Freelancers are moving towards the smart home age and it’s not just because people want voice-activated speakers or bragging rights. It is actually because smart home devices like
Amazon Smart Home Devices powered by Alexa can help make lives easier by saving more time and, not surprisingly, help freelancers be more productive. For the self-employed being more productive means of making money!
Amazon devices such as the Amazon Echo family may seem outwardly as pricey Bluetooth speakers, but coupled with Amazon’s Alexa technology (Alexa is a virtual assistant technology that powers every Amazon Echo device), the applications for Echo and other Amazon home devices are practically limitless.
To date, Alexa features more than 30 thousand skills and can help you automate your life to the very last detail if you know how – you can ask Alexa to do basically anything, from simple alarm-setting to cheering you up by telling a joke (yes, it’s true!).
Apart from the Amazon Echo, there are plenty of other smart home devices aimed at helping improve lives. Besides smart audio and home theaters, here are a few other Alexa-compatible smart home devices you can easily integrate into your home (the list is long and rapidly expanding):
- Lighting
- Outlets
- Thermostats
- Smart locks
- Cameras
- TV and Video
Now, how can these home devices help millennial families save time and money? Aren’t these smart home products expensive to begin with?
Families nowadays (whether millennial families or families with freelancers) are all about seeking solutions when it comes to lessening the cost of living and increasing their capacity to maximize their productive time.
It can be somewhat counter intuitive for families to invest in smart home devices. However, if you think about it, integrating Alexa-powered smart home devices is a smart move – an investment for the future, and one that’s able to free you more time and effort if you’d take the time to learn how.
21 Ways – Smart Home Devices Can Save Your Time And Money
Having said this, here are 21 ways how we think Alexa and Amazon smart home devices can help your family save more time and money and enjoy life money because it helps your work-life balance:
1. Reduce Energy Consumption
Since you can automate when your appliances will shut off, it’s easy to see how Alexa-powered devices can help you minimize your energy consumption. You can have Alexa to shut down your devices remotely, which also means less emergency trips at home in case you accidentally left your TV, lights, or other gadgets running.
2. Pay Cheaper Utility Bills
Perhaps one of the best things about Alexa-powered devices is their capacity to significantly reduce your utility bills. Automation is the core of Alexa and smart devices – you can schedule less running time for your lights, water, and thermostat, hence cheaper utility bills in the end.
3. Gain A Personal Assistant For Free
Frankly, most of us feel that a day is not enough to get everything done. But what if you can get help in scheduling what you need to do throughout the day or help in giving you advance reminders for important events? Alexa can do all that and more!
Sync your Echo device with Google Calendar and voila, Alexa can manage your appointments for you. Not only can you plot your year with Alexa’s help –
you can also use Alexa for virtually
almost anything (even for picking lottery numbers), especially now that Alexa skills are customizable (there’s actually a freebie kit to help you develop new Alexa skills).
4. Alexa, Your Personal Trainer
Don’t have time to hit the gym or can’t afford a personal trainer? Use Alexa as a personal trainer instead. There are plenty of Alexa skills to choose from to help you work-out, stretch and burn calories in the comfort of your own home.
5. Get Help With Homework (And Games)
Transform your smart home device into a homework hub through Alexa’s education function. Let your children use Alexa to help them hone their spelling skills or use Alexa skills to help you manage your course load – it’s up to you!
You can also play games after – choose among plenty of Alexa skills for games, like for instance, Bingo, Tic Tac Toe, Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock, and many more.
6. Gain Access To Exclusive Offers
Did you know that some Amazon deals are exclusive to Alexa and Prime members? You can simply ask Alexa to speak out the deals and let you know how much you can save on each offer.
7. Save Water
You can use Alexa to control your sprinkler system too! Alexa can help you be smarter when it comes to watering your garden – since you can use Echo to check the weather,
you can program Alexa to refrain from watering the plants when it’s raining or at least set a timer for watering your plants to save water.
8. No Leaks, No Problem
Keep track of your water pipe performance and detect leaks early through your smart home device. You can get your smart home device to notify you in case of leaks or unusual moisture build-ups at home so you can prevent costly, full-blown water disasters.
