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Get The Most Out of Your Google Accounts

A lot of us use Google products, the most popular of which are the search engine and Gmail. Although Google offers many paid services, they also offer a lot of free services as well. If you are looking to save money, take advantage of these tips to get the most out of your Google accounts.

Google Drive and the Associated Services

Google Drive is a free service from Google that allows you to store files online and access them anywhere using the cloud. It uses clever cloud technology, which means that your data is stored on one of Google’s servers so you can access it from anywhere in the world. Google Drive also gives you access to free web-based applications for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more.

Google Drive is also relatively secure. When you store your data on someone else’s servers, it’s important to consider the kind of security they offer. This becomes even more important if you’re planning to save your business documents and files there. Google Drive uses 256-bit SSL/TLS encryption for files in transit and 128-bit AES keys for files at rest. This means that Google uses stronger encryption (256-bit) when you’re uploading, downloading, or accessing the files which are stored on Google Drive. Data transmission and storage security are imperative for modern enterprises. Google Drive is a great way to store your files and images for free (up to a limited amount, of course).

Google Maps and Youtube

Google Maps is a desktop and mobile web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, offering satellite imagery, street maps, and Street View perspectives, as well as functions such as a route planner for traveling by foot, car, bicycle, or with public transportation. Google Maps is one of the top free GPS apps available today. Take advantage of this free app the next time you travel.

Practically everyone has heard of and has used Youtube before. YouTube is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email. Because Youtube uses ads to make revenue, the service is free to both watch and upload your own videos.

When you are trying to save money, you don’t want to have to pay for any additional apps or services. These platforms and apps are a great way to get cloud storage and organizational tools without paying a fee.

Is This Goodbye?

by Beks

When I said I was debt free, I always felt it had an asterisk like Mark McGwire’s baseball record. Yeah, debt free…except the mortgage. That stupid. Little. Asterisk.

But we sold our house in California, bought a house in Texas, and dropped the asterisk. That’s it. End of story. I’m completely debt free.

I quite literally dance in grocery stores sometimes at the thought.

You know how they say if you walk outside in the grass after you pay off your house, it feels different? It does.

So does this mean goodbye from BloggingAwayDebt? For now, yes. I’ve been debt free with an asterisk for 5 years and now the asterisk removed, mortgage free. I’d like to take some time to just…enjoy the heck out of it. Particularly because I decided to go to grad school in the fall (taking one class at a time) and I’d like to really enjoy sitting in the yard, feeling the grass between my toes, and treasuring these moments with my kids.

I will drop by on occasion to say hi or ask a question. Y’all have given such great ideas and advice.

Here are my last thoughts, please pay things off. Sure, you can do crazy financial math, keep debt, invest into something else, move debt around, BUT I promise you… nothing feels better than no debt. The peace is a warm hug to the soul.

Be kind to the next person. Keep him or her accountable… but understand that no one is perfect, and we all fall off the rails sometimes. Keep moving forward. Don’t be normal.

Normal sucks.

Thanks for reading.

Beks

Beks is a full-time government employee who enjoys blogging late into the night after her four kids have gone to sleep. She’s been married to Chris, her college sweetheart, for 15 years. In 2017, after 3 long years working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, they paid off more than $70K and became debt free. When she’s not working or blogging, she’s exploring the great outdoors.