How to SAVE $$$ with the internet

[disneysteve]

With the stock market falling, unemployment rising and all of us dealing with the effects of a deepening recession, I thought now would be a great time to compile a list of all of the ways in which we each use the internet to help save money and/or earn extra money. Tips float around in various threads but I'd like to try and collect them all here. I think, with everyone's help, this thread could be a very valuable resource for all of us.

I can think of many money-saving things I do online, some big, some small. I'll start us off with a few and add more as time permits. Please jump in and add your own. Be as specific as you can. Give links. Even give examples of how much certain things have saved you. Also, since we all know that time is money, tell us things online that save you a lot of time, even if there isn't an immediate cost savings.

And off we go... (in no particular order)

1. Online banking/bill paying: My bank, Bank of America (bankofamerica.com), offers free online banking and bill paying. By paying bills online, I save both time and money. No checks to write. No stamps to buy. No risk of payments arriving late resulting in extra fees. I can even make multiple payments at once but schedule them to actually be made at different times.

2. Investment services: This is a big one and encompasses various things. By switching to an online discount broker (Scottrade.com), I was able to close my previous brokerage account that was charging me a $15.00 quarterly account maintenance fee. So I immediately saved $60.00/year. Plus, Scottrade's commissions are lower so I also save on transaction costs.

Some investment companies, like Vanguard for example, waive account fees if you do everything online and they don't have to mail paper statements and prospectuses. If you are just starting out, that can help a lot by keeping costs down.

Searching for the best rates on money market accounts and CDs. Using sites like bankrate.com, you can find the best places to put your savings. Rather than being limited to local banks, you may find the best rate is somewhere across the country that you wouldn't otherwise have known about.

3. Online shopping: This saves money, by finding cheaper prices. It also saves money by not burning gas driving around from store to store. And it saves time for the same reason. I often find that the best price on an item we want to buy can be found online. Many times, I've found an item in a store, checked it out in person, then come home and purchased it online. I did that just recently with my daughter's digital camera. We saw it at Target. We checked out all the features and the feel of the camera. It was $99 there. On ebay.com, we got the same camera for the same price of $99 including shipping. Online, however, the price included a case, a cleaning kit and a mini tripod.

My two favorite online shopping sites are amazon.com and ebay.com. If you are a book lover, also put half.com on your list. I've bought several books at amazon or half.com for a fraction of what the bookstores charge. We're happy buying used books in good condition and the internet is the best place to find them.

4. Netflix: For movie lovers (and TV lovers), this is a great entertainment value. With plans starting at $4.99/month, you can watch all the movies you want in the comfort of your own home, on your schedule. You also get access to a library of movies and TV shows available for instant viewing on your computer (which can be hooked to your TV).

5. Ebay: No list would be complete without this, IMO. Ebay is a place to save money, save time and make money, a tripleheader. Years ago, ebay was primarily individuals selling collectibles and used items. Today, you can buy virtually anything on ebay, both new and old. Many companies maintain an ebay presence and sell items at lower cost than in their stores. They also sell discontinued items, out of season, overstock, etc. Before buying almost anything, I'd suggest checking ebay and amazon.

Of course, on the other side, ebay is a great place to make extra cash. You can list your items for sale for a very small fee (starting at $.35) and have them viewed by millions of people all over the world. I've sold on ebay for over 11 years and have made thousands and thousands of dollars during that time. In the past 3 weeks, I've grossed over $300 in sales on ebay and half.com (a division of ebay). Use it to declutter the house and pick up some extra money.

Ok, I'll stop there. Time to start work. Let's hear everyone else's ideas.

[scfr]

- Coupons: I search for manufacturer coupons for the items on my shopping list before heading out to the store. If I'm going to SuperTarget I visit target.com to check for coupons before I go.

- Photo sharing sites (such as Snapfish): We used to have to guess which pictures family members would want copies of ... or sometimes we even mailed batches of photos around the country (we are spread out) asking people to write their initials on the back of the photos they wanted. Then we'd have to go to the photo processing place, have copies made, and mail them out. Now we just post our pictures on a photo-sharing web site and everyone can order only the pictures they want and are willing to pay for, and they are delivered directly to their home. Not only do we save on gas, postage, and the expense of unwanted copies, now the entire family can see ALL of the pictures we take (whether we want copies or not, they are still fun to see).

