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There a ton of great options when it comes to cloud storage! Many of them are free, but some offer some interesting paid features. If you have a lot of storage needs, whether it be for business or personal use, consider these great options for cloud storage!

 

Google Drive: Google Drive is part of Google’s office suite, and it’s surprisingly competitive with Microsoft’s offerings. For having a Google account, you get 15GB of storage for free. For documents and pictures, 15GB is a good bit of storage! Google also offers a few packages for higher amounts of storage. For 100GB, 1TB and 10TB, you pay $2, $10 or $100 per month, respectively. Given the free Google Office suite that comes welded to this service, many offices are opting to use it.  

Google Drive has Android, iPhone and Windows apps, too! This makes it easy to sync files across multiple devices. Google Drive is ideal if you have a Chromebook, but it’s a great choice for eveeryday use too. You can’t go wrong with this one! 

Amazon Drive: Amazon Drive is a great service if you already have Amazon Prime. Annual pricing is pretty reasonable for the cloud storage, but Prime members get unlimited photo storage as part of their membership! Those who just want to store stuff get 5GB for free and can upgrade to 100GB for $12 per year. If you really need more than that, they also offer 1TB of storage for $60 per year. If you need to store every film ever released, a 30TB option is available for $1,800 per year.  

Amazon Drive uses a “delta sync,” like DropBox. This means, when you upload a file and then upload a changed version of the same file, it only saves the changes. This means it just makes alterations to the file rather than redownloading the whole thing. This saves time and bandwidth! You can also elect to throttle upload speed if you need to balance what’s using bandwidth. Bottom line, if you’re already using Amazon Prime, this is a great choice. Otherwise, there are better options. 

NextCloud: If you don’t like the idea of Google or Microsoft or someone having access to your files, try NextCloud. You set up your own cloud storage through NextCloud, using your own server. While this might sound daunting to some, for tech-savvy users this is a great option. If you really want to exert total control over your cloud storage and backups, this is the way to go. The code is all open-source, so savvy users can run it all themseves. The service also offers private web messaging and conferences through NextCloud Talk and NextCloud Groupware. If you want to run a business and control everything from your own servers, this is the way to do it! 

OneDrive: Microsoft’s answer to cloud storage is a great platform. Windows users have access to it as just another computer directory! It’s quite easy to access and offers 5GB of storage free to anyone. Just like Google Drive works closely with Google Office Suite, OneDrive works with Microsoft Office. If you commonly use Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and the like, OneDrive is a great option for you.  

If you have an Office 365 subscription, you get an extra terabyte of storage for OneDrive too! For businesses, there’s also OneDrive for Business that grants access to both storage and Microsoft Office. It’s just under $9 per person per month, which is actually a pretty good rate!  If you already use a lot of Microsoft’s Office Suite, OneDrive is for you! 

Most Generally Useful Cloud Storage: DropBox

DropBox is a very well-known cloud storage platform for good reason. It can be accessed from pretty much any platform and is quite easy to use. You get 2GB of free storage, as well as a few extra GB for syncing your phone to your DropBox. By recommending friends you can get extra storage, too. You can spend $10 per month for an extra TB of storage, or you can get it for $100 per year.  

The bottom line is that DropBox is easy and system-agnostic. It’s not married to any particular operating system or company. If you need a solid, dependable cloud storage platform that works on every device, DropBox is for you. 

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard of Alexa. Amazon’s virtual assistant is indispensably useful for anyone looking to organize their lives and homes. She can read your messages, tell you the news, shop for you online and so much more. If you’ve recently hopped on the bandwagon and gotten an Amazon Echo, you’re probably on the look-out for great gadgets to pair with it. Which ones are the best? Which cool functions did you not even know you could tie into Alexa? Let’s get into it! 

Robot Vacuum 

Photo Credit: Amazon 

Robot vacuums, like the picture iRobot Roomba 690, are awesome with Alexa. No one wants to do chores, but with a voice-activated robot assistant, vacuuming is easy. Just call out to Alexa and tell her to vacuum the house for you, and, boom! That’s one less chore on your to-do list. Not to mention, you’ll feel like Tony Stark, commanding your robot fleet with your voice. Well, not quite a fleet, but you know, it’s the thought that counts! In any event, you can find the iRobot Roomba on Amazon for $300, and the rest of the Roomba line is awesome too. Check it out! 

