Tag: save

Instapaper – A simple tool to save web pages for reading later

Jim Rohn said “All Leaders Are Readers”. There is definately something in that famous quote which rings a bell with those who are frequent readers. Reading stimulates the cortex and also brings a sense of pleasure of attaining more knowledge. Well to me anyways. If you have read my personal blog on experiments in Personal Development, Productivity & Inner Peace then you will know where I am coming from.

The problem

I read alot. Books and online – daily! Plenty of tech news, blogs, science & psychology sites and other places which bring value to me. So this leaves my Firefox browser looking like this:

A total mess with dozen of tabs open. Since there is no way I will get through all the articles within the same gap of time that these are open in, I will need to either close the browser (saving the tabs) or leave it running letting Firefox chew up my computer’s memory. Not to mention this method is “Anti” David Allen’s GTD (Getting Things Done) time management for productivity success and increased focus. Yes, I’m a GTD fan. So, what to do. As per the GTD teachings, offload the stuff that I cannot read in the near future for later processing (reading). But with what?

The solution

Instapaper – A simple tool to save web pages for reading later

How it works

Instapaper gives you a Read Later bookmark (see Firefox screenshot above).
1. When you find something you want to read, but you don’t have time, click Read Later.
2. Then when you have time use any of the following devices Computer, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Kindle and ePub readers to read those articles nicely formatted and filtered for pure content.

Read Later - list of saved articles

Article - on a black backdrop

As shown above, the iPhone (and iPad) Instapaper application downloads all the articles onto your device so that you can read those articles where internet is not available.

Simple and my reading habits now follow the GTD teachings. Cool hey.

Examples of how I use it

  • Sometimes at night in bed I read through 1 or 2 articles before falling asleep. The alternative to reading a book in bed before bedtime. Tools: Kindle / iPad.
  • Walking to work. My walk is 15 minutes and I can squizz in 2-3 articles and catchup on the latest tech trends. Also gives me some topics to discuss at work over that water-cooler or share tech info with my engineering team. Tool: iPhone.
  • Fill in time – anything from when I’m taking a break from coding to waiting for someone. Why burn time on unproductive thoughts when you can learn something new. Tools: Computer / iPhone.

Where to get Instapaper

Go here: http://www.instapaper.com/ to register with Instapaper and try it out for free.
The iPhone version you can get from here:

Instapaper reading time! - Sì! Conando!

Ok I’m off to catchup on the 200 articles on my Instapaper.

Happy reading!

~ Ernest

Save money using coupons

Americans love coupons. Coupons are sexy. Coupons save you money.

It has always been an American Sunday paper tradition to clip coupons out for the week ahead. With the maturity of technology this landscape evolved and now most coupons are located online as the newspaper industry declines. So before you head out to shop in Silicon Valley, visit one of the following coupon sites to grab a bargain and save more of your money using coupons.

You might have already noticed that in the header navigation (above) of this site (The Road to Silicon Valley) I have already hooked up a “Save money” section to provide you with quick access to FREE at home printable grocery coupons and internet coupon codes. Those are powered by the no.1 coupon provider in America, Coupons.com. Keep on reading below to learn more about the best options to save money.

Coupons

A coupon is a ticket or document that can be exchanged for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in retail stores as a part of sales promotions. Basically printing a coupon is like printing money without any commitment to purchase required (unlike group buying below which is the opposite).

Top 2 sites in the USA for printable coupons are:

  • Coupons.com – Top 50 U.S. web property and No. 1 in the Coupons/Rewards category*—as well as Grocery iQ® and Coupons.com mobile applications for iPhone® devices and the Android operating system. Coupons.com Free GroceryIQ mobile application is superb and does all the hardwork for you by connecting coupons and your SafeWay loyalty card program to your shopping list. It couldn’t get easier to plan your shopping and load coupons!
  • Coupon Mom – Stephanie Nelson is The Savings Mom on ABC News’ Good Morning America, where she has been a regular contributor since 2004. Her Good Morning America segments have taught viewers how to save in many areas, including travel, clothing, restaurants, groceries, gifts, theme parks, gardening and entertainment.

Group buying

Group buying works that if a certain number of people sign up for the offer, then the deal becomes available to all; if the predetermined minimum is not met, no one gets the deal that day. Basically you have to “purchase” the deal in order to save X amount eg. buy for $10 and get $20 worth of goods. So there is a level of commitment required. Unlike coupons where no purchase commitment is required.

Top 2 sites in the USA which allow you to participate in group daily deals are:

  • Groupon – the big boy in group buying. No doubt you would have heard of them. Easy to use and always great products & services to buy. I’m a regular user of their simple, easy to use and efficient service.
  • Living Social – this is a Groupon competitor. Not as popular as Groupon but they do feature some good deals. The beauty of using these 2 sites is if a limited (1 per purchase) deal appears on Groupon you can go to Living Social and purchase it here too.

Coupon codes

Also known as internet coupons since you need to be making an online purchase to take advantage of these – think godaddy codes. Internet coupons typically provide for reduced cost or free shipping, a specific dollar or percentage discount, or some other offer to encourage consumers to purchase specific products or to purchase from specific retailers. Nearly every online retailer or website has a place within its shopping cart or checkout process for promo codes or coupon codes. Use the sites below to get your discount codes when making any online purchase.

Top 2 sites in the USA which allow you to get internet coupon codes are:

  • RetailMeNot – offers discount coupons for more than 65,000 stores around the world. They have been around for a long time and always provide quality active coupon codes.
  • Coupons.com – a one-stop shop provider for printable grocery coupons, local coupon, coupon codes and daily deals. Don’t forget to sign up to their free newsletter so you never miss a great deal.

Other specials to watch out for

Finally, regularly visit your favorite store’s website. They will always feature one-off limited time discounts especially around holidays. Any holiday in the USA is a good reason for these companies to lure you into their store via a great deal – some even up to 50% off during Thanksgiving festive season. I find subscribing to their newsletter always keeps me in the loop. And if you want to spend more time outside with your family and friends at night, then check out this Ware custom fire pit Naperville.

Best deals can be found during the following times of the year:

  1. Black Friday (3rd Friday of November) – the day after Thanksgiving (3rd Thursday of November).
  2. Christmas sales (before and after 25th of December).
  3. Half year sales and other random public holidays. Get to know American public holidays.

So next time you plan on shopping don’t forget to check the above websites and save anywhere from 10-30% on your shopping bill. While your there, sign up to their newsletters / daily alerts so you never miss that deal. The money saved from this simple habit can be used for your education, your start-up or directed toward a number of other investment vehicles.

Here’s to happy savings!

~ Ernest

Links mentioned in this post

  • Coupons – Coupons, Grocery Coupons, Printable Coupons, Restaurant Coupons, Coupon Codes
  • CouponMom – Cut your grocery bill in half!
  • Groupon – local daily deals
  • LivingSocial – local daily deals
  • RetailMeNot – Coupon codes and discounts for 65000 online stores!