Recession Special: 5 Great Sites to Save You Money
By Viget Labs
in General
Sep. 30, 2009 | Comments
By Laura Dec, Former Staffer,
in General
Sep. 30, 2009 | comments
We all know times are tough these days. Here are 5 well-done sites to help you save money on everything from credit cards and savings accounts, to local places and services, to even Chinese take-out.
Groupon.com
Groupon.com presents a new deal every day (from midnight to midnight) on a wide variety of things to do, see, eat, or buy in 25 metropolitan cities (such as "Save 69% on Teeth Whitening" or "$18 for 3 Games of Bowling and Shoes"). You can also sign up to receive the deal of the day emailed to you. They boast to have saved their users over $21,000,000 through over 400,000 groupons.
The catch? What they call "Collective Buying Power." You only get the deal if enough people also buy the deal that day. For example, a groupon is posted that I'm interested in. It has a goal of 100 "buys." I can buy it, but I'll only get it if at least 99 other people also buy it.
RetailMeNot.com
One of my personal favorites for a number of years now, RetailMeNot is a collection of coupon codes for well known (and even not so well known) e-commerce sites (free shipping, 10% off, etc). The site is community run (meaning, coupons are shared by the site's users and each contains a % success rate based on votes from other users on whether or not the coupon worked for them). The top coupons float to the top and are color coded to show which are reliable and which aren't. In short, you SHOULD NOT purchase anything online without checking out RetailMeNot first.
The catch? Even the top coupons aren't always valid, and a number of top sites have requested user submissions be blocked.
BillShrink.com
BillShrink offers you a number of ways to save money on savings
accounts, credit cards, cell phone plans, and even which gas stations
near you will give you the best deal. BillShrink asks for some details
on your current plan or activities and in under a minute they return to
you:
- The pros and cons of your current plan/activities.
- How much it will cost you over the next 3 years, compared to alternatives they recommend for you (and how much each of those would cost you).
- How much you can save by switching to a new plan.
Their sign up process is so quick, I didn't even initially
realize that I had signed up. And, after activating your account, you
can save top recommendations and set up email alerts for
if and when new recommendations become available.
The catch?
None that I could find. I found this site super easy to use, very
straightforward and to the point. They offer valuable data with the
right amount of detail, and don't try to do too much.
eHealthInsurance.com
eHealthInsurance lets you get quotes, compare plans, and apply
online for affordable health insurance plans. After entering some
simple details about you and your dependents, the site returns possible
options, complete with their components and monthly cost. You can also
see which plans would work with your existing doctors and even use a
helpful "help me choose" wizard.
The catch? eHealthInsurance is
a helpful tool for those shopping for a new plan, but be prepared to
invest some time in researching and applying for plans.
SeamlessWeb.com
Well known in the corporate world for ordering catering, gifts,
and other similar items online, SeamlessWeb also offers personal
accounts for finding nearby delivery restaurants in 14 metropolitan
areas. Put in your address and you'll be returned:
- A list of all restaurants that will deliver to you, including a view of only the restaurants that are open right now.
- Details on each restaurant such as price ranges, ratings, delivery time estimates and minimum delivery cost, as well as the full menu.
The catch? It's quite addictive; you may never cook again!