Travel
- Ready to start seeing the world? It's smaller than you think, when you go via the COUCHSURFING Project. Use this site to find people who are willing to host you on their couches!
- YAPTA sends you price drop alerts on flights and hotels. If the price of your airline ticket drops below what you paid, Yapta will alert you when you're eligible for a refund from the airline!
Movies/Music/Entertainment
- Find the cheapest prices for hard-to-get sports, concert and theater tickets at TICKETPREDATOR.COM. The site compares prices on tickets from hundreds of ticket brokers in the U.S. and Canada.
- Get free movie rentals from Redbox using their CODES.
- Want to re-live those classic rock concerts from the 60’s and 70’s for free? Then go to WOLFGANG”S VAULT where you’ll find streaming audio from over 50 artists.
- RADIOLOVERS offers hundreds of vintage radio shows all for free.
- Learn how to get all the free music you ever wanted at MYMUSIC.
- Trade your used books, music, DVD's, & video games for like items at SWAPTREE.COM. Simply set up an account and find other users willing to receive - and all for the price of postage.
Credit/Credit Cards
- SIMPLEDOLLAR hasa step-by-step guide to getting your credit card interest lowered.
- Clark Howard has the ultimate guide to credit at everything you need to know about your credit.
- Hassled by debt collectors? Know your rights by reading the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.
- How long will it take to pay off that credit card? Find out with this CALCULATOR.
Housing/Renting
- Are you renting? This neat tool lets you see if you are paying too much. It is called RENTOMETER and is so simple to use!
- Want to cut back on your household expenses? THISOLDHOUSE.COM has a list of 50 DIY tips for your house, each of which can save you between $50 and $500 apiece.
- If you need help avoiding foreclosure, head to DOUGHROLLER.NET. The website has links to government and other websites with information on how to keep your home.
- Need to cut the cost of moving into a new residence? FREECARDBOARDBOXES.COM .
- Should I rent or buy? Find out with a detailed analysis at REALTOR.COM.
Solar
- Power virtually all your electronic devices with SOLAR POWER CHARGERS.
- Does solar power make sense for you? Find out with this quote at SUNGEVITY.
- Get all you accounts in one place with powerful budgeting tools using MINT.COM.
- CHECKINGFINDER is a website where you can search by zip code for high-interest checking account offers.
- MONEYAISLE forces banks to bid on the highest interest rate.
Autos
- Search for new and used autos at ALLAUTOSITES. The site lets you pick search parameters including make, model, price and location. I have also found great information about vehicles at WIKICARS and NADA.
- Tired of paying a mechanic for every minor tune-up or repair to your automobile? VEHICLEFIXER.COM offers video guides to let you fix your automobile yourself and stretch your dollar.
- FRUGALMECHANIC.COM lets you comparison shop for auto parts from more than 50 different retailers.
- GETHUMAN has the direct customer service numbers for more than a hundred businesses, ranging from Avis to Time Warner Cable.
- VOIP-NEWS.COM has a list of 50 tips to get a real voice at any corporation in 10 seconds or less.
- Also check out NO PHONE TREES and DIAL A HUMAN.
Education/College
- Intellectually curious but can't afford tuition? ACADEMICEARTH.ORG has free lectures from some of America's most learned professors online.
- Check out my free education post and 4 Sites That Teach You How to Do Anything.
Shopping
- TINY MASSIVE
is an online search engine that combs the Web to find you the best deals on
just about any product you can think of. Simply tweet a search query to
@TinyMassive. It will then reply to your tweet with the number of results
matching your query. If you follow the link in the TinyMassive tweet, you'll be
brought to the results page.
When is the best time to buy …? Learn the day at the cheapest day to buy certain items. - FREE
SHIPPING offers coupons & coupon codes to over 800 Stores!
Tired of buying toys only to see your kids get bored with them? Try RENTAL TOYS for a low monthly membership fee. - SAVVYCIRCLE alerts members when the price drops on a "wish listed" item. The site supports most major retailers, so after adding products to your shopping list, the site "watches" the price and sends an email when the price drops.
- Discount women's, men's, and kid's shoes, plus clothing, handbags, & accessories can be found at 6PM.COM.
