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I was thinking about what tools I use, and noticed that there are actually quite a lot. Then I was thinking about what tools do I use and actually pay for to use them? This narrowed the list down quite a bit, which, made me and my wallet a bit more happy. Still, I do pay quite an amount of money to use these tools, but ey, the tools do rock! Just to put it down again for myself, I thought it would be nice to make a little roundup of these tools. And hell, maybe you like some of these so you can start paying those tool-builder guys some money as well!

Evernote is one of my favorite tools. I use it to store about everything I need to remember. Ey, a mind can remember loads of stuff, but not everything. So, Evernote’s slogan remember everything was good enough for me to persuade me into using it. But seriously, this is an awesome tool! You can use the free version as well by the way. I started out using the free version as well, but since this tool got more and more important to me, I decided to go premium. Not only do I think it’s fair to pay if you make extensive use of a service, but I also feel better that my data is safer, because I pay to store it. Now, I know that the fact that I pay for a service means that I can never ever lose my data, but at least it gives me the opportunity to bitch at someone if it does get lost. When you use something for fee, you lose the right to bitch if you ask me…

So, why is this tool awesome? Check it out here and decide for yourself if you think I’m an idiot to be using this or not…

Oh yeah, I pay to use gmail,gcal and other Google services. Why? Because I think gmail is the most kick ass mail tool around. So why do I pay for this while the free version is just as good? Well, kind of the same story as with Evernote or any other payed service I use: I feel better and saver when paying for tools that contain data which is very, very important to me. That’s why…

This is where I keep my photo’s. And yes, pictures are extremely valuable! Just to me ofcourse, as your pictures are extremely valuable just for you. Anyway, SmugMug is an awesome tool to keep you pictures save! And yeah, it does look cool too! Check out my SmugMug page to see what I mean. And yes, I know that I did not customize it yet… The reason I pay for this service is because, well, I already said it: pictures are important! Besides having a nice way of displaying these pics, it is also a great way of backing your stuff up. All pics are uploaded and kept in the original format, so if my hard disk ever breaks down, not to worry! I can download all my albums again. Hell, SmugMug does even send you a bunch of dvd’s if you can’t/won’t download. This one really is worth a look and your money if you ask me.

Yeah, as I mentioned before, I just cannot remember everything… That is why I use Passpack to store my passwords. And trust me, it is safe! And it makes logging into different services a breeze. Why do I pay for this? Well, besides the fact that my passwords are quite important, I also like to support cool services to keep being a cool service. And Passpack charges just a little bit, so I have no trouble with paying cool dudes.

Yeah, this tool I actually only use to sync my gcal with my mobile phone. This is cause I have a Nokia phone and the syncer that google provides just doesn’t do the job. Goosync appears to be a master at doing this right, so yeah, I’m willing to pay for that. I got myself a lifetime subscription, so I never have to worry anymore…

Now this is really an awesome tool! Loved it ever since I started using it. Sure, they have a free plan, but 2gb of data just doesn’t cut it for me. Oh, what is it? Dropbox is a sync tool, which allows you to sync data between several computers and the interwebz. Seriously don’t mind paying for this tool, because it saved my life at several occasions, especially because of it’s time-machine. If you don’t know Dropbox you seriously should check it out! Start here. Trust me, you’ll love it!

This one is one I do not pay for. Yet… I’m using it more and more lately, so I think it would only be fair to pay some bucks to the Rememberthemilk.com dudes. This is the most awesome tool to manage your todo’s. Well, it is when you ask me that is of course. Well, go judge for yourself here.

Ah, writing down why the hell I pay for these services really made me feel better again! Seriously, you have to think about where and why you spend your money. Money still is not very easy to come by, right? I have to work hard for da money, so it is good to spend some time evaluating where you spend it. Anyway, I know I’m doing the right thing again. And ey, maybe some of these services do it for you as well!