Slash your computing costs

The past months have included much dark talk of a credit crunch and falling house prices. This has been not only depressing for those trying vainly to buy or sell property, but rapidly rising fuel and energy prices have made many more people feel the pinch directly.

When faced with the need to cut household costs across the board, it’s only sensible to examine your computing requirements to see if there’s any potential to make some savings ­ however small. There’s quite some scope to reduce your IT-based outgoings by making a few simple changes to your behaviour. As a notable supermarket would have us believe, every little helps.

Computers can be a drain on finances in several areas. First, there’s the initial cost of purchase, plus any peripherals or software that you may add as time passes. Printing consumables such as ink, paper and toner constantly gnaw away at the bank balance, as does the cost of removable media like recordable CDs and DVDs.

Security suites generally demand annual subscriptions, and then there’s the ISP knocking at the door every month for its cut. Energy costs add to the total, too; just having a computer plugged into the mains causes a trickle charge to your electricity supplier, and that’s before you even turn it on.

Using hibernate or snooze mode results in yet more power dribbling away, and then there’s the router, printer and external drive, which are all too easy to leave turned on. If you indulge in online backup or run a website, these also result in monthly charges.

The costs can seem never-ending, but it is possible to curb them without resorting to pen and paper or semaphore for communications. By standing back, looking at the basics and taking each area in turn, you’ll see that there are many possible savings to be made, as we’re going to try and remind you of those in this feature.

Small savings in multiple areas soon add up, leaving you with a far more manageable computing bill.