Cheapskate
I seek out the cheapest methods of acquiring anything and everything.
Flights
Mass monitoring round trip flight prices using Google Flights
The most useful feature in Google Flights is this table called Date grid that shows you all the prices in a 7x7 grid - 7 days of outbound flights matched with 7 days of return flights. The priced shown are the cheapest round trip for that date pair. With this, I can monitor 49 round trip prices at once.
Assuming you have a target date range for your travel, you can then set your flights dates like this in Google Flights to control the Date grid boundaries.
Outbound flight: Earliest date plus 3 days, e.g. July 27 + 3 days = July 30
Return flight: Latest date minus 3 days, e.g. August 18 - 3 days = August 15
Now to monitor this and notify me when there are changes, I use this tool https://changedetection.io/ I self-host this for free but you can subscribe to their service for $9 a month.
This is how it looks like in ChangeDetection.io:
For my planned travel, I have target ranges of dates for both outbound and return, and I divide them into 7 day segments. I create unique URLs in Google flights manually for each of these target dates. Example is https://www.google.com/travel/flights/search?tfs=CBwQAhovagcIARIDQkVSagcIARIDUVBQEgoyMDIzLTA3LTIzcg0IAxIJL20vMDE5NXBkKAIaL2oNCAMSCS9tLzAxOTVwZBIKMjAyMy0wOC0xNXIHCAESA0JFUnIHCAESA1FQUCgCcAGCAQsI____________AUABQAFAAkACSAGYAQE&curr=EUR
Use this URL https://changedetection.io/share/YyFkaFF8brca when creating a new change detection watch and just update the URL in the edit screen to match your preferences.
There's a section "Trigger/wait for text" where you can input a regex that can detect if your target price has been reached. Mine is set at /€[1-2],[0-9][0-9][0-9]/ which means notify me when round trip tickets are between €1,xxx to €2,xxx.
Another great thing about Google Flights is that it supports searching for flights from multiple airports to multiple airports. Example: I don't mind flying from Hamburg and Frankfurt too in addition to Berlin as they're both directly accessible by train. Same with going to Philippines, I don't mind if we land in MNL or CRK. Google Flights supports this, you just have to click the "+" button in there.
After you've setup where to send the notifications, you can save the monitor and that's it.
Subscriptions
Youtube Premium
Tired of paying high prices for Youtube Premium in your country? Did you know that you can actually get a cheaper subscription by using a Philippines VPN? It's true as I just got it working here in Germany.
Note: you can replace Philippines with any other country that has a cheaper Youtube Premium subscription, e.g. Turkey, Argentina, etc. Check the prices here.
First, you'll need to get a VPN from a reliable provider. We recommend checking out PHVPN, which offers super affordable plans and reliable service. Once you've signed up, connect to a server located in the Philippines.
Once you have your VPN and credit card set up, you can sign up for Youtube Premium now. Simply navigate to the Youtube Premium page. You'll be asked to enter your credit card information, which should go through without any issues.
After you've signed up, disconnect the VPN and you'll be able to enjoy all the benefits of Youtube Premium at a fraction of the cost.
One thing to keep in mind is that this method may violate Youtube's terms of service, so use it at your own risk. However, many people have reported success with this method and it's a great way to save money on a service that you use every day. No more ads! Happy streaming!
Cheaper prices in Google Play
Might be applicable only if you are in the European Union. Create a new Google Account, or you can also reuse an existing one. The only requirement here is that there's no associated Payments account yet.
Go to this page and create a new address. Use these details:
Alsancak
35220
Konak/İzmir
Türkiye
As you can see here, we're setting the account's country to Turkey. Why?
Germany:
Turkey:
| App name | Germany price | Turkey price, conversion | Difference |
| Minecraft | €7.99 | TRY 154.99, €5.49 | €2.5 |
| Football Manager 2023 Mobile | €4.99 | TRY 124.99, €4.43 | €0.56 |
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | €5.49 | TRY 22.99, €0.82 | €4.67 |
| Dead Cells | €4.99 | TRY 12.99, €0.46 | €4.53 |
The same payment card details in Germany work for Turkey. That's all there is to this.