings from Textbroker, for example, I can wait to request a payout until my earnings plus my accumulated Amazon gift cards exceed the price of the Kindle. This strategy will prevent me from frittering away my earnings on cute shoes, fast food or movies. I will still have my earnings from Y!CN and other sites to use as usual.
Using the Kindle Fire to Earn More
Once I own the Kindle Fire the savings can continue. The time I now spend going to the public library, waiting for books to arrive in the mail, or squinting at a computer screen will be spent reading comfortably from a Kindle screen and downloading books with the touch of a finger. The increased productivity should boost my writing income, enabling me to make my next technology purchase and continue the cycle of savings and success.