Consumer and Money Section

Personal finances can be complicated, whether you have a little money, or a lot. And today's troubling economy makes it that much more difficult. The following websites can help you to make the most of what you have:

Marketplace and
Marketplace Money

Marketplace is an award winning daily radio show that brings us national and international stories behind the business and economic headlines. Marketplace Money is a weekly radio show focusing on stories that affect consumers, helping us to better cope with these trying economic times. Podcasts and more are available on their website. Both shows are public radio programs produced and distributed by American Public Media.

The Simple Dollar

The Simple Dollar website describes itself as providing "financial talk for the rest of us". The Simple Dollar does provide personal finance advice for the rest of us, helping us to find simple, creative ways to reduce expenses, reduce debt, increase income, and otherwise make improvements in the way you manage your personal and financial life.

Everything You Ever Really Needed to Know About Personal Finance On Just One Page

Here, Trent Hamm, creator of The Simple Dollar website mentioned above, provides this digital book and shares it freely, offering his simple advice based on how he overcame his own financial meltdown. Everything you need to know is on one page, but he elaborates on the one page in the remaining 48 pages of this book. The book is in Adobe Acrobat's PDF format, so you would need the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to view this book. It is 4.37 megabytes in size.

Credit Karma

With Credit Karma, you can truly obtain your credit score* for free, with no strings attached and no need to enter your personal information, other than what is needed for them to obtain your credit score from one of the main credit bureaus, Transunion. It also offers a lot more, including a simulator to help you to determine how different financial actions might affect your score, and many tips and much advice on how to improve your score and your personal finances. * This is not your actual FICO or similar score, but rather a good estimate of the credit score that may be obtained at additional cost from the main credit bureaus.

Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Kiplinger has been publishing business forecasting and finance information since 1920. Their popular magazine, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, offers a full array of advice on personal finance matters. Kiplinger's website covers its reliable personal finance and business forecasting content.

Some love to shop, and some do not. When you want to shop, good deals can be had at the following websites...and you save time and gas:

Amazon.com

Amazon started out in 1994 as a seller of books. Today, they sell CD's, DVD's, home electronics, video games, computers, cell phones, clothes and much more. Their prices are very competitive and they offer free shipping for orders over $25.00. They also provide retail space for many other retailers offering new and used items with prices that can be even more competitive. Why get in your car and drive to places like Best Buy, Barnes & Noble or even Walmart, when you can do so much of your shopping from the comfort of your home computer, and save money? Along with that, you can also provide financial support to Johnny Appleseed Network by using this link and other Amazon links on this website.

eBay

eBay was started in 1995 as an online auction website and today it is an open environment where practically anyone can sell practically anything at any time. One can use it as an online garage sale to sell and buy used items. Vendors can set up online stores to sell their new and/or used items. With its search engine, you can find just about anything you would want, whether it is old and obscure, or new and popular.

Craigslist

Craigslist is a free online classified advertisement service supported mostly by businesses placing help wanted ads in select cities. Although it is one of the top job boards in the world, Craigslist offers a lot more than help wanted ads. Craigslist sections include personal ads, for sale items separated into various categories including barter and free sections, housing including rentals and real estate, services, discussion forums and community items such as events, rideshare and childcare. Craigslist is also localized, providing ad boards for all major cities in the country, and also smaller cities, counties and geographical areas, as well as many cities and countries around the world.

PayPal

PayPal provides a free and easy way to exchange money and make payments, whether it is an exchange of money between private parties, or to make a payment for something purchased through Amazon.com, eBay and other businesses. A PayPal account is funded with an electronic debit from a checking account or with a credit card. Businesses are charged a small transaction fee and credit card transactions have associated fees. It is free to set up an account and to exchange money between private parties, with a few reasonable limitations. Private parties and businesses do not have access to your bank and credit card account information, making PayPal a secure way to exchange money for any purpose.

Here is a list of a few other useful websites:

GasBuddy.com

GasBuddy.com provides a means for individuals to post and review recent gas prices. With today's gas prices constantly rising and falling, you may want to visit this website to find the least expensive gas in your area before you drive off to fill your tank. This website covers the US and Canada.