We just heard that we are officially in a recession; although the powers that be say it officially started over a year ago. I have been writing post about useful web sites as reported by PC World. I am continuing on my with my series and these are about websites to help us survive the recession. The funny thing is the PC World I am getting this from is the November edition and they have the category “Survive the recession” but we just now hear that it is official. I guess they knew it, just like the rest of us, before it was official.
http://www.fuelly.com/ Fuelly is a site that allows you to track your gas mileage over time. It is a free site but you will need to join. Once you join you also have the opportunity to set up a profile. (On a side note I love anyplace where they allow me to put my website link and that was an option.) Once you have your site set up you will need to go and put your cars in then you can keep track of miles driven between fuel-ups or record your odometer at each fuel up. This way you can record and analyze your mileage and see how much money you can save with small driving changes. You can also see how your mileage compares with EPA estimates and the mileage of other drivers using Fuelly. They also have a mobile version so you can add data right from the gas pump.
http://www.retailmenot.com/ Here you can find coupons to try and offset the price of those items you are going to buy anyway. Again you set up a profile and yet again I was able to enter my website. (The cool thing about adding me website is that they don’t require me to reciprocate). According to PC World this is the biggest and probably best coupon shopper online. According to the site they have about 85,000 coupons. When you shop online you often see the place for an extra promotion code. I have always wondered how you found those discounts and this appears to be one of the places you can go to.
http://www.billshrink.com/ If you are considering changing your wireless service this is the place to go to. I decided not to join this one as we get a corporate discount through my husband’s employer but it is my understanding that you join put in your local wireless usage habits and your current plan. Bill shrink then recommends other plans available in your area that might be better for you.
http://www.prosper.com/ The way PC world describes this is like a dating site that brings people who want to borrow money together with people who want to lend money. Borrowers post their request and then lenders bid on the interest rate at which they are willing to loan all or part of the money. Again I did not sign up for this one as I’m in to paying bills off not borrowing more but if you find you need to borrow it is a resource to check out.
http://www.kiva.org/ This is kind of like prosper but with a twist. This site allows you to extend a loan to a person in an underdeveloped nation who needs the money to launch a small business. Their mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.
http://www.bankrate.com/ According to PC World this is the largest and most complete aggregator of financial rate that they have seen on the web. The site constantly surveys 4800 financial institutions in all 50 states to provide real time rates on around 300 financial instruments- credit cards, car loans, money market accounts, certificates of deposit and mortgages. (As a real estate agent I’m going to add a caveat to the mortgage part. I personally think you need to use a local lender that knows your area but that is just my 2 cents.)
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/ Since 2003 we are able to obtain one free annual credit report from each reporting agency per year. This site provides them with no strings attached.
If you know of some sites to help us all with the recession please let me know and I will add them.
This is my fourth in the series of websites from PC World. If you would like to visit the other three you will find them at:
Websites about “Planning a vacation”!!
Websites about “Buying, Selling and Renting Stuff”!!
Websites about “Learning Stuff”!!
For all your Spring TX Real Estate needs, contact me today!
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty
Cell: 832-721-8332
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