- WOOT is an online store that offers one product each day at substantial savings.
- DAILY STEALS and NEWATNOON are WOOT clones.
- Head on over to FROOGLES for bargains, free stuff, deals, closeouts, clearance, and overstocks.
- Find expert and user reviews on just about any product at PRICERUNNER.COM. The website is a shopper's delight that aggregates info on everything, from laptops to espresso makers, to help you make an informed shopping decision.
- SHORTCUTS coupons attach electronically to your participating grocery store loyalty card, so they are always with you when you shop!
Cell Phones
- Free comparison-shopping with your cell phone when you're in a store! How cool is that?
- Hunt for coupons on your cell phone with CELLFIRE.COM. The site lets you scour for discounts at your favorite stores and download them to your mobile phone.
- Send free text message using FREEETEXTSEND.
Giving to Charity
- GOODSEARCH.COM is a search engine that donates half its revenues to the charities its users designate. Yahoo powers it, so results are pretty good. Just 500 people searching 4 times a day can raise about $7,300 in a year!
- THEHUNGERSITE is another great way to give to charity just by clicking.
- Look for money a relative left you or perhaps an account you simply forgot about at MISSINGMONEY & UNCLAIMED
- Got stuff? Rent it out and make a little extra cash at CROWDRENT.
- If you have gift cards collecting dust, turn them into money at GIFTCARDRESCUE.COM. The website is a shopper's delight that lets you sell or exchange unused cards.
- Get cash for old or unwanted gadgets at GAZELLE.COM. The site pays for any tech item, no matter how old, and provides free shipping.
Saving Extra Money
- The FREECYCLE Network is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Their goal is to reduce waste by connecting individuals who are throwing away goods with others who are seeking them. They use Yahoo groups as their conduit so you must have a Yahoo user ID.
- Research, compare and lower your monthly bills with LOWERMYBILLS.COM. The website, gives you the inside scoop on finding the cheapest rates on home loans, credit cards and auto and health insurance.
- BIRTHDAYFREEBIES is the premiere place for finding birthday freebies, birthday offers, birthday specials, birthday deals and even birthday party venues from local and national businesses.
- Don’t like my money saving tips? Try the 50 ways to trim your budget.
- Want to save tens of thousands of dollars? Read how you can save $20,000 In 1 Year.
- 88 ways to save money, and counting... I love the way this expands like the old windows explorer.
- Giveaways are real popular in a bad economy. How do you find them? Go to the big list of giveaways.
- Get you hands on all that CONTRABAND TSA has been collecting at airports, and be sure to visit the PROPERTYROOM for incredible savings from this police auction online.
Miscellaneous
- Get all the information you need on federal recalls at RECALLS.GOV. A joint project of several government agencies, the website lets you search for product recalls and sign up for email alerts.
- Looking for love? These dating sites are advertiser supported – PLENTYOFFISH and DOWNTOEARTH.
- Avoid speeding tickets by utilizing this cool DATABASE OF SPEED TRAPS.
- Looking for free wi-f? Check out WIFIFREESPOT.COM or WIFIFINDER or WEFI.COM.
- Lost an owner's manual? Find it at OWNERIQ. The site also has user forums to help you operate any gadget.
- Check out the E-Justice Blog at CRIMINALJUSTICEUSA. The website has a list of 100 free do-it-yourself legal resources that can be found on the web.
- Got empty milk jugs? 35+ uses for plastic milk jugs.
Mainstream media continues to state that traditional IRAs are tax deferred until retirement. Well, that depends. If your IRA owns mortgage-leveraged real estate, you owe UBIT. If your IRA or 401(k) owns an active business structured as a pass through entity (such as an LLC or partnership), you owe UBIT. UBIT, or Unrelated Business Income Tax, applies to tax exempt organizations including retirement plans. To pay UBIT, Form 990-T must be filed with the IRS.
Gold is a very popular investment these days. Is it possibble to own collectibles such as art, coins, and physical gold inside an IRA? No. When an IRA purchases a collectible, the amount used to make the purchase is treated as distribution to the owner. It is included in the owner's gross income, and if the owner is under age 59½ and does not qualify for one of the exceptions, a 10% early distribution penalty is imposed on top of the income taxes.
