In October, Ting shared a holiday shopping survey to learn about people’s shopping habits, both online and in store. Ever wonder how people manage to save during the busiest shopping season of all?

We rounded up five shopping tips based on data from our holiday survey to help you get the upper hand this holiday season. These tips will help you save, get the right gift and make the most of the technology you have at your fingertips every day.

One interesting insight we discovered was how phones help people find deals and make purchase decisions. 

Looking for more tips? We’ve got a ton of tech tips here on the blog. Hungry for more holiday shopping data? Keep an eye on the Ting blog, we’ll be releasing more insights soon.

Have you noticed how everything is getting smart these days? Smart parking meters, smart bike stations, even things that might not be as obvious, such as garbage bins, soil monitors, water meters, electric meters — you get the picture. These things are all a part of the Internet of Things, and one of the best ways to put the Internet in these objects is with Narrowband IoT, or Nb-IoT for short.

What is Narrowband IoT?

Nb-IoT is a network of simple devices that can run on carrier networks — including Ting! Nb-IoT was standardized in 2016 by 3GPP and is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after options of low power wide area (LPWA) technology by offering condition and performance analysis in real time.

Narrowband can support about 250 kilobytes of uplink and downlink rather easily. While that might not sound like much, Nb-IoT is perfect for those IoT devices that use a small amount of data to function over a long period a time.

How to be frugal in eight simple ways

If you haven’t heard about the cult of thrift, it’s basically a lifestyle commitment to saving more and spending less. Sounds simple, right? Being thrifty or frugal can look easy on its face, but it requires some real mental realignment in terms of how you move through the world as a shopper and spender. We’re going to show you how to be frugal. It’s not hard to save money when you have the right tools and the right outlook on life.

Read on for our intro to frugal living, and how spending less relates to retiring early, getting out of debt and more.

Your protections under the OTARD law

2018 has been a great year for over-the-air TV and, with the new 3.0 OTA standard on the horizon, your antenna is about to get better with free 4K over-the-air. Yet, we often hear that a homeowners’ association (HOA), or a similar group, attempts to block someone from installing an antenna on their condo or house. However, the OTARD (Over-the-Air Reception Devices) law is clear on this; you have every legal right to install an antenna, even on a condo, if you own it or have an exclusive use area of your rental property.

You may be interested to learn that the FCC’s OTARD law further prohibits most restrictions that an HOA might try to enforce, such as preventing installation, maintenance or use of an antenna, or unreasonably increasing the cost to do so.

The rule also applies to rental properties where the renter has an exclusive use area, like a balcony or patio. This includes condominium owners, co-op owners and tenants, townhomes, manufactured homes and single-family homes as well. The rule does not apply to common areas such as the roof or exterior walls of multi-dwelling units.

Looking to save money this holiday season? Here’s our list of the best shopping apps

Frugal, savvy spenders will want to check out this roundup of the best shopping apps. It’s never too early to start thinking about holiday shopping, especially if you want to crush your budget goals and get the best deals.

We’ve covered lots of money saving apps here on the Ting Blog, and the three apps we’ll talk about today will help you save and be a more conscious shopper. You don’t have to break the bank to get everyone on your list the perfect gift. We’ve put together a list of apps and some other helpful shopping hacks to get the best price no matter what you’re looking to buy.

We recently decided to launch a fun #TingIt social media contest where we’ve been inserting a Ting sticker into every Ting SIM card we ship out and asking you to stick it, snap it and share it for a chance to win $100 in Ting credit. Each month we’ll select the two $100 credit winners, picking our two favorites across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Thinking of the perfect spot to #TingIt? If you don’t need a new SIM card but would like the chance to win $100 in Ting credit, submit your info in the form below. We’ll send you a free Ting sticker, no strings attached.

Take a look at some previous #TingIt submissions: