I have provided links to resources that contain more information on a topic or a product or service that may help you out. I’ll do my best to make sure that the items to consider here are quality resources.
Give me your feedback on what adds value for you and what does not and we will continue to improve the links provided here.
Thanks.
Online Shopping Sites & Tools to save
CashBackMonitor is a site to monitor the best cash back deals for online shopping.
Rakuten browser extension allows you to accumulate cash rebates by shopping at affiliate sites that offer members discounts.
Honey browser extension also saves you money by automatically searching for online coupons when you check out.
CamelCamelCamel is a browser extension that tracks Amazon prices and alerts you when products hit your price point. For people not in a hurry waiting for deals.
GoodRx to save on prescriptions
Automobiles
Check for safety recalls on your vehicle at NHTSA or via Check to Protect
Get a vehicle history report from Autocheck, CarFax and / or vehiclehistory.com before buying a used vehicle
Consumer Reports to check vehicle liability ratings with an online subscription or free at your local library
Check lemon laws for your state at AutoSafety.org. Normally lemon laws cover new cars not used cars.
Firms such as Carmax.com and Carvana.com aim to take all of the stress out of the car buying process by using fixed no haggle pricing and easy pickup or delivery of vehicles.
Apps such as Gas Buddy allow you to join an online community that reports the price of gas at various stations.
Other ways to save gas include membership clubs (such as Costco) that sell members gas that is often 5% lower than the competition.
Online auto loan payment calculators to run scenarios ahead of time so you know what you can expect to pay. Here is another Auto Loan Calculator.
Home & Internet Security & Safety
Affordable security systems / cameras to consider include the following:
If you do use a security system, be sure to let your insurance agent know as you may be eligible for an insurance discount.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled millions of dehumidifiers because they have resulted in hundreds of fires. Make sure your dehumidifier is not on the Dehumidifier recall list.
Password protection / management
Help with Identity theft at the ID Theft Center.
Hardware dual authentication security keys for another layer of online protection include Yubico and Google Titan.
Investment Portfolio analysis tools
PortfolioCharts – has analysis tools allowing you to back test portfolios from 1970 including safe withdrawal rates
PortfolioVisualizer has a Monte Carlo analysis tool to test different portfolio mixes including safe withdrawal rates
EarlyRetirementnow has a Safe Withdrawal rate series that provides a lot of useful concepts regarding portfolio management in retirement
Insurance
Policygenius.com is a website that offers term life insurance quotes from reputable insurance companies.
TheZebra.com is another website to get online quotes for auto and home insurance.
Lemonade for Home and renters insurance
Floodsmart is a site to investigate and buy flood insurance.
MetroMile to pay for insurance by the mile (for those that drive less) rather than paying a flat amount
HealthIQ.com is another firm to consider to obtain life insurance quotes at a better rate for the health conscious individual.
InsureMyTrip is a site to consider insuring an expensive trip, especially cruises and overseas travel
CLUE Report – get a copy of your CLUE report to see what insurers are using to rate you as a customer for Homeowners and Auto Insurance
Check for Your Unclaimed Property
To look for this money you can try a site such as missingmoney.com to do a general search of all states.
Also try unclaimed.org to select specific states where you have lived or worked.
There are other types of unclaimed funds that won’t be listed with state governments. In many cases this would be unclaimed property from the federal government and affiliate agencies. This could represent pension benefits, tax refunds, bank accounts from failed institutions, etc. A good site to search for these funds would be at usa.gov/unclaimed-money.
Student Assistance
StudentLoanPlanner.com is a website geared to help students deal with student loans and a payback plan.
CommonBond helps with student loan consolidations and refinances
Some sites to search for scholarships include: unigo.com, goodcall.com, and scholarships.com
Also myscholly.com has a relatively inexpensive monthly subscription service that allows you to get lots of matching scholarships. Also try collegeconfidential.com
Do CLEP testing and earn college credits. Collegeboard.org. By just taking a test you can get credit and save the time and money of taking the class. Also DSST exams can get you college credit as well by taking a 90 minute exam
The Evans scholarship is an amazing scholarship. For more information try: http://www.wgaesf.org/site
Learn about the federal student loan forgiveness rules and the rules around federal aid at Studentaid.gov
Refinance your private (not federal) student loan to a better fixed rate at Sofi or Credible
Savings Account Rates & Banks
BankRate is a good website to compare interest rates offered by online bank savings accounts
Cuna.org shows you where to find a credit union in your area
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to complain against a bank or financial institution. They are required to reply to your compliant.
Budgeting & Net Worth Tracking
Freeze & monitor your credit
You can check AnnualCreditReport.com once per year for free for each of the three major credit bureaus.
Also if you sign up for Credit Karma or have certain credit cards such as Discover, you can get your credit score regularly to keep tabs on it.
Three Major credit bureaus to freeze your credit:
Travel
Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap flights) for travel deals.
VacationsToGo for last minute deals.
GetService to get airlines to make you whole for a problem
CostcoTravel to book travel and to book car rentals at competitive rates and often no fee for additional drivers
Turo to rent cars from individuals on your next vacation rather than a car rental agency
Google.com/flights to search for the best fares to any destination
AirFareWatchDog to watch for flight deals
Kayak Explore to search for flight deals from your city
FlightAware lets you track your flight throughout the day to know if there are flight delays
ResortFeeChecker lets you screen hotels in advance to find out what hidden fees they charge
Comparing tax rates between states
Kiplinger has a tool that allows you to compare states to see which ones are the most and least tax friendly.
The Tax Foundation also has a lot of information on state taxes as well as news on latest developments.
Complaints
The Better Business Bureau is often a good place to start in order to get a company to respond to your complaint.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a good place to file a complaint against a lender or financial services company that is not addressing the issue you have with them.
The Department of Transportation is a good place to file a complaint against an airline that is treating you unfairly. Per their complaint process, “this may include, but is not limited to, topics such as flight delays and cancellations, overbooking, disability, tarmac delays, baggage, discrimination, refunds, ticketing practices, family seating, frequent flyer programs, charter flights, privacy and air ambulance service.”
Moving Services
Find a reputable moving company by going to Moving.Org.
If you need to move a car or other large items try Uship
Retirement Planning Resources
Vanguard Simple Retirement Tools
US Department of Labor calculator contains a detailed planning tool.
Use a longevity tool created by the American Academy of Actuaries to get a range of years to help you with your retirement planning.
Cognitive decline is an important consideration to prepare for in retirement. You can plan and take steps to help offset the financial risks with the Thinking Ahead Roadmap tool created by the Stanford Center on Longevity.
