Spruce Up Your Smartphone to Save -- Savings Experiment

Everyone wants to have the latest and greatest gadget, but tech items often come with hefty price tags. So, if you're looking for a new smartphone but don't want to pay $500 for one, sprucing up your existing phone can be the next best thing. Here's how.

First, clean up your hard drive. Photos, music and apps can eat up precious memory, causing your device to run slow. According to LifeHacker, a good rule of thumb is to leave 500MB to 1GB of free space to ensure the best performance. Check your settings and look at your usage or data usage. You should see menu options that allow you to delete the apps and photos you don't need.

If your web browser seems to be sluggish, clear your cache. Your cache is an archive of searches, sites visited and images viewed. The stored information is generally helpful, but accumulated data can slow down your internet browsing. Check your settings, find your browser and go ahead and hit "clear cache." Menu options vary with each phone, so be sure to consult your device's manual first.

If your phone isn't keeping up with your lifestyle, consider cleaning it up before you invest in a new one. With a few simple steps, you could be saving yourself a bundle.