- Craigslist: Great place to post free ads, or look for things for sale at significant discount in your neighborhood. If you buy through Craigslist, you will eventually have to hop in your car and go see the item, then pay for it and bring it home if you decide to take it. But you can often find things for much less than anywhere else. It's great for furniture. We sold off most of our furniture before our cross-country move, much of it through Craigslist. We were able to save the expense of moving & storing stuff, and the people who bought our furniture got fantastic deals. (One family in particular bought several items from us. They had sold their furniture on Craigslist before their move, and then re-purchased second hand furniture once they arrived at their new home.)

- House Hunting: Saves the time and expense of driving around looking at properties if you can preview them on-line, then check neighborhood stats and estimated values. (Nothing can replace seeing a house in person, but the internet really helps, both in eliminating undesirable properties and in finding properties you may not have found otherwise.)

- Instructions for simple DIY home repairs: In the past we would have had to go get a book from the library (or buy one), or hire someone to do simple home repairs for us, since we are not especially handy. Thanks to the internet, we've been able to find the instructions to tackle certain projects ourselves such as replacing a toilet or rewiring a lamp. (You can usually find ratings about how difficult a project is, which can also be helpful in determining which projects you should NOT attempt on your own.)

[disneysteve]

Travel: I make all hotel reservations and airline tickets online. I'm able to search the hotel website and places like travelocity and expedia to find the best deal. Plus, after booking, I continue to check the rates and if a better deal comes along, I cancel and rebook with a few clicks.

Researching travel is easy, too. I can pull up tourism guides, get museum and attraction info, order tickets, make reservations and more.

Troubleshooting for almost anything: A week or so ago, I posted a question here about a problem I was having with my laptop and the video driver. I wasn't able to access the instant videos on Netflix. Someone responded and walked me through the process of upgrading my driver software, which was free. Saved me a call to tech support and possibly a charge for service.

Did I mention what my family calls the internet: In our house, it is known as the Ultimate Source of Knowledge.

[moneybags]

Email - save a stamp!

[MoneyTrev]

My family does all of it except doing online banking.

We just don't think it's secured enough. One hack and it's over.

[Staceyy]

I send for internet freebies and use PaperBackSwap and FrugalReader to trade books instead of buying them. I use www.points.com to trade my airline and hotel points for gift certificates to a number of different stores. I also visit frugal websites and forums for help and support.

[scfr]

Library: Reserve and renew materials on-line (avoid unnecessary trips and late fees)

Read Product Reviews: Avoid wasting money (avoid making bad purchases)

[mommyof4]

In addition to many of the suggestions already posted, I do some online survey's, and they net me a little bit of money each month (approximately $20 per month).

[segmond]

the internet can be a good time saver, but it can also cost money by means of consuming time if you waste time with it.

[minnie1928]

I use sites like Hot Coupon World to see what the best deals are at my grocery store and CVS. The people over there ANALYZE the dickens out of the sales flyers, which saves me the hassle. I also use The Coupon Master to purchase additional coupons when necessary.

[disneysteve]

I print postage at home for ebay and half.com orders. You get a small discount (3-4%) by doing that. Also, you save time because you don't need to drive to the post office and stand in line to send a package.

[Gjowers]

I think everyone has covered my main money-saving uses of the internet. I'll second those who mentioned Ebay, Craigslist, Amazon, and using the internet to find instructions on how to do DIY projects around the home.

I buy used books on Amazon occasionally. That can be a real money saver even if you have to pay a couple bucks in shipping.

[disneysteve]

In the saving time department, mapquest.com has saved us many many hours by getting street maps of our destinations, which also saves money by not wasting gas driving around getting lost.

For music lovers, legally purchasing and downloading music can save a lot over buying CDs in a store. You can pick and choose just the songs you want and not have to buy a whole album. Sometimes you can even download the whole album for less than buying the same album. We went to a concert Saturday night. After the concert, they were selling CDs in the lobby for $20. On Amazon, the same CDs were $14.99 or you could download an MP3 version of the album for $8.99.

iTunes, Amazon and other sites let you download songs for $.99. If you collect Pepsi points, you can get free MP3 downloads.

[cptacek]

Someday I'll be able to work at home over the internet, saving gas, etc. But right now, I can be on call at night or over the weekend and check work problems without having to drive in.

Get ideas for planning your wedding or anything else you have never done before. I guess Steve already said it...the ultimate source of knowledge. You should trademark that!

[Johansen8]

You are so right disneysteve! thanks for the tips
I was told by friends that they save a lot of money on things by buying everything online and not go to any retail store.