You probably already know that a VPN can have some pretty significant benefits, including safe use of public Wi-Fi, additional security when shopping and banking, and censorship avoidance. What you may not know, however, is that having a VPN can also save you money on some of the things that you enjoy doing, and in this article, we’ll show you how!
What is a VPN?
A Virtual Private Network basically creates a secure tunnel between users to enable the safe sharing of data within a team or group of people. 31% of all internet users use a VPN to keep their data safe and secure.
VPN for budget busting
With ever tightening budgets, we all like to save a bit of cash where we can and, in this section, we’ll take you through some of the ways that a VPN can help you to do that:
A lot of businesses amend the prices of their products and services depending on location – this means that, for example, if you live in London, you may find yourself paying more for the same product than a customer in Krakow. A VPN hides your IP address and, therefore, your location, to allow you to ‘fool’ websites into believing that you are in a certain region. You can do this by first determining the correct location and then finding that location within your VPN server.
What can you save money on?
There are a number of things for which you can grab a discount using a VPN, and some of these are:
Hardware
For many businesses and individuals, hardware is a necessary but expensive purchase and one which can make a significant dent in a budget. An example of how a VPN can save you money on hardware would be that of the iPhone 13 Pro – if you were shopping for this coveted phone in The Netherlands, you could expect to pay around $1300 whereas, in the United States, that same model will set you back just $999 – a cool saving of $300.
Streaming
Over a billion people worldwide now use at at least one video streaming service – and these services certainly kept many of us going during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Netflix, Amazon Prime and Google Play are all extremely popular streaming services. The cost of a subscription to these services and customers in the USA save the equivalent of three months subscription compared to the less fortunate users in Mexico.
Dating Apps
These days, lots of people enjoy using dating apps to find love, and while the song may tell you that ‘love doesn’t cost a thing’, that’s not quite the case – particularly if you live in The Netherlands, where membership costs 24.90 Euros for Hamburg based app, Parship. The same membership costs customers in Mexico just 8.93 Euros.
Come fly with me
Now that the world is opening up once again, many people will be eager to book those summer holidays – but before you book that flight, it’s a good idea to use your VPN to see how much you might be able to save by switching to a different location as flight prices change constantly.
Recycling for money savings
One slightly cheeky but significant way of saving money with a VPN is to take advantage of free trials. While you may already be doing this, there’s a good chance that you’re taking advantage of your free trial and then either forgetting about it or shelling out for a paid subscription. A VPN allows you to switch your location to grab yourself a second (or third) free trial in order to stretch your budget that little bit further.
Conclusion
While these savings may not make you a millionaire anytime soon, over time, they can be significant – and the great thing is that grabbing these savings should take no more than a few minutes. Try shopping around by setting your VPN to different locations to check out the cost differences before committing to a purchase.
Anton Tkachev, CEO at browsec.com
