Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Best 100 sites for bargain hunters [chapter 3]

Best sites for comparison shopping
BeatMyPrice.com. Once you've found an online price, log in here to see whether anyone else has found it cheaper. Or you could just type in what you'd like to spend and see what's out there. Either way, you might find a better deal.

BeatThat! If you find a better deal than what this comparison-shopping site finds, you can submit it and make some money. The site's blog talks less about specific products and more about the world of online shopping, making it a good place to get an overview before heading out into the world of deals.

DiscountMore.com. This search engine pulls up not only the top online stores, from Amazon.com to Target, but also scrapes hits from other search engines, including PriceGrabber.com and MySimon.

Best sites for saving and investing
Bankrate.com. Bankrate started out by tracking interest rates and now has a wealth of articles on most finance topics.

Findacreditunion.com. Credit unions offer better rates on savings and on loans than most banks. If you're not already a member, this handy tool helps you find credit unions you may be eligible to join.

Morningstar. Research stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other investments with the site's free content. A subscription gets you access to premium content, including analysts' reports.

Financial Engines. For $39 a quarter, you can get personalized investment advice to help you plan for retirement and pick the right funds for your 401(k), IRAs and other retirement accounts.

Best sites for paying for college
FinAid. This is an indispensable site for anyone hoping to navigate the choppy waters of financial aid, with some of the best information available anywhere on student loans.

Savingforcollege.com. When 529 college savings plans were created, accountant Joe Hurley was an early evangelist. He explains how they work, the details of each plan and how to choose the right one for your family.

Best sites for managing your credit
AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the government-run clearinghouse to get your legally mandated free credit reports -- you get one per year each from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Accept no imitations.

CardRatings.com. This site does more than highlight some of the best available credit card offers. It also advises users on how to best manage their credit, pay off debt and deal with credit crises. LowCard$.com and Index credit cards are good to check, too.

Credit.com. Two of my favorite credit experts, John Ulzheimer and Gerri Detweiler, contribute to this site, which educates users about all things credit-related.

CreditCards.com. Former Bankrate.com editor Dan Ray has added smart, timely content to what was once just a collection of credit card offers. You can search for those here too, of course, but also check out the breaking news stories, the advice and the expert Q&As.

CreditMattersBlog.com. Run by a former Wall Street reporter and soon-to-be lawyer, this blog tracks changes in the credit markets and has broken more than a few stories, including the one about American Express paying some customers $300 to close their accounts.

myFICO. If you're going to pay for a credit score (as opposed to a credit report, which you should never pay for), you might as well get a FICO, which is the scoring formula most lenders use. This is where you can buy FICOs for Equifax and TransUnion. (The third credit bureau, Experian, no longer sells FICO scores to consumers.) The site also has a lot of great information about how your scores are figured, what interest rates your scores qualify you for and how to improve your scores.

Best sites for real estate and mortgages
ThinkGlink.com. Ilyce Glink writes about all kinds of personal-finance matters, but her particular strength is real estate. Articles, Q&As and videos educate you about everything from buying your first house to swapping commercial property with a 1031 exchange.

Mortgage Professor's Web Site. Jack Guttentag is one of my go-to sources for mortgage insights, and his site helps consumers navigate the confusing world of home loans. Plus he has a chart of wholesale mortgage rates that's updated daily so you can see whether you're getting a good deal on your home loan or refinance.

HUD.gov. Wondering how to buy your first home? Concerned you might lose the one you have? The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offers links to housing counselors and a wealth of information about how to buy, and keep, your home.

Making Home Affordable. This government Web site offers self-assessment tools to determine whether you might be eligible for new loan modification or refinancing programs.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Best 100 sites for bargain hunters [chapter 2]

FreeShipping.org. Don't hit the "buy" button until you've searched this site for free shipping codes. You can set up e-mail alerts to be notified when your favorite stores offer same.

Red Tape Chronicles MSNBC reporter Bob Sullivan spots scams, uncovers fraud and warns about the many, many ways you get nickel-and-dimed -- and "dollared" -- to death, as well as how to fight back.

Shop It To Me. This is a clothing-alert site that lets you know in daily or weekly newsletters what clothing selections in your size are put on sale. Written in an upbeat, cheeky tone, the site is easy to use and guides you through the process. This site tends toward upscale merchants such as Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Banana Republic and Gap.

ShopLocal.com. This handy guide lets you look at store ads in your area. Compare prices on products at comparable stores. One interesting feature is that as soon as you log back in to the site, you get a notice about the number of sales in your area (typically in the thousands) and the amount you could save if you hit all of those deals (typically in the hundreds of thousands).

The best sites for bargain hunting
Ben's Bargains. Ben's is heavy on electronics and gadgets but throws in mentions of other deals as well. Ben's trackers automatically check with certain merchants on prices in certain categories and then present the information in an efficient manner, detailing the price drops and their recommendation for purchasing.

DealNews. This tops my list for bargain-hunting sites because it guarantees that the deals it highlights are the lowest prices the site could find for a particular item from a reputable store. I also like the fact you can rank the deals by "hotness" as well as by category and how recently the deal became available.

Ebates. Find online coupons and deals, and get rebates when you buy. Many of the rebates are less than 5%, however, so be picky. Shop around first to make sure you're actually getting the best deal.

