As the economy slows and gas prices reach all time highs, it seems we're all looking for new and creative ways to save a few buck ... Grab Your Mouse, We're About to Save $ in Some Unexpected Places ...
Free "Fix it" Help
www.repairclinic.com
POTENTIAL SAVINGS: $70.00 ++
A one-stop-site for appliance problems, parts and repairs ... Consumers can ask the RepairGuru, RepairClinic's online help wizard, for assistance with most every major appliance repair question. To have an appliance technician come to your house costs as much as $70.00 for the first half hour ... and most often that's only to diagnose the problem. From there, you're looking at additional labor costs + parts.
Other free repair help is often just a "Google" away: Whatever problem you're having with an appliance, your computer, TV or iPod, chances are, someone else has had the same issue. Online searches turn up message boards and online do-it-your-selfers who've posted fixes for common problems.
Simple, Free E-Reminders
www.ohdontforget.com
POTENTIAL SAVINGS: $150.00 & up & up ...
When things are crazy and busy, stuff falls through the cracks. The inventor of this site (he was 28 years old!), was walking out the door one day and his wife said, "Oh, don't forget to pay the mortgage." He forgot. He created this tool so it wouldn't happen again. Now, anyone can use it for free. Just enter a cellphone #; the message & when you want it sent. Tell your kids to take out the garbage, spouse to pick up milk, yourself to get the oil changed ... Whatever works. If you type in your own cellphone #, you can test it right now.
How much can forgetting to pay the mortgage cost you? Most mortgage contracts offer borrowers a 15-day grace period, with a late charge of 5% on payments received after the 16th. A 5% late fee on a $3000.00 mortgage is $150.00 ... a decent chunk of change you don't want to part with.
www.repairclinic.com
POTENTIAL SAVINGS: $70.00 ++
A one-stop-site for appliance problems, parts and repairs ... Consumers can ask the RepairGuru, RepairClinic's online help wizard, for assistance with most every major appliance repair question. To have an appliance technician come to your house costs as much as $70.00 for the first half hour ... and most often that's only to diagnose the problem. From there, you're looking at additional labor costs + parts.
Other free repair help is often just a "Google" away: Whatever problem you're having with an appliance, your computer, TV or iPod, chances are, someone else has had the same issue. Online searches turn up message boards and online do-it-your-selfers who've posted fixes for common problems.
Simple, Free E-Reminders
www.ohdontforget.com
POTENTIAL SAVINGS: $150.00 & up & up ...
When things are crazy and busy, stuff falls through the cracks. The inventor of this site (he was 28 years old!), was walking out the door one day and his wife said, "Oh, don't forget to pay the mortgage." He forgot. He created this tool so it wouldn't happen again. Now, anyone can use it for free. Just enter a cellphone #; the message & when you want it sent. Tell your kids to take out the garbage, spouse to pick up milk, yourself to get the oil changed ... Whatever works. If you type in your own cellphone #, you can test it right now.
How much can forgetting to pay the mortgage cost you? Most mortgage contracts offer borrowers a 15-day grace period, with a late charge of 5% on payments received after the 16th. A 5% late fee on a $3000.00 mortgage is $150.00 ... a decent chunk of change you don't want to part with.
Don't Flush Money Down the Toilet
www.videojug.com
POTENTIAL SAVINGS = 16% OFF YOUR WATER BILL
The tagline for "how to" video site VideoJug.com is "Life Explained on Film." In this short clip titiled, "The Toilet Tank Trick," a do-it-yourselfer explains how to use less water with each flush of the toilet. The fix takes only about a minute and he claims savings of up to 16% on your water bill or about 7500 gallons over the course of a year. While it's hard for us to verify the math, clearly, using less water means more money in your pocket.
BlueString is a free media storage service, enabling you to preserve your online media, i.e., digital photos, videos and music in an online account. You automatically receive 5GB of free online storage and can access your media from any computer, anywhere and share it privately via invitations to groups of friends and family.
If you simply used the free 5GB of space to back-up your MP3 collection, you could store about 1200 songs. And you'd be storing them remotely and securely ... So, if your computer goes kaput or your hard drive gets fried, your music collection remains intact and can be restored on to a new computer.
Now, let's do the math – 1200 MP3 songs at .99 cents each will have set you back $1188.00. With a free and easy online storage/back-up option, there's no reason to risk losing that kind of cash.
Reach a Real Human
www.gethuman.com
POTENTIAL SAVINGS = TIME IS $$$ ... WHAT'S YOUR TIME WORTH?
If you're tired of the "robo-voice" merry-go-round that happens each time you try to call customer service, there is a way to work around the seemingly endless chain of automated voice prompts. GetHuman.com, lists shortcuts and telephone numbers for over 500 consumer companies (banks, insurance companies, retailers, telephone companies, utilities, etc.) for bypassing automated messages and getting directly to a human being. GetHuman can't promise you'll get the help you need, but at least they'll be someone on the other end to hear you out.
Now, let's do the math – 1200 MP3 songs at .99 cents each will have set you back $1188.00. With a free and easy online storage/back-up option, there's no reason to risk losing that kind of cash.
Reach a Real Human
www.gethuman.com
POTENTIAL SAVINGS = TIME IS $$$ ... WHAT'S YOUR TIME WORTH?
If you're tired of the "robo-voice" merry-go-round that happens each time you try to call customer service, there is a way to work around the seemingly endless chain of automated voice prompts. GetHuman.com, lists shortcuts and telephone numbers for over 500 consumer companies (banks, insurance companies, retailers, telephone companies, utilities, etc.) for bypassing automated messages and getting directly to a human being. GetHuman can't promise you'll get the help you need, but at least they'll be someone on the other end to hear you out.
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Comments
On the subject of file backup, sharing and storage ...
Online backup is becoming common these days. It is estimated that 70-75% of all PC's will be connected to online backup services with in the next decade.
Thousands of online backup companies exist, from one guy operating in his apartment to fortune 500 companies.
Choosing the best online backup company will be very confusing and difficult. One website I find very helpful in making a decision to pick an online backup company is:
http://www.BackupReview.info
This site lists more than 400 online backup companies in its directory and ranks the top 25 on a monthly basis.
This blog is dumb