Streaming Devices 

Photo Credit: Best Buy 

If you like controlling your TV with your voice, you’ll want an Alexa-enabled streaming device. We recommend the Amazon Fire TV Stick. However, the Amazon Fire TV Cube, a successor to the technology, was recently announced, so that one might steal the spotlight when it launches later this month. In either event, being able to tell Alexa which shows you want to watch is pretty sweet. It also helps you cut down on the number of remotes you have to juggle or trying to find the remote to play the next episode. The Fire TV Stick is $40, and the TV Cube will go for $120 when it launches.  

Smart Bulbs 

Photo Credit: Amazon 

The first of Alexa’s compatible devices, Philips Hue is still the best in this field. Commanding your room to illuminate with your voice is not only convenient, it’s very safe! Entering a dark room and unable to find the light switch? Call out for Alexa to turn the lights on! You can also change the color of the lights to change the mood of the room. Having company over for the evening? Consider casting a soft, pink glow over the room!  

Smart Thermostat 

Photo Credit: Amazon 

A must-have for Alexa users, smart thermostats are great at helping you save energy and stay comfortable. Programming automation is a breeze with products like the picture Nest Learning Thermostat. Setting your thermostat with your voice is much easier than having to fiddle with tons of menus. Setting your thermostat to “away” mode as you leave the house is easy to forget, so getting to automate it can really help your power bill. A Nest Thermostat runs about $220. 

Security Cameras 

Photo Credit: Arlo 

Alexa is awesome for streamlining your home security cameras. The pictured Netgear Arlo Q works with Alexa and can be displayed on Echo Show and Amazon Fire TV. You can use your voice to arm and disarms cameras in different parts of the house. You can also remotely view the camera’s feed, which is great for when you’re on vacation or keeping an eye on pets at work.Security and convenience in one package, how awesome! This one would set you back only $150. 

Smart Plugs 

Photo Credit: CNET 

Smart plugs, like Belkin’s Wemo ($30 from Amazon), can turn any electronic device into a smart device. Effectively a glorified on-off switch that connects to Alexa, Wemo is great for lamps or appliances you don’t want powered on all the time. Fans and hairdryers come to mind immediately. You can control them with your voice, of course, or set them on schedules. If you get home from work late every night and want to make sure the lamp in your living room is on when you get home, you can schedule that! 

Doorbell Cameras 

Photo Credit: SkyBell 

If you’re a fan of security, doorbell cameras are great smart home gadgets. The SkyBell HD doorbell camera, pictured above, is a great pick. With Alexa functionality, you can use your voice to ask the virtual assistant to take stills or video of the doorbell cam. You can even have Alexa display the video on your Echo Show or Echo Spot. Or, if you’re entertaining company and don’t want to be bothered, you can disable the chime through Alexa. The SkyBell HD retails for $200, but you can find it for $160 through Amazon. 

Smart Locks 

Photo Credit: Kwikset 

A natural companion to a doorbell camera, smart locks like the Kwikset Kevo ($183 from Amazon) are a must-have for smart homes. When paired with the Kevo Plus Hub, which retails for an additional $100, enables a ton of smart features. For one, it allows you to use your smartphone to lock and unlock the door remotely, which is awesome for guests. Say you’re late getting home from work but your guests are already at your house. No sweat, just use the app and let them in! Similarly, if you’re expecting company but are upstairs when they arrive, Alexa could help. You could just tell Alexa to show you who’s at the door with your doorbell camera. Then, seeing it’s your friends, you tell her to unlock the door. Just like that, you’re a high-tech host.  

Smart Light Switches 

Photo Credit: Home Depot 

Smart switches like the pictured Lutron Caseda ($55) are awesome for controlling entire lighting systems. For instance, you could pair the Caseda to Alexa and use your voice to control all the lights in your living room. Saying, “Alexa, turn off all living room lights,” would bring down the entire system controlled by the Caseda. Trying to do that without a system hub would be a pain. Imagine having to tell Alexa to cut off four or five different smart bulbs! It’s doable, but far from optimal. If you plan to have complex lighting systems controlled by Alexa, a smart light switch is the way to go! 

