Do you have more money than you think?
You might! Millions of Americans overlook a lot of loot owed them from old tax returns, bank accounts - even gifts! Here's how to find out if you've got...
- Money owed to you by the government! You could have an uncashed tax refund or another government-related refund waiting for you. Find out more at : usa.gov/Citizen/Topic/Money-Owed
- Unclaimed Cash! That deposit you paid years ago to a utility company or a bank account you forgot to close when you moved... those are just two of the possible cash reserves you might find by doing a free nationwide search of your name at :missingmoney.com
Find out how much your friends make!
"We've been pleasantly surpised at how honest and sincere employees have been in describing their work experiences," says Hohman. For example, BMO has a "bleak corporate culture," according to a former research assistant, while Starbucks used to be a great place to work, but is "now run by micromanaging sorority types." A project manager at Bell Canada advises that if you "want to be the best in your field - you'll be very frustrated at Bell." Other companies, such as Dell Canada and Wal-Mart Canada, fared surprisingly well, eliciting mostly positive reviews and high ratings, which are scored out of five.
To access the really detailed information - such as the fact that techicians at Bell earn $65,355 a year - you have to post your own salary and write a review. The content is almost entirely user-generated, and the company mantra is "give to get." Of course the interesting part is seeing how your salary compares to that of your colleagues. and if you find out it's lower? You might be able to use that information to get a raise!
Uncover secret money-saving deals almost effortlessly!
Stores often alert insiders to "secret" deals with extra-steep discounts. But you can get in on the action too, by heading to:
- fatwallet and
- dealdump sites where "deal hunters" track down these special promotions and share them with you - for free!
Make tax-time easier!
Tax returns are due April 15 - and you can make filing a bit easier on the mind with help from:
- The IRS. Visit irs.gov/individuals/index.html to learn about recent tax changes - some will save you money!
- Bankrate.com. Find out how to calculate those forms using the free tax calculators at bankrate.com/brm/news/news_taxes_home.asp. For Canadians go to Bankrate.ca.
- Smartmoney.com. Get advice from financial bigwigs at smartmoney.com/tax.
Mint is fresh, intelligent online money management. Not only is Mint free, it saves you money. While existing personal finance software packages require hours to set up, a passion for accounting (is that possible?) and hours of weekly maintenance, Mint is virtually effortless.
Now you can get a product you want - at the price you want! Visit priceambush.com, enter the item and name your price. The site will e-mail you an alert when the cost drops to your liking!
Furnish your home for 75% less!
Realize your high-end decorator dreams - on a DIY budget - by buying from hotel liquidators.
Sites like hotelsurplus.com and amcliquidators.com sell gently used furnishings on behalf of hotels in a rush to renovate! Since they want to clear the rooms quickly, you can score brand-name furnishings for 75% off the retail price!
Save Big on Repairs Bills for Appliances!
You can save alot of dough - as much as 75% off - by making easy appliance fixes yourself.
Not a handyman? No problem thanks to repairclinic.com.
This site has step-by-step solutions to everyday problems. And if you can't find the answer just email the
Repair Guru that will keep your appliances working and your wallet bulging!
Ok, so you're ready for those new set of wheels.
At edmunds.com, they provide True Market Value® pricing, car reviews, ratings, & advice to help you get a fair deal.
lifehacker.com - the best time to buy anything all year round! You're always hearing about off-season, post-peak times to save money on purchases and food, but it always arrives too late. They've compiled a timeline and lots of best-time-to-buy suggestions into one post to help you plan a more frugal year.
fdic.gov - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) preserves and promotes public confidence in the U.S. financial system by insuring deposits in banks and thrift institutions for at least $250,000; by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to the deposit insurance funds; and by limiting the effect on the economy and the financial system when a bank or thrift institution fails.
Hip2Save - A coupon and deal savings website, started by Collin Morgan in 2008, to help herself, family, and friends save money and live frugally in a Hip and fun way.
