The Goggle Box

After seven years of faithful service, my bedroom television has finally given up on me.  The DVD player no longer works and the picture was terrible (bought before HD so not great to begin with) and so the quest is on to find some new bedroom tech.

Times have evolved greatly in terms of what you can purchase, particularly in terms of size and picture quality.  The typical 19 inch cube like televisions have moved on to larger flat screen versions and the picture quality has improved by leaps and bounds.  From ordinary SDTV we have moved to to HDTV and now, the latest innovation is 4KTV with the likes of the Panasonic Viera range.

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When buying a new television, it is always useful to read to the latest tech blogs and check out the best TVs that you can buy within your budget range.  There are so many different types of television that you can buy, dependent on what you are looking for and the services you want it to provide.

When it comes to buying a television for a bedroom, often, you want it to be a multi tasker.  Are you a gamer?  Are you a Netflix addict?  Will you use it in collaboration with your laptop?  Do you want to connect to the internet?

All of these options can be catered for and given that the price of technology has come down in recent years, the cost of what you want is not going to burden your purse too heavily.

For me, I am a film buff.  I love watching films, either through my Freeview or on DVD.  Netflix will be my next port of call, I can no longer resist its calling.  With this is mind I have gone for a larger television, 32 inches which is the largest that I can have within my space capacities.

HD is a must given the amount of films that I watch and I can only imagine how great some of my old favourites are going to look like on a much larger screen with much better resolution.  Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, the Fast & the Furious series; all will be getting a dusting off and a marathon film weekend will be happening soon!

Counting the Pennies

When you are on a tight budget, it is important not to just look for places where you can cut costs, but also to learn to spend intelligently.

During the Winter months all of our household bills go up. The lights go on more, the heating goes on, endless cups of tea and coffee; it all adds up. Your next energy bill arrives and the price has suddenly gone through the roof.

When appliances break down or need changing, be it a faulty kettle or that washing machine you have had for ten years now; choosing their replacement should be a decision made with not just your current cashflow in mind, but also your future bills.

These days there are so many products on the market that are energy efficient which are both good for the environment, and your pocket.

For example, the Energy Saving Trust tells us that in the UK we waste 68 million a year by overfilling our kettles. Every time you boil a full kettle, that costs you 2.5p. Applying that to a standard family household, boiling a full kettle 10 times a day, that is 22.5p. That is ₤80.00 per year, just boiling your kettle.

Whilst buying a cheap ₤10.00 kettle might look good for your purse now, if you spent ₤40.00 on an an energy efficient kettle which lets you choose exactly how much water to boil, even when it is full to brim; in the long run, that more expensive kettle is going to save you money.

This principle can be applied all around your home. Energy saving lightbulbs, draught excluders to hold heat in and save energy. Appliances like the Panasonic Washing Machines which you can find here can detect the load amount and adjust the amount of water and power needed accordingly which again saves you money.

Put all of those ideas into play and you can really start to make a saving on your energy bills, which frees up money for the more important things in life. A day out with your family, a catch up night out with a friend. In the end, it is as your grandma used to tell you:

*Published in conjunction with Panasonic