A T-shirt a day has kept unemployment at bay for an American man who is making about $85,000 a year by selling advertising space on his torso.
Jason Sadler, 26, a former marketing professional from Florida, founded his own company, www.iwearyourshirt.com, in 2008 with the idea to wear a T-shirt supplied by any company and then use social media tools to promote the firm.
General Electric plans to close its only U.S. solar panel factory because production costs have exceeded sale prices.
The Fairfield, Conn.-based company said that silicon panel manufacturing at its facility in Delaware, will stop in January. GE will shutter the factory all together by June. The factory can produce 34 megawatts of solar panels per year and employs 82 people. GE plans to layoff the workers with severance packages.
The move reflects the tough times experienced by solar energy equipment makers worldwide as supply far exceeded demand over the past year. Recession and a big reduction in solar subsidies in Spain - once a booming market - are key contributors. Some manufacturers have seen prices for their products fall by anywhere from 30 percent to 50 percent over the past year.
Earlier this week, Marlboro, Mass.-based Evergreen Solar said it would move panel production from its factory in Devens, Mass., to China next year in order to cut costs.
Earlier this year, BP Solar announced it would close its solar panel factory in Maryland and outsource that work to a contract manufacturer. Last month, BP said it had hired Jabil Circuit to assemble panels at a Jabil factory in Poland.
Be sure to review my original blog post.
Mark Boyle (a.k.a. Saoirse, which is Gaelic for "freedom" and pronounced "sear-shuh") set up the Freeconomy website (http://www.justfortheloveofit.org). The idea is that like-minded people sign up, list their skills and donate them to others. In return they receive favours back. For instance, a hairdresser may give a mechanic a haircut and in exchange the mechanic would fix the hairdresser's bicycle. No money ever changes hands. The website appears to have been successful. Boyle says 4,200 people with 900 different skills from 85 countries have signed up.
Coast Guard officials in Duluth Minnesota say they’re planning a major enforcement effort on federally-navigable waters throughout the border country, and the fallout to local outfitters, fishing guides and others who carry passengers could be significant.
Some guides are already worried they could be among those operators forced out of business. Terry Sjoberg, who operates Ace Guide Service, and gets around with the assistance of a cane, worries whether he could pass the required physical or whether he’s mobile enough for the mandatory CPR training. Those requirements are just two on a laundry list of steps that operators will need to take to obtain a federal license and identification card. All boat operators will now have to pass a training course, a background check, and a drug screening. They also must be enrolled in a random drug and alcohol testing program.
Completing the list won’t come cheaply. A Coast Guard document indicates the required training course will cost $750, while the obtaining a federally-issued identification card runs $132.50. In addition, operators will also need to pay for drug testing, physicals, and CPR and first aid training. All together, it’s likely to run $1,200 to $1,300 said Sjoberg,
While the expense and hassle of compliance could prompt some guides or other boat operators to try to skirt the rules, that could prove very costly. If an operator is found operating without a license, or outside the scope of their license, the fine could be as much $27,500. Failure to be enrolled in a required drug testing program is subject to fines up to $5,500.
The Coast Guard has investigative powers that could thwart any efforts to get around the rules. For example, the Coast Guard can obtain an individual’s tax records to see if they reported income from guiding. It’s such powers that concern guides like Sjoberg, who worries he could be investigated if he can’t pass a physical to get licensed. “Will they be looking through my tax returns, or harassing me on the lake, to see if I’m still guiding?” he asked.
Rock Bottom Brewery in Chicago has a monthly tapping on a Thursday night. It is free to mug club members and you usually walk away with 2 free pints. BTW, the mug club is absolutely free to join. Check your local Rock Bottom to see if they have a similar deal.
The first Monday of every month, from 7pm - 9pm, Horseshoe Casino (Hammond IN) has a "beer of the month" tasting. You get to try a 2 ounce sample of the beer, but if you hang around, you usually get a refill. Last night, I got an entire snifter for free! And this was a huge 10% ABV beer.
This is a really cool widget. Kudos to Savings Advice. Every time you visit my blog and refresh this page, you get a new money saving tip!
Be sure to join the programs above the tip. They are legitimate money makers.