RetailMeNot.com - Find coupons (about 85,000, the site says) for thousands of stores nationwide. Many of them are sent in by site users, for others to use. It's not the only online coupon community, but it's the biggest and probably the best.
BillShrink.com - BillShrink is a free cost-savings tool that works continuously to save you money on your everyday expenses. Given the vast number of complex offers and plans, such as those from the major mobile carriers and credit card issuers, chances are pretty good you’re paying more than you need to.
They make it simple to compare what you’ve got to what they’re offering. And if you’re like most people, that means significant savings. Isn’t that just how things on the Web should be? Incredibly useful, simple and free.
Prosper.com - Prosper is the world's largest peer-to-peer lending marketplace, with more than 1,050,000 members and over $225,000,000 in funded loans.
Prosper allows people to invest in each other in a way that is financially and socially rewarding. On Prosper, borrowers list loan requests between $2,000 and $25,000 and individual lenders invest as little as $25 in each loan listing they select. In addition to credit scores, ratings, and histories, investors can consider borrowers’ personal loan descriptions, endorsements from friends, and community affiliations. Prosper handles the funding and servicing of the loan on behalf of the matched borrowers and investors.
Prosper was co-founded by Chris Larsen, who also co-founded E-LOAN. Prosper has raised $57.7 million in venture capital and is backed by financial and technology luminaries including Jim Breyer of Accel Partners, Omidyar Network, Capital One Co-founder Nigel Morris of QED Investors, Court Coursey of TomorrowVentures, CompuCredit, and Volition Capital.
Kiva.com - They are a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.
They envision a world where all people - even in the most remote areas of the globe - hold the power to create opportunity for themselves and others.
Making a loan on Kiva is so simple that you may not realize how much work goes on behind the scenes.
Kiva works with microfinance institutions on five continents to provide loans to people without access to traditional banking systems. One hundred percent of your loan is sent to these microfinance institutions, which we call Field Partners, who administer the loans in the field.
Kiva relies on a world wide network of over 450 volunteers who work with our Field Partners, edit and translate borrower stories, and ensure the smooth operation of countless other Kiva programs.
Bankrate.com - This is the largest and most complete aggregator of financial rate information that we've 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--mortgages, credit cards, car loans, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit--so you can find the best rates and save money.
Pageonce.com - Pageonce was designed to help you control your finances. With Pageonce you can easily track your bank accounts, credit cards, investment and travel plans, monitor bills and manage your money. It is available online or on your mobile, anytime and anywhere you need it.
They know that the busier you are, the harder it is to keep track of your personal finances. That’s why Pageonce is easy to use, is simple and intuitive, safe and secure and adds valuable insight about your finances, whenever and wherever you need it. And the best part: it’s totally FREE!
StockTwits.com - is a community of more than 100,000 investors who share analysis, charts and video about stocks they like. A must for hard-core stock jocks.
Here’s Howard Lindzon, a Toronto native who is a co-founder of StockTwits, on five things to do on the site when you visit for the first time.
PAY FOR COLLEGE WITH YOUR DEBIT CARD!
Register your debit and credit cards, plus store loyalty cards for free at upromise.com. Then, every time you use them to shop or dine at one of the thousands of Upromises's participating merchants (including target.com, gap.com or McDonald's), between 1% and 25% of your final purchase will be deposited into a tax-free savings account that can be used toward college tuition for you or a loved one, or to help pay student loans.
HAVE AN UNWANTED GIFT CARD?
This website allows you to sell or swap your unused gift card with other people! That way, you’ll end up with a gift card you’ll actually use! swapagift.com will even give you cash on the spot!
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MONEY AND FINANCE
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USEFUL LINKS - Money and Finance Page(s) was last updated: May 14, 2011
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Always wanted to know how much your co-worker is making compared to you. Well, finally you can find out from a website which was created by entrepreneur Robert Hohman to empower workers. Launched in June 2008, Glassdoor.com, details what it's really like to work for a company, errs and all. Even more important, it also pries open the taboo subject of people's salaries by encouraging workers to anonymously post how much they're paid!
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