Gadgetory

technology is a lot of fun phone a new app a new Smart TV but if you're not careful technology can also be a quick way to go bankrupt and you're up to your neck and credit card debt the idea of selling it all and forsaking technology for a life on a communal spinach farm starts to sound like a logical idea but before you change your name to moon tiger and find a new life off the grid let's see if we can do some damage control macdonald bell and today's top 5 we're counting down the five ways your high tech life is robbing you blind starting off at number five antivirus software any gig where you get to exploit people's fear for cash is bound to be pretty lucrative so how do these guys get your money by pre-loading security bloatware onto off-the-shelf pcs and then swooping in like a superhero when you're late night browsing gets you into trouble I mean when the family computer is hemorrhaging pop-up windows of boobs and boners $80 sounds like a small price to pay to make it all disappear the good news is that there's some stellar free security programs out there from companies like Avast and AVG so go download those and save yourself some money at number four printers I really can't think of any other technology that gets me more worked up than inkjet printers not only are they an eyesore and a huge pain to set up but they need constant feeding and attention you run out of blue ink you have to replace the whole color cartridge at 30 dollars a puck your printer head gets clogged have fun priming the pump and wasting half your ink in the process you're probably blowing $150 a year on ink just so you can print out the occasional family photo as a last-minute treat for Grandma save the money and the hassle by printing photos using those self-serve machines they have with the pharmacy and if you need to print documents a low-cost black-and-white laser printer will probably give you years of service before it needs a new cartridge coming in at number three digital subscriptions in some ways these are the worst it's like being covered in tiny leeches you have to burn off one by one Netflix Hulu iTunes Match Spotify Xbox gold Amazon Prime it's gotten out of hand now some of these you probably use day-to-day but I'm willing to bet that you have at least one digital subscription that you've totally forgotten about and she's getting fat and happy sucking off the teat of your credit card funding some corporate fat cats payment on a midlife-crisis convertible now if you're trying to stop the bleeding digital subscriptions are death by a thousand cuts at number two cell phone service if you don't feel screwed on your monthly cell phone bill you're not paying attention Americans are paying around $100 or more on their monthly cell phone bill which let's admit it is now a smart phone bill because basic phones are only around for drug dealers and grandparents we literally need these things to communicate now payphones have disappeared no one has landlines anymore and if you ever asked to try to borrow someone else's cell phone to make a call it's weird I'd rather French kiss this guy than let some stranger use my phone we need phones but a hundred dollars a month is basically it tax on humanity at this point it's almost as ridiculous as this next wallet vampire and number one cable cable TV cable internet cable telephone that you never really use but you had to agree to it in order to get the bundle price few corporations have bent over the American people further than cable companies which is why it's no surprise that there's a growing movement of people cutting the cord I mean cell phone fees are criminal but at least this for something to have on you all day for the 24/7 glass the high-speed Internet and hundreds of TV channels you pay to get piped into your home you probably use one percent of it it's silly but what else are you gonna do they've got you two ways if you can find a convenient and legal way to shake loose you let me know all right now you know five ways the man is getting at your money if you feel my pain let me know over top-5 cnet.com Donald Bell thanks for watching