Look at the installed programs inside your computer and start by deleting any application you’ve used in yesteryear, try not to need anymore. Now get the exact programs that you are using. If you have two or more applications of exactly the same type write down only your preferred. Underline those that are not free.
Now you have an over-all view of all the software you’ve, both paid and free.
Search for alternatives
For each paid program you’ve installed, look for free alternatives. You might find it tough to select one so to ease in the process, read some reviews and study the characteristics and drawbacks of every program. This might seem complicated, but it’s actually not. Any good application continues to be reviewed at least several times on well-known websites. If you can’t find any reviews for any program this means it isn’t trustworthy or it is extremely new.
A great review will include the program’s features and issues/bugs (if any), some screenshots using the UI and system requirements (so you can be sure it really works on your pc).
When free is not enough
If for instance you’ll need a powerful image editing application and the free ones you’ve tried are simply insufficient in terms of functionality it’s OK to say no to freeware and buy the application you need. The same goes for the instances when you have a paid program but can’t find an affordable solution at all.
Other than that, when you do look for a free app to replace a paid one don’t hesitate to do this. Even replacing 5 programs can help you save a great deal of money. Some programs actually have a yearly license renewal (if so you’ll be saving much more money).
How to locate free applications
Finding free applications shouldn’t be a problem. There are numerous websites that offer free software application downloads as well as the trial versions of paid applications, all legally of course. An easy search on the Internet will disclose dozens of them. You need to be careful to download the initial setup file, as some websites wrap applications in their own individual installers, which also include toolbars, search engines along with other third-party applications.
Whenever you finish analyzing your software list, and made the potential replacements summarize the license costs of the commercial apps you are not using anymore to see how much cash you were able to save.