FatWallet. Like eBates, FatWallet tracks deals and offers money back. You can set up alerts for specific items and find even more deals in the forum section.

MyBargainBuddy.com. This site focuses on deals that appeal to women, particularly moms and crafters. But the deals are solid, with the lists filled with 40% and 50% off deals. In addition, you can search by store for coupon codes.

Slickdeals. This site doesn't provide much guidance to distinguish run-of-the-mill discounts from great deals, but it's still packed with thousands of freebies, discounts, coupons and promo codes. The site also promises that no companies can buy placement in its front page listings.

The best sites for grocery savings
CouponMom.com. Track all the advertised and unadvertised sales at local grocery stores (plus Target and Wal-Mart) and learn when to combine a sale with Sunday newspaper coupons for the best discounts. CouponMom will direct you to the relevant week's circular so you clip only what you need.

The Grocery Game. The Grocery Game highlights sales and lets you know when to deploy your coupons, but it does so in a more user-friendly way than CouponMom.com. The difference will cost you: The Grocery Games charges a few bucks a month for its service.

Hot Coupon World. In addition to coupons, this site provides honest-to-goodness shopping and sales news, including which stores will no longer honor competitors' coupons. More than 50 forums address topics of interest to those who want to save money, spend wisely, create a business, etc.

Penny Pincher Gazette. Get an overview of all the grocery ads in your area, with the best deals highlighted by a five-star rating system that distinguishes the great deals from the minor discounts.

The best sites for coupons
Alex's Coupons. This site offers many of the coupon codes and discounts you'll find on other sites, with a twist: Some of the proceeds are donated to cancer charities.

CouponCabin. This site features printable and online coupons for daily and general use. If your grocery store accepts online coupons -- many don't -- visit here before you go.

CouponCode.com. One of the easiest sites to use, CouponCode lets you break down your coupon search in various ways: by coupons that expire soon or free shipping coupons, for example.

Coupon Mountain. Most of the coupons require you to spend a minimum amount before you can use the coupon, so this site is most effective if you already know what product you're interested in and how much you want to spend.

RetailMeNot.com. If I'm looking for an online coupon, chances are I'll find the best ones here. As with other sites, though, you have to watch for out-of-date coupons and those prone to technical difficulties.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Best 100 sites for bargain hunters [chapter 1]

Here are my favorite Internet destinations for saving money, time and headaches. All are worth a bookmark. If you've got one of your own, chime in.

The best sites for saving money
Bargaineering. Jim Wang's blog offers plenty of good personal-finance content along with reviews of banks, credit card offers, books and products.

Consumerism Commentary. Track blogger Flexo's net worth as he and partner Smithee write about saving money on everything from banking to travel.

The Dollar Stretcher. If this site has had a major redesign since its launch in 1996, I missed it. But you don't need fancy graphics when you have a huge library of articles and tips about saving money. Even black-belt frugality experts will find new information here.

Financial Integrity. This is the site run by the New Road Map Foundation and Vicki Robin, a co-author of the seminal voluntary simplicity guidebook "Your Money or Your Life." Learn the steps to create financial freedom and align your financial life with your personal values.

Get Rich Slowly. Blogger J.D. Roth dug his way out of debt and tells you how you can, too. An active community of readers provides additional insights and commentary.

The Simple Dollar. Like Roth, Trent Hamm has experienced and conquered debt. He grew up in poverty and understands how early deprivation can lead to later disasters with money.

The Simple Living Network. Followers of voluntary simplicity will find just about everything they need here, including articles, discussion forums and links to a range of like-minded sites.

Smart Spending. Yeah, it's cross promotion, but MSN Money's Smart Spending blog is still one of my favorite places to check for savings tips, commentaries on frugality and a roundup of good deals around the Web.

Wise Bread. A variety of voices enlivens Wise Bread, a site devoted to helping you "live large on a small budget." In addition to personal finance and frugal living, Wise Bread provides commentary on careers and "life hacks."

The best sites for savvier spending
Angie's List. Need to find a good contractor, a reliable handyman, an honest plumber or a warmhearted pediatrician? You'll find them and more on this consumer review site, which now has more than 750,000 members contributing and searching reports on local businesses. Membership fees vary by city but are typically around $5 a month to $40 a year.

BillShrink. Get a better deal on credit cards and cell phone plans by answering a few questions about your bills. BillShrink analyzes your situation and matches you up with competitive offers.

The Budget Fashionista. You can look good for a lot less if you follow Kathryn Finney's smart advice, sales alerts and budget shopping tips.

Facebook users: Become a fan of Liz Pulliam Weston

Consumer Reports. The venerable consumer-products-testing organization has an easy-to-use site with plenty of free information, but it's well worth the $26 annual subscription to have access to all the detailed ratings.

The Consumerist. Now owned by Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, this irreverent site alerts readers to scams, customer-service nightmares, great deals and money-saving opportunities.

Edmunds.com. There are plenty of car price research sites on the Web, but Edmunds distinguishes itself with the True Cost to Own feature, which predicts how much each vehicle will cost in maintenance, repairs, insurance and depreciation over time, as well as in-depth articles such as the must-read "Confessions of a Car Salesman."

ePinions. "Unbiased reviews by real people" of an amazing variety of stuff. You can find ratings of products, companies, books, music and more.