Convenience – Live Life Digital

Five Ways Amazon is Primed for the Coronavirus Fight

By Travis Duncan | March 21, 2020March 21, 2020 by Travis Duncan

The coronavirus has battered and beleaguered numerous industries over the last month, leaving few survivors in its wake. Despite the carnage, one organization is uniquely poised to stand up and fight back. Even those that loath big business must respect the reality that it takes a titan to fight a threat as prevalent as COVID-19. That titan is Amazon.

Amidst growing unemployment claims, Amazon is one of the few organizations able to expand its workforce and increase pay. CEO Jeff Bezos even released an employee letter highlighting the critical role Amazon is playing (and will play) in shaping the national response to the pandemic.

Amazon’s position to support the battle didn’t come about by chance. Instead, it was the result of years of infrastructure and service rollouts that catered to the convenience needs of its customers – a convenience that has now become a necessity.

So here is a look at five reasons why Amazon is primed to deliver critical supplies (and record profits) in uncertain times…

Ditch Digital Subscriptions to Save Yourself Some Cash

By Travis Duncan | July 21, 2019August 1, 2019 by Travis Duncan

I’m not exactly sure where the subscription model started, but the cable companies of the 1980s seemed the most adept at solidifying the public’s willingness to pay a recurring fee for content as a service. Sure, utility companies had been doing it for years, but those could be considered necessities under the eye of the public sector.

Then, the Netflix addicted, Amazon Prime-fueled millennial generation made the subscription service a staple of American living. You can now subscribe to services that manage your clothing, meals, shaving needs, and much more.

Digital Living Frugality

Seven Easy Hacks to Using Amazon Without Letting Amazon Use You

By Travis Duncan | July 17, 2019August 1, 2019 by Travis Duncan

At some point in our lives, we throw in the towel and admit defeat. More specifically, we throw our wallet to monolith that is Amazon and admit convenience is more important than cost, privacy, and pretty much everything else in life.

And then I realized, you don’t have to leave your wallet open to enjoy the benefits of Amazon. In essence, you can pocket the $119 that you would normally spend each year on prime and yet still benefit from what Amazon has to offer. Here’s how:

Audio Digital Living Minimalism

Six Simple Steps to Declutter Your Digital Listening Skills

By Travis Duncan | July 15, 2019September 8, 2019 by Travis Duncan

In Four Focus Areas for Frugal Digitalism, I talked about how to save money by taking advantage of free audio opportunities. Free content, however, is only valuable if you’re mindful of how and why you listen. In this article, I lay out a framework for improving your digital listening habits and getting more out of the time you spend with your digital audio content.

Digital Living Frugality

Four Fun Focus Areas For Frugal Digitalism

By Travis Duncan | July 7, 2019August 1, 2019 by Travis Duncan

Many millennials and digital natives have migrated their lifestyle online and in doing so have paid the price of convenience. Such convenience has come in the form of a monthly subscription fee to get access to craveable content. While a single subscription fee may have only a minor impact on one’s budget, when coupled with subscription fees across different digital services, the budget impact becomes more severe. This is further exacerbated by the rising subscription costs being charged by service providers and media conglomerates who have realized content is king and have gone on a spending spree in an effort to acquire digital content.

Thankfully, a convenient digital lifestyle doesn’t need to come with a high price tag. In many areas of your digital life, there’s no need to trade cash for convenience as you progressively shift your lifestyle online. In this article you’ll find ways to practice sustainable frugality in various areas of your digital life. This means getting what you need without borrowing login credentials from friends, illegally downloading the content you love, or managing multiple e-mail accounts in order to rotate through free trials offered by many digital services.

Digital Living Home Buying

Finding the Right Home for Your Digital Lifestyle

By Travis Duncan | July 4, 2019August 1, 2019 by Travis Duncan

Nearly 10 years ago I purchased a home that had been built in the 1960s. While it was equipped with few technology frills, over the years I managed to build out an impressive digital footprint within its walls. That work, however, came at a cost that could have been avoided (or at least minimized) had I planned out my technology needs up front and found a home more conducive to those needs.

Therefore, as I planned a move to a new city, I spent time assessing the digital attributes I valued in a home and set forth finding a new place that provided a foundation on which to build a meaningful, though more thoughtful and simple, digital footprint. In this article, I lay out six things to consider when searching for a digital-friendly home.