Money Mag recently came out with their list of best money websites, so I thought I’d share ’em around and see what you all think. Along with my own two pennies, of course.
You would have thought that after 2 months of heavy research they’d have at least mentioned the all-time BEST site in it though (BudgetsAreSexy – duh!) but I suppose they must have overlooked it ;) Whatever, I’ll continue reading your silly little financial mag…you’ve already got me hooked!
The 20 Best Money Websites:
- Basic.esplanner.com – If you’re wondering if you need to save more for retirement. (?)
- Morningstar.com – If you’re wondering if you have the right mix of investments. (popular one)
- Portfoliomonkey.com – If you’re wondering if your portfolio is too risky. Love the name :)
- Finance.Google.com – If you’re looking to find your next stock pick. Google is everywhere!
- Nerdwallet.com – If you’re wondering if it’s time to dump your rewards card. What a site name! I’d visit just based on that…who isn’t a nerd reading this right now?
- Mint.com – If you’re wondering how to cut spending and save more. Mad respect for the Mint team! They have one of the best budgeting platforms around…and noticed I said “platforms” here. We all know who has the best budgeting spreadsheets ;))
- Credit.com – If you’re wondering how good your credit is. They’re also one of my sponsors :)
- Billshrink.com – If you’re looking for a better-paying savings account. Another place I’ve partnered up with before! Those guys are really funny too – check out their blog –> Shrinkage Is Good
- Neighborhoodscout.com – If you’re wondering which neighborhood you should live in. (Sounds kinda creepy to me… like someone’s peeking through your windows or someting! haha…)
- Trulia.com – If you’re looking for sellers ready to deal. Have heard great things about this site.
- Diyornot.com – If you’re wondering if you should hire a contractor or not. If your name is J. Money, then YES. Always.
- Vitals.com – If you’re looking for the best doctors in your network (I think I’m too lazy for this)
- Healthgrades.com – If you’re wondering which hospital you should go to. Or if you’re a guy – the closest one ;)
- Linkedin.com – If you’re looking to find your next job. Also: Twitter, Facebook, Craigslist, blogs.
- iTunes U – If you’re wondering how to keep your skills sharp. As in, iTunes, iTunes.
- Truecar.com – If you’re wondering what the best price you can get on a car. (What about KBB?)
- Pricegrabber.com – If you’re looking for the best price on electronics. And I agree. Definitely NOT Best Buy, although it still doesn’t stop me from walking in there ;)
- Coupons.com – If you’re wondering how to pay less for everyday stuff. (It seems that the best places also have the best (and most generic) site names too, eh?)
- Kayak.com – If you’re wondering how you can save on your flight. Which is funny considering what would happen if you actually tried to fly in one!
- Charitynavigator.org – If you’re wondering if you should give to a specific charity. I agree with this one 100%! GREAT site that I’m glad is around to ward off all those hacks.
They also listed their 4 favorite iPhone apps:
- ATM HUNTER – For finding the nearest ATM that won’t cost an arm and a leg.
- REALTOR.COM – For finding out how much houses go for. (I use this every other day!)
- REDLASER – If you’re wondering if that price you’re looking at in the store is a good deal. (Just downloaded after reading! Haven’t tried it out yet, but I’m excited to.)
- IXPENSEIT – If you need to hold on to your receipts but you always lose them.
What do you guys think? They leave any great sites or apps out? It’ll be interesting to see what pops up on their list next time. So many awesome and creative sites show up every year – it’s so cool we’re a part of this online information age!
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I use Shop Savvy (free!) instead of Red Laser. And by "use it" I mean scan stuff around my house and office to see if they pop up. I did try to use it at Best Buy when I was in the market for a new TV – they didn't seem to like it too much and kept coming over to distract me.
Trucar sounds like it might come in handy for me as I mull over options about cars, and I'm going to check out my neighborhood on that neighborhood researcher. Thanks :)
Pricecheckah is better. It uses the same great redlaser barcode scanner, but gives you results from Amazon, eBay, walmart, overstock, buy.com as well as Google. It even let's you put in your own stores.
And at only 99c.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=300264101&mt=8
Oh man I'm a Red Laser lover. OK that doesn't sound right, but it's got a feature now when you scan a book while perusing Barnes and Noble it will tell me which of my public libraries has it on the shelf. I've stopped several impulse buys that way and I still had the book within that same hour for free. Now that's a Win Win.
@Karmella – Haha…I like to scan $hit around too like that. it's fun :)
@culs – Oh, nice. love the name – "Pricecheckah"
@Paul @ FiscalGeek – Wow, I didn't know it could do that! Pretty tight. Although I won't kid myself, I'm too lazy to hit up the library (*gasp!)
I always use the HomeBudget app. It's a bit pricey ($4.99) but it's worth every penny – http://appshopper.com/finance/homebudget
As for the websites, I tried Mint but it doesn't really work for me. Feed The Pig – http://www.feedthepig.org/ – looks interesting and I'm gonna give it a try.
My money is on iXpenseIt. Had it since last year and making full use of it. The best one in terms of ease of use and packed with customization features. I also use the budget feature and it has helped me stay incharge and not get drained. Recommended to any who is serious about controlling their expenses.
I dont think it was mentioned, but I could be wrong due to my young professiona A.D.D.
http://www.Bing.com/travel is an amazing tool to use to gauge flight prices for round trip tickets. They base it off historical data and what other people are searching for to tell you if the price is going to go up or go down with a confidence rating. Try it out!
My favorite apps are "Accounts", which is a check book register, but you can also add your savings accounts (which I do) and credit cards (which I use for all my spending money so I like tracking the balance every day). Another awesome thing about the "Accounts" app is that it breaks down all your spending into categories (food, entertainment, clothes, etc). You can even create your OWN categories, so I have a Beauty & Health category. It's SWEEEEEET!
I also love the Bill Tracker app to keep track of my bills and their due dates, but you can also store your payment history, confirmation #, bill account #s, the phone # to the bill. It's awesome!
Great list you have here, I'd like to try Credit.com. All the rest, it's really interesting might be useful in the future.
Thanks guys, I'll have to check out some of those other apps/sites :) I get stuck in my same habits every now and then so it'll be good to see how others work out – woohoo!
Hey J. Money, thanks for the shout-out and glad you like our name. It fits the bill!
I'd love to get your thoughts, and some feedback on the site. Please drop me a line any time.
Mint.com…. that's so Raven
I would say that Coupons.com is my favorite from your list. Thanks for posting–some of the sites are new to me.