9. Transform Regular Appliances Into Smart Devices
Don’t have smart appliances? No problem! Alexa-compatible switches and outlets can help you transform regular appliances into smart home devices.
How? Simply plug in your old devices into Alexa-powered smart outlets and control them like their smart home devices to save energy and utility costs.
Check out how Marlene and Mariya use their Alexa powered Amazon Smart Home Devices in their everyday life! (You’ll love the video.)
10. Cut Costs In Music Streaming
Since you’re using Alexa and Prime, you can save in music costs too!
11. Get Early Warnings For Car Repairs
There are smart gadgets for your car like Automatic that you can connect with Alexa. The Automatic-Alexa tandem can help you diagnose car problems before they even happen, and this helps you save time and prevent expensive car disasters in the future.
12. Pay Bills On Time
If you have an Echo, you can use it to transfer payments and pay bills hassle free. For now, though, this feature is available only through some banks, but it will expand globally.
13. Feed Your Hunger For Information
No time to read books, watch the news, or browse the web for new info? Let Alexa do them for you! Not only can Alexa play your Audible audiobooks, Alexa can also search and read articles from the web.
You can ask Alexa anything – you can even ask Alexa about animals, plants, history, and other topics and Alexa will search the answers for you.
14. Voice Control Makes Things So Much Easier
Yes, everything is easier when they’re voice controlled! You can command Alexa to dim the lights, turn off the TV, get the right thermostat temperature, or remind your kids to do their homework.
15. Nobody Likes Traffic And Alexa Knows That
One of the ways you can use Alexa for is traffic – when programmed, you can use Alexa to evaluate your commute and inform you how long your route will take you to the office.
Through this function, you’ll be able to save considerable time and money as you avoid traffic-heavy routes to work.
16. Remove The Weather Guesswork
Save time picking out your clothes through Alexa’s help – you can have Alexa inform you about the local weather so you can avoid ruining your suede shoes or favorite leather jacket in the rain.
17. Use Alexa To Order Your Meals
Too tired to cook or eat dinner out? Alexa’s got your back! With Alexa’s Restaurant Skill, you can easily order your meals from restaurants in your locality within Alexa’s network and previous program experience.
If in case you’re undecided, you can also have Alexa recommend restaurants based on your preference or help you explore more exotic food choices near you.
18. Be Your Own Professional Chef
Whether you want to learn to cook for love of family or for helping cut your costs in eating out, Alexa’s the perfect AI for the job.
Browse through thousands of recipes and meal suggestions using Alexa, use Alexa to make you a shopping list, and ask Alexa to time your cooking so you end up with perfect meals!
19. Don’t Have Time To Shop? Do Voice Shopping Instead!
Not everyone has the liberty to shop at the local mall or spend hours on the web through online shopping (freelancers, you know what I mean).
Using Alexa though, you can do voice shopping instead – shop using your Amazon Prime account and let Alexa do the work – you can ask Alexa for, say, a coffee maker and Alexa will evaluate your past orders or make new brand suggestions for you.
20. Save On Cab Fares Through Uber
If you’re one who’s tired of surcharges on Uber, you might want to use Alexa to help you out. Not only can Alexa help you book your rides on Uber – this helpful assistant also gives you a heads up concerning price surges in your area.
21. Protect Your Assets
Protecting your valuables from getting taken is one good way of saving money, well, since you don’t have to buy replacements for these stolen things. Smart locks powered by Alexa can help make your home more secure since they help prevent break-ins,
but they can also help you save more money since some of these locks double as your security guards by tracking in and out the activity and notifying you of unusual activities when you’re away – pretty awesome, right?
Whether you’re a millennial family struggling to juggle personal life, work life, and finances or a freelancer who’s got no extra time for errands – we believe that Alexa-powered devices can help make your lives better.
Yes, you may need to spend a few more dollars for smart home devices, but if you think of these devices as an investment for a better future, you’ll see that they can actually help you save more money, make your life more convenient, and allow you more time you can use for more important things.
