Hey there! Congratulations on reaching my blog.
With luck, you will learn a few things in my future posts regarding living a financially free lifestyle. For now, however, let me introduce myself.
I am The Freemium Fellow—connoisseur of cheap alternatives to popular products and services
Before jumping into the blog post, I would like to say that this blog probably isn’t going to be perfect. In fact, I am certain I will make mistakes. You might be thinking to yourself, “Why would I want to read something that isn’t perfect and even goes as far as to highlight its misgivings?” Simply put, I really want this blog to reflect my thought process. Therefore, a couple of mistakes here and there accurately represent what I really am… Human!
There are a few reasons I decided to start this blog, but the main one, which I imagine is fairly common, is that I want to document my own scatterbrained thoughts. Blogging is a platform for putting forth information that I really enjoy as a reader, so I’m trying it out myself.
In my mind, there isn’t one way to achieve expertise in the field of blog writing; sometimes, the most rewarding achievements can come from looking back at past posts and realizing how far one has come. Hopefully, one day I can look back and see just how far I’ve come as a blog writer.
In writing, the technique “show, don’t tell” is often employed to allow the reader to experience a story through actions, words, thoughts, and senses instead of bland description. As you would probably agree, an exciting story is almost always better than a dull one. That is how I am approaching the authorship of this blog. Something that you read on your spare time shouldn’t be boring. It should be exciting and entertaining!
My hope is that I can achieve a nice balance between exploring money saving techniques and recording my own personal journey of life. With luck, I might know some tips to save money that you have not heard before. For now, however, my aim isn’t so much to teach lessons about saving money as much as it is to show you how I am saving money. After all, I’m still learning too!
Without further ado, enjoy my first post that, partially, unearths the mystical mind of The Freemium Fellow.
Freemium Fruition
One of my all-time favorite books is called Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius. I am continually amazed by the book’s simple writing style, which enables me to relate to its topics well over a thousand years after it was written! Although there is a plethora of literature that very well might erupt the same emotions, this book was the one that introduced to me the meaningful impact that words can have. Most importantly, this book showed me the value of personal documentation regarding one’s hobby.
Aurelius’ hobby, it is fair to say, was that of Stoic philosophy, which emphasized self-restraint, duty, and respect for others. I believe that one of my hobbies is to live in a way that alleviates financial burden and, at the very least, find joy in low-cost alternative products. Blogging is the portal through which I can show you how it goes.
This quote, from the ancient Roman emperor and avid Stoic, does a number when it comes to summing up my personal creed.
My true self is free. I cannot be contained.
Free, as you could imagine, is what inspires the name Freemium.
What does Freemium Mean?
Freemium sounds a lot like premium, but there is a lot in-between. Here is the official definition, which was coined in 2006.
Freemium: a pricing strategy by which a product or service is provided free of charge, but money (premium) is charged for proprietary features, functionality, or virtual goods.
Initially, as you can see by its definition, the term was meant to describe a pricing strategy. The most common example I give when explaining it to people is an app.
Odds are that, if you have a smartphone, you have downloaded an app off of either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Oftentimes, there is a “lite” version of an app offered by developers that allow for users to test out an app instead of buying it for say, $0.99. Similarly, an app may be free, but one has to pay to attain certain victual goods or added functions.
This is freemium, and it is a benefit and a curse.
On one hand, you get to enjoy the functionality of an app for free that you would otherwise have not been able to use at all. However, you are also tempted by the enticement of being able to get more functionality if you pay just a little bit of cash. As you could imagine, app developers make quite a bit of money off of the latter option.
The question I continually ask myself is why does using nontraditional services, that just happen to use the freemium business model, in place of normal, premium services have to end with just an app? Surely, there must be more services that use this freemium pricing strategy as well.
My job, as The Freemium Fellow, is to look for them.
Moving Forward
The obsession that I have with freemium isn’t just being content with the lite version of a smartphone app. My goal is to expand its meaning into not only a business strategy but also a lifestyle. Its meaning goes deeper than just products and money. Being content with my possessions, but still using something similar to others, has resulted in massive benefits. Not only have I cut down on my unnecessary expenditures, but I have gained more time truly living.
Just as some people are minimalists, vegetarians, or gluten free, I like to think of myself being along the same lines. Instead of choosing what food to eat, I just choose what stuff to spend my money on. This lifestyle choice is one that I believe beckons for further pondering into matters of financial freedom and yearns for the expulsion of my thoughts and experiences for others to learn from. Maybe this world isn’t meant for a living style such as this, but what can I say.
I’m a freemium kind of fellow, and I’m going to give it a shot.
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