Our Favorite Smart Home Gadgets: Smart Home Hubs 

Photo Credit: PC Mag 

While Alexa is handy, you can make her even more useful with automations. Automations make your smart home gadgets even smarter. For instance, when you say “Alexa, I’m getting ready for work,” she can unlock the door, set the thermostat to an “away” temperature and read you the news. How do you do that, you ask? Why, with a smart hub! By hooking some of your smart devices into your hub and programming automations, you’re that much closer to full control of your house with your voice. Pictured here is the Samsung SmartThings Hub, which retails for around $85. Treat yourself to a nice smart home system! 

Need coffee? K-cups are the most convenient and fastest way to get your daily dose of caffeine in the morning. Great for people always on the go, K-Cups are a godsend to working people and stay-at-home parents everywhere.

Available in grocery stores and other retail stores nationwide, K-Cups have come to dominate the coffee industry. With tons of K-Cup options and accessories available, you can find any flavor and type of coffee you can imagine, making for a whole lot of options, and with K-Cup refill filters, you can use any brand of coffee you prefer and save money. If you are interested in learning more about K-Cups where to get them at the best prices, read more below.

When they first came out, there were only a few choices of K-Cups available, now there are literally hundreds to choose from. You can find Keurig brand K-Cups at most stores including popular flavors such as Keurig’s Donut Shop coffee. If you aren’t sure which cups you might like, you can purchase a variety sample pack, just like the ones you might find included with your Keurig machine. If you already have a coffee brand you prefer, you can find both home-brew brands like Folgers and Café Bustelo, and coffee shop brands like Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee and Dunkin Donuts in a variety of their flavors. With these conveniently ready-to-brew pods, you can make coffee almost instantly – just turn on your Keurig coffee machine, load the pod, press the button and you’ll have a piping hot cup of coffee in less than a minute.

How You Are Overpaying Now

When it comes to replenishing your supply, there are a few different ways to go about it. The most expensive way is to buy your K-Cups in the store. Often, you’ll find K-cups in packs of 10 for around $6 or $7, but this is not the most economical option. This brings you to $0.70 per cup of coffee…

How to Save Now

When it comes to saving money, the key is to buy the larger boxes because, the more you buy, the more you can save in the long run. While the packs of 10 are great for trying out certain flavors, you can buy larger boxes of 60 to 75 K-Cups for $35 to $40 in wholesale stores like Costco, in some grocery stores like Ralphs, or even online from websites like Amazon. Doing this could bring you to $0.50 per cup of coffee or less, saving you almost a quarter each cup that you drink. If you are anything like our staff at GoodFind, that savings adds up very quickly.

With Amazon, you can subscribe and save on K-Cups, having your preferred brand and flavor ordered and shipped to you automatically each month. Another option for subscription services is to use Keurig’s Auto-Delivery service that allows you to buy all Keurig branded cups as often as you like with a savings of 25% off. There’s also premium coffee subscription services like Coffee cargo, where you can try premium coffees that you can’t get anywhere else.

Other Options

Another great way to fill up is with refillable options. With K-Cup refillable pods and filters, you can use literally any coffee you prefer, because you can add your own ground coffee into the pod. This is a great way to get that same fresh ground taste right out of your Keurig machine. Refillable K-Cups called GoodCups can be purchased through Amazon and are loaded into the same spot where you would put your disposable K-Cups. Coffee Bean N Leaf Brews makes another great refillable coffee pod that is completely reusable and dishwasher safe. Of course, Keurig also makes their own refillable pod: the Keurig My K-Cup that allows you to use your own gourmet coffee by adding it to the filter provided. Replace the filter with the pod loader attached to your machine and you are ready to go. Using any refillable pod is not only a great way to have your favorite coffee not available in disposable cups, but it’s also great for the environment too!

Keurig Green Mountain said it plans by 2020 to change the plastic composition in the billions of K-cup single-serving coffee containers it sells annually, making them more lucrative to recyclers while removing one of the nagging complaints that mountains of the little pods are piling up in landfills.

“Our goal is 100 percent Keurig K-cup pods diverted from landfills by curbside recycling,” said Monique Oxender, the coffee brewer’s chief sustainability officer. “The consumer is going to brew it, peel and empty it, and pop the pod into the recycling bin in the same behavior they would do with a yogurt cup. We want them to make it a habit.”